Objective To explore the features of patients with acute leukemia (AL) in Hematology Department of Shenzhen Hospital affliated to Beijing University during the past six years. Methods The data of the 1056 acute leukemia dignosed in our department between 2002-2007 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Results The male patients was predominant (male/female ratio was 1.78). The number of patients with acute myeloid leukemia(AML) was higher than that of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (AML/ALL ratio was 1.85). Most of the AML patients were young adult (65 %) and elderly ALL patients were very rare(1.33 %). AL cases were tended to increase gradually by year. The ratio of treatment-related AL in Shenzhen was lower than that reported literature in other countries. The major cause of the treatment-related AL were chemotherapy/radiotherapy and psoriasis treated with bimolane. Conclusion Some of the features of AL patients in China were further confirmed and some new features were also found in this study. These changes should be demonstrated by the next national epidemiology survey of leukemia.

BACKGROUNDResection of sacral chordomas is challenging. The anatomy is complex, and there are often no bony landmarks to guide the resection. Achieving adequate surgical margins is, therefore, difficult, and the recurrence rate is high. Use of computer navigation may allow optimal preoperative planning and improve precision in tumor resection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of computer navigation-aided resection of sacral chordomas.

METHODSBetween 2007 and 2013, a total of 26 patients with sacral chordoma underwent computer navigation-aided surgery were included and followed for a minimum of 18 months. There were 21 primary cases and 5 recurrent cases, with a mean age of 55.8 years old (range: 35-84 years old). Tumors were located above the level of the S3 neural foramen in 23 patients and below the level of the S3 neural foramen in 3 patients. Three-dimensional images were reconstructed with a computed tomography-based navigation system combined with the magnetic resonance images using the navigation software. Tumors were resected via a posterior approach assisted by the computer navigation. Mean follow-up was 38.6 months (range: 18-84 months).

RESULTSMean operative time was 307 min. Mean intraoperative blood loss was 3065 ml. For computer navigation, the mean registration deviation during surgery was 1.7 mm. There were 18 wide resections, 4 marginal resections, and 4 intralesional resections. All patients were alive at the final follow-up, with 2 (7.7%) exhibiting tumor recurrence. The other 24 patients were tumor-free. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Score was 27.3 (range: 19-30).

CONCLUSIONSComputer-assisted navigation can be safely applied to the resection of the sacral chordomas, allowing execution of preoperative plans, and achieving good oncological outcomes. Nevertheless, this needs to be accomplished by surgeons with adequate experience and skill.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chordoma ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sacrum ; surgery ; Spinal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the features of intraductal papilloma of the breast in mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and assess the diagnostic values of the two imaging modalities.

METHODSFifteen patients with intraductal papilloma of the breast confirmed surgically and pathologically underwent X-ray examination of the breast, and 11 of them also received enhanced MRI. The imaging findings by mammography and MRI were compared.

RESULTSEnhanced MRI clearly displayed the location and morphology of the intraductal papilloma, and 7 patients showed smooth tumor margins and 2 showed irregular margins. On T(1)WI, the lesions were isointense or slightly hypointense, and appeared isointense or slightly hyperintense on T(2)WI. Some of the intraductal papillomas were seen encapsulated in the dilated ductal. The varying enhancement features of the lesions increased the difficulty in distinguishing from carcinoma. Mammography identified intraductal papillomas only in 2 of the 15 cases (13%) with lesion feature similar to that found by MRI. Fine cluster calcification was found in 1 case.

CONCLUSIONMRI can more accurately define the location of the lesion than X-ray. In spite of some resemblance in the MRI findings between intraductal papillomas and breast carcinoma, MRI still serves as a useful diagnostic modality for intraductal papilloma that shows some characteristic findings.

Adult ; Aged ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mammography ; Middle Aged ; Papilloma, Intraductal ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of STK15 gene amplification and overexpression to genesis and development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).

METHODSSTK15 gene amplification in 40 cases carcinoma tissues and normal tissues as control was detected by differential PCR approach. STK15 mRNA and protein levels were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry method.

RESULTSIn 40 LSCC cases, STK15 gene amplification was found in 14 tumor tissues(35%), mRNA overexpression in 27 tumor tissues(67.5%), and protein upregulated in 29 tumor tissues(72.5%). Statistics analysis showed that STK15 gene amplification and mRNA overexpression were obviously associated to differentiation degree of LSCC, and protein overexpression was closely associated with both differentiation degree and pathological grades of LSCC.

CONCLUSIONThis research results suggest that STK15 gene amplification contributes to its mRNA and protein overexpression through affecting the exact replication of centrosome and separation of chromosomes. STK15 gene thus plays a role in LSCC oncogenesis and malignant progression.

