Current evidences have expended the concept that chronic inflammation might play a crucial role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer. For instance, chronic ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with a 10- to 40-fold increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to the general population. However, the specific mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis in colon has not been integrated into molecular understanding. In this current review, we will provide an update on the molecular pathogenesis of colitis-associated colorectal cancer, focused on 1) the differences of molecular mechanism between the colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) and the sporadic colorectal cancer (SCC), 2) the plausible and contributive role of chronic inflammation in colon carcinogenesis, and 3) lessons learned from colitis-associated animal model. Understanding of molecular pathogenic mechanism underlying the colitis-associated colorectal cancer will facilitate the development of novel treatment strategies for prevention of colitis-associated colorectal cancer.
Carcinogenesis* ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Colon* ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Inflammation* ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Models, Animal

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) causes chronic gastritis in human stomach, a minority of which progress to peptic ulcer disease, atrophic gastritis, or gastric malignancies. Clinical outcomes of H. pylori infection has been shown to depend on the variability of H. pylori virulence factors, host susceptibility, environmental factors and their interactions. This review provides an update on the molecular pathogenesis of H. pylori infection, focused on H. pylori virulence factors, H. pylori-gastric epithelium interactions, and modulation of host cell signaling. Understanding of H. pylori molecular pathogenic mechanism will facilitate the development of novel treatment strategies for eradication of the bacterium and prevention of H. pylori-induced gastropathy.
Helicobacter Infections/microbiology ; Helicobacter pylori/*pathogenicity ; Humans ; *Virulence Factors

No abstract available.
Humans ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors/*metabolism ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthase/*metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms/*metabolism

In the post-genomic era, the focus of research is now moving to functional genomics employing the information on predicted gene products provided by genome sequencing. Proteomics, the global analysis of structures, functions, and interactions of whole cellular proteins, draws the special attention as a tool for documenting the disease pathogenesis or progression. The high-throughput technology has become feasible by considerable improvement of two dimensional electrophoresis and mass fingerprinting. Thus proteome techniques can be used as tools to study the disease processes, develop new biomakers for diagnosis and early detection of diseases, and accelerate drug development. In this review, we discuss the background and techniques of proteomics, and potential applications to the research of gastrointestinal diseases.
English Abstract ; *Gastrointestinal Diseases/diagnosis/therapy ; Humans ; *Liver Diseases/diagnosis/therapy ; *Proteomics

Overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is associated with poor prognosis. This single-arm open-label trial (EGF109491; NCT00508274) was designed to confirm the efficacy and safety of lapatinib in combination with capecitabine in 52 heavily pretreated Chinese patients with HER2-positive MBC. The primary endpoint was clinical benefit rate (CBR). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), time to response (TTR), duration of response (DoR), central nervous system (CNS) as first site of relapse, and safety. The results showed that there were 23 patients with partial responses and 7 patients with stable disease, resulting in a CBR of 57.7%. The median PFS was 6.34 months (95% confidence interval, 4.93-9.82 months). The median TTR and DoR were 4.07 months (range, 0.03-14.78 months) and 6.93 months (range, 1.45-9.72 months), respectively. Thirteen (25.0%) patients had new lesions as disease progression. Among them, 2 (3.8%) patients had CNS disease reported as the first relapse. The most common toxicities were palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (59.6%), diarrhea (48.1%), rash (48.1%), hyperbilirubinemia (34.6%), and fatigue (30.8%). Exploratory analyses of oncogenic mutations of PIK3CA suggested that of 38 patients providing a tumor sample, baseline PIK3CA mutation status was not associated with CBR (P = 0.639) or PFS (P = 0.989). These data confirm that the lapatinib plus capecitabine combination is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for Chinese women with heavily pretreated MBC, irrespective of PIK3CA status.
Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Capecitabine ; Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Deoxycytidine ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; Diarrhea ; chemically induced ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Exanthema ; chemically induced ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; Hand-Foot Syndrome ; etiology ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Neoplasm Staging ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; genetics ; Quinazolines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism ; Remission Induction