Tumor stem cells (TSCs) are a group of cells which have self-renewal and differentiation potential in tumor tissues.TSCs not only play an important role in the occurrence and development in tumors , but also are closely related to tumors′invasion,metastasis,heterogeneity and chemo-resistance.Further research of TSCs has become a hot spot .This review intends to explain the formation of TSCs ,the relationship between TSCs and the microenvironment , as well as the model of the TSC microenvironment .Signalling pathways and regulatory factors of TSCs are also discussed .

AIM:To investigate the effects of insulin on drug sensitivity of Etoposide(Vp-16) to MBA-MD-543(human breast cancer cell line) in vitro.METHODS:Insulin was applied directly to the MBA-MD-543 cultured in vitro.The effects of insulin and Vp-16 on the number of viable cell,the total number of cells were assayed by MTT method and cell count.RESULTS: Insulin could induce the cell growth and promote the cell metabolism at the concentration(4.0)-(32.0)(mU?ml~(-1))(8-18 hours).At the condition of same density of cells,the administration of insulin((7.5)(mU?ml~(-1))) before adding Vp-16 in 9-15 h,enhanced the chemocytotoxity of Vp-16((70.09)(?g?ml~(-1))) on human breast cancer cells as indicated by MTT colorimetry.CONCLUSION: Proliferation of human breast cancer cell line can be induced by insulin,and insulin can sensitize MBA-MD-543 to the anticancer activity of Vp-16 in vitro. The key of improving the chemotherapeutic effect is the selection of revulsant occasion and concentration.It is possible to increase the growth and metabolism of cancer cells first so as to enhance the chemosensibility,and then administer chemotherapeutic agents,thus improving their theraeutic effects.

Objective To study the inhibitory effect of ibandronate(IBN)on the growth of lung cancer cell line PLA-801D in vitro,and the mechanism of such effect was studied.Methods The effects of different doses or treatment time of IBN on the growth of PLA-801D cell line were detected by MTT method.The mechanism of the effect was analyzed by the examination of cell cycle using flow cytometry.Results With the concentration of 10 to 100 ?g/ml,IBN obviously inhibited the growth of PLA-801D cell(P

OBJECTIVE To observe the feasibility and safety of cryoablation of cervical lymph node metastases for nonsurgical candidates.METHODS The procedure was performed after achievement of local anesthesia for 15 cases.In this clinical study,local anesthesia with no sedation was performed to all the patients.In all cases,patients underwent two freeze/thaw cycles.RESULTS Tumors of 14 patients were thoroughly covered by ice balls.In one patient,96% of the tumorous lesion was covered by ice balls.In these patients,no complicated complication was observed during the treatment.CONCLUSION Percutaneous cryoablation therapy for cervical lymph node metastases under ultrasonic guidance is a feasible and minimally invasive method with satisfactory local control.

Objective To investigte the inhibit effects of drug combination of Kanglaite injection(KLT) and TXT on human pulmonary epithelial cells(95D) in vitro,and to find the best time of combination.Method 95D cell growth inhibition was measured with MTT assay.Results Various concentration of KLT and TXT could inhibit the proliferation of 95D cell,and KLT could enchance the sensiti vity of 95D cell to TXT(P

Objective To investigate the effect of Yangyinjiandu decoction for acute radiation esophagitis.Methods Lung cancer and mediastinal tumor treated by radiotherapy(portals including oesophagus to a radical tumoricidal dose≥40Gy, with≥10cm oesophagus include in radiotherapy).Patients were randomly divided according to the time of acceptance into the treatment group and the control group.All parameters of the two groups were basically similar and comparable.The treatment group was given Yangyinjiandu decoction(one dose daily,water decoction,200ml,twice a day) taken in the morning and in the evening before the end of radiotherapy.The control group was given oral vitamin C tablet 100mg once a day before the end of radiotherapy.Five days after radiotherapy,the control group took oral prednisone 5mg three times a day and amoxicillin 5g three times a day.All the above medicines were continued for 7 days.Results The commencement of complication was 14.86?0.34 days in the treatment group and 13.55?0.26 days in the control group(P

The level of serum soluble interleukin 2 receptor(sIL-2R)was studied in 29chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) patients and in 18 normal individuals.It was found that sIL-2R level was significantly higher in the CPH patients than that in normal individuals(P

