Solitary pulmonary mass in a patient with a history of lymphoma: a case report

INTRODUCTION: With the progress made in treatments, the survival rate for patients with malignant lymphoma in the last 30 years has significantly improved. However, the risk of experiencing a second primary malignancy or other disease has increased significantly. CASE PRESENTATION: A 44-year-old Mongolian man with a large mass in his right lower abdomen was admitted to our hospital 15 years previously. The mass was removed, and confirmed via pathological examination to be a malignant B-cell lymphoma in the appendix and distal small bowel. Post-operative chemotherapy with standard cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunomycin, vincristine (Oncovin®) and prednisolone regimen was given for six cycles. No obvious recurrence was detected over the following 12 years. Subsequently, a mass in the right lung was found on a regular X-ray follow-up; our patient did not report chills, fever or cough. Chest computed tomography and positron emission tomography scans confirmed the mass. A primary lung carcinoma was considered to be the most likely diagnosis. However, after an exploratory thoracotomy and right upper lobectomy was performed a pathological examination of tissue samples demonstrated a lung cryptococcal granuloma, with positive staining for periodic acid Schiff and periodic acid-silver metheramine. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the normal population, second primary malignancy (in particular leukaemia and lung cancer) in patients with malignant lymphoma during their long-term survival has been seen occasionally. However, other diagnoses should also be considered such as pulmonary cryptococcosis. Other than computed-tomography-guided needle biopsy, surgery for some patients is a much more appropriate choice, which could also help attain correct diagnosis and treatment

Clinicopathological Features and Prognostic Factors of Colorectal Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

Background. Limited research is available regarding colorectal NENs and the prognostic factors remain controversial. Materials and Methods. A total of 68 patients with colorectal NENs were studied retrospectively. Clinical characteristics and prognosis between colonic and rectal NENs were compared. The Cox regression models were used to evaluate the predictive capacity. Results. Of the 68 colorectal NENs patients, 43 (63.2%) had rectal NENs, and 25 (36.8%) had colonic NENs. Compared with rectal NENs, colonic NENs more frequently exhibited larger tumor size (P<0.0001) and distant metastasis (P<0.0001). Colonic NENs had a worse prognosis (P=0.027), with 5-year overall survival rates of 66.7% versus 88.1%. NET, NEC, and MANEC were noted in 61.8%, 23.5%, and 14.7% of patients, respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed that tumor location was not an independent prognostic factor (P=0.081), but tumor size (P=0.037) and pathological classification (P=0.012) were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion. Significant differences exist between colonic and rectal NENs. Multivariate analysis indicated that tumor size and pathological classification were associated with prognosis. Tumor location was not an independent factor. The worse outcome of colonic NENs observed in clinical practice might be due not only to the biological differences, but also to larger tumor size in colonic NENs caused by the delayed diagnosis

Autocrine Epiregulin Activates EGFR Pathway for Lung Metastasis Via EMT in Salivary Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma

Salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) is characterized by invasive local growth and a high incidence of lung metastasis. Patients with lung metastasis have a poor prognosis. Treatment of metastatic SACC has been unsuccessful, largely due to a lack of specific targets for the metastatic cells. In this study, we showed that epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) were constitutively activated in metastatic lung subtypes of SACC cells, and that this activation was induced by autocrine expression of epiregulin (EREG), a ligand of EGFR. Autocrine EREG expression was increased in metastatic SACC-LM cells compared to that in non-metastatic parental SACC cells. Importantly, EREG-neutralizing antibody, but not normal IgG, blocked the autocrine EREG-induced EGFR phosphorylation and the migration of SACC cells, suggesting that EREG-induced EGFR activation is essential for induction of cell migration and invasion by SACC cells. Moreover, EREG-activated EGFR stabilized Snail and Slug, which promoted EMT and metastatic features in SACC cells. Of note, targeting EGFR with inhibitors significantly suppressed both the motility of SACC cells in vitro and lung metastasis in vivo. Finally, elevated EREG expression showed a strong correlation with poor prognosis in head and neck cancer. Thus, targeting the EREG-EGFR-Snail/Slug axis represents a novel strategy for the treatment of metastatic SACC even no genetic EGFR mutation

