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Biomedical subjects

Jin Gu

Publications and source records attributed to Jin Gu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Primary transcripts and expressions of mammal intergenic microRNAs detected by mapping ESTs to their flanking sequences.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of approximately 22-nt small RNAs that regulate posttranscriptional gene expression. Thousands of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) have been identified by using upstream 2500-nt and downstream 4000-nt flanking sequences to BLAST in the dbEST database. The cotranscription of the miRNAs and their flanking sequences covered by the matched ESTs is verified by RT-PCR. It directly reveals that a large portion of mammalian intergenic miRNAs are first transcribed as long primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs). Also, the transcripts' ranges of tens of pri-miRNAs are predicted by the EST-extension method. We then extracted the tissue-specific expression information from the annotations of the matched ESTs and established the expression profile of the studied miRNAs for tens of tissues. This provided a new way to establish the expression profiles of miRNAs. Results show that the human brain, lung, liver, and eye and the mouse brain, eye, and mammary gland are tissues in which enriched numbers of miRNAs are expressed.

3' Flanking Region↗
PubMed2006

Ex-vivo analysis of CD8+ T cells infiltrating colorectal tumors identifies a major effector-memory subset with low perforin content.

Previous studies have indicated that the infiltration of CD8+ T cells in colorectal cancer is an independent predictor of increased survival but clinical observations have suggested that the cytotoxic function of CD8+ T cells infiltrating colorectal cancer may often be limited. In this study, we have assessed the phenotype of colorectal cancer CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) isolated ex vivo from tumor tissue, and assessed the perforin content of TIL with respect to their location using immunohistochemistry. We found that CD8+ T cells TILs isolated from colorectal cancer are mainly composed of antigen-experienced cells of effector memory type (TEM, CD45RA-CCR7-, and CD27+/CD28- or CD27-/CD28-), and contain only minor proportions of terminally differentiated CD8+ T cells (TEMRA, CD45RA+CCR7-). The perforin content of these TILs, however, is significantly lower than that of antigen-experienced T cells in PBMCs due to the much lower levels of perforin found in the CD27-CD28- subset in TILs compared with CD8+ T cells of similar phenotype in PBMCs.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2006

[The assessment of wall invasion of rectal carcinoma: correlation of endoluminal ultrasonographic and pathologic findings].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of endoluminal ultrasonography (ELUS) in the preoperative assessment of wall invasion of rectal carcinoma and analyze its influencing factors. METHODS: ELUS was performed preoperatively in 117 patients with rectal carcinoma, in which no preoperative treatment was given. The results of ELUS were correlated with operative and pathologic findings according to the TNM classification. We observed the following factors and analyzed their impact on the accuracy of ELUS: tumor location, the depth of the tumor invasion, and the inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis peritumor. RESULTS: The overall accuracy of ELUS in T stage was 76.9% (90/117). The sensitivity of ELUS for pT(1), pT(2), pT(3) and pT(4) carcinoma was 87.5% (7/8), 51.7% (15/29), 85.7% (60/70), 80% (8/10), respectively. Misdiagnosis occurred in 27 cases, of which 14 cases were overstaged and 13 cases were understaged. The sensitivity for pT(2) carcinoma was the lowest; 14 cases were misdiagnosed, of them 13 cases were overstaged. Overstaging with ELUS for pT(2) carcinoma occurred mainly in these cases in which inflammatory cell infiltration, fibrosis or tumor involved more than one-third of muscularis propria. 13 cases were understaged, of which tumors in 7 cases were located in superior segment of rectum and 4 cases with obviously rectal stenosis. When tumor was located in middle or lower segment of rectum, misdiagnostic rate was 18.5% (17/92); while tumor was located in superior segment of rectum, misdiagnostic rate was 40% (10/25), and differences were statistically significant between two groups in misdiagnostic rate (P = 0.024). CONCLUSION: Although ELUS in the preoperative assessment of wall invasion of rectal carcinoma is useful, it is difficult to avoid overstaging and understaging of ELUS. The overstaging is an important unfavourable factor in assessing the invasion depth of pT(2) carcinoma with ELUS, and the depth of tumor invasion muscularis propria, and the depth of inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis might be responsible for overstaging. Obviously rectal stenosis and tumor being located in the superior segment of rectum might cause understaging.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Structural characterization of the binding of Myosin*ADP*Pi to actin in permeabilized rabbit psoas muscle.

