Qunli Ding

Utility of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer.

Published data have shown that the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1) in plasma and pleural effusion might be usefulness for lung cancer diagnosis. Here, we performed a prospective study to investigate the utility of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer. A total of 56 patients with solitary pulmonary massed by chest radiograph or CT screening were enrolled in this study. BALF and plasma samples were obtained from all patients and analyzed for VEGF and sVEGFR-1 using a commercially available sandwich ELISA kit. The results showed that the levels of VEGF in BALF were significantly higher in patients with a malignant pulmonary mass compared with patients with a benign mass (P < 0.001). However, no significant difference of sVEGFR-1 in BALF was found between malignant and non-malignant groups (P = 0.43). With a cut-off value of 214 pg/ml, VEGF showed a sensitivity and specificity of 81.8% and 84.2%, respectively, in predicting the malignant nature of a solitary pulmonary mass. Our study suggests that VEGF is significantly increased in BALF among patients with lung cancer than in benign diseases. Measurement of VEGF in BALF might be helpful for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer.

Functional polymorphisms in the promoter region of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and susceptibility to obstructive sleep apnea.

Genetic susceptibility to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been a research focus in the scientific community in the past few years. In this study, we recruited 375 subjects to investigate whether functional polymorphisms in the promoter region of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 (-1306C/T) and MMP-9 (-1562C/T) increased susceptibility to OSA. Our study showed no significant association between MMP-2 -1306C/T polymorphism and risk of OSA (T vs. C: OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.67–1.52; P = 0.97). Compared with the MMP-9 -1562C allele, the -1562T allele was associated with increased risk of OSA (T vs. C: OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.02–2.39; P = 0.04). However, neither MMP-2 -1306C/T nor MMP-9 -1562C/T polymorphism was found to be associated with severity of the disease. Our study suggested that the MMP-2 -1306C/T polymorphism was not associated with OSA susceptibility, whereas the MMP-9 -1562T allele was associated with increased risk of OSA.

Evaluation of VEGF-C and Tumor Markers in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Lung Cancer Diagnosis

A total of 87 patients were enrolled and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were obtained from all subjects. A significant difference was found in BALF VEGF-C level between patients with squamous cell carcinoma and benign diseases (P = 0.043). In addition, the concentration of NSE in BALF form the malignant group was significantly higher compared with that of the benign groups (P = 0.018). However, no statistical difference was observed in BALF CEA (P = 0.375) or CYFRA21-1 (P = 0.838) between lung cancer patients and nonmalignant controls. With a cut-off value of 2.06 ng/ml, NSE had a sensitivity of 72.9%, a specificity of 69.2%, respectively, in predicting the malignant nature of pulmonary mass. Our study observed that the level of VEGF-C was increased in BALF of patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Moreover, we found that NSE was significantly higher in BALF of lung cancer patients than in benign diseases.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Genotypes and Haplotypes Contribute to the Susceptibility of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Background To investigate whether VEGF polymorphisms (-460T/C, +405G/C, and +936C/T)/haplotypes influence the susceptibility of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Method A prospective case-control study was conducted to evaluate the genetic effects of VEGF polymorphisms on the development of OSA. 150 patients and 225 healthy controls were recruited for this study and their genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by logistic regression analysis. Result Our study showed that the -460C allele (C vs. T: OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.38–2.76) and +936T allele (T vs. C: OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.02–2.15) were associated with an increased OSA risk, whereas +405C allele was associated with a decreased susceptibility to OSA (C vs. G: OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.45–0.83). Compared with the most common haplotype CCT, CGC (OR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.19–4.13) and TGC (OR = 3.83, 95% CI = 1.56–9.40) were associated with a significantly increased risk of OSA. Conclusion These observations implied that VEGF gene polymorphisms might be associated with the susceptibility to OSA. These results need to be validated by other independent studies, especially in diverse ethnic populations.

[Combination of narrow-band imaging and autofluorescence imaging videobronchoscopy in the assessment of lung cancer].

BACKGROUND Narrow-band imaging (NBI) and autofluorescence imaging (AFI) are new bronchoscopy technologies that are important in lung cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study is to determine whether or not the combination of these two technologies can improve sensitivity and specificity of lung cancer diagnosis. METHODS A total of 137 patients who manifested symptoms of lung cancer were investigated in this project. All of the examinations were performed based on an Olympus Evis Lucera bronchoscopy system. The patients were examined by white light bronchoscopy (WLB), NBI and AFI. At least three biopsies from body parts visualized as lesions were obtained from each patient. RESULTS WLB sensitivity and specificity were 56.6% and 62.5%, respectively. NBI sensitivity and specificity were 71.3% and 75.0%, respectively. AFI sensitivity and specificity were 82.2% and 25.0%, respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the combined NBI and AFI were 94.6% and 87.5%, respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the combined NBI and AFI were significantly higher than those of AFI alone (P<0.01). Likewise, the sensitivity and the specificity of the combined NBI and AFI were significantly higher than those of NBI alone (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS NBI or AFI exhibited higher sensitivity of lung cancer diagnosis than WLB. Combined NBI and AFI also showed significantly higher sensitivity and specificity than NBI or AFI.