Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous genetic disease, and molecular methods for predicting prognosis in patients with aggressive form of the disease are urgently needed to better personalize treatment ...approaches. The objective was to identify host genetic variations in candidate steroidogenic genes affecting hormone levels and prostate cancer progression.
The study examined two independent cohorts composed of 526 Caucasian men with organ-confined prostate cancer and 601 Taiwanese men on androgen-deprivation therapy. Caucasians were genotyped for 109 haplotype-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in CYP17A1, ESR1, CYP19A1, and HSD3B1, and their prognostic significance on disease progression was assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression models. Positive findings, including previously identified SRD5A1, SRD5A2, HSD17B2, HSD17B3, and HSD17B12 polymorphisms, were then explored in Taiwanese men (n = 32 SNPs). The influence of positive markers on the circulating hormonal levels was then appraised in Caucasians using specific and sensitive mass spectrometry-based methods.
After adjusting for known risk factors, variants of CYP17A1 (rs6162), HSD17B2 (rs4243229 and rs7201637), and ESR1 (rs1062577) were associated with progressive disease in both cohorts. Indeed, the presence of these variations was significantly associated with progression in Caucasians (HR, 2.29-4.10; P = 0.0014-2 × 10(-7)) and survival in Taiwanese patients HR = 3.74; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.71-8.19, P = 0.009. Remarkably, the CYP17A1 rs6162 polymorphism was linked to plasma dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) levels (P = 0.03), HSD17B2 rs7201637 with levels of dihydrotestosterone (P = 0.03), and ESR1 rs1062577 with levels of estrone-S and androsterone-glucuronide (P ≤ 0.05).
This study identifies, in different ethnic groups and at different disease stages, CYP17A1, HSD17B2, and ESR1 as attractive prognostic molecular markers of prostate cancer progression.
This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the concentration of indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and to investigate the association between indoor VOCs exposure and the prevalence of ...hypertension among thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) workers. A total of 20 canisters were used to collect VOCs samples in the array, cell and module areas over 12 hours and VOCs concentrations were analyzed by the gas chromatography with mass spectrum. Individual information of health examination and lifestyles by self-administrated questionnaire were provided by 155 volunteers. The multivariate regression models were used to evaluate the associations between VOCs exposure, blood pressure and the prevalence of hypertension. The four dominant VOCs were ethanol (1870.8 ± 1754.0 ppb), acetone (689.9 ± 587.4 ppb), isopropyl alcohol (177.1 ± 202.3 ppb) and propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (98.2 ± 100.8 ppb), which were identified with the highest level in the module area for ethanol and acetone and in the array area for the others. Subjects exposed to a total level of ethanol, cyclohexanone and toluene ≥ 2500 ppb had an increased systolic blood pressure of 5.95 mmHg (95% confidence interval: 0.20–11.71; p = 0.043) compared with those exposed to <2500 ppb. Exposure to mixed VOCs in the indoor environment might be associated with elevated blood pressure among TFT-LCD workers.
Anoctamins were originally identified as a family of calcium‐activated chloride channels, but recently their roles in the development of different types of malignancies were suggested. Here, we ...evaluated the associations between 211 common single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in 10 anoctamin genes with biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer. Four SNPs (ANO4 rs585335, ANO5 rs4622263, ANO7 rs62187431, and ANO10 rs118005571) remained significantly associated with BCR after multiple test correction (P < .05 and q = 0.232) and adjustment for known prognostic factors. Expression quantitative trait loci analysis found that ANO5 rs4622263 C and ANO10 rs118005571 C alleles were associated with decreased mRNA expression levels. Moreover, lower expression of ANO5 was correlated with more advanced tumors and poorer outcomes in two independent prostate cancer cohorts. Taken together, ANO5 rs4622263 was associated with BCR, and ANO5 gene expression was correlated with patient prognosis, suggesting a pivotal role for ANO5 in prostate cancer progression.
Our genetic association study identified that ANO5 rs4622263 was associated with recurrence‐free survival in patients with prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy. Additional analyses also provided evidence that rs4622263 affects ANO5 expression, which in turn is correlated with tumor aggressiveness and patient prognosis.
To assess the clinical significance and risk factors of solitary lymph node metastasis (SLM) in gastric carcinoma and establish a more accurate method to evaluate the possibility of lymph node ...metastasis (LM).
