Thirty patients with obstructive jaundice were investigated for serum complement-3 (C3) and plasma fibronectin (FN).The levels of C3 and FN of the juandiced patients were higher than that of thirty patients without obstructive jaundice (Ｐ＜0.01). As compared to pre-operation, the level of C3 of the jaundiced patients decreased obviously within two weeks after operation(Ｐ＜0.01), and recovered in the third week after operation. The level of FN of the juandice patients decreased evidently within one week(Ｐ＜0.01), and recovered in the second week after operation. However, the levels of C3 and FN of the patients without obstructive jaundice changed slightly after operation (Ｐ＜0.05). The high levels of C3 and FN of jaundiced patients may be relative to the latent infection. Consumption and immune imparing may be the reasons of C3 and FN to decrease.
Objective To determine the influence and significance of combinative assessment of 64 multi-slice spiral computer tomography (MSCT) with serum amyloid A protein (SAA) or fibrinogen (FIB) on the selection of operative procedures of rectal cancer under the multidisciplinary team. Methods Prospectively enrolled 240 patients diagnosed definitely as rectal cancer at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from February to June 2009 were randomly assigned into two groups. In one group named MSCT+SAA group, both MSCT and SAA combinative assessment were made for the preoperative evaluation. In another group named MSCT+FIB group, both MSCT and FIB combinative assessment were made for preoperative evaluation. Furthermore, the preoperative staging and predicted operation procedures were compared with postoperative pathologic staging and practical operation procedures, respectively, and the relationship between the choice of operation procedures and clinicopathologic factors was analyzed. Results According to the criteria, 234 patients were actually included into MSCT+SAA group (n=118) and MSCT+FIB group (n=116). The baseline characteristics of two groups were statistically similar (Pgt;0.05). For MSCT+SAA group, the accuracies of preoperative staging T, N, M and TNM were 72.9%, 83.1%, 100% and 80.1%, respectively. For MSCT+FIB group, the accuracies of preoperative staging T, N, M and TNM were 68.1%, 75.0%, 100% and 74.1%, respectively, and there was not a statistically significant difference (Pgt;0.05). There was also not a statistically significant difference of the accuracy of prediction to operative procedures in two groups (99.6% vs. 96.6%, Pgt;0.05). The preoperative T staging (P＜0.001), N staging (P＜0.001), TNM staging (P＜0.001), serum level of SAA (P＜0.001), serum level of FIB (Plt;0.001) and distance of tumor to the dentate line (P＜0.05) were associated to the operative procedures. Conclusions Combinative assessment of MSCT and FIB could improve the accuracy of preoperative staging and operative procedures prediction, however, it may be not superior to MSCT plus SAA.
ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Vitamin C (Vit C) on the apoptosis of human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells induced by tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and serum deprivation.
MethodsThe NP cells were isolated from patients undergoing spine corrective operation by collagenase trypsin. The experiment was divided into 3 groups:Vit C group (group A), TNF-α group (group B), and serum deprivation group (group C). Group A was reassigned to A1 subgroup (basic medium), A2 subgroup (100 μg/mL Vit C), and A3 subgroup (200 μg/mL Vit C). Group B was reassigned to B0 subgroup (control group), B1 subgroup (100 ng/mL TNF-α), B2 subgroup (100 μg/mL Vit C+100 ng/mL TNF-α), and B3 subgroup (200 μg/mL Vit C+100 ng/mL TNF-α). Group C was reassigned to C0 subgroup (Control group), C1 subgroup (2% FBS), C2 subgroup (2%FBS+100 μg/mL Vit C), and C3 subgroup (2% FBS+200 μg/mL Vit C). After C1 subgroup (2% FBS), C2 subgroup (2%FBS+100 μg/mL Vit C), and C3 subgroup (2% FBS+200 μg/mL Vit C). After application of 100 μg/mL or 200 μg/mL Vit C for 24 hours, NP cells were stimulated by TNF-α and serum deprivation, then the apoptosis rate of NP cells was detected by a flow cytometry, and the gene expressions of the extracellular matrix of NP cells (collagen type Ⅰ, collagen type Ⅱ, aggrecan, and Sox9) and apoptosis related genes (p53, FAS, and Caspase 3) were detected by real-time fluoroscent quantitative PCR.