When myosin is attached to actin in a muscle cell, various structures in the filaments are formed. The two strongly bound states (A*M*ADP and A*M) and the weakly bound A*M*ATP states are reasonably well understood. The orientation of the strongly bound myosin heads is uniform ("stereospecific" attachment), and the attached heads exhibit little spatial fluctuation. In the prehydrolysis weakly bound A*M*ATP state, the orientations of the attached myosin heads assume a wide range of azimuthal and axial angles, indicating considerable flexibility in the myosin head. The structure of the other weakly bound state, A*M*ADP*P(i), however, is poorly understood. This state is thought to be the critical pre-power-stroke state, poised to make the transition to the strongly binding, force-generating states, and hence it is of particular interest for understanding the mechanism of contraction. However, because of the low affinity between myosin and actin in the A*M*ADP*P(i) state, the structure of this state has eluded determination both in isolated form and in muscle cells. With the knowledge recently gained in the structures of the weakly binding M*ATP, M*ADP*P(i) states and the weakly attached A*M*ATP state in muscle fibers, it is now feasible to delineate the in vivo structure of the attached state of A*M*ADP*P(i). The series of experiments presented in this article were carried out under relaxing conditions at 25 degrees C, where approximately 95% of the myosin heads in the skinned rabbit psoas muscle contain the hydrolysis products. The affinity for actin is enhanced by adding polyethylene glycol (PEG) or by lowering the ionic strength in the bathing solution. Solution kinetics and binding constants were determined in the presence and in the absence of PEG. When the binding between actin and myosin was increased, both the myosin layer lines and the actin layer lines increased in intensity, but the intensity profiles did not change. The configuration (mode) of attachment in the A*M*ADP*P(i) state is thus unique among the intermediate attached states of the cross-bridge ATP hydrolysis cycle. One of the simplest explanations is that both myosin filaments and actin filaments are stabilized (e.g., undergo reduced spatial fluctuations) by the attachment. The alignment of the myosin heads in the thick filaments and the alignment of the actin monomers in the thin filaments are improved as a result. The compact atomic structure of M*ADP*P(i) with strongly coupled domains may contribute to the unique attachment configuration: the "primed" myosin heads may function as "transient struts" when attached to the thin filaments.

Actins↗
PubMed2006

[Spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy in treatment of solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and safety of spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of the splenic arteries and veins in treatment of benign neoplasms of distal pancreas. METHODS: Four patients with solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm, 1 males and 3 females, aged 30 (17 - 37), underwent laparotomy. The distal pancreas with tumor was cut. The perforating branches between the splenic artery and vein and the distal pancreas were isolated, ligated, and cut. The splenic artery and vein and the short and left gastric vessels were all preserved. The spleen remained intact. RESULTS: The mean operation time was 208 minutes +/- 52 minutes, and the mean blood loss was 475 ml +/- 96 ml. Blood transfusion was not necessary. The mean post-operative hospital stay was 18 days +/- 13 days. No post-operative complications were found except for pancreatic leakage occurring in one patient that was cured by conservative treatment. No metastasis and recurrence was found. CONCLUSION: Safe and feasible, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of the splenic arteries and veins is one of the best choices for treatment of benign and borderline tumors of pancreas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Defining pelvic factors in sphincter-preservation of low rectal cancer with a three-dimensional digital model of pelvis.

