Biomedical subjects

Jia-Fu Ji

Publications and source records attributed to Jia-Fu Ji.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas: report of 8 cases in a single institution and review of the Chinese literature.

BACKGROUND: Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas (SPTP) is a rare disease with a low-grade malignant potential. In recent years, the incidence has been increasing. No consensus has been reached regarding diagnostic or therapeutic strategies. METHODS: Eight cases of SPTP, admitted from 1996 to March 2005, were analyzed retrospectively, and all the literature concerning SPTP published in Chinese medical journals from January 1994 to March 2005 were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 186 cases have been reported since 1995, among which 162 were females (87.1%), with a male to female ratio of 1:6.8. A histogram of the ages at onset illustrated an approximately smooth skewed distribution with a single peak, which was located between 10 and 19 years. The number of diseases located at the pancreatic head is similar to that located at the body and the tail. Malignancy was pathologically diagnosed in 22 cases (11.6%). Major clinical presentations included abdominal pain of varying degree (43.5%) and palpable abdominal masses (37.1%). Treatment strategies include different types of resection, ranging from tumor enucleation to multiple organ resection, and the prognosis is generally good. CONCLUSIONS: SPTP occurs predominantly in adolescent and young females, and a satisfactory effect could be achieved with active and appropriate surgeries.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

[Clinicopathological features of solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas].

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the clinicopathological features of solid pseudopapillary tumor (SPT) of the pancreas. METHODS: Eight patients with SPT of the pancreas admitted from August 1996 to March 2005 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: All the 8 patients were female with an average age of 25.3 (13-41) years. The primary clinical manifestations included abdominal mass (n = 3), vague abdominal pain (n = 3), and duodenal obstruction (n = 1). SPT was occasionally found in one patient during physical examination. Six tumors located at the head and the other two in the body and tail of the pancreas. Pancreaticoduodenectomies were performed in 4 patients, tumor enucleations in 2, distal pancreatectomies in 1, and palliative internal drainage with a cystoenterotomy in the other one with an unresectable huge cystic lesion. All patients were alive on an average follow-up of 37.8 (8-103) months. CONCLUSION: SPT occurs mainly in adolescent and young females, and satisfactory outcome may be achieved with active and appropriate surgeries.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Dominant expression of 85-kDa form of cortactin in colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Cortactin is commonly expressed in several human cancers, which may alter their invasive or metastatic properties. Eighty five kilodalton form (p85) and 80-kDa form (p80) of cortactin are two separate bands in SDS-PAGE representing different conformational states. The objective of this study was to investigate cortactin expression in colorectal cancer (CRC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Cortactin expression was studied in an eight paired laser capture microdissection (LCM) CRC tissues and matched non-cancerous epithelia by immunoblotting. The expression in 58 CRC and two cell lines, HCT8 and HCT116, was studied respectively by immunohistochemistry and confocal laser scanning immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Dominant expression of p85 was identified in LCM-procured CRC tissues compared with equal intensity of p85 and p80 forms in non-cancerous tissues, while the amount of total cortactin was approximate. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated that cortactin located in the cytoplasm of tumor cells and adjacent non-cancerous cells, and its expression was negatively correlated with TNM staging and lymphatic invasion status. However, the invasion fronts in 3 of 58 primary tumors and 28 of 39 available lymph node metastases were intensively stained. Further, immunofluorescence analysis showed that cortactin was distributed in cytoplasm and enriched in the front of the extending lamellipodia at adhering side of cultured cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated the dominant expression of p85 form of cortactin in CRC for the first time. The enrichment of cortactin in the invasion front of some tumor cells and in the extending lamellipodia of cultured cancer cells suggests that cortactin may help cancer cell movement.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

PubMed2005

Stomach-interposed cholecystogastrojejunostomy: a palliative approach for periampullary carcinoma.

AIM: For patients of periampullary carcinoma found to be unresectable at the time of laparotomy, surgical palliation is the primary choice of treatment. Satisfactory palliation to maximize the quality of life with low morbidity and mortality is the gold standard for a good procedure. Our aim is to explore such a procedure as an alternative to the traditional ones. METHODS: A modified double-bypass procedure is performed by, in addition to the usual gastrojejunostomy, implanting a mushroom catheter from the gall bladder into the jejunum through the interposed stomach as an internal drainage. A retrospective review was performed including 22 patients with incurable periampullary carcinomas who underwent this surgery. RESULTS: Both jaundice and impaired liver function improved significantly after surgery. No postoperative deaths, cholangitis, gastrojejunal, biliary anastomotic leaks, recurrent jaundice or late gastric outlet obstruction occurred. Delayed gastric emptying occurred in two patients. The total surgical time was 150+/-26 min. The estimated blood loss was 160+/-25 mL. The mean length of hospital stay after surgery was 22+/-6 d. The mean survival was 8 mo (range 1.5-18 mo). CONCLUSION: In patients of unresectable periampullary malignancies, stomach-interposed cholecystogastrojejunostomy is a safe, simple and efficient technique for palliation.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Molecular profiling of hepatocellular carcinomas by cDNA microarray.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. Conventional diagnosis and treatment of this malignancy have been dismal and should be complemented by novel tools. The development and progress of HCC are believed to be caused by the accumulation of genetic changes resulting in altered expression of thousands of cancer-related genes, which can be measured by globe genetic analysis. Gene expression profiling of HCC has been employed to elucidate hepatocarcinogenesis and disclose molecular mechanisms underlying complex clinical features. Identifying phenotype-associated genes/profiles has impacts on current diagnosis and management strategy of HCC. In spite of some pitfalls of this technology and challenges in improving the research process, scrutinous validation of profiling data of HCC combined with other approaches will eventually benefit the patients.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

