Jiang Zhu

Expressions of COX-2 and VEGF-C in gastric cancer: correlations with lymphangiogenesis and prognostic implications

BackgroundCyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has recently been considered to promote lymphangiogenesis by up-regulating vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) in breast and lung cancer. However, the impact of COX-2 on lymphangiogenesis of gastric cancer remains unclear. This study aims to test the expression of COX-2 and VEGF-C in human gastric cancer, and to analyze the correlation with lymphatic vessel density (LVD), clinicopathologic features and survival prognosis.MethodsUsing immunohistochemistry, COX-2, VEGF-C and level of LVD were analyzed in 56 R0-resected primary gastric adenocarcinomas, while paracancerous normal mucosal tissues were also collected as control from 25 concurrent patients. The relationships among COX-2 and VEGF-C expression, LVD, and clinicopathologic parameters were analyzed. The correlations of COX-2, VEGF-C and level of LVD with patient prognosis were also evaluated by univariate tests and multivariate Cox regression.ResultsThe expression rates of COX-2 and VEGF-C were 69.64% and 55.36%, respectively, in gastric carcinoma. Peritumoral LVD was significantly higher than that in both normal and intratumoral tissue (P < 0.05). It was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and invasion depth (P = 0.003, P = 0.05). VEGF-C was significantly associated with peritumoral LVD (r = 0.308, P = 0.021). However, COX-2 was not correlated with VEGF-C (r = 0.110, P = 0.419) or LVD (r = 0.042, P = 0.758). Univariate analysis showed that survival time was impaired by higher COX-2 expression and higher peritumoral LVD. Multivariate survival analysis showed that age, COX-2 expression and peritumoral LVD were independent prognostic factors.ConclusionsAlthough COX-2 expression was associated with survival time, it was not correlated with VEGF-C and peritumoral LVD. Our data did not show that overexpression of COX-2 promotes tumor lymphangiogenesis through an up-regulation of VEGF-C expression in gastric carcinoma. Age, COX-2 and peritumoral LVD were independent prognostic factors for human gastric carcinoma.

Clinical significance of Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2 are frequently overexpressed in numerous types of cancers. They are known to be the important regulators of apoptosis. This study was designed to investigate the correlation between the clinical characteristics and the expression of Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma. A total of 63 postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples, 10 adjacent non-tumor samples and 10 normal liver samples were immunochemically detected for the expression of Cox-2, Survivin and Bcl-2. A median follow-up of 4xa0years for the 63 HCC patients was conducted. Univariate tests and multivariate Cox regression were performed for statistical analysis. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to analyze the survival. Positive expression of Cox-2 (84.3%) and Survivin (77.8%) was detected significantly more frequently in the HCC samples than in the normal liver tissues (30% and 0, respectively). Bcl-2 was highly expressed in the adjacent non-tumor tissue. Cox-2 was positively correlative to Survivin. Survivin and Bcl-2 were significantly associated with the pathological grade of HCC (Pxa0<xa00.05). Expression of both Cox-2 and Survivin was significantly associated with the poor overall survival (OS) (Pxa0=xa00.0141, Pxa0=xa00.0039). Furthermore, multivariate analysis confirmed the independent prognostic value of Survivin expression, along with tumor size and hepatic function. Cox-2 and Survivin were highly expressed in the HCC tissue. Survivin and Bcl-2 were significantly associated with the pathological grade of HCC. The expression of Survivin was an independent prognostic factor for HCC after a hepatectomy. Treatment that inhibits Survivin may be a promising targeted approach in HCC.

