Malignant tumor have hypoxic cell fraction, which makes radio-resistant and hypoxia in tumor is a result from the blood flow decrease caused by increase in blood flow resistance. Blood viscosity increase is major factor of increased blood flow resistance and it could be attributed to the decrease in blood deformability index. For the evaluation of the change of blood viscosity and blood deformability in oral squamous cell carcinoma, we perform the test of the change of those factors between the normal control group and oral squamous cell carcinoma cell patient group. Relative viscosity measured against distilled water was 5.25+/-0.14 for normal control group, and 5.78+/-0.26 for the SCC patient group and there was statistical significance between the groups. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in blood viscosity between the groups by tumor size (T1+T2 vs T3+T4). Also, there was no significant difference between the normal control group and SCC patient group in blood deformability index and between the groups by tumor size (T1+T2 vs T3+T4). Increase in blood viscosity was confirmed with this study and it can be postulated that modification blood viscosity might contribute to decrease of hypoxia fraction in oral squamous cell carcinoma, thus improve the effect of radiotherapy and it can be assumed that the main factor of blood viscosity increase is not decrease of blood deformability in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Anoxia ; Blood Viscosity* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Humans ; Radiotherapy ; Viscosity ; Water

BACKGROUND: About 30% to 40% of the patients with pathologic stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) die within 5 years after complete resection. The identification of poor prognostic factors and the application of additional treatment are very important to improve the survival rate in resected stage I NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-eight (68) patients who had been diagnosed postoperatively between Janury 1989 and December 1995 as having stage I non-small cell lung cancer according to the TNM classification were studied. The postoperative 5-year survival rate was calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method, and clinico-histopathologic factors including age, sex, operative method, type of tumor cell, T factor, grade of the differentiation in a squamous cell carcinoma, invasion of blood vessel and expression of the nm23-H1 protein were investigated and analyzed. RESULTS: The median survival of the entire group of patients was 58+/-3 months, with a 5-year survival of 58.9%. In univariate analysis, invasion of blood vessel and poor differentiation of the tumor cell in a squamous cell carcinoma significantly worsened the survival. In multivariate analysis, invasion of blood vessel and grade of the differentiation of the tumor cells in a squamous cell carcinoma remained independent prognostic factors. High expression of the nm23-H1 protein was related to a high postoperative 5-year survival in comparision with low expression of the nm23-H1 pretein (73.0% vs 50.7%), but there was no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the negative prognostic value of poor differentiation of tumor cells in a squamous cell carcinoma and invasion of blood vessel in stage I non-small cell lung cancer. Also, further studies are necessary to be determined prognostic value of the T factor and expression of the nm23 protein in non-small cell lung cancer.
Blood Vessels ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Classification ; Humans ; Lung ; Multivariate Analysis ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tumor angiogenesis is an essential process required for growth and metastasis of cancer. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is one of angiogenetic factors, and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (CD-31) is the commonly used marker to identify the vessel. It is unclear that the degree of angiogenesis and expression of bFGF are related to the growth and metastasis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. We examined the expression of bFGF and degree of angiogenesis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and compared them to normal larynx. Relationship between bFGF and angiogenesis to growth and nodal metastasis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma was also evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical study for bFGF and CD-31 were performed to detect the angiogenetic factor and degree of angiogenesis in 24 squamous cell carcinoma of larynx and 6 normal laryngeal tissue. Relationship of bFGF expression and degree of angiogenesis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were compared to that in normal larynx. We evaluated relationship of expression of bFGF and degree of angiogenesis to primary stage and nodal stage in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. RESULTS: These expression of bFGF and degree of angiogenesis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were significantly higher than in the normal control (p<0.05). The degree of angiogensis were significantly correlated with bFGF expression (p<0.05): the bFGF expression and degree of angiogenesis were not correlated to the nodal stage, but to the primary stage in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that bFGF and angiogenesis may play an important role in the growth of larygeal squamous cell carcinoma.
Blood Platelets ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Endothelial Cells ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; Larynx ; Neoplasm Metastasis

