Objective To investigate the antitumor therapeutic effect of combined therapy of magnetic induction heating by nano-magnetic particles, herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene(HSV-tk suicide gene) and internal radiation in mice bearing MCF-7 breast carcinoma. Methods The transfection reagents, plasmids heat shock protein-HSV-tk (pHSP-HSV-tk), ferroso-ferric oxide nano-magnetic fluid flow and 188Re-ganciclovir-bovine serum albumin-nanopaticles (GCV-BSA-NP) were prepared. The heating experiments in vivo were carried out using ferroso-ferric oxide nano-magnetic fluid flow. Sixty mice tumor models bearing MCF-7 breast carcinoma were established and randomly divided into six groups. Group A was the control group, B was gene transfection therapy group, C was hyperthermia group, D was gene transfection therapy combined with radionuclide brachytherapy group, E was gene therapy combined with hyperthermia group, and F was gene therapy, hyperthermia combined with radionuclide brachytherapy group. The tumor growth, tumor mass and histopathological changes were evaluated. The expression of HSV-tk in the groups of B, D, E and F was detected by RT-PCR. Poisson distribution and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for statistical analysis by SPSS 10.0 software. Results In the animal heating experiments, the temperature of tumor increased up to 39.6 ℃, 43.2 ℃, and 48.1 ℃ quickly with different injected doses (2, 4 and 6 mg respectively) of nano-magnetic particles and maintained for 40 min. The temperature of tumor tissue reduced to 36.8 ℃, 37.5 ℃ and 37.8 ℃ in 10 min when alternating magnetic field (AMF) stopped. The tumor mass in Groups C ((452.50 ±30.29) mg), D ((240.98 ±35.32)mg), E((231.87 ±27.41) mg) and F ((141.55 ±23.78) mg) were much lower than that in Group A ((719.12±22.65) mg) (F=800.07, P＜0. 01), with the most significant treatment effect in Group F.The tumor mass in Group B((684.05 ±24.02) mg) was higher than that in Group D (t =32. 805, P ＜0. 05). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of HSV-tk in Groups B and D (0.33 ±0. 13 and 0. 46 ±0.12) was significantly different from that in Groups E and F (0.66 ±0.13 and 0.74 ±0. 11)(F = 21. 573, P ＜ 0.05). Conclusion Combined use of hyperthermia, gene therapy and radionuclide brachytherapy could effectively depress the growth of MCF-7 breast carcinoma, thus possessing treatment potential for this tumor.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the biological features and the treatment efficacy and prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia subtype M2 (AML-M2) patients with chromosome 8 and 21 translocation.

METHODSBy using Cox regression model and Kaplan-Meier analyses, prognostic factors in 54 cases of de novo adult AML with t(8;21) in our institute from 1990 to 2003 were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTThe complete remission (CR) rates were 81.9% for all M2 patients, 82.4% for patients with normal karyotype, 88.5% for patients with t(8;21) [P > 0.05 for normal karyotype vs t(8;21)], 100.0% for 28 patients with t(8;21) alone and 75.0% for 24 patients with additional chromosome abnormalities (P < 0.01). The actuarial 3 year overall survival(OS) was 26% for M2 patients with normal karyotype, 25% for patients with t(8;21) [P > 0.05 for normal karyotype vs t(8;21)], in whole t(8;21) group, 46.4% for patients with t(8;21) alone and 0% for patients with additional chromosome abnormalities (P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors showed that chromosome abnormalities besides t(8;21) was the only factor affecting CR, disease-free survival (DFS) and OS. DFS of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and intermediate-dose cytarabine/high dose cytarabine (IDAC) groups were better than the group received routine dose cytarabine as postremission therapy (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONAML with t(8;21) is not a single defined AML subset, and patients with additional chromosome abnormalities have a worse prognosis. HSCT and IDAC could improve the outcome. HSCT is the best choice for patients with high risks, especially with additional chromosome abnormalities.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21 ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8 ; genetics ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; genetics ; surgery ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Translocation, Genetic