A total of 385 patients with gastric carcinoma who underwent D2 lymphadenectomy at the Cancer Center of Sun Yat-Sen University were included in this research. Then we used a group of data from Sun Yat-sen University Gastrointestinal Hospital (SYSUGIH) to validate the accuracy of our developed method. The χ2 test, Kaplan-Meier analysis, log-rank test, COX model, and discriminate analysis were used to analyze the data with SPSS13.0.
We found that the LM number and pathological T staging were independent prognostic risk factors. CEA grading, LN status by CT, and T staging by CT were independent risk factors for LM in gastric carcinoma. In addition, we developed the equation Y = -5.0 + X1 + 1.8X3 + 0.7X4 (X1 = CEA grading, X3 = LN status by CT, X4 = T staging by CT) to evaluate the situation of LM. The data from SYSUGIH shows this equation has a better accuracy compared with CT.
SLM is an independent risk factor in gastric cancer. And there was no survival difference between the skip metastasis group and the other SLM group (P = 0.659). It is inappropriate for the patient with SLM doing a standard D2 lymphadenectomy, due to the fact that LM rarely occurs in the splenic artery, splenic hilum. The risk factors for LM include CEA grading, LN status by CT, and T staging by CT. And we can use Y = -5.0 + X1 + 1.8X3 + 0.7X4 (X1, CEA grading, X3 = LN status by CT, X4 = T staging by CT, the critical value is 0.3) to estimate the possibility of LM, which has a better accuracy compared with CT.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most prevalent cancer in men worldwide. The majority of PCa incidences eventually progress to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC), thereby establishing an urgent need ...for new effective therapeutic strategies. This study aims to examine the effects of morusin, a prenylated flavonoid isolated from
L., on PCa progression and identify the regulatory mechanism of morusin. Cell growth, cell migration and invasion, and the expression of EMT markers were examined. Cycle progression and cell apoptosis were examined using flow cytometry and a TUNEL assay, while transcriptome analysis was performed using RNA-seq with results being further validated using real-time PCR and western blot. A xenograft PCa model was used to examine tumor growth. Our experimental results indicated that morusin significantly attenuated the growth of PC-3 and 22Rv1 human PCa cells; moreover, morusin significantly suppressed TGF-Formula: see text-induced cell migration and invasion and inhibited EMT in PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells. Significantly, morusin treatment caused cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and induced cell apoptosis in PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells. Morusin also attenuated tumor growth in a xenograft murine model. The results of RNA-seq indicated that morusin regulated PCa cells through the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, while our western blot results confirmed that morusin suppressed phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR, p70S6K, and downregulation of the expression of Raptor and Rictor
and
. These results suggest that morusin has antitumor activities on regulating PCa progression, including migration, invasion, and formation of metastasis, and might be a potential drug for CRPC treatment.
Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been conducted to identify the common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence the risk of prostate cancer. It was hypothesized that ...some prostate cancer-associated SNPs might relate to the clinical outcomes in patients treated for prostate cancer using androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). A cohort of 601 patients who have received ADT for prostate cancer was genotyped for 29 SNPs that have been associated with prostate cancer in Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility GWAS, and within the genes that have been implicated in cancer. Prognostic significance of these SNPs on the disease progression, prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) and all-cause mortality (ACM) after ADT were assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression model. Three SNPs, namely CASP3 rs4862396, BMP5 rs3734444 and IRS2 rs7986346, were found to be closely associated with the ACM (P≤0.042), and BMP5 rs3734444 and IRS2 rs7986346 were also noted to be significantly related to the PCSM (P≤0.032) after adjusting for the known clinicopathologic predictors. Moreover, patients carrying a greater number of unfavorable genotypes at the loci of interest had a shorter time to ACM and PCSM during ADT (P for trend <0.001). Our results suggest that CASP3 rs4862396, BMP5 rs3734444 and IRS2 rs7986346 may affect the survival in patients after ADT for prostate cancer, and the analysis of these SNPs can help identify patients at higher risk of poor outcome.
The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades integrate various upstream signals to regulate many cellular functions, including proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Dysregulation of ...these pathways has been implicated in the occurrence and progression of a variety of cancers.