To explore the changes of serum microRNA-183 levels in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its clinical significance.
 Methods: Fifty-one patients with ESCC and 55 healthy subjects from Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South Unicersity were selected for this study. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to determine the level of miRNA-183 in serum samples. Chi-square test and correlation analysis were used to investigate the relationship between serum miRNA-183 level and clinical and pathological parameters of ESCC. Diagnostic efficiency of miRNA-183 and combined carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) examination for ESCC was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.
 Results: 1) The levels of miR-183 in the patients with ESCC (4.47±1.54) were elevated compared with that in the healthy subjects (2.03±0.96), with significant difference (t=9.700, P<0.01). 2) The levels of serum miR-183 in ESCC patients were significantly different among patients with different TNM stages (χ2=4.049, P<0.01), which was not affected by gender, age, smoking, drinking, tumor location, tumor diameter, lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion and differentiation (all P>0.05). The levels of miR-183 were not associated with the serum CEA levels (P>0.05). 3) When the ROC curve analysis was used to diagnose ESCC with the optimal cutoff value of 4.502 for miR-183, the sensitivity, the specificity, the area under the curve (AUC) and 95% confidence interval was 78.9%, 76.2%, 0.762 and 0.830-0.922, respectively. When combined detection of serum miR-183 and CEA was used to diagnose ESCC, the sensitivity, specificity, AUC and 95% confidence interval was 82.3%, 92.6%, 0.877 and 0.814-0.935, respectively.
 Conclusion: Serum miRNA-183 levels in ESCC patients may be increased, which can improve the diagnostic efficiency of ESCC when combined with CEA. Serum miRNA-183 levels is related with tumor TNM stage, which contributes to the judgment of tumor progression and efficacy prediction.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; blood ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma ; blood ; diagnosis ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; blood ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVETo identify serum diagnosis or progression biomarkers in patients with lung cancer using protein chip profiling analysis.

METHODProfiling analysis was performed on 450 sera collected from 213 patients with lung cancer, 19 with pneumonia, 16 with pulmonary tuberculosis, 65 with laryngeal carcinoma, 55 with laryngopharyngeal carcinoma patients, and 82 normal individuals. A new strategy was developed to identify the biomarkers on chip by trypsin pre-digestion.

RESULTSProfiling analysis demonstrated that an 11.6 kDa protein was significantly elevated in lung cancer patients, compared with the control groups (P < 0.001). The level and percentage of 11.6 kDa protein progressively increased with the clinical stages I-IV and were also higher in patients with squamous cell carcinoma than in other subtypes. This biomarker could be decreased after operation or chemotherapy. On the other hand, 11.6 kDa protein was also increased in 50% benign diseases of lung and 13% of other cancer controls. After trypsin pre-digestion, a set of new peptide biomarkers was noticed to appear only in the samples containing a 11.6 kDa peak. Further identification showed that 2177 Da was a fragment of serum amyloid A (SAA, MW 11.6 kDa). Two of the new peaks, 1550 Da and 1611 Da, were defined from the same protein by database searching. This result was further confirmed by partial purification of 11.6 kDa protein and MS analysis.

CONCLUSIONSAA is a useful biomarker to monitor the progression of lung cancer and can directly identify some biomarkers on chip.

Adenocarcinoma ; blood ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoma, Small Cell ; blood ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; blood ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Peptides ; blood ; Protein Array Analysis ; Serum Amyloid A Protein ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the serum levels of sCD44v6 and sE-cadherin (sE-cad) in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

METHODSThe serum samples were collected from 65 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, 32 cases of erosive esophagitis and 35 healthy subjects. Serum sCD44v6 and sE-cad levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTSThe mean levels of serum sCD44v6 and sE-cad in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients were significantly higher than those of erosive esophagitis patients and normal controls (both P<0.05). There was no significant difference in serum sCD44v6 and sE-cad levels between erosive esophagitis patients normal controls (P=0.566 and P=0.708, respectively). Serum sCD44v6 and sE-cad levels of esophageal cancer patients were not correlated with their clinicopathological features. Serum sCD44v6 level is not correlated with sE-cad level in squamous cell carcinoma patients(P=0.651).

CONCLUSIONSerum sCD44v6 and sE-cad might be a potential marker for screening of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cadherins ; blood ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; blood ; pathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Hyaluronan Receptors ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo determine the plasma DNA level and investigate its clinicopathological significance in women with cervical cancers.

METHODSBlood samples were collected from 42 cervical cancer patients, 20 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III (CINIII) and 20 healthy women. The plasma DNA was extracted using a commercial kit and detected by a fluorescentmeter.