Aurora Kinase A ; Aurora Kinases ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

PURPOSE: Although the interferon α (IFNα) signaling and the paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 (PITX2) have both been implicated in the progression of breast cancer (BCa), it remains obscure whether these two pathways act in a coordinated manner. We therefore aimed to elucidate the expression and function of PITX2 during the pathogenesis of endocrine resistance in BCa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PITX2 expression was assessed in BCa tissues using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry and in experimentally induced letrozole-resistant BCa cells using RT-qPCR and immunoblotting. Effects of PITX2 deregulation on BCa progression was determined by assessing MTT, apoptosis and xenograft model. Finally, using multiple assays, the transcriptional regulation of interferon-inducible transmembrane protein 1 (IFITM1) by PITX2 was studied at both molecular and functional levels. RESULTS: PITX2 expression was induced in letrozole-resistant BCa tissues and cells, and PITX2 induction by IFNα signaling powerfully protected BCa cells against letrozole insult and potentiated letrozole-resistance. Mechanistically, PITX2 enhanced IFNα-induced AKT activation by transactivating the transcription of IFITM1, thus rendering BCa cells unresponsive to letrozoleelicited cell death. Additionally, ablation of IFITM1 expression using siRNA substantially abolished IFNα-elicited AKT phosphorylation, even in the presence of PITX2 overexpression, thus sensitizing BCa cells to letrozole treatment. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that constitutive upregulation of PITX2/IFITM1 cascade is an intrinsic adaptive mechanism during the pathogenesis of letrozole-resistance, and modulation of PITX2/IFITM1 level using different genetic and pharmacological means would thus have a novel therapeutic potential against letrozole resistance in BCa.
Apoptosis ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Cell Death ; Heterografts ; Immunoblotting ; Immunohistochemistry ; Interferons ; Phosphorylation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Transcription Factors ; Transcriptional Activation ; Up-Regulation

Adult ; Central Nervous System Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Ciliary Body ; pathology ; Humans ; Male

BACKGROUND: Herpes virus is considered to be the pathogen of acute retinal necrosis (ARN) infection. Previous studies have found that patients with ARN caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) are often older, and patients with herpes simplex virus (HSV) induced ARN are considerably younger. However, in our clinical work, we find that VZV is also a pathogen in younger ARN patients. We, therefore, aimed to analyze the common etiology of younger ARN patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made of 20 eyes (18 patients) diagnosed as having ARN in the Department of Ophthalmology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2014 to 2016. All patients were reviewed for demographic data, clinical course, clinical manifestations, time from onset to initial physician visit, duration of follow-up, visual acuity at both presentation and final visit, and treatment strategies. A paired t test was used to compare visual acuity between the presenting vision and those of final follow-up. Vitreous or aqueous specimens from 18 eyes of 18 patients were analyzed with multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR)/quantitative PCR (qPCR) and xTAG-liquid chip technology (xTAG-LCT) to determine the causative virus of ARN. RESULTS: Final best visual acuity (BCVA) improved significantly from 1.36 ± 0.95 (median 20/400) to 0.95 ± 0.82 (median 20/100) (t = 2.714, P = 0.015) after systemic and intravitreal antiviral treatment combined with or without pars plana vitrectomy. PCR and xTAG-LCT results showed four of the five samples in the younger group (32.2 ± 5.2 years) and 12 of the 13 samples in the senior group (53.6 ± 4.9 years) were positive for VZV, and two of the five samples in the younger group were positive for HSV-1. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that VZV is also a common causative virus for ARN in younger patients. Considering this finding, a systemic antiviral treatment protocol should be immediately changed to intravenous ganciclovir when the patient does not respond to acyclovir before determining the causative virus, especially in younger patients.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Female ; Herpesvirus 3, Human ; pathogenicity ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retinal Necrosis Syndrome, Acute ; etiology ; physiopathology ; virology ; Retrospective Studies ; Varicella Zoster Virus Infection ; complications ; Visual Acuity ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo explore the lymphocytic clonal expansion in adult patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative diseases (EBV+LPD), and to investigate the experimental methods for EBV+LPD cells so as to provide a more objective measure for the diagnosis, classification and prognosis in the early stage of this disease.

METHODSPeripheral blood samples from 5 patients with EBV+LPD, 4 patients with adult infectious mononucleosis(IM) as negative control and 3 patients with acute NK-cell leukemia(ANKL) as positive control were collected. Prior to immunochemotherapy, viral loads and clonality were analysed by flow cytometry (FCM), T cell receptor gene rearrangement (TCR) was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and diversity of EB virus terminal repeat (EBV-TR) was detected by Southern blot.

RESULTSFCM showed only 1 case with clonal TCRVβ in 5 patients with EBV+LPD, TCR clonal expansion could be detected both in patients with IM(4 of 4) and 4 patients with EBV+LPD(4 of 5), Out of patients with EBV+LPD, 1 patient displayed a monoclonal band and 2 patients showed oligoclonal bands when detecting EBV-TR by southen blot.

CONCLUSIONDetecting the diversity of EBV-TR by Southern blot may be the most objective way to reflex clonal transformation of EBV+LPD, which is of great benefit to the diagnosis, classification and prognosis in the early stage of this disease.