PubMed2004

Cancer/testis antigen expression and autologous humoral immunity to NY-ESO-1 in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer has the highest mortality rate and the second-highest morbidity rate of all malignant tumors in China. Since cancer/testis (CT) antigens are expressed in various types of human tumors but generally not in normal tissue except for testis, they are promising antigens for cancer immunotherapy. NY-ESO-1, in particular, is the most immunogenic of the CT antigens. To study the feasibility of developing a CT antigen vaccine for gastric cancer, 101 gastric cancer samples were analyzed for the presence of NY-ESO-1 mRNA and that of 10 other CT antigen genes. Twelve out of 101 samples (11.9%) were found to be NY-ESO-1 mRNA-positive, 11 of them from advanced stage patients. In 7 of the 12 NY-ESO-1 mRNA-positive samples, the NY-ESO-1 protein was also detected by immunohistochemistry. An autologous humoral immune response to NY-ESO-1 was detected in 6 of 12 advanced stage NY-ESO-1 mRNA-positive patients, indicating that NY-ESO-1 is immunogenic in advanced stage gastric cancer. The serum from a patient with an NY-ESO-1 negative but LAGE-1 positive tumor was also found to be NY-ESO-1 antibody positive, possibly due to cross-reactivity between NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1. All NY-ESO-1 mRNA-positive gastric cancer samples also expressed one to seven additional CT genes, revealing a tendency toward a clustered expression pattern, regardless of disease stage. About 74% of the samples expressed at least one CT antigen, most frequently MAGE-3 (41.6%). NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-3 are thus potential targets for a multivalent CT antigen vaccine.

Antibody Formation↗

PubMed2004

COX-2 expression and tumor angiogenesis in colorectal cancer.

AIM: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is one of the rate-limiting enzymes in metabolism of arachidonic acid, and COX-2 inhibitors demonstrate preventive effects on cancer, especially on colorectal cancer. The underlying mechanism remains unclear. The aim of this study was to illustrate the relationship between angiogenesis and COX-2 in carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer. METHODS: One hundred and seventy patients with colorectal cancer were enrolled in our study from January 1993 to September 2001 in School of Oncology, Peking University. COX-2 and VEGF expression were detected with the immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique. IHC assays were carried out with the aid of tissue microarray (TMA) procedure. Specimens from 35 of these patients were examined with reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). RESULTS: COX-2 and VEGF expressions were stronger in colorectal cancer than those in the corresponding normal tissues, at both protein and mRNA levels. One hundred patients were eligible for analysis after IHC assay of COX-2 and VEGF. The positive rate of VEGF was much higher in COX-2 positive group (47/85) than in COX-2 negative group (chi (2) = 4.181, P = 0.041). The result was further verified by the result of RT-PCR (chi (2) = 8.517, P = 0.003). Correlation coefficient was 0.409 after Spearman correlation analysis (P = 0.015). CONCLUSION: COX-2 may be involved in the course of tumor angiogenesis of colorectal cancer and acts through VEGF.

Colorectal Neoplasms↗

PubMed2004

Clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of multiple primary colorectal carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of multiple primary colorectal carcinomas (MPCC). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 37 patients with MPCC from 1974 to 1998 was carried out. RESULTS: The incidence of MPCC was 2.74%(37/1 348) in patients with primary colorectal carcinomas, 15 cases of them were patients with synchronous carcinomas (SC) and 22 cases were diagnosed as metachronous carcinomas (MC). Most tumors were located in the right colon and rectum. Fifty-five percent (12/22) of MC were diagnosed within 3 years after tumor resection and 41%(9/22) of MC occurred after 8 years. Radical resections were performed in all patients except for 1 case. The 5-year survival rate of SC was 72.7%(8/11) and that of MC after the first cancer and second cancer was 71.4%(15/21) and 38.9%(7/18), respectively. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the importance of complete preoperative examination, careful intraoperative exploration and periodic postoperative surveillance. Early diagnosis and radical resection can increase survival rate of MPCC.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Silencing-specific methylation and single nucleotide polymorphism of hMLH1 promoter in gastric carcinomas.