PURPOSE: Surgeons often can contribute failure of sphincter-preserving procedure to a limitation of pelvis anatomy; however, they cannot determine definitely which anatomic diameter or spatial factor actually affected the success of the procedure. METHODS: Colorectal surgeons, radiologists, and research fellows collaborated closely to establish a three-dimensional digital model of the pelvis with spiral computerized tomography scanning data of patients with rectal cancer. Retrospective analysis on data of 97 patients with low rectal cancer was performed with this model to identify geometric factors that might affect a successful sphincter preservation procedure for low rectal cancer. RESULTS: A digital pelvic model was established. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that distance from the anal verge, body mass index, and pelvic factors affected the success of sphincter preservation. Sphincter preservation was more likely to succeed when the distance from anal verge was > or =5 cm and body mass index was <25 kg/m(2). Shorter diameter from the upper pubis to the sacrococcyx, distance of sacrococcyx, and excessive curvature of the sacrum predicted failure of sphincter preservation in certain cases. CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic diameters could affect the success of sphincter preservation for low rectal cancer patients besides the distance from anal verge and body mass index.

Anal Canal↗
PubMed2006

A serum proteomic pattern for the detection of colorectal adenocarcinoma using surface enhanced laser desorption and ionization mass spectrometry.

PURPOSE: New serum biomarkers are needed to improve the early detection of colorectal adenocarcinoma. We performed surface enhanced laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) to screen for differentially expressed proteins in serum and build a proteomic diagnostic pattern for the detection of colorectal adenocarcinoma to improve the prognosis of patients with this disease. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: In an attempt to improve current approaches to the serologic diagnosis of colorectal cancer, we analyzed serum samples from subjects with or without colorectal cancer using SELDI-MS. Using a case-control study design, SELDI-MS profile of serum samples from 74 colorectal adenocarcinoma patients were compared with 48 age-and sex-matched healthy subjects using a ProteinChip reader, PBSII-C. Proteomic MS spectra were generated using IMAC3 chips, and protein peaks clustering and classification analyses were performed to build a proteomic pattern that could differentiate patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma from healthy subjects utilizing Biomarker Wizard and Biomarker Patterns software packages, respectively. The constructed pattern was then used to test an independent set of masked serum samples from 60 colorectal cancer patients and 39 healthy subjects. RESULTS: Among the differentially expressed protein peaks identified by SELDI-MS profiling that had the ability to distinguish between patients and healthy subjects, we determined a minimum set of two protein peaks for system training and for developing a decision classification pattern. Masked analysis of an independent set of serum samples showed the diagnostic pattern could differentiate patients with different stages of colorectal cancer from healthy subjects with a sensitivity of 95.00 percent and specificity of 94.87 percent. CONCLUSION: SELDI-TOF-MS profiling of serum proteins combined with bioinformatics tools can be applied to accurately differentiate patients with colorectal cancer from healthy subjects. The high sensitivity and specificity achieved by the constructed clustering analysis algorithm show great potential for the early detection of colorectal cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2006

[Effect of total mesorectal excision and preoperative chemoradiotherapy on local recurrence in rectal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of total mesorectal excision(TME) and preoperative therapy on local recurrence in rectal cancer. METHODS: Rectal cancer patients who received TME in School of Oncology, Peking University, from January 2000 to August 2004 were enrolled in the study group. Patients who received surgical resection for rectal cancer from January 1996 to December 1999,before the introduction of TME,were chosen as controls. Postoperative complications and local recurrence were compared. Clinicopathological and follow- up data were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 161 patients in the TME group and 173 as controls. The intra- operative blood loss was significant less,hospital stay shorter,and lymph nodes harvested more in TME group than those in the control group,there was no difference in complication rate between the two groups. Local recurrence (LR) rate was 2.5% in TME and 8.0% in the control group, respectively (chi2=5.144; P=0.023). In TME group,the local recurrence rate was 1.8% in the 77 patients with preoperative therapy,and 2.9% in the other patients without preoperative therapy (P=0.182). Logistic regression analysis revealed that TME and vessel cancerous emboli were major risk factors for local recurrence of rectal cancer. CONCLUSION: TME and vessel cancerous emboli are major risk factors for local recurrence of rectal cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

