Research Progresses of Circulating Tumor Cells in Diagnosis and Treatment of Early Lung Cancer

As one of the important liquid biopsies, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) shows more and more clinical values in the treatment of lung cancer such as diagnostic screening, treatment evaluation, postoperative monitoring, and prognosis predicting etc. A large number of small pulmonary nodules patients are detected when screening the high risk population of lung cancer. However, small lung nodules are not equal to lung cancer, and 90%-95% of them are benign lesion, therefore, to accurately and correctly differentiate whether it is benign or malignant when patients firstly detected and treat a small pulmonary nodule is become a new opportunity and challenge for clinician. With the improvement of CTCs detection technology, whether it will play an important role in early differential diagnosis of lung cancer. And whether it will have clinical significance to early lung cancer surgery operations. These require further researches and explorations so as to achieve clinical transformation in the future

Primary lung squamous cell carcinoma with gastric metastasis: A case report

Approximately 50% of patients with primary lung cancer have distant metastasis at the time of their first visit, but gastric metastasis is a rare occurrence. Herein, we report a case of progressive dysphagia as the first symptom and the final diagnosis of primary lung squamous cell carcinoma metastasis. A 61‐year‐old man was diagnosed with a solitary left lower lobe tumor and a solitary carcinoma of gastric cardia suspected to be metastatic or malignant stromal tumors. After surgical resection, the final diagnoses were primary differentiated squamous cell lung cancer, metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the stomach, and secondary lymph node metastasis. Gastrointestinal metastasis should be suspected in lung cancer patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. Gastric cancer metastasis from lung cancer is most likely the result of the aspiration of cancer cells containing sputum into the stomach

Analysis of Risk Characterization and Identification Techniques for Electricity Spot Settlement Based on Multilayer Perceptron Machine

In this paper, the structural characteristics of the perceptron neural network and the calculation method of the hierarchical relationship of the MLP neural network model are first studied. Then the aspects of two-part settlement, generation-side settlement, and customer-side settlement in the electricity spot settlement mechanism are studied, and the importance of these mechanisms for the operation of the electricity market and risk identification is pointed out. Following that, the effectiveness of the risk identification model is assessed and analyzed. This paper examines market performance indicators, the impact of the dual-track mechanism, and the time characteristics of the price index to characterize risk. The results show that in Guangdong, for example, the price in the day-ahead market is much higher than the supply-demand equilibrium price most of the time, and the maximum difference can be as high as 0.662 yuan/(kW-h). For the entire month, the real-time market’s average price is RMB 0.546/(kW-h) and it is RMB 0.063/(kW-h) higher than the day-ahead market. The importance of this study lies in its role in managing and responding to risks for electricity market operators and participants

Variations in Serum CEA and CYFRA21-1 Levels Before and After Surgery Facilitate Prognosis of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Background and objective Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the soluble fragment of cytokeratin 19 (CYFRA21-1) are important tumor markers (TMs) in the preoperative examination of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the prognostic role of these markers in NSCLC patients remains controversial. The aim of the study was to investigate the clinical significance of serum CEA variances and CYFRA21-1 levels for the prognosis of NSCLC patients following surgery. Methods This retrospective study investigated the clinical records and follow-up sessions of 175 patients with NSCLC who accepted surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients were subdivided into groups based on serum CEA and CYFRA21-1 levels. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier method for each group. The prognostic factor was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards model. Results The overall survival (OS) of patients with high preoperative CEA or CYFRA21-1 levels was lower than that of patients with normal preoperative CEA or CYFRA21-1 levels. The OS displayed a significant difference (P=0.001) between groups with high and normal preoperative CYFRA21-1. Compared with groups exhibiting normal preoperative and postoperative levels of CEA or CYFRA21-1, the OS was shorter for groups with high preoperative and postoperative levels of CEA or CYFRA21-1. The difference of the paired groups was significant (P<0.05). Compared with the groups with normal preoperative and postoperative levels of CEA and CYFRA21-1, the OS was lower for the groups with high preoperative and postoperative levels of CEA and CYFRA21-1, which indicated a significant difference (P<0.001). The CEACYFRA211 (HHHH), CEACYFRA211 (NNHH), CYFRA21-1 (HH), CEA (HH), and male gender were identified as independent prognostic factors (P<0.05). Conclusion This study suggested that the prognosis of NSCLC patients was not significantly satisfactory if preoperative and postoperative level of serum CEA or CYFRA21-1 was higher than standard value, especially if the preoperative and postoperative levels of CYFRA21-1 and CEA were higher than the standard values. The measurement of preoperative and postoperative levels of CYFRA21-1 and CEA proved helpful for the prognosis of patients with NSCLC

Cell-penetrating peptide conjugates to enhance the antitumor effect of paclitaxel on drug-resistant lung cancer