ResultsGroup A:Vit C could significantly reduce the apoptosis rate and gene expressions of p53, FAS, and Caspase 3 of NP cells in A2 and A3 subgroups when compared with A1 subgroup (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between A2 subgroup and A3 subgroup (P>0.05); Vit C could promote the expressions of the extracellular matrix (collagen type Ⅰ, collagen type Ⅱ, aggrecan, and Sox9) of NP cells in a concentration dependent manner (P<0.05). Group B:TNF-α significantly increased the apoptosis rate and the gene expressions of p53, FAS, and Caspase 3 in B1 subgroup when compared with B0 subgroup (P<0.05); however, Vit C significantly increased the apoptosis rate and the gene expressions in B2 subgroup, and significantly decreased them in B3 subgroup when compared with B1 subgroup (P<0.05). Group C:2% FBS significantly increased the apoptosis rate of NP cells and significantly reduced the gene expressions of p53, FAS, and Caspase 3 in C1 subgroup when compared with C0 subgroup (P<0.05); Vit C could significantly reduce the apoptosis rate and gene expressions of p53, FAS, and Caspase 3 in C3 subgroup, but it could significantly increase them in C2 subgroup when compared with C1 subgroup (P<0.05).
ConclusionVit C can promote the synthesis and secretion of extracellular matrix of NP cells. 200 μg/mL Vit C may delay the apoptosis induced by TNF-α and serum deprivation, indicating the potential therapeutic effect of Vit C on intervertebral disc degeneration.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of serum soluble CD26 （sCD26） on the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Methods The serum sCD26 concentration of 59 colorectal cancer patients, 51 colorectal benign disease patients, and 41 healthy volunteers were detected by ELISA. The diagnostic efficiency of sCD26 and carcinoma embryonic antigen （CEA） was assessed by receiver operating characteristics （ROC） analysis. The association between sCD26 and colorectal cancer was assessed by logistic regression which included CEA in the model. Results Increased serum sCD26 was observed in colorectal cancer patients （P＜0.01）, but the differences of sCD26 in different Dukes stages were not statistic significance （P=0.78）. The area under cure （AUC） of sCD26 confirmed by ROC analysis was 0.72 〔95% confidence interval （CI）：0.63-0.82, P＜0.01〕. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for sCD26 at 526 μg/L, the optimal diagnostic threshold, were 0.59 （95% CI： 0.48-0.72） and 0.80 （95% CI： 0.67-0.90）, respectively. Positive serum sCD26 was associated with colorectal cancer after adjusted for CEA with odds ration （OR） 5.17 （95% CI：1.72-15.53, P＜0.01）, as confirmed by logistic regression. Increased positive rate of serum sCD26 was observed in patients at Dukes A stage （P=0.03）, but not Dukes B, C, and D stage （P＜0.05）. Conclusions Serum sCD26 has high diagnostic performance for colorectal cancer. The association of sCD26 is independent of serum CEA. Compared to serum CEA, sCD26 has more potential to be an early biomarker for colorectal cancer diagnosis.
Objective To investigate clinical significance of serum VEGF-C level and C-erbB-2 protein expression in patients with breast cancer. Methods Sixty-two female patients with breast invasive ductal cancer and breast benign lesion were respectively selected. Serum VEGF-C level was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before operation and at one month after operation, and C-erbB-2 protein expression in tissues of breast cancer was detected by immunohistochemistry. Then, the relationship between serum VEGF-C level and clinicopathologic characteristics and C-erbB-2 protein expressions wereas analyzed. Results The serum VEGF-C level before operation in breast cancer patients〔(279.65±17.34) pg/ml〕 was significantly higher than that in breast benign lesions patients 〔(167.26±12.15) pg/ml〕, P＜0.01. In breast cancer patients, the serum VEGF-C level before operation was higher than that at one month after operation 〔(209.45±15.23) pg/ml〕, P＜0.01. The serum VEGF level was related to tumor stage (P＜0.05) but not to patient age, tumor size, menopause status , lymph node metastasis or not and ER and PR expression (Pgt;0.05). The positive expression rate of C-erbB-2 protein in breast cancer patients (54.84%, 34/62) was significantly higher than that in breast benign lesion patients (11.29%, 7/62), P＜0.01. Moreover, the positive expression rate of C-erbB-2 protein in breast cancer patients with axilla lymph node metastasis (69.44%) was significantly higher than that without axilla lymph node metastases (34.62%), P＜0.05. The serum VEGF level increased with increasing expression intensity of C-erbB-2 protein and there was positive correlation between them (r=0.813，P＜0.05). Conclusions The serum VEGF-C level in breast cancer may be conducted as an assisted marker to differential diagnosis of breast tumor. C-erbB-2 is related to lymph node metastasis of breast cancer patients. There is synergistic effect between VEGF-C and C-erbB-2 in the lymph node metastasis way of breast cancer.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) in patients with small cell lung cancer. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library and other databases (1966 to March 2007) to collect studies which evaluated the diagnostic value of NSE in patients with small cell lung cancer. The heterogeneity of included studies was tested by the Cochrane Collaboration’s software RevMan 4.2. The Summary Receiver Operating Characteristic (SROC) curve and meta-analyses were performed by MetaDisc. Results Fifteen studies involving 4221 patients (672 SCLC and 3549 NSCLC patients, all diagnosed by the gold standard) were included. Meta-analyses showed that the heterogeneity among studies was high (P=0.000 2, I2=66.1%), the pooled sensitivity was 0.67 (95%CI 0.64 to 0.71) and the pooled specificity was 0.91 (95%CI 0.90 to 0.92). Subgroup analyses indicated that 4 of the studies which used the reagent supplied by The Academy of Military Medical Sciences (P=0.33, I2=13.4%, AUC= 0.9672, SE=0.0393) and another 4 which used the reagent supplied by Roche (P=0.23, I2=29.9%, AUC=0.8311, SE=0.0836) had no heterogeneity. Conclusion NSE could be regarded as one of the reference tests in patients with small cell lung cancer, but more high quality trials are required.
ObjectiveTo investigate the association between serum thyroid hormone levels and prognosis for patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) without thyroid disease, and explore the prognostic value of serum thyroid hormone levels for patients with AECOPD.MethodsThe clinical data of 239 hospitalized cases of AECOPD [149 males, 90 females, aged 42-92 (77.7±8.9) years] from January 2013 to November 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Serum thyroid hormone levels including total tetraiodothyronin (TT4), total triiodothyronin (TT3), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free tetraiodothyronin (FT4) and free triiodothyronin (FT3) were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay. All patients were divided into a survival group and a death group according to the prognosis. Serum thyroid hormone levels were compared between two groups. Correlations of serum thyroid hormone levels with the occurrence of death in AECOPD patients were analyzed. The prognostic value of serum thyroid hormone levels for AECOPD patients was explored by receiveroperating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. And the best cut-off value of serum thyroid hormone level in predicting the risk of death was calculated.ResultsSerum TT4, TT3, FT4 and FT3 levels in the survival group were significantly higher than those in the death group [TT4: (89.35±21.45) nmol/L vs. (76.84±21.33) nmol/L; TT3: (1.05±0.34) nmol/L vs. (0.72±0.19) nmol/L; FT4: (16.17±2.91) pmol/L vs. (14.45±2.85) pmol/L; FT3: (3.06±0.81) pmol/L vs. (2.24±0.72) pmol/L; all P<0.05]. The differences of serum TSH level between two groups were not statistically significant [0.98 (0.54-1.83)vs. 0.57 (0.31-1.84), P>0.05]. Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum TT4, TT3, FT4 and FT3 levels were significant correlated with the occurrence of death (r values were 0.226, 0.417, 0.220, 0.387, respectively, P<0.05). And there was no significant correlation between serum TSH level and the occurrence of death (P>0.05). ROC curve analysis was done between serum thyroid hormone levels (TT4, TT3, TSH, FT4 and FT3) and the occurrence of death in the AECOPD patients. The areas under ROC curve were 0.659, 0.793, 0.588, 0.655 and 0.772, respectively. Serum TT3 was the best indicator for predicting the occurrence of death. When serum TT3 level was 0.85nmol/L, the Youden index was the highest (0.486), with a sensitivity of 70.2%, and a specificity of 78.3%. It was the best cut-offl value of serum TT3 to predict the risk of death in AECOPD patients.ConculsionsSerum thyroid hormone levels are significant associated with the prognostic for AECOPD patients. There is certain value of serum thyroid hormone levels in prognostic evaluation of AECOPD patients.
ObjectiveTo assess the diagnostic performance of serum anti-toxocara immunoglobulin G (anti-T-IgG) in ocular toxocariasis (OT) patients. MethodsA diagnostic tests. A total of 109 patients (109 eyes) with clinically-suspected OT who treated in Department of Ophthalmology of Xuzhou First People’s Hospital from June 2015 to December 2022 were included. Patients were divided into two groups, 76 with OT and 33 with non-OT, according to the clinical manifestations and Goldmann-Witmer coefficient. Paired serum and intraocular fluid samples from each patient were collected and analyzed for specific anti-T-IgG using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Mann-Whitney test was performed for comparison between groups. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to assess the diagnostic performance of serum anti-T-IgG. Kappa analysis was performed to examine the consistency of serum or intraocular fluid anti-T-IgG positive rate with OT diagnostic result. Spearman’s rank correlation test was performed to assess the association. ResultsCompared with the non-OT group, the proportions of children and history of exposure to cats and dogs (χ2=9.785, 12.026) were significantly higher in OT group, and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.01). The positive rate (χ2=24.551) and U value (Z=?4.379) of serum anti-T-IgG in OT group were higher than those in non-OT group, and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.000 1). The recommended serum anti-T-IgG cut-off value of 11 U had 0.72 sensitivity, 0.79 specificity, 0.89 positive predictive value, 0.55 negative predictive value, and 0.77 area under the ROC with 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.669-0.860. Correlation analysis showed that serum anti-T-IgG was positively correlated with intraocular fluid anti-T-IgG (rs=0.520, 95%CI 0.363-0.648, P＜0.000 1). The Kappa values of serum and intraocular fluid anti-T-IgG positive rate with OT diagnosis were 0.457 (95%CI 0.292-0.622) and 0.711 (95%CI 0.582-0.840), respectively. The Kappa value of serum anti-T-IgG positive rate with OT diagnosis was lower than that of intraocular fluid. ConclusionThe sensitivity and specificity of serum anti-T-IgG and the consistency between serum anti-T-IgG positive rate and OT diagnosis are low, suggesting that serum anti-T-IgG level cannot be used as a basis for OT diagnosis.
