p16INK4a and Ki-67 measurement predict progression of cervical low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion

OBJECTIVE

To describe the natural history of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion/cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade I (LSIL/CIN1), and to analyze the predictive values of p16INK4a and Ki-67 for LSIL/CIN1 progression.

METHODS

From January 2013 to January 2016, 264 patients were diagnosed with CIN1 by colposcopy-assisted biopsy and were followed up at 1-year intervals at Peking University People's Hospital. We measured expression levels of biomarkers p16INK4a and Ki67 to predict progression, persistence, or regression of the disease. We used chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis to explore the relationships among LSIL/CIN1 progression, p16INK4a/Ki-67 expression, and patient age.

RESULTS

Among 264 patients with LSIL/CIN1, p16INK4a, Ki-67 expression and patient age > 30 years old were significantly associated with progression. Univariate analysis showed that age was not a risk factor for progression (P > 0.05) but that p16INK4a and Ki-67 expression were significantly associated with the progression (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that p16INK4a-positivity and high expression of Ki-67 protein were associated with LSIL/CIN1 progression, with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 10.95 (3.04-39.53), and 9.7 (2.77-34.03), respectively.

CONCLUSION

p16INK4a-positivity and high expression of Ki-67correlated with LSIL/CIN1 progression. These markers may be independent predictors of LSIL/CIN1 progression.

Integrative radiomics expression predicts molecular subtypes of primary clear cell renal cell carcinoma

AIM

To identify combined positron-emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomics as a surrogate biomarker of intratumour disease risk for molecular subtype ccA and ccB in patients with primary clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PET/MRI data were analysed retrospectively from eight patients. One hundred and sixty-eight radiomics features for each tumour sampling based on the regionally sampled tumours with 23 specimens were extracted. Sparse partial least squares discriminant analysis (SPLS-DA) was applied to feature screening on high-throughput radiomics features and project the selected features to low-dimensional intrinsic latent components as radiomics signatures. In addition, multilevel omics datasets were leveraged to explore the complementing information and elevate the discriminative ability.

RESULTS

The correct classification rate (CCR) for molecular subtype classification by SPLS-DA using only radiomics features was 86.96% with permutation test p=7×10^-4. When multi-omics datasets including mRNA, microvascular density, and clinical parameters from each specimen were combined with radiomics features to refine the model of SPLS-DA, the best CCR was 95.65% with permutation test, p<10^-4; however, even in the case of generating the classification based on transcription features, which is the reference standard, there is roughly 10% classification ambiguity. Thus, this classification level (86.96-95.65%) of the proposed method represents the discriminating level that is consistent with reality.

CONCLUSION

Featured with high accuracy, an integrated multi-omics model of PET/MRI-based radiomics could be the first non-invasive investigation for disease risk stratification and guidance of treatment in patients with primary ccRCC.

Epithelioid angiosarcoma of bone and soft tissue: A report of seven cases with emphasis on morphologic diversity, immunohistochemical features and clinical outcome

Aims and background

Epithelioid angiosarcoma is a rare histopathologic variant of angiosarcoma characterized by an epithelioid morphology. This subset can histologically mimic non-vascular neoplasms and impose serious challenges in reaching a correct diagnosis, especially in the context of limited tissue sampling (e.g., needle core biopsy). To improve recognition of epithelioid angiosarcoma – and the spectrum of morphologic diversity associated with this rare variant – and to avoid a misdiagnosis, we describe the clinical, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical findings of cases of epithelioid angiosarcoma diagnosed at our institution.

Methods and study design

Seven cases of epithelioid angiosarcoma with appropriate pathologic material were identified from our archives. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of CD31, CD34, Factor VIII, cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, vimentin, HMB45, CD1a, CD68, lysozyme, CD45, desmin, and smooth muscle actin in all cases. Follow-up information was obtained by reviewing medical records or by direct communication with family members.

Results

The lesions involved the bone (n = 4) and soft tissues (n = 3). Microscopically, all tumors had a predominantly diffuse growth pattern, with a focal nested architecture in 6 cases, which closely mimicked metastatic carcinoma. The initial biopsy was performed in 2 of 6 patients and revealed the presence of a malignant neoplasm suggestive of metastatic carcinoma. Immunohistochemically, the epithelioid endothelial cells usually showed strong reactivity for CD31 (7/7), variable or focal positive staining for CD34 (5/7), Factor VIII (4/7), cytokeratin (6/7), epithelial membrane antigen (2/7), vimentin (7/7), and CD68 (3/7). In contrast, they were negative for CD1a, HMB45, lysozyme, CD45, desmin, and smooth muscle actin. Three patients died of disease within one year of the diagnosis, 2 patients developed local recurrence or metastases, and another 2 were disease-free at this writing.

