BACKGROUND: Liver inflammation is the main cause of severe liver diseases, including liver fibrosis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Cell therapy topics are receiving increasingly more attention. The therapeutic applications of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have become one of the most discussed issues. While other stem cells have therapeutic effects, they have only one or two clinical applications. MSCs are responsible for repairing a variety of tissue injuries. Moreover, MSCs could be derived from several sources, including adipose tissue. MSCs are usually more abundant and easier to obtain compared to other stem cells. METHODS: To prove the concept that MSCs have homing ability to the injured tissue and assist in tissue repair, we examined the effects of intravenous injected adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) in a N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN)-induced liver injury rat model. RESULTS: The significant repairing ability of ADSCs was observed. The levels of fibrosis, apoptosis, and tumorigenesis in the DEN-injured liver tissues all decreased after ADSC treatment. Furthermore, to enhance the therapeutic effects of ADSCs, we pretreated them with L-theanine, which promotes the hepatocyte growth factor secretion of ADSC, and therefore improved the healing effects on injured liver tissue. CONCLUSION ADSCs, especially L-theanine-pretreated ADSCs, have anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, and anti-tumorigenesis effects on the N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced liver injury rat model.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the progression risk of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) with different clinical managements. METHODS: Women with their first diagnosis of ASCUS cytology were retrieved from the national cervical cancer screening database and linked to the national health insurance research database to identify the management of these women. The incidences of developing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 and invasive cervical cancer (CIN3+) were calculated, and the hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the National Taiwan University Hospital and is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02063152). RESULTS: There were total 69,741 women included. Various management strategies including colposcopy, cervical biopsies and/or endocervical curettage, and cryotherapy, failed to reduce the risk of subsequent CIN3+ compared with repeat cervical smears. Loop electrosurgical excision procedure/conization significantly decreased risk of subsequent CIN3+ lesions (HR=0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.07–0.68; p=0.010). Women in their 40s–50s had an approximately 30% risk reduction compared to other age groups. Women with a previous screening history >5 years from the present ASCUS diagnosis were at increased risk for CIN3+ (HR=1.24; 95% CI=1.03–1.49; p=0.020). CONCLUSION: In women of first-time ASCUS cytology, a program of repeat cytology can be an acceptable clinical option in low-resource settings. Caution should be taken especially in women with remote cervical screening history more than 5 years.
Atypical Squamous Cells of the Cervix* ; Biopsy ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia* ; Cohort Studies* ; Colposcopy ; Cryotherapy ; Curettage ; Diagnosis ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Screening ; National Health Programs ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Risk Reduction Behavior ; Taiwan ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Vaginal Smears

Purpose: Nodal downstaging after preoperative therapy for gastric cancer has been shown to impart excellent prognosis, but this has not been validated in a national cohort. The role of neoadjuvant chemoradiation (NACR) in nodal downstaging remains unclear when compared with that of neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone (NAC). Furthermore, it is unknown whether the prognostic implications of nodal downstaging differ by preoperative regimen. Materials and Methods: Using the National Cancer Database, overall survival (OS) duration was compared among natural N0 (cN0/ypN0), downstaged N0 (cN+/ypN0), and nodepositive (ypN+) gastric cancer patients treated with NACR or NAC. Factors associated with nodal downstaging were examined in a propensity score-matched cohort of cN+ patients, matched 1:1 by receipt of NACR or NAC. Results: Of 7,426 patients (natural N0 [n=1,858, 25.4%], downstaged N0 [n=1,813, 24.4%], node-positive [n=3,755, 50.4%]), 58.2% received NACR, and 41.9% received NAC. The median OS durations of downstaged N0 (5.1 years) and natural N0 (5.6 years) patients were similar to one another and longer than that of node-positive patients (2.1 years) (P<0.001). In the matched cohort of cN+ patients, more recent diagnosis (2010–2015 vs. 2004–2009) (odds ratio [OR], 2.57; P<0.001) and NACR (OR, 2.02; P<0.001) were independently associated with nodal downstaging. The 5-year OS rate of downstaged N0 patients was significantly lower after NACR (46.4%) than after NAC (57.7%) (P=0.003). Conclusions Downstaged N0 patients have the same prognosis as natural N0 patients.Nodal downstaging occurred more frequently after NACR; however, the survival benefit of nodal downstaging after NACR may be less than that when such is achieved by NAC.