A MULTICENTER RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF SURVIVAL OUTCOME FOLLOWING POSTOPERATIVE CHEMORADIOTHERAPY IN NON-SMALL-CELL LUNG CANCER PATIENTS WITH N2 NODAL DISEASE

PURPOSEnTo retrospectively evaluate the role of postoperative chemoradiotherapy (POCRT) in patients with completely resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with N2 lymph node involvement.nnnMETHODS AND MATERIALSnThis study included 183 patients from four centers in southwest China who underwent radical section of Stage III-N2 NSCLC without any preoperative therapy. One hundred and four were treated with POCRT and 79 with postoperative chemotherapy (POCT) alone. The median radiation dose to clinical target volume (CTV) was 50 Gy (varying between 48 and 54 Gy), whereas the cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy ranged from two to six with a median of four.nnnRESULTSnThe median duration of follow-up was 72 months. The 5-year overall survival rate (OS) was 30.5% in the POCRT group, and 14.4% in the POCT group (p = 0.007). The 5-year disease-free survival rate (DFS) was 22.2% in POCRT group and 9.3% in POCT group (p = 0.003). In a multivariate analysis, N1 nodal involvement (N1+/N2+) was associated with significantly worse OS (HR = 1.454, 95% CI, 1.012-2.087, p = 0.043) and DFS (HR = 1.685, 95% CI, 1.196-2.372, p = 0.003). Absence of radiotherapy and treatment with fewer than three cycles of chemotherapy both were poor prognostic factors for both OS and DFS.nnnCONCLUSIONSnAs compared with chemotherapy alone, adjuvant treatment with both radiotherapy and chemotherapy improves survival in patients with completely resected Stage III-N2 nodal disease in NSCLC. Future study of treatment modality with radiotherapy and chemotherapy is warranted, especially focusing on both N1 and N2 nodal status.

Over-expression of survivin and VEGF in small-cell lung cancer may predict the poorer prognosis

The expression of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis can be seen in most tumors and is correlated with the angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). But little is known about their contribution in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). This study was designed to investigate the expression of survivin and VEGF in SCLC, and to explore their correlation with clinical-pathological feature and prognosis. Forty-five patients with pathological histology of SCLC were entered into this study. Forty-five cases of matched adjacent non-tumor samples and 10 samples of operated patients with benign lung tumor were also included as control. The expression of survivin and VEGF was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC, SP). These two sets of data were processed and tested for correlation with major patients’ characteristics, and overall survival. The correlations between survivin and VEGF expressions and the clinical-pathological features were evaluated by chi-square test. The correlation between survivin and VEGF expressions was analyzed by Spearman’s rank correlation test; the overall survival was analyzed by the Kaplan–Meier method; and the relationship between clinical and pathological features and overall survival was analyzed by the Cox proportional hazard models. Positive expression rate of survivin and VEGF was significantly higher in SCLC than those of adjacent non-tumor tissues and benign lung tumor tissues (73.3 vs. 15.6 vs. 0xa0%, Pxa0<xa00.05) and (75.6 vs. 20 vs. 0xa0%, Pxa0<xa00.05), respectively. Survivin and VEGF expressions were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (Pxa0=xa00.003, 0.011) and clinical stage (Pxa0=xa00.006, 0.021). The expression of survivin was significantly coincident with the expression of VEGF (rxa0=xa00.644, Pxa0=xa00.000). The median overall survival in survivin positive group and VEGF positive group was significantly shorter than those in survivin negative and VEGF negative group, respectively (log-rank Pxa0=xa00.000). Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that survivin expression (HR 0.224; 95xa0% CI 0.074–0.675; Pxa0=xa00.008) and VEGF expression (HR 0.172; 95xa0% CI 0.054–0.559; Pxa0=xa00.003) were statistically independent predictive factors of poorer prognosis for SCLC patients. Our results indicated that survivin and VEGF were over-expressed in small-cell lung cancer, each of them may be an independent poor prognostic factor.

Salvage concurrent radio-chemotherapy for post-operative local recurrence of squamous-cell esophageal cancer

PurposeTo evaluate the treatment outcome of salvage concurrent radio-chemotherapy for patients with loco-recurrent esophageal cancer after surgery.Methods50 patients with loco-recurrent squamous-cell cancer after curative esophagectomy were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were treated with radiotherapy (median 60u2009Gy) combined with chemotherapy consisting of either 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus cisplatin (DDP) (R-FP group) or paclitaxel plus DDP (R-TP group).ResultsThe median follow-up period was 16.0u2009months. The 1-year and 3-year survival rates were 56% and 14%, respectively. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) time was 9.8 and 13.3u2009months respectively. There was no statistical significance of the PFS of the two groups. The OS (median 16.3u2009months) in the R-TP group was superior to that in the R-FP group (median: 9.8u2009months) (pu2009=u20090.012). Among the patients who had received ≥60u2009Gy irradiation dose, the median PFS (10.6u2009months) and OS (16.3u2009months) were significantly superior to the PFS (8.7u2009months) and OS (11.3u2009months) among those patients did not (all pu2009<u20090.05). Grade 3 treatment-related gastritis were observed in 6 (27.3%) and 7 (25%) patients in the R-FP and R-TP group respectively. By univariate survival analysis, the age (<60u2009years), TP regimen and higher irradiation dose might improve the OS of such patients in present study.ConclusionsFor those patients with post-operative loco-recurrent squamous-cell esophageal carcinoma, radiotherapy combined with either FP or TP regimen chemotherapy was an effective salvage treatment. Younger age, treatment with the TP regimen and an irradiation dose ≥60u2009Gy might improve the patients’ treatment outcome.

A long-term follow-up of the imatinib mesylate treatment for the patients with recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST): the liver metastasis and the outcome.

BackgroundAbout 80% of patients with GIST would experience tumor recurrence or metastasis after radical resection. The most common site of the metastasis is the liver. Imatinib mesylate has been proved effective for advanced GIST. The present study was designed to further observe the effectiveness of the imatinib mesylate treatment on the recurrent GIST and the correlation between the liver metastasis and the outcome.MethodsForty-two patients who had recurrent GIST after the first radical resection were enrolled. According to the recurrent sites, the patients were divided into 3 groups: group LG (recurrent liver GISTs), group AG (recurrent abdominal GISTs) and group ALG (recurrent abdominal and liver GISTs). All the patients were given imatinib mesylate at an initial dose of 400 mg per day. Their clinical data was prospectively collected. A follow-up over 3 years was conducted. Tumor response, time to progression and survival were evaluated.ResultsThe long-term Imatinib mesylate treatment was safe and well tolerated. At a median follow-up time for 39.5 months, the 3-year survival rate was 66.7%. Median TTP and OS were 37 months (95% CI: 28.2~45.8 months) and 48 months (95% CI: 37.0~58.9 months), respectively. There was no statistical difference in tumor response among the 3 groups. The similar TTP (P = 0.291) and OS (P = 0.160) were observed in the 3 groups.ConclusionsThe imatinib mesylate treatment could prolong the survival of the patients who have recurrent GIST after the radical surgery in spite of an existence of the liver metastasis. Survival was not significantly affected by liver metastasis when imatinib mesylate was warranted.

Phase II evaluation of nedaplatin and paclitaxel in patients with metastatic esophageal carcinoma

PurposeTo evaluate the efficiency and toxicities of nedaplatin and paclitaxel in patients with metastatic carcinoma of the esophagus.MethodsThirty-nine untreated patients with confirmed metastatic tumors were enrolled. Patients were treated with nedaplatin 80xa0mg/m2 and paclitaxel 175xa0mg/m2 on day 1. Treatment was repeated every 21xa0days.ResultsThirty-six patients were eligible to be evaluated to have had a response. The overall response rate was 43.6% (17/39), with complete response and partial response rates of 2.6 and 41%, respectively. The median progression-free survival and overall survival time was 6.1 and 10.3xa0months, respectively. Grade 3/4 toxicities were only observed in six patients [neutropenia in three patients (7.7%) and nausea/vomiting in three patients (7.7%)].ConclusionComparing to other regimens, combination of nedaplatin and paclitaxel achieved an encouraging clinical outcome, with relatively minimal toxicities for patients with metastatic esophageal carcinoma.

