β2microglobulin mRNA expression levels are prognostic for lymph node metastasis in colorectal cancer patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common non-cutaneous malignancy in the United States and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death. One of the most important determinants of CRC survival is lymph node metastasis. To determine whether molecular markers might be prognostic for lymph node metastases, we measured by quantitative real-time RT–PCR the expression levels of 15 cancer-associated genes in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary tissues derived from stage I–IV CRC patients with (n=20) and without (n=18) nodal metastases. Using the mean of the 15 genes as an internal reference control, we observed that low expression of β2microglobulin (B2M) was a strong prognostic indicator of lymph node metastases (area under the curve (AUC)=0.85; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.69–0.94). We also observed that the expression ratio of B2M/Spint2 had the highest prognostic accuracy (AUC=0.87; 95% CI=0.71–0.96) of all potential two-gene combinations. Expression values of Spint2 correlated with the mean of the entire gene set at an R2 value of 0.97, providing evidence that Spint2 serves not as an independent prognostic gene, but rather as a reliable reference control gene. These studies are the first to demonstrate a prognostic role of B2M at the mRNA level and suggest that low B2M expression levels might be useful for identifying patients with lymph node metastasis and/or poor survival

INFLUENCE OF PLYOMETRIC AND RESISTANCE TRAINING ON STRENGTH, POWER, AND PREDICTED CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS IN ACTIVE ADULTS

Plyometric training is largely used to improve speed, power, and strength in athletic populations. While recreationally active adults may not be concerned in the improvement of muscular power over strength, it is possible that plyometric training can elicit greater changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) when compared to resistance training alone. PURPOSE: This pilot study evaluated whether resistance and plyometric training combined was more effective than resistance training alone at improving strength, power, and predicted CRF in recreationally active adults. METHODS: Eleven active adults (two males and nine females) were pre- and post-tested for vertical jump (VJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), multiple 5-Bound (M5B), five-repetition maximum leg press (LP5RM), body fat (BF), treadmill time to exhaustion (TTE), and predicted VO2MAX (PVO2MAX = CRF) from TTE. Subjects were randomly split into treatment ((Mean±SD) 28±7 yrs, 23.6±2.7 kg/m2) and control groups (26±7 yrs, 24.5±1.5 kg/m2). The treatment group completed 6 weeks of plyometric and resistance training while the control group completed 6 weeks of resistance training only. Groups were compared using a 2-factor (time x group) RM ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD post hoc test (α = 0.05). RESULTS: There were no significant changes for VJ, CMJ, M5B, or BF (p\u3e0.05), but TTE, PVO2mx, and LP5RM increased significantly (p\u3c0.05) from pre to post. TTE and PVO2MAX changes were driven by significant plyometric group changes in TTE (Pre: 12.05±2.31 min, Post: 12.51±2.15 min), whereas TTE in the resistance training group did not change significantly (Pre: 12.19±1.39 min, Post: 12.39±1.59 min). LP5RM significantly improved in both groups: 370±120 to 477±143 and 394±100 to 520±128 for plyometric and control groups, respectively (p\u3c0.01). CONCLUSION: Both groups showed significant improvements in leg strength, while the addition of plyometric training resulted in no significant improvements in power or body fat when compared to resistance training alone. However, improvements in TTE and PVO2MAX suggest plyometric training may help improve CRF. Therefore, plyometric training may be beneficial for recreationally active adults looking to improve functional capacity and the ability to perform activities of daily living