Objective To screen out probable lynch syndrome (LS) associated endometrial cancer (EC) by investigating the expression of mismatch repair (MMR) protein in EC, and to analyze the disease traits combined with clinicopathologic characteristics. Methods The expressions of MSH2, MSH6, MLH1 and PMS2 were detected by using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 443 EC patients. Results In 443 EC patients, 328 cases (74%) with all MMR proteins expression were classified as sporadic EC, and 115 cases (26%) cases with loss expression of at least one MMR protein were regarded as probable LS. MMR-deficient cases mostly showed a loss of MLH1/PMS2 expression (42%), followed by the absence of MSH2/MSH6 (23%), MSH6 (17%), PMS2 (17%) and MSH6/MLH1/PMS2 (3%). Compared with the sporadic EC group, obesity was not found in probable LS group (body mass index<28 kg/m2) (P=0.040), and high tumor grade was common (P=0.012); There was no significant difference between the two groups in age, the incidence of diabetes or hypertension, family history of cancer or histological type, tumor location, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, myometrial invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymphatic or vascular invasion (all P> 0.05). A higher tumor grade was more common in the MSH6 and PMS2 deficient groups. Conclusions Compared with sporadic EC, the absence of obesity, a high grade tumor are more common in probable LS cases.

Objective:To investigate the morphological and biological characteristics of polyploid tumor giant cells (PGCC) produced by ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 induced by CoCl 2. Methods:Human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 was induced-cultured with 300 μmol/L CoCl 2 in the simulated hypoxic environment for 36 h, the live cells continued to be conventionally cultured and passaged, and the cells collected 20 days later were PGCC group; SKOV3 cell line cultured conventionally was the control group. The formation process and morphological characteristics of PGCC were observed by inverted microscope. The expression of tumor stem cell markers OCT4 and CD117 were detected by immunocytochemistry. The adipogenic differentiation and osteogenic differentiation potential of PGCC were detected by using human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell adipogenic differentiation assay kit and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell osteogenic differentiation assay kit.The cell migration ability of PGCC was detected by scratch assay. PGCC group and control group SKOV3 cells were treated with 1 μmol/L paclitaxel, and the cell morphology of the two groups was observed by microscope at 0, 24 and 48 h to detect the resistance of PGCC to chemotherapy drugs. Results:A small amount of PGCC was observed in SKOV3 cell line cultured in conventional medium under the microscope. CoCl 2 can induce SKOV3 cells to form PGCC, which was nearly round in shape and lacked branching. Its volume was 3 times or more than that of SKOV3 cells, and the nuclei were usually megakaryons or multinucleates, PGCC can produce daughter cells by budding. Immunocytochemical staining showed that OCT4 was positive in some PGCC, but no CD117 was positive. Neither OCT4 nor CD117 was expressed in SKOV3 cells. When cultured with lipid-induced differentiation medium of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, the formation of large vacuoles in the cytoplasm of PGCC was observed at the 3rd cycle, and orange-red, round-like lipid droplets were shown by oil red O staining. Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were cultured in osteogenic induction culture medium for 20 days, and alizarin red staining showed that calcium nodules formed significantly in cells of PGCC group compared with the control group. The cell scratch assay results showed that the migration rates of PGCC cultured in serum-free medium [(59±1)%, (66±3)%] were higher than those of the control group [(11±3)%, (14±5)%] at 24 and 48 h after scratch ( t values were 32.20 and 19.55, both P < 0.001). The migration rates of PGCC cultured in 10% serum medium [(92±3)%, (100±0)%] were higher than those of the control group [(20±6)%, (59±9)%] ( t values were 16.19 and 8.00, both P < 0.001). After 1 μmol/L paclitaxel treatment for 48 h, most of the cells in the PGCC group still survived, while most of the SKOV3 cells in the control group died. Conclusions:PGCC produces daughter cells by budding. PGCC has the characteristics of tumor stem cells: it expresses tumor stem cell markers and has the potential for multidirectional differentiation and strong resistance to chemotherapy drugs.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between expressions of OCT-4, CD117 and clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer. Methods: A total of 70 paraffin-embedded tissues of patients with ovarian cancer from January 2010 to February 2016 in Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital were collected. The expressions of OCT-4 and CD117 were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: OCT-4 was mainly expressed in cytoplasm, while CD117 was expressed in cell membrane and cytoplasm. The positive expression rate of OCT-4 was 74.3% (52/70), and the positive expression rate of CD117 was 68.6% (48/70). The positive expression rates of OCT-4 in ovarian cancer tissues with poorly differentiation and high CA125 levels (≥500 U/ml), no peritoneal effusion and sensitive to chemotherapy drugs were 92.1% (35/38), 87.5% (28/32), 88.9% (24/27), and 78.7% (48/61), respectively, which were higher than those in ovarian cancer tissues with well and moderately differentiation, low CA125 levels (<500 U/ml), peritoneal effusion and resistance to chemotherapy drugs, the differences were statistically significant (P values were 0.000, 0.020, 0.047, and 0.043). The positive expression rates of CD117 in ovarian cancer tissues with poorly differentiation and peritoneal effusion were 84.2% (32/38) and 79.1% (34/43), respectively, which were higher than those in ovarian cancer tissues with well and moderately differentiation and no peritoneal effusion, the differences were statistically significant (P values were 0.006 and 0.017). Patients with OCT-4-positive expression, peritoneal effusion, and poorly differentiation had a shorter overall survival time (all P < 0.05). The peritoneal effusion and differentiation were independent prognostic factors in patients with ovarian cancer (both P < 0.05). Conclusion OCT-4 can be used as an important reference for predicting drug sensitivity and evaluating prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer.