Expression and clinicopathological correlation of Ki-67 in gallbladder carcinoma

Clinical Value of Abnormal Prothrombin and Carbohydrate Antigen 125 in the Diagnosis of Patients With Gallbladder Cancer

OBJECTIVE

This study was aimed at ascertaining the application value of abnormal prothrombin (PIVKA-II) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) in gallbladder cancer (GBC) diagnosis.

METHODS

A total of 70 GBC patients, 70 patients with benign gallbladder diseases (gallbladder stones and gallbladder polyps), and 70 normal health examination people were selected as the malignant, benign, and normal groups, respectively. The differences in serum levels and positive rates of PIVKA-II and CA125 were compared. The correlation between serum PIVKA-II and CA125 levels and different clinicopathological characteristics (TNM stage and differentiation degree) of GBC patients was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum PIVKA-II and CA125 for GBC, and sensitivity, specificity, and Youden's index were calculated.

RESULTS

Serum PIVKA-II and CA125 levels and positive rates of patients in the malignant group were higher vs those in the benign and normal groups. Gallbladder cancer patients at stages III-IV had higher serum PIVKA-II and CA125 levels than those at stages I-II, and poorly differentiated GBC patients had higher serum PIVKA-II and CA125 levels than moderately differentiated and well-differentiated GBC patients. The AUC of serum PIVKA-II and CA125 alone and in combination were 0.771, 0.789, and 0.866, respectively, and the AUC of the two combined was higher vs that of the two alone.

CONCLUSION

Serum PIVKA-II and CA125 levels in GBC patients are increased and have significant clinical application value in the diagnosis of GBC.

Exposure to ambient air pollution and osteoarthritis; an animal study

Exposure to air pollution has been associated with many adverse health effects. However, the evidence on the effects on osteoarthritis (OA) is scarce and the potential mechanism is unclear yet. Therefore, this study assessed the effect of exposure to air pollution (gaseous and particulate matter) and OA based on an animal model. We used four groups of female rats, including i) exposure to PMs and gaseous pollutants, ii) exposure only to gaseous pollutants, iii) exposure only to PMs, and iv) control (unexposed) group. The OA biomarkers, i.e., osteocalcin, cartilage oligomeric protein (COMP), and N-Telopeptides of Type I Collagen (NTX-I) and cytokines were measured in the plasma to detect the effect of exposure to ambient air pollution on OA in this animal model. The forced jogging exercises for 1 h and 5 days per week were used to record the physical activities. The median (interquartile range) concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were 35.9 (15.4) and 47.5 (22.5) μg/m³, respectively. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, CO, NO₂, SO₂ and O₃ in the inlet ambient air were 36.9 (16.9), 51.7 (23.6) μg/m³, 16.1 (12.5) ppm, 413.7 (177.1), 334.2 (218.8) and 208.9 (113.1) ppb, respectively. The osteocalcin was significantly lower in PM as well as PM-gaseous exposure groups compared to control. Moreover, expressions of COMP were increased significantly in the PMs and exposure group compared to the control. For the PMs-gaseous exposure group, the COMP expressions were the highest compared to the control group. Similar results were observed for NTX-I. Exposure to PM and gaseous pollutants significantly increased plasma cytokine levels compared to control. Overall, our study showed a significant effect of exposure to PMs and PMs-gaseous exposure with OA in rats. Moreover, we observed a synergistic effect of mixed gaseous-PMs exposure compared to PMs and gaseous pollutants separately.

Targeted Therapy of B7 Family Checkpoints as an Innovative Approach to Overcome Cancer Therapy Resistance: A Review from Chemotherapy to Immunotherapy

It is estimated that there were 18.1 million cancer cases worldwide in 2018, with about 9 million deaths. Proper diagnosis of cancer is essential for its effective treatment because each type of cancer requires a specific treatment procedure. Cancer therapy includes one or more approaches such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. In recent years, immunotherapy has received much attention and immune checkpoint molecules have been used to treat several cancers. These molecules are involved in regulating the activity of T lymphocytes. Accumulated evidence shows that targeting immune checkpoint regulators like PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are significantly useful in treating cancers. According to studies, these molecules also have pivotal roles in the chemoresistance of cancer cells. Considering these findings, the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy can help to treat cancer with a more efficient approach. Among immune checkpoint molecules, the B7 family checkpoints have been studied in various cancer types such as breast cancer, myeloma, and lymphoma. In these cancers, they cause the cells to become resistant to the chemotherapeutic agents. Discovering the exact signaling pathways and selective targeting of these checkpoint molecules may provide a promising avenue to overcome cancer development and therapy resistance. Highlights: (1) The development of resistance to cancer chemotherapy or immunotherapy is the main obstacle to improving the outcome of these anti-cancer therapies. (2) Recent investigations have described the involvement of immune checkpoint molecules in the development of cancer therapy resistance. (3) In the present study, the molecular participation of the B7 immune checkpoint family in anticancer therapies has been highlighted. (4) Targeting these immune checkpoint molecules may be considered an efficient approach to overcoming this obstacle.