Craniopharyngioma: Survivin expression and ultrastructure.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the significance of survivin protein expression levels in craniopharyngioma. Tumor samples and clinical data were obtained from 50 patients with craniopharyngioma who were admitted to the West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Chengdu, China). The morphology of the craniopharyngioma samples was observed using optical and electron microscopes, and survivin expression was investigated in the samples by immunohistochemical analysis. The immunohistochemical results revealed survivin expression in all of the craniopharyngioma samples, but not in the healthy brain tissue samples. It was identified that survivin was expressed at a higher level in cases of the adamantinomatous type compared with those of the squamous-papillary type, in male patients compared with female patients, in children compared with adults and in recurrent cases compared with non-recurrent cases. Furthermore, no significant difference was detected in survivin expression levels among the tumors of different subtypes and different disease stages. The results of the present study indicate that survivin is significant in the development of craniopharyngioma, and that survivin protein expression levels are a meaningful indicator for assessing craniopharyngioma recurrence.

Efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor–tyrosine kinase inhibitors for lung squamous carcinomas harboring EGFR mutation: A multicenter study and pooled analysis of published reports

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are common in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) but rare in squamous cell carcinoma (SQC). The efficacy of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) for SQC with EGFR mutations is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs for these patients. We performed a retrospective matched-pair case-control study from 3 cancer centers, including 44 SQC and 44 ADC patients with EGFR mutation who were treated with EGFR-TKI. Subsequently, we performed a pooled analysis on the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs for EGFR-mutant SQC in 115 patients, including 71 patients selected from 25 published reports. In our multicenter study, EGFR-mutant SQC and ADC patients had similar objective response rate (ORR) (43.2% vs. 54.5%, p = 0.290), but SQC patients had lower disease control rate (DCR) (71.3% vs. 100%, p = 0.001), significant shorter median progression free survival (PFS) (5.1 vs. 13.0 months, p = 0.000) and median overall survival (OS) (17.2 vs. 23.6 months, p = 0.027). In pooled analysis, the ORR, DCR, PFS and OS of SQC patients were 39.1%, 71.3%, 5.6 months and 15.0 months, respectively. Performance status was the only independent predictor of PFS and erlotinib treatment was associated with a better survival. In conclusion, EGFR-TKI was less effective in EGFR-mutant SQC than in ADC but still has clinical benefit for SQC patients. Further study is need to evaluate the using of EGFR-TKIs in these SQC patients.

Comparison of chemotherapy plus bevacizumab vs. chemotherapy alone as third-line treatment or beyond for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A propensity score-matched analysis

The addition of bevacizumab to chemotherapy has demonstrated efficacy as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Whether this combination is effective as a salvage treatment for patients with NSCLC remains unclear. The present retrospective study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of chemotherapy plus bevacizumab with chemotherapy alone as a third-line, or continuing, treatment for patients with NSCLC. Between January 2011 and June 2016, a total of 38 patients with stage IV NSCLC who had received chemotherapy plus bevacizumab subsequent to failure of ≥2 prior regimens were matched with 38 patients who had received chemotherapy alone using propensity score matching from a dataset of 165 patients. The variables that were analyzed included age, sex, smoking history, histology, epithelial growth factor receptor mutation status, number of prior regimens and type of chemotherapy regimen. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the prognostic factors for survival outcomes and tumor response, and toxicity analyses were performed. The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were improved in patients who underwent chemotherapy-bevacizumab treatment compared with chemotherapy alone (ORR, 23.7 vs. 5.3%, P<0.001; DCR, 65.8 vs. 31.6%, P<0.001). Progression-free survival was prolonged in the chemotherapy-bevacizumab group compared with the chemotherapy-alone group (median, 3.9 vs. 2.2 months; HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.32–0.89, P=0.014). Incidence of ≥grade 3 adverse events was low and similar across the groups. The combination of chemotherapy and bevacizumab is a potentially effective and safe alternative salvage treatment for patients with NSCLC who have not received bevacizumab treatment previously.