RESULTSThe mean plasma DNA level in stage I cervical cancer patients was 12.78-/+5.58 ng/ml, significantly higher than that in CINIII patients (8.10-/+3.06 ng/ml) and normal controls (7.60-/+3.87 ng/ml) (P=0.001). The mean DNA level in stage II-III patients was 17.99-/+7.81 ng/ml, significantly higher than that in stage I patients (P=0.02). No significant difference was found in plasma DNA level between CINIII patients and the normal controls (P>0.05). When the cut-off for diagnosis of cervical cancer was 15.70 ng/ml, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 38.10%, 92.50%, 84.21% and 58.73%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONPlasma DNA level is closely related with malignant transformation and development of cervical cancer, and may become a useful means for differential diagnosis of cervical cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; blood ; diagnosis ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; blood ; diagnosis ; DNA, Neoplasm ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis

Fibronectin(FN) is a major component of the extracellular matrix and is able to bind to cells and other components of the matrix. Although the cell producing the largest amounts of fibronectin is fibroblast, the pro duct,ion on FN also has been described in cultured keratinocyt,e and epithelial tumor cells of basal cell carcinoma(BCC). Recently, functional role nf FN in relation to biologic behavior of BCC and squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) is open to speculation. The authors investigated the localization of FN in the lesional skin of 5 cases of BCC, 4 of SCC, 5 of psoriasis and 5 normal skin using direct immunofluorescence technique with antifibronectin antibody to find out the production of FN in keratinocytes and tumor cells. 1. In the skin of BCC, FN was presented in a thick, linear depositions along the margin of tumor lobules in all cases, and as fillamentous deposits or scattered points in the nest of tumor cells in 3 cases. 2. In the skin of SCC, FN was presented in a thin, coarse depositions around the margin of tumor but not presented within the tumor nest in all cases. R. In psoriasis, FN was observed in horney layer and upper part of epidermis. It was presented more abundantly in dermo-epidermal junction, papillary and reticular dermis than in normal skin. 4. In normal skin, FN was absent in the epidermis but presented in dermo-epidermal junction and blood vessel wall of upper dermis, the amount of FN was decreased from papillary to lower dermis.
Blood Vessels ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibroblasts ; Fibronectins* ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct ; Keratinocytes ; Psoriasis* ; Skin*

It is well known that malignant tumor have hypoxic cell fraction, which is radio resistant and is one of the most important cause of local recurrence after radiotherapy. One of the causes of hypoxia in tumor is blood flow decrease due to increase in blood flow resistance and one of the causes of increased blood flow resistance could be attributed to the increase in blood viscosity. For the evaluation of the change of blood viscosity in oral cancer, experiments were carried out to test the change of blood viscosity among the normal control and xenografted oral cancer nude mice. Relative viscosity measured against distilled water was 3.30+/-0.14 for normal control, and 3.67+/-0.62 for tumor bearing mice at the first time of blood sampling in experimental period (100 mm3 < tumor volume < 200 mm3). There was no statistically significant difference between the control group and experimental group (P>0.05). However, as the tumor grew, significant difference of blood viscosity was detected at the third time of blood sampling (control group:3.37+/-0.59, and experimental group: 4.31+/-0.41 300 mm3 < tumor volume, p<0.05). Increase in blood viscosity was confirmed with this experimental study and it can be postulated that modification blood viscosity might contribute to decrease of hypoxia fraction in oral cancer, thus improve the effect of radiotherapy.
Animals ; Anoxia ; Blood Viscosity* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Heterografts ; Mice ; Mice, Nude* ; Mouth Neoplasms ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Tumor Burden ; Viscosity ; Water

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the most common head and neck cancer, shows poor prognosis as a result of frequent local invasion and lymph node metastasis that is mediated by multiple proteolytic enzymes and angiogenesis. In recent reports, angiogenesis is known to play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of angiogenesis in OSCCs, particularly with respect to the invasive and the metastatic potential. The microvessel density (CD31) in 34 human OSCC cases were investigated by immunohistochemistry, and reviewed with respect to the invasiveness and the presence of lymph node metastasis and following results were obtained. The blood vessel density (28.8+/-7.9) in the strong invasive cases were significantly higher than those (23.3+/-6.9) in the weak invasive cases. (p < 0.05) In the 14 cases with lymph node metastasis, the average blood vessel density was 28.5+/-9.6. On the other hand, in the 20 cases without lymph node metastasis, the blood vessel density was 25.2+/-6.4. The blood vessel density was not statistically related to lymph node metastasis. (p > 0.05) These results suggest that angiogenesis may be related to the local invasion of OSCC and further research will be needed to investigate the possibility that antiangiogenic agent can be used as an anticancer agent for OSCC.
Blood Vessels ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Hand ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; Microvessels* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Prognosis