Conclusions

With any unusual epithelioid neoplasm displaying some or all of the morphologic features described above, epithelioid angiosarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis. In such an instance, endothelial markers should be incorporated in the immunohistochemical analysis to avoid misdiagnosis, particularly with limited sampling.

Protective influence of rosiglitazone against testicular ischaemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Testicular torsion is a urology urgent disease which causes testicular injury and potential sterility. In this study, we explored the protective influence of rosiglitazone on testicular ischaemia-reperfusion damage. There were 28 male Sprague Dawley rats in total, which were assigned randomly to four groups. Group A was blank control one; group B was testicular injury one; group C was rosiglitazone one; group D was rosiglitazone antagonist one. The testicles were counter-rotated after 2 hr and then underwent orchiectomy 24 hr later. We found that testicular tissue structure of rats was seriously damaged in groups B and D. However, group C had better testicular architecture. Similar findings were also shown for lipid peroxidation by evaluating the MDA activity (p < .05). Unlike group B or group D, the levels of inflammation by evaluating the MPO activity, the levels of TNF-a, IL-1 and IL-6 and the expressions of ICAM-1 were prominently lower in group C (p < .05) as well. So our researches demonstrated that rosiglitazone significantly decreased the amount of responsive oxygen radical and regulated inflammatory responses. Rosiglitazone had a protective influence against testicular ischaemia-reperfusion injury in rats and possibly depended on its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant traits.

[Establishment of cut-off value of serum pro-gastrin-releasing peptide for diagnosis of small cell lung cancer and evaluation on the clinical diagnosis efficiency]

Objective: To determine critical reference value (cut-off value) of serum pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) and neuron specific enolase(NSE) in the diagnosis of small cell lung cancer(SCLC). To evaluate the clinical significance of serum levels of ProGRP and NSE in diagnosis and differential diagnosis in SCLC. Methods: Three hundred and fifty-two SCLC patients, 163 non small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients , 193 benign pulmonary disease patients and 140 healthy people visiting in National Cancer Hospital were analyzed retrospectively from January 2014 to July 2017.The levels of serum ProGRP and NSE of people were determined using electrochemiluminescent immunoassay respectively . Reference value ranges of the makers were determined by using the method of ROC curves. Results: In NSCLC group, benign lung disease group, healthy control group and mixed group (NSCLC+ lung benign diseases+ healthy control group) as a reference, the cut-off values were 58.3, 62.3, 57.8, 61.3 ng/L. In the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of SCLC and NSCLC, benign lung diseases, healthy controls and mixed group, AUC of ProGRP was 0.940 (0.919-0.961), 0.941 (0.921-0.960), 0.959 (0.944-0.975), 0.946 (0.928-0.963) respectively. The sensitivities of ProGRP were 86.4%, 84.9%, 86.4% and 84.7% respectively. The specificities of ProGRP were 95.7%, 96.9%, 99.3%, 98% respectively. In all groups the Youden's index of ProGRP and NSE were 0.821 vs 0.612, 0.818 vs 0.674, 0.857 vs 0.810, 0.827 vs 0.674. In healthy controls, no statistically significant difference was found between ProGRP and NSE (P>0.05) in the diagnosis of AUC. However, in the remaining 3 groups, the ProGRP diagnosis of AUC was significantly greater than that of NSE (P<0.01). Compared with single marker detection, the sensitivity of combined detection of ProGRP and NSE in diagnosis of SCLC increased to 95.5%, 94%, 96.6% and 94% in each group. There was no significant difference between ProGRP and ProGRP+ NSE in the diagnosis of AUC when compared with the NSCLC group and the mixed group (P>0.05). However, when combined with a healthy control group and a benign lung disease group, the ProGRP+ NSE combination was the highest for AUC diagnosis, compared with ProGRP and NSE (P<0.01). In the SCLC ED group serum ProGRP and NSE levels[776.33(3 103.4)ng/L, 52.14(60.59)μg/L]were higher than those in the SCLC LD group[295.59(799.65)ng/L, 23.36(22.97)μg/L], respectively (all P<0.001). The serum ProGRP levels of N0, N1, N2 and N3 in TNM staging were 113.0(343.65), 167.04(724.56), 427.42(1 388.62), 735.99(1 709.95)ng/L respectively (all P<0.001). Serum ProGRP and NSE levels were not statistically different between the sex groups and the age groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion: To establish the cut-off value of serum ProGRP is helpful for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of SCLC.

SEGMENTATION OF ORGANS AT RISK IN THORACIC CT IMAGES USING A SHARPMASK ARCHITECTURE AND CONDITIONAL RANDOM FIELDS

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Radiotherapy is a standard treatment for this condition and the first step of the radiotherapy process is to identify the target volumes to be targeted and the healthy organs at risk (OAR) to be protected. Unlike previous methods for automatic segmentation of OAR that typically use local information and individually segment each OAR, in this paper, we propose a deep learning framework for the joint segmentation of OAR in CT images of the thorax, specifically the heart, esophagus, trachea and the aorta. Making use of Fully Convolutional Networks (FCN), we present several extensions that improve the performance, including a new architecture that allows to use low level features with high level information, effectively combining local and global information for improving the localization accuracy. Finally, by using Conditional Random Fields (specifically the CRF as Recurrent Neural Network model), we are able to account for relationships between the organs to further improve the segmentation results. Experiments demonstrate competitive performance on a dataset of 30 CT scans.

Gender determinants of smoking practice in Indigenous communities: an exploratory study

Despite the need to urgently reduce smoking rates among Indigenous Australians, in order to close-the-gap in life expectancy, little is known regarding how this can be achieved. This study aimed to explore whether a focus on gender specific determinants of smoking among Indigenous Australians could be identified, thus providing a potentially novel approach to underpin future efforts at intervention. A qualitative research design was employed. Eighty-two participants, comprised of 43 Indigenous women (mean age 32.15, SD, 12.47) and 39 Indigenous men (mean age 34.91, SD, 11.26), participated in one of 12 focus groups held in metropolitan, regional and rural locations in South Australia. Facilitators prompted discussion in response to the question: 'What is it like being a smoker these days?' Two experienced coders assessed data for themes using Attride-Stirling's (2002) method of analysis. Two global themes emerged for men and women. The first theme, 'It's Harder to Smoke Nowadays', encompassed sub-themes capturing changed smoking practices in response to tobacco control strategies implemented in Australia. Sub-themes of 'smoking in secrecy' coupled with an 'awareness of the effects of passive smoking' were identified among women. Among men, sub-themes that depicted tension between 'a desire to be a role model' and 'guilt about smoking' emerged. The second theme, 'Push and Pull Factors', identified a range of gender specific determinants of smoking. While similar reasons for smoking ('pull factors') were identified in men and women (e.g. addiction, boredom, stress, pleasure, mood stabiliser), different 'push factors' (reasons for not wanting to smoke) emerged. For men, sport, fitness and children were identified as reasons for not wanting to smoke, whereas women identified factors such as respect for non-smokers, and body image concerns. The current findings suggest that there may be fundamental differences in the determinants of smoking (pull factors) as well as reasons for wanting to quit (push factors) between Indigenous men and women. A focus on interventions that target gender specific determinants, or motivators of smoking, offers a novel, and potentially efficacious approach to reduce smoking rates among Indigenous Australians.

BMPR2 and HIF1- overexpression in resected osteosarcoma correlates with distant metastasis and patient survival

Objective

Bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 (BMPR2) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α (HIF1-α) existed abnormal expression in several types of cancer. However, their expressions and related roles in osteosarcoma are largely unknown.

Methods

To investigate the clinical significance of BMPR2 and HIF1-α in osteosarcoma, we analyzed their expression levels in 103 osteosarcoma specimens by immunochemistry. Meanwhile, we conducted a follow-up to examine the metastatic behavior and overall survival (OS) of osteosarcoma patients.

Results

Among 103 tissues, 61 cases had BMPR2-positive expression and 57 cases had HIF1-α positive expression. A significant correlation was noticed between BMPR2 and HIF1-α expression in osteosarcoma specimens (P=0.035). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated to investigate the predictive value of the two markers in tumor metastasis. By means of univariate and multivariate analysis, BMPR2 and HIF1-α expression, as well as higher tumor grade, were identified as significant risk factors for OS in patients with osteosarcoma. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the patients with BMPR2 and HIF1-α positive expression had worse OS compared with patients with BMPR2-negative or HIF1-α-negative staining.

Conclusions

It can be concluded that BMPR2 and HIF1-α expression is highly correlated with metastatic behavior in patients with osteosarcoma and can serve as predictive markers for metastasis and OS of these patients.

Quantitative proteome analysis of colorectal cancer-related differential proteins

PURPOSE

To evaluate a new strategy for profiling proteomic changes in colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODES

We used laser capture microdissection (LCM) to obtain cells from 20 CRC and paired normal mucosal tissues. The differential proteins between the microdissected tumor cells and normal mucosa epithelia were analyzed by acetylation stable isotopic labeling coupled with L linear ion trap Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (LTQ-FT MS). Western blotting was used to assess the differential expression of proteins. We used bioinformatics tools for cluster and ingenuity pathway analysis of the differential proteins.

RESULTS

In total, 798 confident proteins were quantified and 137 proteins were differentially expressed by at least twofold, including 67 that were upregulated and 70 that were downregulated in cancer. Two differential proteins, solute carrier family 12 member 2 (SLC12A2) and Ras-related protein Rab-10, were validated by Western blotting, and the results were consistent with acetylation stable isotopic labeling analysis. According to gene ontology analysis, CRC-related differential proteins covered a wide range of subcellular locations and were involved in many biological processes. According to ingenuity pathway analysis of the differential proteins, the most relevant canonical pathway associated with CRC was the 14-3-3-mediated signaling pathway, and seven reliable functional networks including cellular growth and proliferation, amino acid metabolism, inflammatory response, embryonic development, carbohydrate metabolism, cellular assembly and organization, and cell morphology were obtained.

CONCLUSIONS

Combination of LCM, acetylation stable isotopic labeling analysis and LTQ-FT MS is effective for profiling proteomic changes in CRC cells.

Clinical implication of Tiam1 overexpression in the prognosis of patients with serous ovarian carcinoma

T lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1 (Tiam1), a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, was originally identified as an invasion- and metastasis-inducing gene in T lymphoma cells. High expression levels of the human Tiam1 gene have been found in numerous human malignancies, suggesting a potential role as a modifier of tumor initiation and progression. However, little is known about the status of Tiam1 in ovarian carcinoma. The present study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of high Tiam1 expression in serous ovarian carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining for Tiam1 was performed in 182 patients with serous ovarian carcinoma, in 76 patients with ovarian borderline tumors and in 72 patients with benign ovarian tumors. Immunofluorescence staining was also performed to detect the subcellular localization of Tiam1 protein in SK-OV-3 ovarian carcinoma cells. The correlations between high Tiam1 expression and the clinicopathological features of the ovarian carcinomas were evaluated by the χ² test and Fisher's exact test. The overall survival (OS) rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the association between prognostic factors and patient survival was analyzed by the Cox proportional hazard model. Tiam1 protein showed a cytoplasmic and nuclear staining pattern in ovarian carcinoma. Strongly-positive Tiam1 protein expression was observed in 59.3% (108/182) of ovarian carcinomas, which was significantly higher than in benign serous tumors (12.5%; 9/72). Moreover, the rate of strongly-positive Tiam1 expression in borderline serous tumors (31.6%; 24/76) was also significantly higher than that in benign serous tumors. High Tiam1 protein expression was closely associated with a high histological grade, metastasis, advanced clinical stage and lower OS rates in ovarian carcinoma. Multivariate analysis indicated that Tiam1 was an independent prognostic factor, along with metastasis and clinical stage, in patients with ovarian carcinoma. In conclusion, Tiam1 expression is strongly associated with grade and outcome in ovarian carcinoma, and may serve as a useful molecular marker for clinical management.

Increased risk of breast cancer in individuals carrying the TNRC9 rs3803662 C>T polymorphism: a meta-analysis of case-control studies

Currently, the relationship between the trinucleotide repeat containing 9 (TNRC9) rs3803662 C>T polymorphism and risk of breast cancer (BC) is uncertain. Here, we attempted to obtain a more accurate assessment of this association by conducting a meta-analysis of all eligible case-control investigations, comprising 44,820 cases and 58,316 controls. A comprehensive search was performed to identify all suitable studies involving the TNRC9 rs3803662 polymorphism and BC risk. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were estimated using fixed- or random-effect models. Heterogeneity, publication bias, and sensitivity analyses were also carried out. We found that the variant T allele of rs3803662 C>T greatly increases BC risk (CT vs CC: OR = 1.14, 95%CI = 1.07-1.22, P < 0.001; TT vs CC: OR = 1.38, 95%CI = 1.25-1.53, P < 0.001; CT/TT vs CC: OR = 1.19, 95%CI = 1.11-1.28, P < 0.001; TT vs

CT/CC

OR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.19-1.38, P < 0.001). Stratified analysis based on ethnicity also revealed a markedly increased risk in Asian and Caucasian populations. Moreover, studies with hospital-based control groups showed elevated risk under the four genetic models employed, as did those using population-based controls, except under heterozygote comparison. The TNRC9 rs3803662 C>T polymorphism is greatly related to increased risk of BC, in both Asian and Caucasian populations.

A weighted scoring system to differentiate malignant liposarcomas from benign lipomas

PURPOSE

To construct a scoring system to differentiate malignant liposarcomas from benign lipomas by comparing their clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features.

METHODS

Clinical and MRI features of 33 women and 33 men aged 17 to 83 (mean, 53) years who underwent resection of malignant liposarcomas (n=32) or benign lipomas (n=34) were reviewed.

RESULTS

The 5 strongest predictors of liposarcoma were male gender, larger tumour maximum dimension, deep to fascia, thick non-fatty septum or nodule, and internal cystic change. A weighted scoring system was constructed using the 5 strongest predictors as: Z score=10X1+X2+12X3+15X4+10X5, respectively. A cut-off score of 35 was used; all 32 malignant liposarcomas and 4 of 34 benign lipomas scored >35. The cut-off score of ≤35 could predict 30 of 66 lipomatous tumours as benign with a negative predictive value of 100% (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSION

The 5 strongest clinical and MRI features were identified to construct a scoring system to differentiate malignant from benign lipomatous tumours. Further validation in independent populations is required.

[Pathologic features of fallopian tubal fimbriae in patients with endometrial serous carcinoma]

OBJECTIVE

To discuss the potential relationship between endometrial serous carcinoma (ESC) and tubal epithelial lesions by pathologic examination of fallopian tubes with ESC.

METHODS

A total of 30 cases of typical ESC were reexamined and chosen by the pathologist. In each case, bilateral fallopian tubes were submitted to examination of pathologic morphology and immunostaining for p53, annexin IV (ANX-IV), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu, and high-mobility group protein A2 (HMGA2).

RESULTS

Fallopian tubal epithelial lesions were found in 15 cases, including 9 cases tubal serous carcinoma, 2 cases serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC) and 2 cases epithelial hyperplasia. Both sides of tubal serous carcinoma and STIC were found in 1 case. The results showed the positive expression for p53 in 26 (87%) out of 30 endometrial malignant specimens tissues and 9 (30%) tubal tissues samples (P > 0.05). Twenty-five (83%) endometrial malignant specimens tissues and 6 (20%) tubal tissues samples showed the positive expression of ANX-IV. Twenty-one (70%) endometrial malignant tissues and 7 (23%) tubal tissues showed the positive expression of HER2/neu. Twenty-five (83%) endometrial malignant tissues and 6 (20%) tubal tissues showed the positive expression of HMGA2. While, there were significant differences among the expression of three proteins between endometrium and the fallopian tube site (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

STIC may be associated with the occurrence of ESC. The expression of p53 was positively correlated between the fallopian tube and the endometrium. ANX-IV, HER2/neu and HMGA2 were extensively expressed in ESC.

New tumour antigen PLAC1/CP1, a potentially useful prognostic marker and immunotherapy target for gastric adenocarcinoma

AIM

To evaluate protein expression and clinical significance of PLAC1/CP1 antigen in primary gastric adenocarcinoma.

METHODS

Protein expression of PLAC1/CP1 was analysed by tissue chip and immunohistochemistry in surgical specimens obtained from 119 patients with gastric cancer. The data were analysed using SPSS V.16.0 software applying the χ(2) test and Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

The positive expression frequency of PLAC1/CP1 protein was 61.3% (73/119 patients). The overall survival of patients with PLAC1/CP1 protein-positive expression was significantly lower than that of patients with PLAC1/CP1 protein-negative expression (p<0.05). There was no significant relationship between PLAC1/CP1 expression and patient gender, age, tumour position, tumour size, differentiation, gross type, lymph node or TNM stage.