[Efficacy and safety of adjuvant post-surgical therapy with imatinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients with high risk of recurrence: interim analysis from a multicenter prospective clinical trial].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with imatinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST) patients who had high risk of recurrence. METHODS: A prospective, open-label, multi-center trial conducted in sixteen teaching hospitals in China was carried out. The criteria of the enrolled patients included age more than 18 years old, CD117 positive GIST, tumor size more than 5 cm, pathological mitosis counts more than 5/50 HPF, and treatment beginning within 4 weeks after complete resection and with imatinib (400 mg, once a day) for at least 12 months. The 1, 3 year recurrence rates, disease free survival, overall survival rate and quality of life were evaluated. RESULTS: From Aug. 16th 2004 to Sep. 13th 2005, there were totally 74 patients screened and 57 patients (34 men, 23 women) enrolled in the imatinib treatment group. The primary tumors were located in the stomach in 50.9%, the small intestine in 38.6% and the colorectum in 10.5% of the cases. All the patients received radical resection. Until the cut-off date of interim analysis, there was no evidence of tumor relapse or metastasis in all patients and no death was reported either. Among the 57 enrolled patients with intention to treat(ITT), twelve patients finished the protocol (per protocol, PP). The disease free survival was (268.3 +/-120.2) d in ITT analysis, and (396.7+/-38.2) d in the PP analysis. The incidence of adverse effect was 44.4% . The score in quality of life showed no statistically significant difference between the baseline visit and the follow-up visits. CONCLUSION: Imatinib is a promising postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in GISTs patients with high risk of recurrence, and the adverse effects are receivable.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Changing patterns of colorectal cancer in China over a period of 20 years.

AIM: To determine whether any changes have occurred on the patterns of colorectal cancer in China. METHODS: Data from 21 Chinese articles published from 1980 to 1999, were used to analyze the time trend of colorectal cancer according to the patients' age at diagnosis, sex, the site of the tumor, stage, and the pathology. RESULTS: From 1980s to 1990s, the mean age of the colorectal cancer patients has increased. The percentage of the female patients rose. The distribution of colorectal carcinoma shows a predominance of rectal cancer. However, the proportion of proximal colon cancer (including transverse and ascending colon) increased significantly accompanied by a decline in the percentage of rectal cancer. Similarity in the percentage of distal colon cancer between two decades was revealed. In the 1990s, statistically more Stage B patients were found than those in 1980s. In addition, databases show a significant decrease in the Stage D cases. The proportion of adenocarcinoma increased, but the mucinous adenocarcinoma decreased during two decades. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the pattern of colorectal cancer in China has been changing. Especially, a proximal shift due to the increasing proportion of ascending and transverse colon cancer has occurred in China.

China↗
PubMed2005

MicroRNA identification based on sequence and structure alignment.

MOTIVATION: MicroRNAs (miRNA) are approximately 22 nt long non-coding RNAs that are derived from larger hairpin RNA precursors and play important regulatory roles in both animals and plants. The short length of the miRNA sequences and relatively low conservation of pre-miRNA sequences restrict the conventional sequence-alignment-based methods to finding only relatively close homologs. On the other hand, it has been reported that miRNA genes are more conserved in the secondary structure rather than in primary sequences. Therefore, secondary structural features should be more fully exploited in the homologue search for new miRNA genes. RESULTS: In this paper, we present a novel genome-wide computational approach to detect miRNAs in animals based on both sequence and structure alignment. Experiments show this approach has higher sensitivity and comparable specificity than other reported homologue searching methods. We applied this method on Anopheles gambiae and detected 59 new miRNA genes. AVAILABILITY: This program is available at http://bioinfo.au.tsinghua.edu.cn/miralign. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary information is available at http://bioinfo.au.tsinghua.edu.cn/miralign/supplementary.htm.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

Expression profile of cancer-testis genes in 121 human colorectal cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue.

