OBJECTIVETo study the cranial-cervical lymph return and pathway in rabbit in order to provide the experimental and theoretical basis for the study of intracranial metastasis of cervical tumor and extracranial metastasis of intracranial tumor.

METHODThe distribution and clearance of tracers were observed after microinjection of lymph developer labeled by 99mTc into cerebral cortex and deep cervical lymph nodes of rabbit.

RESULTSIn the cerebral cortex microinjection with 99=Tc-labeled lymph developer group, the radioactivity were detected in Willis artery, deep cervical lymph nodes and venous blood. The radioactivity curve was the same in Willis artery and deep cervical lymph nodes. The peak in the artery blood was higher than that in venous blood. In the lymph nodes microinjection with 99mTc-labeled lymph developer cervical group, the radioactivity were detected in skull base dura mater, brain, cerebrospinal fluid and venous blood. The peak in skull base dura mater showed earlier than that in cerebrospinal fluid and brain. The peak in venous blood was the last, but the radioactivity in it was the highest.

CONCLUSIONThe cranial-cervical lymph return in rabbit is existent. Their pathway perhaps is Willis artery, skull base dura mater and cerebrospinal fluid circulation.

Animals ; Lymph ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Lymphatic System ; metabolism ; Lymphatic Vessels ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Lymphoscintigraphy ; Male ; Organotechnetium Compounds ; Rabbits

BACKGROUND: Malignant cells exhibit increased glycolytic metabolism, and in many cases increased glucose transporter gene expression. The authors hypothesized that GLUT1 glucose transporter expression is increased in gallbladder carcinoma, and the degree of expression might have prognostic significance. METHODS: To evaluate a possible prognostic factor, we studied the expression of GLUT1 glucose transporter by an immunohistochemical method in 56 gallbladder carcinomas from patients and we compared these results with established prognostic factors. RESULTS: Of the 56 cases, 34 (60.7%) were positive for GLUT1. The expression of GLUT1 was not associated with patient age, sex and histologic type. Whereas the expression of GLUT1 was significantly correlated with depth of tumor invasion and lymph node and distant metastases. CONCLUSIONS: GLUT1 glucose transporter expression is strongly associated with poor prognostic factors of the gallbladder carcinoma and the assessment of the extent of GLUT1 immunostaining identifies patient with poorer prognosis.
Gallbladder* ; Gene Expression ; Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative* ; Glucose* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Metabolism ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis

PURPOSE: E2F-1 is a transcriptor that converts G1 to S in the cell cycle, and Topoisomerase II-alpha is a key enzyme in the metabolism of DNA, and an indicator of cell replication. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical validity of E2F-1 and Topoisomerase II-alpha as prognostic factors in colorectal cancer. METHODS: The expressions of E2F-1 and Topoisomerase II-alpha were studied immunohistochemically using tumor specimen sections fixed with formalin and paraffin-embedded for 84 cases of colorectal cancer. The correlation between E2F-1 and Topoisomerase II-alpha expressions, and their relationship with the clinicopathological factors, such as tumor differentiation, tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis and tumor stage were investigated. RESULTS: Of the 84 specimens, 43 (51.2%) were immunohistochemically negative for E2F-1, and 41 (48.8%) were positive. The expression of E2F-1 correlated with poor tumor differentiation, increased lymph node metastasis and high tumor stage. The expression of Topoisomerase II-alpha also correlated with poor tumor differentiation, increased lymph node metastasis and high tumor stage. The E2F-1 and Topoisomerase II-alpha expressions indices were significantly correlated. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the expressions of E2F-1 and DNA Topoisomerase II-alpha may play a role as a prognostic factor for colorectal cancer, but further studies will be required for its comfirmation.
Cell Cycle ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; DNA ; DNA Topoisomerases, Type I* ; Formaldehyde ; Lymph Nodes ; Metabolism ; Neoplasm Metastasis

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between the changes of trace elements and lymphatic metastasis in gastric carcinoma.

