Objective:To explore the obliteration of the old mastoid cavity and reconstruction of the posterior canal wall after radical mastoidectomy. Method:Posterior canal wall reconstruction and mastoid obliteration of 11 ears of 10 patients with old mastoid cavity for 1 to 6 years after radical mastoidectomy were done using the pedicle postauricular composite skin flap (PPCSF),and their tympanoplasty were performed at the same time. Follow-up was performed at 3 to 30 months. Result:All PPCSFs survived. The old mastoid cavity of 11 ears vanished and reconstructed posterior canal wall remained in normal position without retraction. The drying ear time took 2 to 3 weeks postoperatively,and the symptoms of the radical cavity disease after radical mastoidectomy were cleared up nearly,and the average hearing threshold decreased 13.6 dB HL. The otorrhea and perforation of tympanic membrane resulted from infection happened to 1 of 11 ears three month after the operation. Conclusion: The PPCSF is an effective method in the obliteration of old mastoid cavity and reconstruction of the posterior canal wall. It can reduce drying ear time postoperatively, treat the radical cavity disease after radical mastoidectomy and is beneficial to the tympanoplasty at the posterior external at the same time.

Objective To investigate the association between KRAS gene mutations and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.Methods The retrospective casecontrol study was conducted.The clinicophathological data of 315 patients who underwent radical resection of CRC in the Yangpu Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University between January 2007 and July 2011 were collected.Nextgeneration sequencing was performed to identify KRAS gene mutations from surgical specimens.Observation indicators:(1) detection of KRAS gene;(2) association between KRAS gene mutations and clinicopathological characteristics of CRC patients;(3) follow-up and survival situations;(4) multivariate analysis of KRAS gene mutations in the prognosis of CRC patients.Follow-up using outpatient examination and telephone interview was performed to detect postoperative overall survival up to August 2016.Comparisons of count data were analyzed using the chi-square test.Measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (interquartile range),and comparison between groups was analyzed using the nonparametric test.The survival rate was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method,and survival was compared using the Log-rank test.The multivariate analysis was done using the COX regression model.Results (1) Detection of KRAS gene:all the 315 patients finished gene detection of surgical specimens,including 172 in wide-type mutations and 143 in mutant-type mutations (mutations at codon 12 and 13 of KRAS exon 2 and other mutant points were respectively detected in 80,24 and 40 patients,and 1 patient had simultaneous mutations at codon 12 and 13 of KRAS exon 2;missense and nonsense mutations were respectively detected in 141 and 2 patients).The major point mutations were at p.G12D and p.G13D.(2) Association between KRAS gene mutations and clinicophathological characteristics of CRC patients:tumors located in the proximal colon,distal colon and rectum were respectively detected in 34,48,90 patients with wild-type mutation and in 44,27,72 patients with mutant-type mutation,with a statistically significant difference (x2 =0.038,P＜0.05).(3) Follow-up and survival situation:315 patients were followed up for 3-115 months,with a median time of 78 months.The postoperative overall survival rate was 41.0％ in 172 patients with wild-type KRAS mutations,27.4％ in 80 patients with KRAS codon 12 mutations,26.3％ in 24 patients with KRAS codon 13 mutations and 48.2％ in 40 patients with other KRAS mutations,showing a statistically significant difference (x2=0.040,P＜0.05).(4) Multivariate analysis of KRAS gene mutations in the prognosis of CRC patients:the results of multivariate analysis showed that mutations at codon 12 of KRAS exon 2 was an independent factor affecting poor prognosis of CRC patients (Hazard ratio=1.543,95％ confidence interval:1.050-2.265,P＜0.05).Conclusions Most KRAS mutations of CRC patients are at codon 12 and 13 of KRAS exon 2,and the major point mutations are at p.G12D and p.G13D.KRAS gene mutations may be associated with tumor location.Mutations at codon 12 of KRAS exon 2 is an independent factor affecting poor prognosis of CRC patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and clinical significance of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3) and its target gene c-myc in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), and the relationship between the two genes. METHOD: Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues, which came from 56 cases of LSCC and 30 samples of normal mucosas from 30 patients with total or subtotal laryngectomy over 2.0 cm away from tumor margin, were detected for the expression of STATS, c-myc by in situ hybridization and SP immunohistochemistry. Micro-image analysis system was used to determine the optical density, and the result was analyzed statistically. RESULT: There is overexpression of STAT3, c-myc mRNA and protein in LSCC. The expression of STAT3 and c-myc mRNA in LSCC was associated with clinical stage, differentiation grade and lymph nodal metastases (P < 0.05 or 0.01). The expression of STAT3 and c-myc protein in LSCC was associated with clinical stage and lymph nodal metastases (P < 0.05 or 0.01). There was a positive correlation between the expression of STAT3 and c-myc genes. mRNA and protein, The correlation coefficient (r) was 0.6224 (P < 0.01) for the mRNA expression and 0.7012 (P < 0.01 )for the protein expression. CONCLUSION The expression of STAT3 and c-myc may play an important role in the tumorigenesis, metastases and poor prognosis of LSCC. There was a positive correlation between the overexpression of STAT3 and c-myc genes in LSCC.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc ; metabolism ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between receptor-interacting kinase protein 4 (RIPK4) relative copy number (RCN) and prognosis of stage III( colorectal cancer (CRC) patients treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy.

METHODSRIPK4 RCN was determined by real-time PCR and then dichotomized into high RIPK4 RCN group(n=35) and low RIPK4 RCN group (n=104) using the third quartile as the cut-off point. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared between high and low RIPK4 RCN groups. The subgroup prognostic analysis was also conducted based on tumor site.

RESULTSThe median follow-up period was 49 months (ranged 4 to 98 months). Patients with high RIPK4 RCN had poorer OS than those with low RIPK4 RCN, which reached marginal significance(median OS, 43.0 months vs. 53.5 months, P=0.074). Meanwhile there was no significant difference of RFS between two groups (P=0.352). In colon cancer subgroup, high RIPK4 RCN was significantly associated with poor OS (median OS, 31.5 months vs. 56.6 months, P=0.015) but not with RFS (P=0.135). In rectal cancer subgroup, RIPK4 RCN was not associated with both OS and RFS (P=0.981, P=0.738). Multivariate analysis revealed that high RIPK4 RCN was an independent prognostic factor of OS in stage III( CRC patients treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy (HR=2.903, 95% CI: 1.275 to 6.610).

CONCLUSIONRIPK4 RCN is significantly associated with OS in stage III( colon cancer patients receiving oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy and may be a novel biomarker that can predict the efficacy of oxaliplatin in colon cancer patients.