To investigate the cytogenetic and clinical characteristics of inv(3q) (q21q26) and t(3;3) (q21; q26) aberrations as well as prognosis, cases were collected and chromosome specimens of bone marrow cells were prepared by 24-hour culture, while G-banding technique was used to perform karyotyping. The results showed that the simple inv(3q) and t(3; 3) aberrations were rare, they commonly combined with other chromosome aberrations such as -7/7q- and t (9; 22). The involved diseases included myelodysplastic syndromes, acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia in blast crisis. Out of 24 patients, 2 patients diagnosed with M(5) subtype did not achieve complete remission after multiple chemotherapy; 2 patients received allogenic stem cell transplantation relapsed. It is concluded that 3q21q26 aberration commonly combined with chromosome aberration 7/7q-, for these patients the efficacy of chemical therapy is poor, the efficacy of bone marrow transplant is too poor, these patients with inv(3q) and t(3; 3) aberrations have poor prognosis and short overall survival.
Adult ; Aged ; Chromosome Inversion ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3 ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7 ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; genetics ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; genetics ; Prognosis ; Translocation, Genetic ; Young Adult

The purpose of this study was to explore the significance of abnormal karyotype in diagnosis and prognosis estimation of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Chromosome analysis were performed in 306 cases of MDS using the short-term culture of bone marrow cell and G-banding technique, and in partial cases FISH technique was used for this analysis. 93 out of 306 cases were followed up. The results showed that 144 cases (47.1%) had clonal chromosome aberrations. The most common chromosomal aberrations included +8, translocation, complex or high complex karyotype, -7/7q-, 20q-/-20, trisomy 1 or partial trisomy 1, +11/+11q-, -9/9q-, +9/9q+, -Y, dup(1q), +21. The rate of abnormal karyotype in refractory anemia with erythroblasts (RAEB) and refractory anemia with erythroblasts-transformation (RAEBT) were much higher than in refractory anemia (RA) and refractory anemia with sideroblasts (RAS) (P < 0.05). The rate of abnormal karyotype among those cases with mutagen contact history were higher than those in cases without mutagen contact history. The patients with abnormal karyotype had a mean survival time much shorter than patients with normal karyotype (P < 0.005) and had a higher risk transforming into acute leukemia (P < 0.05). The worst outcome was observed in those patients with a complex or high complex karyotype, -7/7q- and trisomy 11. In conclusion, MDS is highly heterogeneous disorders and karyotype analysis is helpful for its diagnosis, treatment selection and prognosis estimation.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Female ; Humans ; Karyotyping ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; genetics ; mortality ; Prognosis

To investigate the cytogenetic and clinical characteristics in patients with abnormalities at the short arm of chromosome 12, chromosome specimens were prepared by 24-hour culture of bone marrow cells and undergone karyotype analysis by G-banding technique. The results showed that aberration at the short arm of chromosome 12 were detected in 16 cases with 12p balanced translocation, in 10 cases with 12p deletion, 6 cases with 12p addition, and in 1 case with inversion 12. By complex karyotype classification, 12p translocation included 6 simple aberrations, 6 complex aberrations, and 4 highly complex aberrations; while 12p deletion were mainly composed of highly complexity of aberration. Patients consisted of acute leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic myelogenous leukemia and so on. Clinical follow-up data were available in 14 patients, in which 8 cases of acute leukemia were treated with conventional chemotherapy only. Three of them attained complete remission, and the median survival time in 8 patients was 5.5 months. In conclusion, the aberrations at short arm of chromosome 12 were involved in a broad spectrum of haematological malignancies, and the karyotypes showed most complexity of aberration with low remission rate and short survival in clinic.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12 ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; genetics ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; genetics