METHODSTrace elements including Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, Cu, Zn, Se were measured in primary gastric carcinoma and regional lymph nodes from 40 patients with gastric carcinoma, and compared among the primary tumor, metastatic, and non-metastatic nodes.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in the contents of Fe, Mg, Mn and Ca among primary gastric tumors, regional lymph nodes with or without metastasis (P=0.372 - 0.741, P > 005), and no significant differences in the contents of all 7 trace elements between primary tumors and metastatic lymph nodes (P=0.15 - 0.59, P > 005). Compared with metastatic lymph nodes, the contents of Zn, Se significantly decreased, while Cu and Cu/Zn significantly increased (P=0.001 - 0.009, P< 0.01) in non-metastatic lymph nodes. The content of Zn in N2 positive lymph nodes was significant lower than that in N1 positive nodes (P=0.027). There were no significant difference in the contents of all 7 elements between intestinal type and diffuse type (P=0.149 - 0.758, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSLymphatic metastasis of gastric cancer is concomitant with the changes of trace elements, and the changes of Zn, Cu, Se may be related with lymphatic metastasis.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; metabolism ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Trace Elements ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo examine the expression and distribution of glucose transporter 1(GLUT1) in gastric cancer tissues and investigate its relation to clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of patients with gastric carcinoma.

METHODSImmunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of GLUT1 in 79 samples of gastric carcinoma tissue. The association of GLUT1 expressive features with clinicopathological characteristics, including histological subtype, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and patients' prognosis were analyzed.

RESULTSNone of normal gastric epithelium expressed GLUT1, whereas 28 of 79 carcinoma samples(35.4%) were positive. Well differentiation type, median differentiation type and poorly differentiation type were GLUT1 positive in 56.5%, 33.3%, and 36.0% cases respectively, while the Signet ring cell carcinoma and mucinous adenocarcinoma were rarely positive(1/6 and 7.7%, respectively). GLUT1 positivity was associated with histological subtype(P=0.044), tumor size(P<0.01), lymph node metastasis(P=0.032), and carcinoma stage(P=0.007). One year survival rates of patients with GLUY1 positive and negative were 64.3% and 90.2% respectively(P=0.035).

CONCLUSIONIn human gastric carcinoma, GLUT1 expression is associated with tumor aggressiveness, and may be a useful marker of prognosis.

Glucose Transporter Type 1 ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; metabolism ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Stomach Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo make a thorough study on the clinicopathologic significance of the three-dimensional structural alteration of the p53 protein in papillary thyroid carcinomas and to provide an objective criterion for the evaluation of PTC prognosis.

METHODSA total of 41 PTC cases were enrolled. Techniques including polymerase chain reaction with single strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), DNA sequencing, computerized three-dimensional protein modeling by means of international shared resources and related software analysis were used.

RESULTS15 cases with p53 gene mutation defined as Group I were detected in totally 41 PTC cases. No p53 gene mutation was found in the rest 26 cases which were classified as Group II. The differences in lymph node metastatic rate, distant metastatic rate, age, sex, size of the lesion between Group I and Group II were not significant (P > 0.05). The alterations of the amino acid residues of 9 PTC cases out of the 15 p53-gene mutated patients (Group I) were either located in the p53-protein domains, mainly the core domain and the non-specific DNA binding basic domain, or the severely defect cases with the formation of widely divergent structures. It was found that the alterations of the structure of the core domain could directly check the binding of p53 protein to its target DNA molecules. In addition, the alterations of the structure of the basic domain could indirectly prohibit the binding. The ones mentioned above were classified as Group Ib. The rest of six cases with their p53 protein amino acid residues mutated beyond the domains were grouped as Group Ia. The differences in lymph node metastatic rate, distant metastatic rate between Group Ib and Group Ia were statistically significant (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThe alterations of the three-dimensional structure of p53-protein is considered as one of the morphological basis of the progression and heterogeneity of PTC. They render an authentic evidence for the selection of the clinical cases with a poor risk for metastasis.

Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; metabolism ; Mutation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism

Adult ; Antigens, CD20 ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Ki-1 Antigen ; metabolism ; Leukocyte Common Antigens ; metabolism ; Lymph Nodes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; pathology ; Pseudolymphoma ; metabolism ; pathology

Extrafollicular reticulum cells in lymph nodes are heterogeneous. They express cytokeratins, desmin, and/or vimentin as their intermediate filament profile. Using those markers, we undertook an immunohistochemical study of human lymph nodes under various pathologic conditions. Samples included 15 simple reactive lymph nodes, 7 follicular hyperplasia, 1 necrotizing lymphadenitis, 4 tuberculous lymphadenitis, 13 malignant lymphoma (9 non-Hodgkin's and 4 Hodgkin's lymphomas), and 11 metastatic adenocarcinoma. In lymph nodes with follicular hyperplasia, cytokeratin and/or desmin expressing reticulum cells displayed a characteristic dendritic meshwork in the subcapsular, perisinusoidal, and paracortical regions. In other forms reactive lymph nodes, they were similarly distributed but were less prominent. By SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting, cytokeratin polypeptides were identified. In necrotizing lymphadenitis, they were increased and the pattern of distribution was disturbed. In tuberculous lymphadenitis, they were also increased and located at nongranulomatous as well as in perigranulomatous areas. In lymphomas the reticular meshwork was entirely obliterated. Cytokeratin or desmin expressing reticulum cells were rarely seen within tumors. The reticular meshwork was also obliterated in metastatic carcinoma. However, the meshwork was maintained in uninvolved areas. In conclusion, extrafollicular reticulum cells displayed characteristic patterns of distribution under various pathologic conditions, and may be implicated in the pathogenesis of those pathologic conditions in human lymph nodes.
Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Desmin/metabolism ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Keratins/metabolism ; Lymph Nodes/metabolism/*pathology ; Lymphatic Diseases/metabolism/*pathology ; Vimentin/metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation between the stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1) and the receptor fusin (CXCR4) in carcinoma of larynx, and investigate some mechanisms of SDF-1/CXCR4 during the development, invasion and lymph node metastasis of laryngocarcinoma. METHOD: Detecting the expression of SDF-1 and CXCR4 by immunohistochemical method (SP) in laryngocarcinoma, paraneoplastic tissues, normal laryngeal mucosa and cervical lymph node. Using Kruskal-Wallis H test, chi2 test, Spearman rank correlation analysis and so on to do statistical analysis. RESULT: The positive expression rate of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in laryngocarcinoma was obviously higher than in paraneoplastic tissues and normal laryngeal mucosa tissues (P < 0.01). And the expression of two proteins was correlated with lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01), clinical stage (P < 0.01) and pathological grading of tumor (P < 0.05). The positive expression rate of SDF-1 and CXCR4 protein in metastasis lymph node tissue was higher than that in non metastasis lymph node tissue (P < 0.01). The expression of SDF-1 is correlated positively with the expression of CXCR4 in laryngocarcinoma. CONCLUSION SDF-1 and CXCR4 protein are highly expressed in laryngocarcinoma and in metastasis lymph node tissue. And they are correlated with lymph node metastasis, clinical stage and pathological grading of the tumor. According to the results, the two proteins may relate to infiltration and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and play a role of synergistic action in the development and invasion of carcinoma of larynx.
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chemokine CXCL12 ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymph Nodes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Receptors, CXCR4 ; metabolism

Aerobic glycolysis has been the most important hypothesis in cancer metabolism. It seems to be related to increased bioenergetic and biosynthetic needs in rapidly proliferating cancer cells. To this end, F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), a glucose analog, became widely popular for the detection of malignancies combined with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Although the potential roles of FDG PET/CT in primary tumor detection are not fully established, it seems to have a limited sensitivity in detecting early gastric cancer and mainly signet ring or non-solid types of advanced gastric cancer. In evaluating lymph node metastases, the location of lymph nodes and the degree of FDG uptake in primary tumors appear to be important factors affecting the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT. In spite of the limited sensitivity, the high specificity of PET/CT for lymph node metastases may play an important role in changing the extent of lymphadenectomy or reducing futile laparotomies. For peritoneal metastases, PET/CT seems to have a poorer sensitivity but a better specificity than CT. The roles of PET/CT in the evaluation of other distant metastases are yet to be known. Studies including primary tumors with low FDG uptake or peritoneal recurrence seem suffer from poorer diagnostic performance for the detection of recurrent gastric cancer. There are only a few reports using FDG PET/CT to predict response to neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. A complete metabolic response seems to be predictive of more favorable prognosis.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Electrons ; Energy Metabolism ; Glucose ; Glycolysis ; Laparotomy ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Metabolism* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography* ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stomach Neoplasms*