Objective To explore the association between the signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) gene polymorphism and Chinese Han systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Methods Pyrosequencing technique was used to genotype the 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the samples of patients and normal individuals. Results Not only these 3 SNPs, but also the haplotypes composed by them showed significant difference between the SLE patients and normal individuals[rs11889341:P=0.012 02, OR (95%CI)=1.22( 1.044～1.424); rs7574865:P=0.003 454, 0R(95%CI)=1.25(1.076～1.451 ); rs8179673: P=0.004 275, OR (95%CI)=1.274 (1.079～1.505)]. Conclusion rs11889341, rs7574865 and rs8179673 of STAT4 are associated with the pathogenesis of Chinese Han SLE, and the STAT4 gene is a susceptibile gene for SLE in a few racial cohorts.

Objective To know the ability of rural health doctors, find out the scope of job satis-faction and desire of training and extending for chosen extending rural health doctors. Methods Various factors were analyzed, which affect the appropriate health technology extension in rural areas based on the study in Liaoning province with the method of the questionnaire and the categorical data statistics. Results The quality of medical human resources in rural area was low. The main influencing factors for training were practicality of the training, rescannable time and whether increasing income. Meanwhile, The appropriate health technology extension was affected by the rationality, validity, safety of techniques, acceptance degrees of patients as well as the individual professional basis. Conclusion It was necessary to focus on continued medical education to improve the rural doctor's ability. Some tactics was also put forward to promote the technology extension effect. This study provided some suggestions which could be used as references for the government making decision.

Objective To analyze 10 years survival status of urban female patients with corpus uteri cancer and its influencing factors in Liaoning Province. Methods Based on Liaoning cancer register database, 426 patients with corpus uteri cancer in Shenyang, Anshan and Benxi from 2000 to 2002 were randomly selected. They were followed up passively and actively. Life table method and Ederer Ⅱ method were used to calculate the observed survival rate (OSR), the expected survival rate (ESR) and the relative survival rate (RSR). Results We finally included 218 corpus uteri patients. The diagnosis proportions of stage Ⅰ-Ⅳ were 59.2%, 11.5%, 11.0% and 8.7%, respectively. Ten-year RSR and OSR were 59.6% and 67.9%. The diagnosis stage was negatively correlated with 10-year RSR. The 10-year RSR of patients treated with surgery was 71.3%, which was 6.6 times that of non-surgical treatment (10.8%). The 1-year RSR to 10-year RSR ranged from 88.4% to 67.5%. The RSR of each stage was Ⅰ-Ⅱ(95.7%-77.9%) > Ⅲ (71.4%-44.5%) > Ⅳ (58.4%-11.0%). Multivariate Cox model analysis showed that age > 55 years old, late diagnosis stage and non-surgical treatment were the main factors affecting the 10-year survival rate. Conclusion Early diagnosis and surgical treatment can significantly improve the long-term survival rate of patients. Therefore, we should strengthen the early detection and treatment of corpus uteri cancer, standardize and strengthen the screening program.

PURPOSE: The cancer survival was characterized by following up sampled subgroups of cancer cases from three population-based cancer registries in Northeast China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Survival analysis was used to analyze 6,871 patients, who had one of the 21 most common cancers based on sampling from the population-based cancer registries of three cities in Liaoning Province. All patients were diagnosed between 2000 and 2002 and were followed up to the end of 2007 by active and passive methods. The 5-year age standardized relative survival rates (ASRS) were estimated for all cancers combined and each of the 21 individual cancers. RESULTS: The survival status was traced for 80.8% of 8,506 sampled cancer cases. The 5-year ASRS for all 21 cancers combined was 41.5% (95% confidence interval, 40.3 to 42.7), the highest ASRS was observed for thyroid cancer (85.2%), breast cancer (78.9%), uterine corpus cancer (75.9%), and urinary bladder cancer (70.2%); the lowest 5-year ASRS was noted in pancreatic cancer (8.8%), liver cancer (11.0%), esophageal cancer (18.8), and lung cancer (19.6%). The cancer survival rates in Liaoning cities were similar to those of urban areas in mainland China, but significantly lower than those in Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan. CONCLUSION: The strikingly poor cancer survival rates in three cities of Liaoning Province and in other places in China highlight the need for urgent investment in cancer prevention, early detection, and standardized and centralized treatment.
Breast Neoplasms ; China* ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Investments ; Japan ; Korea ; Liver Neoplasms ; Lung Neoplasms ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Registries* ; Survival Rate ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD)so as to improve the understanding of IgG4-RD in China.Methods IgG4-RD patients were recruited from Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2011 and January 2016.All patients were followedup for more than 6 months.The demographic characteristics,symptoms,organ involvements,laboratory examinations and treatment efficacy were evaluated and analyzed.Results A total of 346 patients were finally enrolled,including 230 males (66.5％) and 116 females (33.5％).The mean age of disease onset was (53.8 ± 14.2) years old.The mostly common involved organs were lymph nodes (56.4％) and submandibular glands (52.6％).Other affected organs and manifestations included:swelling of the lacrimal glands (46.5％),autoimmune pancreatitis (38.4％),pulmonary involvement (28.0％),sclerosing cholangitis (25.4％),naso-sinusitis (23.4％),parotid gland swelling (21.7％),retroperitoneal fibrosis (19.9％),large arteries involvement (9.5％),kidney involvement (obstructive nephropathy caused by retroperitoneal fibrosis was excluded) (6.9％),skin lesions (6.4％).Rare features consisted of thyroid glands,pituitary glands,gastrointestinal tract,pachymeningitis,pericardium,sclerosing mediastinitis and orchitis.The majority of patients had multi-organ involvement,such as 74.3％ patients with 3 and more,18.2％ and 7.5％ patients with 2 and single organ involvement respectively.The average IgG4-RD responder index (IgG4-RD RI) was 13.21 ±5.70.History of allergy was found in 172 (49.7％) patients.As to the laboratory tests,elevated serum IgG4 levels were confirmed in 285 (94.1％) patients,which was positively correlated with IgG4-RD RI.There were 33.5％ patients receiving monotherapy of glucocorticoid,52.6％ treated with glucocorticoids combined with immunosuppressive agents,4.9％ patients with immunosuppressant only,and 9.0％ patients with mild disease not receiving medication.The majority (336,97.1％) patients improved the above regimens.Conclusion IgG4-RD is a systemic fibro-inflammatory disease with multiple organ involvement.The mostly common involved organs include lymph node,submandibular glands,and pancreas.Glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive agents were effective for IgG4-RD.