Ph chromosome occurs in nearly all patients with CML, and eliminating Ph-positive clone is a major target in the treatment of CML. IFN-alpha is a well-known effective treatment in chronic phase CML. The cytogenetic response and the prognostic factors in 128 CML patients treated with IFN-alpha were retrospectively studied. IFN-alpha administered singly at a dose of 3 million U/day for 2 - 3 times a week or in combination with either hydroxyurea (Hu), busulfan (Bu), low dose Ara-C or harringtonine. Karyotyping was examined by G-banding before and after IFN-alpha-based treatment. The results showed that all patients achieved complete hematological remission. Cytogenetic response occurred in 36 of 118 patients with standard t (9;22) translocation; 3 of these 36 patients had a complete cytogenetic response (Ph = 0), 13 had major cytogenetic responses (Ph < 35%) and 20 had minimal response (Ph > 35%). The total cytogenetic effectiveness was 13.6% (16/118). Four of seven patients with complicated variant translocation also achieved cytogenetic response, 2 of them had a major cytogenetic response and 2 had minimal response. Factors influenced the prognosis associated with cytogenetic response included sex, patient status at diagnosis and IFN-alpha administered singly or in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents. IFN-alpha could not prevent the progression of CML. It is concluded that Ph(+)CML patients with both standard and variant translocation had major cytogenetic response to IFN-alpha treatment at a dose of 6 - 9 million U/week in single or combination with Hu/Bu, however, IFN-alpha treatment could not prevent disease progression. Long term survival was also observed in patients with variant translocation treated with IFN-alpha. Regular cytogenesis examination in CML patients is necessary during IFN-alpha therapy, which is useful to reflect curative effect and progression of the disease.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22 ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 9 ; genetics ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; therapeutic use ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Chronic-Phase ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Translocation, Genetic ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate clonal evolution of abnormal Philadelphia chromosome-negative cells (Ph- CE) after imatinib mesylate therapy in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (Ph+ CML).

METHODSBone marrow cells G-banding karyotype was evaluated every 3 months in 100 patients with Ph+ CML after achieving hematologic responses on the course of imatinib therapy. There were 54 patients in chronic phase (CP), 37 in accelerated phase (AP) and 9 in blast phase (BP).

RESULTSAfter a median follow-up of 32 months (ranged 25-34 months), 11 patients, including 5 cases in CP, 5 in AP and 1 in BP, developed transient, interrupted or continuous Ph- CE after 3 - 29 months on imatinib therapy. Ph- CE emerged at the beginning of Ph+ cells decreasing or after Ph+ cells disappearing. The proportion of Ph- CE, was negatively correlated with the proportion of Ph+ cells (P < 0.05). Ph- CE commonly included +8 (45.5%) and +Y (27.3%). Five patients had additional cytogenetic abnormalities besides Ph+ in Ph- CE. Seven of the patients with Ph- CE achieved a major cytogenetic response while 9 of them achieved a complete hematologic response. One patient with Ph- CE in AP progressed to BP 20 months after the initiation of the therapy while the rests remained in hematologic or cytogenetic responses.

CONCLUSIONPh- CE occurred in about 11% of the patients with Ph+ CML who achieved major or minor cytogenetic responses on imatinib therapy. After a median follow-up of more than 2 years, most of the patients with Ph- CE were in a stable status with no disease progression.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; Clone Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Chronic, Atypical, BCR-ABL Negative ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Philadelphia Chromosome ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo identify the epidemical characteristics of suicidal tendency among middle-school students in cities of China and to explore the main factors leading to suicidal tendency in adolescents.

METHODSMulti-stage cluster sampling method was used to select 9015 students in grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively from 25 general middle schools in Beijing, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Urumqi of China in June 2006 and field investigation was carried out through "China Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) Questionnaire".

RESULTSAmong the students in the four cities, the incidence rates of suicidal ideation were from 14.4% to 20.8% with an average of 17.4%. The incidence rates of suicidal plan were from 6.8% to 9.7% with an average of 8.2% and were different among cities. 15.0% of the boys had suicidal ideation and 6.7% of them made a suicidal plan comparing to 19.7% of girls having had suicidal ideation and 9.5% of them made a suicidal plan. The two kinds of suicidal tendency in girls were all higher than those in boys. City, age, gender, grade, days and type of being bullied, depression, close friends and having received health education on coping with stresses were factors influencing suicidal tendency of students. Days of being bullied and suicidal tendency showed a dose-response relation.