<p>To conquer the drug resistance of tumors and the poor solubility of paclitaxel (PTX), two PTX-cell-penetrating peptide conjugates (PTX-CPPs), PTX-TAT and PTX-LMWP, were synthesized and evaluated for the first time. Compared with free PTX, PTX-CPPs displayed significantly enhanced cellular uptake, elevated cell toxicity, increased cell apoptosis, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) in both A549 and A549T cells. PTX-LMWP exhibited a stronger inhibitory effect than PTX-TAT in A549T cells. Analysis of cell-cycle distribution showed that PTX-LMWP influenced mitosis in drug-resistant A549T tumor cells via a different mechanism than PTX. PTX-CPPs were more efficient in inhibiting tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice than free PTX, which suggested their better <i>in vivo</i> antitumor efficacy. Hence, this study demonstrates that PTX-CPPs, particularly PTX-LMWP, have outstanding potential for inhibiting the growth of tumors and are a promising approach for treating lung cancer, especially drug-resistant lung cancer.</p

Polymorphism of MTHFR C677T Gene and the Associations with the Severity of Essential Hypertension in Northern Chinese Population

Objective. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme of homocysteine metabolism and is closely related to the occurrence of hypertension. The aim of this study was to investigate the polymorphism of the (MTHFR) C677T and the factors influencing the severity of hypertension. Material and Methods. A total of 985 subjects were enrolled to analyze the polymorphisms of the MTHFR C677T gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). 306 people with essential hypertension were selected from 985 subjects to estimate the severity of hypertension by the ordinal multivariate logistical regression model. Results. The frequencies of CC, CT, and TT genotypes were 19.5%, 49.95%, and 30.46%, respectively. The allelic frequency of mutant T was 55.43%. The plasma homocysteine level of the homozygous TT in individuals was significantly higher than in those with CC or CT P<0.01. MTHFR677CT genotype, MTHFR677TT genotype, smoking, family history of hypertension, Hcy, and triglycerides (TG) were independent risk factors for the severity of hypertension (OR = 2.29, 2.24, 2.04, 1.81, 1.04, 1.26). Conclusion. MTHFR gene, smoking, family history of hypertension, Hcy, and triglycerides could be important genetic and high-risk factors of the development of severe hypertension in northern Chinese. These factors will contribute to the identification of high-risk populations of hypertension and facilitate the development of hypertension control strategies

Peptide-22 and Cyclic RGD Functionalized Liposomes for Glioma Targeting Drug Delivery Overcoming BBB and BBTB

Chemotherapy outcomes for the treatment of glioma remain unsatisfied due to the inefficient drug transport across BBB/BBTB and poor drug accumulation in the tumor site. Nanocarriers functionalized with different targeting ligands are considered as one of the most promising alternatives. However, few studies were reported to compare the targeting efficiency of the ligands and develop nanoparticles to realize BBB/BBTB crossing and brain tumor targeting simultaneously. In this study, six peptide-based ligands (Angiopep-2, T7, Peptide-22, c­(RGDfK), D-SP5 and Pep-1), widely used for brain delivery, were selected to decorate liposomes, respectively, so as to compare their targeting ability to BBB or BBTB. Based on the <i>in vitro</i> cellular uptake results on BCECs and HUVECs, Peptide-22 and c­(RGDfK) were picked to construct a BBB/BBTB dual-crossing, glioma-targeting liposomal drug delivery system c­(RGDfK)/Pep-22-DOX-LP. <i>In vitro</i> cellular uptake demonstrated that the synergetic effect of c­(RGDfK) and Peptide-22 could significantly increase the internalization of liposomes on U87 cells. <i>In vivo</i> imaging further verified that c­(RGDfK)/Pep-22-LP exhibited higher brain tumor distribution than single ligand modified liposomes. The median survival time of glioma-bearing mice treated with c­(RGDfK)/Pep-22-DOX-LP (39.5 days) was significantly prolonged than those treated with free doxorubicin or other controls. In conclusion, the c­(RGDfK) and Peptide-22 dual-modified liposome was constructed based on the targeting ability screening of various ligands. The system could effectively overcome BBB/BBTB barriers, target to tumor cells and inhibit the growth of glioma, which proved its potential for improving the efficacy of chemotherapeutics for glioma therapy

Circulating tumor cells in the pulmonary vein increase significantly after lobectomy: A prospective observational study

Background It has been reported that there are more circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the pulmonary vein (PV) than in the peripheral blood; however, it is unclear whether the CTC count changes in the PV after resection of a lung lobe. Methods Thirty‐three lung cancer patients were recruited for the study, including 17 who underwent lobectomy via video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery and 16 via open thoracotomy. Sixty‐six blood specimens were sampled from the PV before the PV was interrupted and after lobectomy. The CTCs were quantified using the oHSV1‐hTERT‐GFP method. Results Before PV interruption, the CTC (pre‐CTC) detection rate was 79.0% (26/33), the mean number of CTCs was 3.36 (median 2, range: 0–18), and there was no significant relationship between the pre‐CTC count and clinical factors, such as histologic findings and pathological T stage (P > 0.05). After lobectomy, the CTC (post‐CTC) detection rate was 100% (33/33), the average number of CTCs was 14.88 (median 11, range: 1–69), and the post‐CTC count was significantly higher in patients in whom the PV was interrupted prior to the pulmonary artery (PA) than in patients in whom the PA was interrupted before the PV (P = 0.016). Overall, the CTC count was significantly higher following surgery (P < 0.001). Conclusion Post‐CTC counts were significantly higher than pre‐CTC counts, suggesting that surgical manipulation may potentially dislodge tumor cells into the PV. Interrupting the PV prior to the PA during lobectomy may prevent partial CTC entry into the circulation