Background: Twenty-four-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) measurement is the initial diagnostic test for Cushing’s syndrome (CS). We compared UFC determination by both direct and extraction immunoassays using Abbott Architect, Siemens Atellica Solution, and Beckman DxI800 with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, we evaluated the value of 24-hr UFC measured by six methods for diagnosing CS. Methods: Residual 24-hr urine samples of 94 CS and 246 non-CS patients were collected.A laboratory-developed LC-MS/MS method was used as reference. UFC was measured by direct assays (D) using Abbott, Siemens, and Beckman platforms and by extraction assays (E) using Siemens and Beckman platforms. Method was compared using Passing–Bablok regression and Bland–Altman plot analyses. Cut-off values for the six assays and corresponding sensitivities and specificities were calculated by ROC analysis. Results: Abbott-D, Beckman-E, Siemens-E, and Siemens-D showed strong correlations with LC-MS/MS (Spearman coefficient r = 0.965, 0.922, 0.922, and 0.897, respectively), while Beckman-D showed weaker correlation (r = 0.755). All immunoassays showed proportionally positive bias. The areas under the curve were 0.975 for Abbott-D, 0.972 for LCMS/MS, 0.966 for Siemens-E, 0.948 for Siemens-D, 0.955 for Beckman-E, and 0.877 for Beckman-D. The cut-off values varied significantly (154.8–1,321.5 nmol/24 hrs). Assay sensitivity and specificity ranged from 76.1% to 93.2% and from 93.0% to 97.1%, respectively. Conclusions Commercially available immunoassays for measuring UFC show different levels of analytical consistency compared to LC-MS/MS. Abbott-D, Siemens-E, and Beckman-E have high diagnostic accuracy for CS.

Up to 70% of patients with late-stage breast cancer have bone metastasis. Current treatment regimens for breast cancer bone metastasis are palliative with no therapeutic cure. Disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) colonize inside the osteogenic niches in the early stage of bone metastasis. Drug delivery into osteogenic niches to inhibit DTC colonization can prevent bone metastasis from entering its late stage and therefore cure bone metastasis. Here, we constructed a 50% DSS6 peptide conjugated nanoparticle to target the osteogenic niche. The osteogenic niche was always located at the endosteum with immature hydroxyapatite. Arsenic-manganese nanocrystals (around 14 nm) were loaded in osteogenic niche-targeted PEG-PLGA nanoparticles with an acidic environment-triggered arsenic release. Arsenic formulations greatly reduced 4T1 cell adhesion to mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)/preosteoblasts (pre-OBs) and osteogenic differentiation of osteoblastic cells. Arsenic formulations also prevented tumor cell colonization and dormancy via altering the direct interaction between 4T1 cells and MSCs/pre-OBs. The chemotactic migration of 4T1 cells toward osteogenic cells was blocked by arsenic in mimic 3D osteogenic niche. Systemic administration of osteogenic niche-targeted arsenic nanoparticles significantly extended the survival of mice with 4T1 syngeneic bone metastasis. Our findings provide an effective approach for osteogenic niche-specific drug delivery and suggest that bone metastasis can be effectively inhibited by blockage of tumor cell colonization in the bone microenvironment.