Epidemiological and genomic analyses of human isolates of Streptococcus suis between 2005 and 2021 in Shenzhen, China

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is an important food-borne zoonotic pathogen that causes swine streptococcosis, which threatens human health and brings economic loss to the swine industry. Three-quarters of human S. suis infections are caused by serotype 2. A retrospective analysis of human S. suis cases in Shenzhen, a megacity in China, with high pork consumption, between 2005 and 2021 was conducted to understand its genomic epidemiology, pathogen virulence, and drug resistance characteristics. The epidemiological investigation showed that human cases of S. suis in Shenzhen were mainly associated with people who had been in close contact with raw pork or other swine products. Whole-genome sequence analysis showed that 33 human isolates in Shenzhen were dominated by serotype 2 (75.76%), followed by serotype 14 (24.24%), and the most prevalent sequence types (STs) were ST7 (48.48%) and ST1 (39.40%). ST242 (9.09%) and ST25 (3.03%), which were rarely reported, were also found. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Shenzhen human isolates had close genetic relatedness to isolates from Guangxi (China), Sichuan (China), and Vietnam. We found a new 82 KB pathogenicity island (PAI) in the serotype 2 isolate that may play a role in sepsis. Similarly, a serotype 14 isolate, containing 78 KB PAI, was isolated from a patient presenting with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSLS) who subsequently died. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) was high in human isolates of S. suis from Shenzhen. Most human isolates were resistant to tetracycline, streptomycin, erythromycin, and clindamycin, and 13 isolates had intermediate resistance to penicillin. In conclusion, swine importation from Guangxi, Sichuan, and Vietnam should be more closely monitored, and the use of antibiotics limited to reduce the potential for antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

SPARCL1, a Novel Prognostic Predictive Factor for GI Malignancies: a Meta-Analysis

Background/Aims: Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteines-like 1 (SPARCL1) is abnormally expressed in gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. However, the correlation between SPARCL1 expression and the prognosis of patients remains unknown. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the potential value of SPARCL1 as a prognostic predictive marker for GI malignancies. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, EBSCO, CNKI, and Wanfang databases were systematically searched for studies examining SPARCL1 and clinicopathological features, including the prognoses of patients. Hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) from individual studies were calculated and pooled using a random-effects or fix-effects model. Heterogeneity and publication bias analyses were performed. Results: Data from 8 studies, including a total of 2,356 patients, were summarized. The expression of SPARCL1 suggested a better prognosis (HR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.445-0.698, P=0.000) and was associated with clinicopathological features of GI malignancies, including distant metastasis (OR=0.44, 95% CI: 0.23-0.85, P=0.014), lymph node metastasis (OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.39–0.81, P=0.002) and tumor differentiation (OR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.82–2.69, P=0.000). Subgroup analyses based on cancer type revealed that the expression of SPARCL1 had no effect on lymph node metastasis in colorectal cancer, and it did not influence tumor differentiation in gastric cancer. Egger’s test showed no evidence of publication bias (all P&#x3e;0.05). Conclusion: SPARCL1 could be a novel prognostic predictive factor for GI malignancies. The expression of SPARCL1 could influence the clinicopathological features of GI malignancies. Further large-scale studies are essential to confirm SPARCL1’s prognostic predictive value, and more fundamental experimental studies are needed to illustrate the mechanisms

Osteopontin-enhanced hepatic metastasis of colorectal cancer cells.