AIM: To investigate CpG methylation and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of a specific promoter region of hMLH1 in primary gastric carcinoma. METHODS: Primary gastric carcinomas (n=80), their corresponding normal mucosal samples, and gastric mucosal biopsies from normal/gastritis control patients (n=54) were used. Hypermethylation at -253 nt and -251 nt in relation with the translational start site and SNP of a silencing specific region (-339 nt-46 nt) in the hMLH1 promoter were analyzed by Bst UI-combined bisulfite assay (COBRA), denaturing high performance liquid chromatogram (DHPLC), and sequencing. RESULTS: (A) The specific methylation at -253 nt and -251 nt was observed in 2 of 60 primary gastric carcinomas, but neither in all of the corresponding mucosa nor in normal/gastritis samples, by Bst UI-COBRA and DHPLC. (B) The hMLH1 promoter was methylated homogeneously in the xenograft of the primary gastric carcinoma with the methylated and unmethylated hMLH1. (C) The pattern of SNP at -93 nt of the hMLH1 promoter in 54 Chinese patients with gastric carcinoma was the same as that in the control patients: 51 % was A/G heteroalleles, 34 % and 15 % were A/A and G/G homoalleles, respectively. CONCLUSION: Biallelic inactivation of hMLH1 by epigenetic silencing existed in human primary gastric carcinoma homogeneously. Hypermethylation of hMLH1 may play a role in the early stage of development of a few gastric carcinomas. The SNP at -93 nt is not related to the susceptibility of gastric carcinomas.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed2003

Effect of body mass index on adenocarcinoma of gastric cardia.

AIM: Obesity has been proved as one of the main risk factors for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) in the West. The objective of our research was to evaluate the relationship between obesity and the risk of GCA in people from North China. METHODS: A total of 300 patients who had been diagnosed as GCA and had accepted surgical operation at Beijing Cancer Hospital from 1995 to 2002 were enrolled. Data were collected from pathology materials and hospital records. Two hundred and fifty-eight healthy people who had accepted health examination at the same hospital during the same period were enrolled as controls. Height, weight and gender of them at the time of examination were also collected. Obesity was estimated by body mass index (BMI), computed as weight in kilograms per square surface area (Kg/m2). The degree of obesity was determined by using BMI< or =18.5, 24-27.9 and > or =28 (Kg/m2) as the cut-off points for underweight/normal, overweight and obesity, respectively. Associations with obesity were estimated by odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). All ORs were adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS: The mean level of BMI was significantly lower in the patient group than that in the control group. The ORs for obesity in age groups 30-59 and 60-79 were 1.15 (95% CI=0.37-3.65) and 0.16 (95% CI=0.05-0.44) for males and 0.78 (95% CI=0.26-2.36) and 0.28 (95% CI=0.04-2.05) for females, respectively. The ORs for underweight were 2.42 (95% CI=0.56-10.53) and 4.68 (95% CI=1.13-19.40) for males in age subgroups 30-59 and 60-79 and 40.7 (95% CI=9.32-177.92) for females older than 60 yrs. BMI was significantly associated with GCA (P<0.01). Underweight people were at high risk for GCA. CONCLUSION: BMI is an independent risk factor for GCA. Underweight is positively associated with GCA.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2003

Role of COX-2 in carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer and its relationship with tumor biological characteristics and patients' prognosis.

AIM: Recent clinical epidemiological studies have demonstrated the preventive effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) against colorectal cancer. The underlying mechanism might be the inhibition of rate-limiting enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in metabolism of arachidonic acid. The role of COX-2 in carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer and its relationship with tumor biological characteristics and patients' prognosis still remain unclear. This study was to investigate the role of COX-2 expression in carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer and its relationship with tumor biological characteristics and patients' prognosis. METHODS: A total of 139 colorectal cancers and 19 adenomas surgically treated in School of Oncology, Peking University, from January 1993 to September 2001 were retrospectively studied. COX-2 expression was detected with tissue microarray (TMA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) procedure. The association between COX-2 expression and clinicopathological features and its influence on patients' prognosis were studied. RESULTS: COX-2 expression was strong in colorectal cancer, moderate in adenoma and weak in normal mucosa, which demonstrated statistically significant difference (chi(2)=46.997, P<0.001). COX-2 expression had no association with clinicopathological features such as gross type, differentiation, invasion depth, vessel emboli and TNM staging. Cox proportional hazards modeling analysis and Log rank test revealed no prognostic role of COX-2 expression in colorectal cancer patients. CONCLUSION: COX-2 may play an important role in the early stage of carcinogenesis, and its expression in colorectal cancer is not associated with clinicopathological features and patients' prognosis.

Adenocarcinoma↗