This study aimed to assess the association of 192 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 22 MAPK cascade genes with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) risk and survival in 312 patients and 318 controls.
After multiple testing correction and multivariate analysis, the minor T allele of MAPK10 rs12648265 remained associated with a lower risk of RCC (adjusted odds ratio 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.50–0.82, P = 0.000426) and metastasis (adjusted hazard ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.30–0.82, P = 0.006). Presence of the rs12648265 T allele demonstrated a trend towards being associated with increased MAPK10 expression, and meta-analysis of four RCC datasets indicated that high MAPK10 expression is associated with a favourable prognosis. Furthermore, activation of MAPK10 by the potent agonist anisomycin inhibited RCC cell growth in vitro, suggesting an involvement of MAPK10 in RCC progression.
In conclusion, MAPK10 may be a meaningful biomarker and a potential therapeutic target in RCC.
The associations between occupational noise exposure and hypertension remain controversial because of the differences in study designs, exposure assessments, and confounding controls. This ...prospective study investigated the relationship between noise exposure and the 10-year risk of hypertension. A cohort of 578 male workers in Taiwan was followed from 1998 to 2008. All subjects were divided into high-, intermediate-, and low-exposure groups on the basis of noise exposure assessment. Cox regression models were used to estimate the relative risks of hypertension after adjustment for potential confounders. During the 7,805 person-years of follow-up, 141 hypertension cases were identified. Significant increases of 3.2 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2, 6.2) mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 2.5 (95% CI: 0.1, 4.8) mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure between the baseline and follow-up measurements were observed in the high-exposure group. Participants exposed to ≥85 A-weighted decibels (dBA) had a 1.93-fold (95% CI: 1.15, 3.22) risk of hypertension compared with those exposed to <80 dBA. There was a significant exposure-response pattern (P = 0.016) between the risk of hypertension and the stratum of noise exposure. Prolonged exposure to noise levels ≥85 dBA may increase males' systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. This association may translate into a higher incidence of hypertension.
Autophagy is a complex process of autodigestion in conditions of cellular stress, and it might play an important role in the pathophysiology during carcinogenesis. We hypothesize that genetic ...variants of the autophagy pathway may influence clinical outcomes in prostate cancer patients. We genotyped 40 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 7 core autophagy pathway genes in 458 localized prostate cancer patients. Multivariate Cox regression was performed to evaluate the independent association of each SNP with disease progression. Positive findings were then replicated in an independent cohort of 504 advanced prostate cancer patients. After adjusting for known clinicopathologic factors, the association between ATG16L1 rs78835907 and recurrence in localized disease hazard ratio (HR) 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54-0.90, P = 0.006 was replicated in more advanced disease (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.64-0.95, P = 0.014). Additional integrated in silico analysis suggests that rs78835907 tends to affect ATG16L1 expression, which in turn is correlated with tumor aggressiveness and patient prognosis. In conclusion, genetic variants of the autophagy pathway contribute to the variable outcomes in prostate cancer, and discovery of these novel biomarkers might help stratify patients according to their risk of disease progression.
: To investigate prognostic factors and recurrence patterns in T4 gastric cancer (GC) patients after curative resection.
: Between January 2004 and December 2014, 249 patients with T4 gastric cancer ...undergoing curative resection were recruited. Patient characteristics, survival, prognostic factors and recurrence patterns were analyzed.
: Our results showed that the median survival time (MST) for T4 gastric cancer after curative resection was 55.47 months, with 59.47 months for T4a (tumor perforating serosa) and 25.90 months for T4b (tumor invasion of the adjacent structure). Multivariate analysis indicated that age (hazard ratio HR, 1.86; P = 0.006), location of tumor (HR, 1.25, 0.90 - 5.64; P < 0.001) and intraoperative blood loss (HR, 1.85; P = 0.010) were independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). After a median follow-up of 25.87 months, a total of 109 (43.8%) patients suffered from recurrence, and 90 patients had been observed specific recurrence sites, among which peritoneal metastasis was the most common recurrence pattern, 59.0% for T4a and 88.3% for T4b, respectively.
: For T4 gastric cancer patients after curative resection, older age, gastric cancer of the entire stomach and more intraoperative blood loss were associated with poor OS. The recurrence rate after curative resection for T4 was high, and the most common recurrence pattern was peritoneal metastasis.