PURPOSE: Among tumor antigens identified to date, cancer-testis (CT) antigens, which are coded by CT genes, are identified as a group of highly attractive targets for cancer vaccines. This study is the first to analyze the mRNA expression and possible correlation with pathologic characteristics of multiple CT genes in a large cohort of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The expression of 10 individual CT genes in 121 CRC and adjacent tissues were analyzed by RT-PCR method. The presence of autologous antibodies against NY-ESO-1 was examined in serum samples by ELISA. To confirm the protein expression, immunohistochemistry was done for detecting the NY-ESO-1 antigen in mRNA-positive CRC tissues. RESULTS: The CT genes were detected with various frequencies in CRC tissue, SCP-1, 1.7%; SSX-2, 2.5%; SSX-4, 2.5%; SSX-1, 5.0%; CT10, 6.6%; NY-ESO-1, 9.9%; MAGE-1, 11.6%; LAGE-1, 15.7%; MAGE-4, 22.3%; and MAGE-3, 27.3%. In 56.2% of tumor tissues examined in this study, at least one CT gene was detected. In contrast, no CT gene expression was found in cancer adjacent tissues. Among 10 CT genes investigated, NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1 are of particular interest because their mRNA expression in CRC was rarely reported before. In our study, NY-ESO-1 mRNA was found to express in 9.9% of the samples, and also correlated significantly with stages (P = 0.041) and local lymph node metastasis (P = 0.002). In addition, we also identified one NY-ESO-1 antibody-positive serum sample. MAGE-4 mRNA was expressed at a high frequency in tumor tissues with vessel emboli samples (P = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that CT genes, especially NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1, do express in CRC. More than 50% of the CRC patients in this study express at least one CT gene, making them eligible for CT vaccination. NY-ESO-1 gene may serve as a marker for local metastasis and advanced disease. MAGE-4 gene is significantly associated with the vessel emboli.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and its clinical significance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: The expression of MMP-9 in 208 cases of ESCC was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and its clinical significance in ESCC especially the relationship with the clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. RESULTS: The percentage of positive cases for MMP-9 detected by IHC was 49.0%. MMP-9 was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of cancer cells especially in the invasive front. Only weak expression was detected in the stromal cells and no expression in non-cancerous mucosa. The expression of MMP-9 was positively correlated with poorer differentiation (P = 0.001<0.01), existence of vessel permeation (P = 0.027<0.05) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.027<0.05). CONCLUSION: The expression of MMP-9 correlates with the cancer cell differentiation, vessel permeation and lymph node metastasis. It may be a novel biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of ESCC.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Matrix metalloproteinases expression correlates with survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases capable of degrading the extracellular matrix and play important roles in malignancies. We evaluated the expression of four MMPs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and assessed the association between MMP expression and clinicopathologic characteristics and disease-free survival time. METHODS: We evaluated MMP1, MMP7, MMP9, and MMP13 expression in tissues from 208 patients with ESCC using immunohistochemistry (IHC), and correlated MMP expression to clinicopathologic characteristics and disease-free survival time. To confirm MMP9 expression at different levels, we simultaneously performed RT-PCR, Western blotting, and IHC on tissues from a separate cohort of 23 patients with ESCC. RESULTS: IHC analysis showed that 63.0%, 41.8%, 49.0%, and 32.2% of 208 ESCC samples were positive for MMP1, MMP7, MMP9, and MMP13, respectively. MMPs were strongly expressed in the cytoplasm of cancer cells, especially in the invasive margin, and weakly expressed in stromal cells. No immunostaining was detected in non-cancerous esophageal mucosa. MMP9 expression was positively associated with poor tumor cell differentiation (p= 0.001), vessel permeation (p= 0.027), and lymph node metastasis (p= 0.027). MMP9 expression was a negative, independent predictor of disease-free survival time (Hazard ratio, 1.470; 95% CI, 1.105 approximately 1.955; p= 0.008). The expression of MMP7 (median survival time: 23 months for MMP7 positive patients, >77 months for MMP7 negative patients; p= 0.001) and MMP13 (median survival time: 18 months for MMP13 positive patients, 39 months for MMP13 negative patients; p= 0.014) correlated negatively with disease-free survival in relatively early stage ESCC patients. Co-expression of MMP7, MMP9, and MMP13 in relatively early stage ESCC samples identified patients with a poor prognosis (13 months median survival time) compared to those lacking MMP7, MMP9, and MMP13 expression (58 months median survival time, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: MMP9 expression is a negative, independent prognostic factor in ESCC and correlates with tumor cell differentiation, vessel permeation, and lymph node metastasis. MMP7, MMP9, and MMP13 may function in early stage ESCC, and their co-expression predicts poor outcome for relatively early stage ESCC patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