CONCLUSIONSuicidal tendency seemed common in middle-school students. Training on 'coping the issue' should be strengthened and harmonious environment should be improved in middle-schools.

Adolescent ; China ; epidemiology ; Data Collection ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Students ; psychology ; Suicide ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data ; Urban Population

The aim of study was to investigate the importance of chromosome aberration in differential diagnosis of eosinophilia and the chromosomal aberrations involved in patients with clonal eosinophilia. 65 cases of eosinophilia were collected and chromosome specimens of bone marrow cells were prepared by 24-hour culture, and G-banding technique was used for karyotyping. The results showed that out of 65 cases, chromosome 16 inversion was detected in 9 patients suspected as M(4Eo), and among the other 56 cases, 5 were detected with chromosomal aberrations (8.9%). Combining clinical, hematological and cytogenetical data, the 5 patients were diagnosed as acute myeloid leukemia with eosinophilia, chronic eosinophilic leukemia, 8p11 myeloproliferative syndrome, chronic myeloid leukemia in acute phase and acute myeloid leukemia-M(4Eo) respectively. The detected chromosomal aberrations were +14, t (5; 12) (q31; p13), t (8; 9) (p11; q32), t (9; 22) (q34; q11) and inv (16) (p13 q22). In conclusion, cytogenetical detection is very important in differential diagnosis of clonal eosinophilic disorders and chronic eosinophilic leukemia, which is suggested to be done routinely in clinic.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16 ; genetics ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Eosinophilia ; diagnosis ; genetics ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypereosinophilic Syndrome ; diagnosis ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

The translocation t (8; 21) (q22; q22) frequently associated with additional chromosomal aberrations is one of the most recurrent chromosomal abnormalities in AML. Clinically, this type of AML usually shows some specific characteristics and has a good response to chemotherapy with a high remission rate and a relatively long median survival. On the other hand, some reports also showed poor prognosis in AML patients with t (8; 21), and the associated bad-prognosis factors have not been strongly established to date. To investigate this issue and to further identify the related characteristics of t (8; 21) AML in China, 75 Chinese AML patients with t (8; 21) were retrospectively analyzed. They comprised 68 cases of M(2), five of M(4) and two of M(5) according to FAB classification. The results indicated that Auer rods were observed in 39 patients (52%) and marrow eosinophilia was detected in only 5 patients (6.7%). These patients showed high level of HLA-DR and CD34 expression, while CD19 was detected in only 13 patients (20.9%). Cytogenetically, 62.5% cases had additional chromosomal abnormalities, and the main associated recurrent additional abnormalities were loss of a sex chromosome (LOS), trisomy 4, del (9q) and trisomy 8. After conventional induction therapy, 62 patients attained complete remission (CR) resulting in the CR rate 82.7%. With a follow-up of 1 to 96 months, 19 cases relapsed at a median time of 10.5 months (range 3 to 42 months). The median overall survival was 20 months, and the estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 32.3%. In multivariate analyses of prognostic factors, karyotype, extramedullary leukemia, age and post-remission therapy were of prognostic value for OS. Patients with additional chromosomal anomalies had shorter survival compared to those with t (8; 21) only (P = 0.019), no matter which kind of additional karyotype it was. Extramedullary leukemia was an adverse prognostic factor (P = 0.012). Patients aged 15 years or less had a longer survival than those aged more than 15 years (P = 0.045). Patients accepted HSCT in post-remission therapy had better outcome compared to those with chemotherapy only. It is concluded that Chinese AML patients with t (8; 21) had some different characteristics as compared with patients from other countries, a relatively poor outcome was observed in our patients, especially in those with extramedullary leukemia or additional chromosomal abnormalities. HSCT should be recommended to t (8; 21) AML in China, especially to those with adverse prognostic factors.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21 ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8 ; genetics ; Drug Therapy ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute ; genetics ; pathology ; therapy ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Translocation, Genetic