ObjectiveTo observe and evaluate the predictive value of serum cystatin C (Cys-C) on the risk of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR). MethodsA non-randomized controlled cross-sectional clinical study. Ninety-two patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who were admitted to Department of Ophthalmology of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital from January 2022 to October 2022 were included in the study. Among them, 50 were male, 42 cases were female, with the mean age of (58.24±12.49) years. The mean duration of T2DM was (13.18±8.35) years, of which 38 cases had a duration of ≥10 years. Twenty-nine cases complicated with hypertension, of which 16 cases had a duration of ≥10 years. Seventeen cases complicated with chronic kidney disease stage 2 and 23 cases were treated with lipid-lowering drugs. Hemoglobin Alc, serum Cys-C, serum lipids and renal function were tested, and urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) was calculated. According to the 2003 American Academy of Ophthalmology "Clinical Guidelines for Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)" and international clinical DR severity grading standards, the patients were divided into STDR and non-STDR groups, with 44 and 48 cases in each group, respectively. STDR was defined as severe non-proliferative DR, proliferative DR, and macular edema. Logistic regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors of STDR in T2DM patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to calculate and analyze the area under ROC curve (AUC) and the predictive value of serum Cys-C and ACR in predicting STDR in T2DM patients. ResultsSerum Cys-C levels in STDR and non-STDR groups were 1.10 (0.94, 1.28) and 0.91 (0.83, 1.02) mg/L, respectively, with ACR of 4.29 (1.05, 21.89) and 1.39 (0.77, 3.80) mg/mmol, respectively. Compared with non-STDR group, serum Cys-C and ACR in STDR group were higher, and the difference was statistically significant (Z=－3.984, －3.280; P＜0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum Cys-C was an independent risk factor for STDR (odds ratio=1.337, 95% confidence interval 1.145-2.090, P=0.033), and the risk of STDR increased by 33.7% for every 0.1 mg/L increase in serum Cys-C. ROC analysis results showed that serum Cys-C＞1.065 mg/L combined with ACR＞5.84 mg/mmol predicted the AUC of STDR in T2DM patients was 0.661, with the specificity of 95.8%. ConclusionsThe high serum Cys-C level is an independent risk factor for STDR in T2DM patients. Serum Cys-C has high predictive value for the occurrence of STDR.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the accuracy of serum ferritin (SF) for detecting breast cancer.
MethodsWe electronically and comprehensively searched databases including CNKI, WanFang Data, CBM, VIP, PubMed, EMbase and The Cochrane Library (Issue 5, 2013) up to April 2013, for diagnostic tests about using SF for detecting breast cancer. Four reviewers independently screened literature according to the exclusion and inclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using Meta-Disc 1.4 software and funnel plots were drawn using Stata 12.0 software.
ResultsA total of 19 studies were finally included involving 2 977 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that:Sen, Spe, +LR, -LR, DOR were 0.51 (95%CI 0.48 to 0.53), 0.91 (95%CI 0.89 to 0.92), 5.32 (95%CI 3.72 to 7.60), 0.45 (95%CI 0.35 to 0.57), and 13.22 (95%CI 7.22 to 24.18); SROC area under the curve (AUC) was 0.920 5 and Q* was 0.853 9. Besides, when cut off value was 101-150 μg/L, Sen, Spe, AUC and Q* were the largest, and the best cut-off value was probably 150 μg/L.
ConclusionSF has relatively high Sen and Spe in the diagnosis of breast cancer which could not be used as specific index. Heterogeneities exist among the research results, which are possibly associated with researchers, severity of disease, instrument types, sources of reagents, and cut off values. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, the above conclusion should be treated with caution, and in clinic, combing other tumour markers with SF is recommended in detecting breast cancer to augment accuracy.