Objective To analyze the impact of lymphocyte subsets on chemotherapy efficacy and long-term survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods Totally 125 NSCLC patients who had received first-line chemotherapy including paclitaxel and pemetrexed with/without platinum were enrolled in this study.Lymphocytes from peripheral blood were collected before and after two cycles of first-line chemotherapy.Flow cytometry was performed to determine the expressions of 21 fluorescence-labeled lymphocyte subsets.Based on the imaging findings,chemotherapy efficacy was evaluated,and impact of the lymphocyte subsets on progression-free survival(PFS)and overall survival(OS)were analyzed.Results The baseline peripheral lymphocyte subsets showed no significant difference among groups receiving different treatment protocols(all P>0.05).After 2 cycles of chemotherapy,the percentage of CD4CD29lymphocytes was(16.87±5.28)% in progressive disease group,which was significantly lower than those in complete remission+partial remission group [(22.42±7.88)%,P=0.013] and stable disease group [(21.88±6.81)%,P=0.009].The median PFS was 7.07 months and median OS was 23.00 months.Cox multivariable regression analysis showed that the percentages of HLA-DR(HR:1.03,95%CI:1.01-1.05,P<0.001) and CDHLA-DRlymphocytes (HR:1.05,95%CI:1.01-1.08,P<0.001)were positively correlated with OS.Conclusions The rise of CD4CD29T lymphocytes in patients after chemotherapy indicates good chemotherapy efficacy.Higher percentage of HLA-DRand CD3HLA-DRlymphocytes in peripheral blood before chemotherapy predicts favorable prognosis.

Objective:Primary gastric choriocarcinoma (PGC) is a rare tumor. This study aimed to analyze cases reported in Chi-nese and two cases in our hospital. This study was also conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment of PGC. Meth-ods:The Chinese Medical Current Contents and China Biology Medicine database was retrieved with the following terms:primary gas-tric choriocarcinoma, stomach choriocarcinoma, and ectopic choriocarcinoma. The clinical data in published literature were retrospec-tively analyzed. Two cases from our hospital were also retrospectively analyzed. Results:A total of 16 patients with PGC (14 case stud-ies and 2 cases from our hospital) were included in this study. The average age of the patients was 57.69 years (ranging from 42 years to 79 years). Among the 16 patients, 4 were females and 12 were males. The main clinical manifestation was abdominal discomfort (12/16). Laboratory and imaging tests were non-specific, but HCG-βin all of the patients increased (11/11). Organ or lymph node metasta-sis was found in 13 patients, including 6 cases in which two or more organs showed metastasis. These organs were primarily the liver, the stomach lymph nodes, the lungs, the brain, and the abdominal cavity. Pathological examination results showed that 12 of the 16 cas-es displayed ulcers with necrosis and hemorrhage. The four remaining cases manifested lesions. Lesions may occur in the stomach less-er curvature (5 cases), stomach sinus (6 cases), cardiac (2 cases), and gastric body (3 cases). The histological components of PGC co-ex-isted with other factors, such as adenocarcinoma (7 cases), adenocarcinoma and squamous (2 cases), adenocarcinoma and a signet ring cell (1 case), or pure choriocarcinoma (6 cases). Surgery combined with chemotherapy was the main treatment. A total of 14 patients un-derwent surgical operations. Among these patients seven underwent chemotherapy after surgery and one underwent chemotherapy. Among the 10 patients who were followed up, 8 died within six months after diagnosis. Conclusion:PGC is a rare stomach cancer with poor prognosis and primarily affects older men. No characteristic clinical manifestations were observed, but HCG-βas a specific serum tumor biomarker increased in all of the affected patients. Histological components co-existed with other stomach cancers. Surgical exci-sion combined with chemotherapy was the preferred treatment in early stages, and systemic chemotherapy was the recommended treat-ment in advanced stages.

OBJECTIVETo assess the prognostic value of CD20(+) tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in early-stage breast cancer.

METHODSParaffin sections were collected from 130 cases of stage I-III breast cancer undergoing surgery between January, 2000 and December, 2002 in our hospital. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze mesenchymal CD20(+) TILs infiltration in the tumor and evaluate its association with the density of CD4(+) and CD8(+) TILs. The association of CD20(+) TILs was evaluated with the histopathologic features, overall survival (OS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) of the patients.

RESULTSAggregations of CD20(+) lymphocytes were observed in 37.69% (49/130) of the cases. CD3(+) T cells were found to aggregate around CD20(+) B cell aggregations to form lymphoid follicle-like structures. The aggregations of CD20(+) TILs were positively correlated with the densities of mesenchymal CD8+ and CD4(+) TILs. Overall, CD20(+) TIL aggregations were not significantly correlated with the outcomes of the patients, but multivariate COX regressions suggested that CD20(+) TIL aggregations were positively correlated with DDFS (HR=0.251, 95% CI=0.071-0.894, P=0.033) and OS (HR=0.325, 95% CI=0.103-1.028, P=0.056) in hormone receptor-negative patients but not in the positive patients. Further analysis suggested that post-operative adjuvant endocrine therapy significantly improved the OS of patients positive for hormone receptors without CD20(+) TIL aggregations (P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONThe long-term therapeutic effects of adjuvant endocrine therapy are correlated with CD20(+) TIL aggregations to affect prognostic value of CD20(+) TIL aggregations in early-stage breast cancer patients.

Antigens, CD20 ; metabolism ; B-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; Breast Neoplasms ; immunology ; pathology ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating ; cytology ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate