[Research progress of magnetic resonance imaging in hepatocellular carcinoma]

Early Diagnosis Value of DCE-MRI Hemodynamic Parameters in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective

To probe into the early diagnosis value of transfer coefficient (K^trans) and rate constant (K_ep) of the dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) hemodynamic parameters in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

Fifty patients with HCC diagnosed in our hospital from May 2017 to May 2020 were studied retrospectively as the patient group (PG), and 45 cases with benign liver nodules diagnosed in our hospital during the same period were collected as the control group (CG). K^trans, K_ep, and AFP levels were compared between PG and CG. The diagnostic value of K^trans and K_ep in HCC were observed, and their correlations with patient clinical data were analyzed. The diagnostic value of K^trans and K_ep combined with AFP in clinical staging, differentiation degree, and distant metastasis was compared.

Results

K^trans, K_ep, and AFP were notably higher in cases than in controls (P < 0.05), indicating their high diagnostic value in HCC. K^trans and K_ep present elevated expression in HCC patients with clinical stage III-IV, low differentiation, and distant metastasis (P < 0.05). Furthermore, it is found that the combined detection with either K^trans or K_ep can improve the clinical diagnostic value of AFP in the clinical stage and differentiation of HCC. However, the combined diagnosis showed little effect in raising the sensitivity of AFP in distant metastasis.

Conclusion

DCE-MRI hemodynamic parameters K^trans and K_ep have high clinical value in early diagnosis and differentiation of HCC patients.

[Expression and significance of microRNA-125b in tongue squamous cell carcinoma]

OBJECTIVE

The expression of microRNA-125b in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) was detected and analyzed for its relationship with the clinicopathological features of TSCC.

METHODS

Real time fluorescence-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of microRNA-125b in 35 TSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues from 35 TSCC cases. The relationship between the expression of microRNA-125b in TSCC tissues and the clinicopathological features of patients with TSCC was analyzed. In situ hybridization (ISH) was used to detect the expression level of microRNA-125b gene in the TSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues.

RESULTS

RT-qPCR results showed that the relative expression levels of microRNA-125b in the TSCC issues was 2.32±0.69, and that of normal tissues was 0.87±0.32. The statistical results showed that the expression level of microRNA-125b was significantly higher in the TSCC tissues than in the normal tissues (P<0.001). The expression level of microRNA-125b in the TSCC tissues was not significantly correlated with age, gender, pathological grade, and lymph node metastasis but was positively correlated with TNM stage. Patients with high TNM stage had high microRNA-125b expression levels (P<0.05). The ISH results showed that the expression levels of microRNA-125b in the TSCC tissues were 0.010±0.003, and that of normal tissues was 0.004±0.001. The expression levels of microRNA-125b in the 35 TSCC tissues were significantly higher than those in the normal tissues (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

MicroRNA-125b is highly expressed in TSCC and associated with TNM stage, suggesting that high microRNA-125b expression may be involved in the development of TSCC.