Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Brain Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; secondary ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Quinazolines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy and toxicity of vinorelbine (N) and epirubicin (E) as the neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen in the treatment of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).

METHODSFrom September 2001 to December 2004, 158 patients with LABC were treated with NE chemotherapy before operation. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy containing vinorelbine (N), 25 mg/m(2) (days 1 and 8) and epirubicin (E), 60 mg/m(2) (days 1) was administered every 3 weeks for three cycles before local treatment.

RESULTSResponse in the breast: the clinical objective response was 81.6% [23.4% (37/158) cCR and 58.2% (92/158) PR], 16.5% (26/158) SD and 1.9% (3/158) PD. Pathological complete response was found in 29 cases (18.3%). Eighteen cases (26.5%) who have positive FNA result in the axillary lymphnode before chemotherapy showed negative result in the surgery specimen. The most common toxicities were neutropenia, alopecia and nausea/vomiting. Neutropenia grade 3 - 4 was reported in 111 patients (70.3%) and there was no toxic deaths.

CONCLUSIONSThe combination of vinorelbine and epirubicin is a very active and well-tolerated regimen as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the LABC.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Epirubicin ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Treatment Outcome ; Vinblastine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives

OBJECTIVETo study the "hot spot" of BRCA1/2 gene mutations in Chinese mainland breast cancer population.

METHODSThe known BRCA1/2 gene mutations in author's previous studies were reanalyzed by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography and DNA sequencing method in 177 patients with early onset breast cancer or affected relatives and 426 sporadic breast cancer patients from four breast cancer centers in China.

RESULTSThree cases were found with BRCA1 5589del8 mutation out of 247 hereditary-predisposing breast cancer patients (70 patients in previous study and 177 patients in current study) and 2 cases with BRCA1 5589del8 mutation out of 426 sporadic breast cancer patients. They had similar even same haplotype.

CONCLUSIONBRCA1 5589del8 mutation is likely to be the "founder mutation" in Chinese population, but it should be confirmed by further studies.

Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; BRCA1 Protein ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Breast Neoplasms ; ethnology ; genetics ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Humans ; Mutation

AIM:To investigate the effect of lutein on the viability of breast cancer cells and its possible mech -anism.METHODS:The human breast cancer T47D cells were divided into control group and lutein(6.25,12.5,25,50 mg/L)treatment groups.The effect of lutein on the viability of T47D cells was measured by MTT assay.The mRNA ex-pression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2),glutathione peroxidase 1(GPx1)and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2)was detected by RT-qPCR.Fluorescent probes DCFH-DA was used to determine the production of reactive oxygen species(ROS).The protein expression of Nrf2 and p65 was determined by Western blot.RESULTS: The MTT results showed that lutein inhibited T47D breast cancer cell viability in a dose-and time-dependent manner.The RT-qPCR results showed that the mRNA levels of Nrf2, GPx1 and SOD2 were higher in lutein treatment groups than those in the control group(P<0.05),and with the increased concentrations and extension of intervention time of lutein, the relative mRNA levels were all increased.The ROS levels were significantly decreased in the lutein-treated groups(P<0.05).The results of Western blot demonstrated that the protein expression of Nrf 2 was significantly increased(P<0.05), and p65 protein was decreased(P<0.05)in a dose-dependent manner with lutein treatment for 48 h.CONCLUSION: Lutein signifi-cantly inhibits the viability of breast cancer cells,and the inhibition roles may be related to up-regulation of the expression of Nrf2,antioxidant enzymes GPx1 and SOD2 mRNA expression and down-regulation of oxidative stress,thus blocking the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective::To investigate the correlation between the characteristics and internal quality of Ophiopogonis Radix from Sichuan province through various quality evaluation, and provide reference for the formulation of grading standard of this herb. Method::For 28 batches of Ophiopogonis Radix, the characters, microscopic characteristics, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), the content of moisture, ash content, acid insoluble ash content, residues of sulfur dioxide, heavy metals, hazardous elements and paclobutrazol, water-soluble extract, contents of total saponins and three major components [ophiopogonin D (OPD), methylophiopogonanone A (MPOA) and methylophiopogonanone B (MPOB)] were determined.The relationships between various indicators and the grade of Ophiopogonis Radix were analyzed. Result::Ophiopogonis Radix exhibited specific properties in characters, microscopic characteristics and TLC.The contents of impurity, moisture, total ash, acid-insoluble ash and water-soluble extract existed differences in four grades of Ophiopogonis Radix from Sichuan province.For grade Ⅰ, grain number was 80-120 grains per 50 g, the moisture content was 11.1%-14.9%, total ash content was 1.6%-2.1%, acid-insoluble ash content was 0.03%-0.14%, water-soluble extract content was 77.0%-86.5%.For grade Ⅱ, grain number was 120-160 grains per 50 g, the moisture content was 13.1%-14.2%, total ash content was 1.3%-2.2%, acid-insoluble ash content was 0.06%-0.22%, water-soluble extract content was 75.9%-83.3%.For grade Ⅲ, grain number was 160-300 grains per 50 g, the impurity was 0.2%-8.4%, the moisture content was 12.6%-14.0%, total ash content was 1.2%-1.5%, acid-insoluble ash content was 0.06%-0.22%, water-soluble extract content was 74.0%-86.5%.For grade Ⅳ, grain number was 80-300 grains per 50 g, impurity was 1.2%-22.6%, the moisture content was 13.0%-15.4%, the total ash content was 1.4%-2.0%, acid-insoluble ash content was 0.03%-0.15%, water-soluble extract content was 79.8%-85.2%. Conclusion::It is reasonable and feasible to classify the grade of Ophiopogonis Radix from Sichuan province according to the appearance characteristics such as the grain number per 50 g and internal indexes such as impurity and water-soluble extract, which can be used as a reference for grading standards of Ophiopogonis Radix from Sichuan province.