Objective The recurrence and metastasis of malignant tumor could affect the survival of patients. Early detection of cancer cells in peripheral blood and effective therapy promptly are of clinical importance. The present study was to investigate the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA expression and serum CEA level in blood from patients with colorectal cancer and to evaluate its clinical significance. Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from 35 eligible patients with colorectal cancer and 9 post operative patients. CEA mRNA was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) and serum CEA was detected by time resolved fluorometric methods. Results The positive rate of CEA mRNA in blood samples of 35 patients with colorectal cancer was 45.7%, and 2.7% in healthy volunteers. Two of the nine post operative patients (22.2%) showed CEA mRNA positive. The positive rate increases with the pathological staging and showed no significant relation with the malignant extent of cell differentiation. Serum CEA mRNA positive rates in patients with CEA positivity (72.2%) were significantly higher than those in patients with negative CEA mRNA expression (42.3%).Conclusion The expression of CEA mRNA in peripheral blood cells correlates with the pathological staging of colorectal cancer and it could be of potential use to monitor the micrometastases of tumor. Long term follow up is needed to evaluate its clinical significance.

AIM: To investigate the cellular biological effects of matrine on K562 and K562/Vin cells and discuss the anticancer mechanism of matrine. METHODS: MTT assay was used to detect the IC_ 50 of matrine on these two cell lines and the reversal effect of matrine on K562/Vin cell's resistance to vincristine. In addition, the growth curve of cells was drawed. The p-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression was determined by immunohistochemistry analysis. The morphological changes of cells under light microscopy and the structural changes under transmission electron microscope were observed. RT-PCR assay was used to detect the hTERT-mRNA expression. RESULTS: The IC_ 50 of matrine was 3.4, 4.6 mmol?L -1 for K562 and K562/Vin cells, respectively. Matrine (4.0 mmol?L -1) inhibited the growth of K562, K562/Vin cells, 2.0 mmol?L -1 matrine inhibited expression of P-gp and with 492.4 reversal index. Matrine killed K562 cells by inducing the apoptosis and the same effect on K562/Vin cells was also observed. The hTERT-mRNA expression of K562 cells were also inhibited by matrine. CONCLUSIONS: Matrine enhanced the cytotoxicity of vincristine in K562/Vin cells, induced the apoptosis of K562 and K562/Vin cells, also inhibited the hTERT-mRNA expression in K562 cells. It shows that matrine would be an effective anticancer medicine.

Objective To investigate the effects of the routine needle-withdrawing method and improved needle-withdrawing method? Methods One hundred patients undergoing intravenous transfusion were randomized into the control group and the improvement group (255 times of transfusion ), with 50 cases in each group: the former was treated with routine needle-withdrawing method and the latter with the improved method? Complications after needle-withdruing were compared between the two groups? Result The rates of pains, subcutaneous bleeding or bleeding at the puncture points in the improvement group were all significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0?001)? Conclusion The improved needle-withdrawing method is effective in reducing the rate of post-withdrawal complications and improve the safety of intravenous transfusion?

OBJECTIVETo detect the mutation sites of exons 2, 20, 11A and 11B in Chinese patients with breast cancer.

METHODSA total of 86 patients with breast cancer without blood relationship were randomly selected. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and double-strand DNA direct sequencing were applied.

RESULTSNo mutations, especially deletions were found in exons 2, 20 and 11 with carefully checking the sequencing results, although they were reported frequently in Europe populations with breast cancer. We found one polymorphism in exon 11, with high frequency, and in the test of chi-square, the frequencies of two alleles had no significant difference between the patients and controls.

CONCLUSIONThe above results suggest this SNP may not be associated with the breast cancer in Chinese population, and indicates that the gene sequence of what we have studied doesn't account much for occurrence of the breast cancer in the population of China.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; BRCA1 Protein ; genetics ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; Exons ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Mutation ; Polymorphism, Genetic

【Objective】 To investigate the influence of different packaging methods on the volume of low-dose(0.5 U) suspended leucocyte depleted red blood cells(SLD RBC) and provide reference for accurate labeling. 【Methods】 Bags of SLD RBC in 1.5 U and 2 U were randomly sampled to measure the weight and specific gravity of each bag, so as to estimate the blood volume.The relationship between the weight and volume of 0.5 U blood, split from different parent bags, was analyzed and the linear regression equation was put forward.The regression equation was used to calculate and analyze the difference in the volume of 0.5 U SLD RBC prepared by three different packaging methods (A: manual multi-bag average packing; B: instrument multi-bag average packing; C: manual single-bag packing) in actual work. 【Results】 The specific gravity of 1.5 U (38 bags) and 2 U SLD RBC (39 bags) were (1.090±0.011) g/mL and (1.097±0.013) g/mL, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). After the 0.5 U subsidiary bags were split from the parent bags(1.5 U or 2 U), the regression equations for the volume (Y) of 0.5 U and gross weight (X) of the whole bag were respectively: Y1.5 U packing=0.902 7X-12.52 (P<0.05) and Y2 U packing=0.905 6X-13.15(P<0.05). In actual blood packaging, the average blood volume of 0.5 U subsidiary bags split from 1.5 U bag, using method A and B, were smaller than those split from 2 U bag [(62.12±5.38) mL and (62.50±6.77) mL vs (67.72±3.81) mL and(68.39±6.44)mL] (P<0.05), with the deviation of low-dose blood volume from 5.593 mL to 5.887 mL.The volume deviation by method B (10.84% and 9.42%) were greater than that by method A (8.67% and 5.63%). The average volume of 0.5 U subsidiary bags split from 1.5 U and 2 U by method C were (65.49±1.72) mL and (64.99±1.91) mL (P>0.05), with volume deviation at 2.63% and 2.94%, respectively.The mean volume value of overall 0.5 U blood (n=483) was (65.35±5.34) mL. 【Conclusion】 For packaging 0.5 U subsidiary bags, the instrument multi-bag packaging showed the largest volume deviation, followed by the manual multi-bag packaging and the single-bag packaging.The volume labeling of low-dose SLD RBC should be established, according to the specifications of parent bags and specific gravity.