CONCLUSIONS

PLAC1/CP1 protein is expressed in over half of cases of primary gastric cancer, and PLAC1/CP1 protein expression is inversely correlated with patient survival. The data indicate that PLAC1/CP1 provides a marker for identifying gastric cancers with poor prognosis, and suggest that PLAC1/CP1 may provide a useful target for immunotherapy.

Micro-patterned photo-aligned ferroelectric liquid crystal Fresnel zone lens

In this Letter, we disclose a fast switchable Fresnel zone lens (FZL) by confining the ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) in multiple microscopically defined photo-aligned alignment domains. The photo-alignment (PA) offers good control on the anchoring energy (W) by mean of irradiation doses (ID) and thus excellent alignment for FLCs. Two operational modes of the FLCFZL, i.e., FOCUS/OFF and FOCUS/DEFOCUS, were demonstrated. The proposed diffracting element provides fast response time, high diffraction efficiency (η), with saturated electro-optical (EO) operations up to high frequency (≈2  kHz). Thus, the proposed FLCFZLs with simple fabrication open several opportunities to improve the quality of existing devices and to find new applications.

Ca2+ channel subunit α 1D promotes proliferation and migration of endometrial cancer cells mediated by 17β-estradiol via the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor

Calcium and calcium channels are closely related to the estrogen-induced nongenomic effect of endometrial carcinoma, but the specific role of calcium channels is unknown. This study aimed to explore the expression and the biologic effect of the L-type calcium channel in endometrial carcinoma cells and to clarify the molecular mechanism of the relationship between L-type calcium channels and estrogen. The immunohistochemical results showed that Ca(2+) channel subunit α 1D (Cav1.3) expression was high in atypical hyperplasia (1.90 ± 0.35) and endometrial carcinoma tissues (2.05 ± 0.82) but weak (0.80 ± 0.15) in benign endometrial tissues (P < 0.05). Treatment with 17β-estradiol rapidly increased Cav1.3 expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and 100 nM cell-impermeable β-estradiol-6-(O-carboxymethyl)oxime:bovine serum albumin also promoted Cav1.3 expression. Transfection with small interfering RNA against G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) suppressed estrogen-induced up-regulation of Cav1.3 compared with control cells and markedly reduced the estrogen-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and CREB. Knocking down the Cav1.3 significantly suppressed estrogen-stimulated Ca(2+) influx, cell proliferation, and migration in endometrial cancer cells. Taken together, Cav1.3 was overexpressed in atypical hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma, and the estrogen-induced phosphorylation of downstream molecular ERK1/2 and CREB is the result of activation of the GPER pathway. L-type channel Cav1.3 is required for estrogen-stimulated Ca(2+) influx and contributes broadly to the development of endometrial cancer. The Cav1.3 channel may be a new target for endometrial carcinoma treatment.

[Impact of International Association of Urological Pathology Gleason scoring system on prostatic carcinoma grading: a preliminary analysis of 185 cases]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the impact of the 2005 International Association of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Gleason score (GS) system on prostatic carcinoma grading.

METHODS

Using the 1977 revision and ISUP version of GS system, 112 needle biopsies, 18 transurethral resections of the prostate and 55 radical prostatectomies were scored. The proportion of grading discrepancy was observed and compared between the two versions of GS.

RESULTS

Gleason scores of 3+3, 3+4 and 4+3 accounted for 47.0% (87/185), 11.4% (21/185) and 17.3% (32/185) in the modified system, and accounted for 25.9% (48/185), 21.6% (40/185) and 27.6 % (51/185) in ISUP system, respectively. The percentages of primary grade by modified vs. ISUP system were 62.7% (116/185) vs.50.8% (94/185) for grade 3, and 31.4% (58/185) vs. 41.6% (77/185) for grade 4. The percentages of secondary grade by modified vs. ISUP system were 65.9% (122/185) vs. 54.6% (101/185) for grade 3, and 21.1% (39/185) vs. 31.4% (58/185) for grade 4.

CONCLUSIONS

ISUP system is different from the modified system. Compared with the modified system, the proportion scored by ISUP system tends to decline for GS 3+3 but increase for GS 3+4 and 4+3.