[Prognostic analysis of surgical resection for patients with liver metastases from gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the indication and efficacy of surgical treatment for patients with hepatic metastases from gastric cancer. METHODS: Clinical data of 43 patients with hepatic metastases from gastric cancer undergoing surgery from September 1995 to May 2002 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: No relationships were found between the number of hepatic metastases and patient's gender, age, tumor invasion depth, lymphatic node metastases and differentiation P> 0.05. All of 43 patients underwent surgery. Four cases undergoing hepatic resection for metachronous hepatic metastases had a higher survival rate than those who had curative resections for synchronous hepatic metastases (median survival 35 months vs. 10 months) (P=0.0233). 39 patients had synchronous hepatic metastases, of whom 32 patients received gastric resection only and 7 patients received both gastric and hepatic resections, there was significant difference of median survival between synchronous group and metachronous group(median survival 6.0 vs. median survival 10.0 months)(P=0.2799). There was significant difference of the postoperative survival rate among H (1) (7.5 months), H (2) (6 months) and H (3) (4 months) in the patients with palliative gastric resections (P=0.0007). CONCLUSION: Hepatic resection for metachronous hepatic metastases from gastric cancer has a better prognosis. Resections of gastric and hepatic lesions at the same time may not benefit the patients with liver metastases from gastric cancer. H(3) is not feasible for palliative gastric resections.

Hepatectomy↗
PubMed2005

[The expression of 11 cancer/testis (CT) antigen genes in esophageal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression status of 11 different cancer/testis (CT) antigen genes in esophageal carcinoma. METHODS: Esophageal carcinoma tissue and adjacent normal esophageal mucosa taken from 35 esophageal carcinoma patients were assayed for the expression of 11 different CT antigen genes by RT-PCR techniques. RESULTS: Of the 11 CT antigen genes analyzed, none of them was expressed in normal esophageal mucosa. MAGE-3 was found to be the most frequently expressed in esophageal carcinoma tissues (62.9%), followed, in the order of expression frequency, by MAGE4 (31.4%), LAGE-1 (28.6%), MAGE-1 (25.7%), CT10 (20.0%), NY-ESO-1 (20.0%), CT7 (5.7%) and SCP1 (2.9%). No expression of SSX-1, SSX-2 and SSX-4 was found. Among the 35 cases, 28 (80.0%) expressed at least one CT antigen gene, 21 (60.0%) expressed more than 2 CT antigen genes, and 4 of the 21 (19.0%) expressed more than 4 CT antigens, which accounted for 11.4% of total number of patients (4/35). No CT antigen expression was found in the tumor tissue in 7 cases, including 5 cases in stage II and 1 case each in stage I and IV, respectively. Of the 11 CT genes examined, expression of 5 genes (NY-ESO-1, LAGE-1, MAGE-1, MAGE-3 and MAGE-4) was correlated with tumor progression. SCP-1 and CT10 expression was found more frequently in early stage patients. With progression of the disease, the frequency of co-expression of multiple CT antigen genes was significantly increased reaching 28.6% in stage III patients. CONCLUSION: Of the 11 different CT antigen genes examined by RT-PCR in esophageal carcinoma, 8 genes were detected in various frequencies in 28 of the 35 esophageal cancer patients studied. They are candidate tumor-associated antigens in the preparation of tumor vaccines for immunotherapy in esophageal cancer patients.

Adult↗
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↗