Liver metastasis is a major cause of mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC). However, mechanisms underlying this process are largely unknown. Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted phosphorylated glycoprotein that is involved in tumor migration and metastasis. The role of OPN in cancer is currently unclear. In this study, OPN mRNA was examined in tissues from CRC, adjacent normal mucosa, and liver metastatic lesions using quantitative real-time PCR analysis. The protein expression of OPN and its receptors (integrin αv and CD44 v6) was detected by using an immunohistochemical (IHC) method. The role of OPN in liver metastasis was studied in established colon cancer Colo-205 and SW-480 cell lines transfected with sense- or antisense-OPN eukaryotic expression plasmids by flow cytometry and cell adhesion assay. Fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP) was used to study gap functional intercellular communication (GJIC) among OPN-transfected cells. It was found that OPN was highly expressed in metastatic hepatic lesions from CRC compared to primary CRC tissue and adjacent normal mucosa. The expression of OPN mRNA in tumor tissues was significantly related with the CRC stages. OPN expression was also detected in normal hepatocytes surrounding CRC metastatic lesions. Two known receptors of OPN, integrin αv and CD44v6 proteins, were strongly expressed in hepatocytes from normal liver. CRC cells with forced OPN expression exhibited increased heterotypic adhesion with endothelial cells and weakened intercellular communication. OPN plays a significant role in CRC metastasis to liver through interaction with its receptors in hepatocytes, decreased homotypic adhesion, and enhanced heterotypic adhesion

Effect of Rubber Nanoparticle Agglomeration on Properties of Thermoplastic Vulcanizates during Dynamic Vulcanization

We previously reported that the dispersed rubber microparticles in ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM)/polypropylene (PP) thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) are actually agglomerates of rubber nanoparticles. In this study, based on this new understanding of the microstructure of TPV, we further revealed the microstructure-properties relationship of EPDM/PP TPV during dynamic vulcanization, especially the effect of the size of rubber nanoparticle agglomerates (dn), the thicknesses of PP ligaments (IDpoly) and the rubber network on the properties of EPDM/PP TPV. We were able to simultaneously obtain a high tensile strength, elongation at break, elastic modulus, and elasticity for the EPDM/PP TPV by the achievement of a smaller dn, a thinner IDpoly and a denser rubber network. Interestingly, the effect of dn and IDpoly on the elastic modulus of EPDM/PP TPV composed of rubber nanoparticle agglomerates is different from that of EPDM/PP TPVs composed of rubber microparticles reported previously. The deformation behavior of the TPVs during stretching was studied to understand the mechanism for the achievement of good mechanical properties. Interestingly, the rubber nanoparticle agglomerates are oriented along the tensile direction during stretching. The TPV samples with smaller and more numerous rubber nanoparticle agglomerates can slow down the development of voids and cracks more effectively, thus leading to increase in tensile strength and elongation at break of the EPDM/PP TPV

Expression of integrin αv and CD44v6 in normal hepatocytes with Immunohistochemistry. a,

<p>In <i>IHC</i>, integrin αv proteins (brown positive stain) were localized in cytoplasm of hepatocytes (×400). <b>b,</b> CD44v6 proteins (brown positive stain) were localized in cytoplasm of hepatocytes (×400).</p

OPN protein localization in the CRC and its liver metastasis visualized by immunohistochemistry. a

<p>In <i>IHC</i>, OPN proteins (brown positive stain) were localized in cytoplasm of CRC cells in primary lesions(x200). <b>b</b> Adjacent normal colorectal tissues were negative(x200). <b>c</b> Positive stain was found both in CRC cells and adjacent normal hepatocytes in liver metastatic tissues(x100). <b>d</b> As controls, OPN proteins stain in normal liver tissues without CRC metastasis was negative(x100).</p

OPN mRNA location in CRC and its liver metastasis with in situ mRNA hybridization. a,

<p>In <i>ISH</i>, the positive stain presents blue-purple under microscope. The OPN mRNA, which indicates a positive signal, was found in cytoplasm of CRC cells in primary lesions (×400). <b>b,</b> The stain in adjacent normal colorectal tissues was negative (×400). <b>c,</b> OPN mRNA was found in cytoplasm of CRC cells liver metastatic tissue. Adjacent normal liver tissues stains negative (×100).</p