Cancer screenings, diagnostic technology evolution, and cancer control

Proteomic Analysis and Functional Studies of Baicalin on Proteins Associated with Skin Cancer

Abundant evidence supports the key role of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in skin cancer development. The human skin, especially the epidermal layer, is the main defense against UV radiation. Baicalin is a major bioactive component of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a plant which has been found to exhibit antitumor activity. The anticarcinogenic mechanism of baicalin is not completely understood. We have reported that baicalin inhibited UVB-induced photo-damage and apoptosis in HaCaT cells (human skin keratinocytes). The aim of the present study is to investigate the cellular gene targets responsible for baicalin’s antitumor activity by performing two-dimensional electrophoresis liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (2-DE LC-MS/MS) with HaCaT cells following UVB and baicalin exposure. Two-DE for protein separation was performed, followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and database searches. Nucleophosmin (NPM)-specific siRNA was designed and synthesized, and the small interfering RNA was transfected into skin squamous cancer A431 cells to knockdown the NPM expression. Proliferation and cell cycle status were assessed by CCK8 and flow cytometric analyses, respectively. We have identified 38 protein spots that are differentially expressed in HaCaT cells exposed to baicalin and/or UVB irradiation These proteins are involved in detoxification, proliferation, metabolism, cytoskeleton and motility. In particular, we found several proteins that have been linked to tumor progression and resistance, such as NPM. Baicalin treatment reduced the cellular proliferation rate and induced arrest during the S-phase of the cell cycle in A431 cells. NPM1 silencing significantly enhanced the effect of baicalin. Our data indicated that baicalin results in the significant inhibition of tumor growth in the A431 cell line, which may be associated with the regulation of the NPM gene expression.

Cryosurgery for lung cancer

Cryosurgery is suited for patients with lung cancer who are not considered for lung resection because of the advanced stage of the disease or the patient's poor general condition or poor respiratory function and with tumor recurrence following radiotherapy, chemotherapy or lung resection, and those patients who have localized lung cancer but refuse to receive operative therapy. Procedures of cryosurgery for lung cancer can be performed through endobronchial, direct intrathoracic (at exploratory thoracotomy) or percutaneous routes depending upon location and size of tumor. Six hundred and twenty-five patients with Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) received percutaneous cryoablation in Fuda Cancer Hospital Guangzhou, China. One hundred and fifty patients were followed-up for 12 to 38 months. Results showed that 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 64%, 45% and 32%, respectively. The adverse effects after cryosurgery of lung cancer include haemoptysis, pneumothorax, bloody thorax, pleural effusion and pulmonary infection which are generally mild, transient, and recovery with symptomatic management. In vitro studies have shown cryotherapy of lung cancer cells can improve the immune system to trigger the specific anti-tumor response. In the future, comparative studies between this modality and other therapies should be conducted for the treatment of lung cancer. In addition, more attention needs to be put on the immunomodulators that enhance the cryoimmunology.

Changes in the incidence of thyroid cancer between 1991 and 2005 in Italy: a geographical analysis

BACKGROUND

The incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has been increasing over the last 30 years in several countries, with some of the worldwide highest TC incidence rates (IRs) reported in Italy. The objectives of this study were to evaluate by histological subtypes the geographical heterogeneity of the incidence of TC in Italy and to analyze recent time trends for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in different cancer registries (CRs).

METHODS

The study included cases of TC (<85 years of age) reported to 25 Italian CRs between 1991 and 2005. Age-standardized IRs were computed for all histological subtypes of TC according to CRs. Estimated annual percent change and joinpoint regression analysis were used for analysis of PTC.

RESULTS

In women, IRs of PTC ranged between 3.5/100,000 in Latina and 8.5/100,000 in Sassari for the period 1991-1995 (a 2.4-fold difference) and between 7.3/100,000 in Alto Adige and 37.5/100,000 in Ferrara for 2001-2005 (a 5.1-fold difference). In men, IRs ranged between 0.7/100,000 in Latina and 3.4/100,000 in Sassari for the period 1991-1995 (a 4.9-fold difference) and between 2.0/100,000 (Alto Adige, Trento) and 10.6/100,000 in Ferrara for 2001-2005 (a 5.3-fold difference). In both sexes, IRs significantly higher than the pooled estimates emerged for the most recent period in the majority of CRs located within the Po River plain and in Latina, but they were lower in the Alpine belt. For women, CRs reported higher IRs than pool estimates showed, between 1991 to 2005, a significantly more marked annual percent change (+12%) than other CRs (+7%). For men the corresponding estimates were +11% and +8%.

CONCLUSIONS

The distribution of PTC does not lend support to a role of environmental radiation exposure due to the Chernobyl fallout, iodine deficiency, or (volcanic) soils. Between 1991 and 2005, wide geographic variations in the incidence of PTC and heterogeneous upward trends emerged, suggesting that the heterogeneity was a relatively recent phenomenon; this appeared to be mainly explained by variations, at a local level, in medical surveillance.

Incidence of thyroid cancer in Italy, 1991-2005: time trends and age-period-cohort effects

BACKGROUND

In Italy, some of the highest incidence rates (IRs) of thyroid cancer (TC) worldwide have been reported.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

TC cases <85 years of age reported to Italian cancer registries during 1991-2005 were included. Age-standardized IRs were computed for all TC and age-period-cohort effects were estimated for papillary TC.

RESULTS

IRs of TC were twofold higher in 2001-2005 than in 1991-1995 (18 and 8 per 100,000 women, 6 and 3 per 100,000 men, respectively). Increases were similar in the two sexes and nearly exclusively due to papillary TC. Increases of papillary TC by birth cohort were found in both sexes and among all age groups between 20 and 79 years. Age-period-cohort models showed a strong period effect in both sexes (rate ratio for 2001-2009 versus 1991-1995 = 2.5 in women and 2.3 in men), although IRs peaked at an earlier age in women (45-49 years) than men (65-69 years).

CONCLUSION

The strength of the period effect in both sexes and the earlier onset in women than men strongly implicated increased medical surveillance in the upward trends of papillary TC incidence in Italy. The consequences of the current intense search for TC on morbidity and possible overtreatment, especially among young women, should be carefully evaluated.