The morphologic features of the gastrointestinal polyps in hamartomatous polyposis syndromes are poorly defined. Our aim was to better characterize the gastrointestinal hamartomas in these syndromes. A blinded review was performed regarding many histologic features for every polyp. The study included 15 Cowden syndrome, 13 Peutz-Jeghers (PJS), 12 juvenile polyposis (JuvPS) patients, and 32 cases of sporadic hamartomatous polyps. A total of 375 polyps were examined. Cowden syndrome polyps were characteristically colonic, sessile, small, without surface erosion, and showing mildly inflamed fibrotic lamina propria with smooth muscle proliferation and lymphoid follicles. They showed the least degree of cystic glands and had no thick mucin. Uncommon but specific features were ganglion cells and nerve fibers within the lamina propria and mucosal fat. PJS polyps were typically of small or large bowel origin, often exophytic, seldom eroded, with inflamed edematous and fibrotic lamina propria and dilated cystic glands filled with often thick mucin. All PJS polyps showed smooth muscle proliferation, frequently widespread. The polyps of JuvPS were typically colonic, large, exophytic, eroded, with strikingly edematous, fibrotic markedly inflamed lamina propria, cystic glands filled with frequently thick mucin, and the least degree of smooth muscle proliferation. Nonsyndromic hamartomatous polyps were similar to JuvPS polyps; however, they were more often colonic, were smaller, showed more widespread smooth muscle proliferation, and were less likely to contain thick mucin. In conclusion, we were able to define the characteristic hamartomatous polyp for each hamartomatous polyposis syndrome. Awareness to these features may aid in the diagnosis of these rare syndromes.

To determinate the RPA1 expression in esophageal carcinoma and the paired tumor-adjacent tissue, and to explore the influence of RPA1 on radiosensitivity of esophageal carcinoma TE-1 cells.

Structural and biochemical alterations of the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) are associated with degenerative disorders referred to as tauopathies. We have previously shown that MAPT is present in human islets of Langerhans, human insulinomas, and pancreatic beta-cell line models, with biophysical similarities to the pathological MAPT in the brain. Here, we further studied MAPT in pancreatic endocrine tissue to better understand the mechanisms that lead to functional dysregulation of pancreatic beta cells. We found upregulation of MAPT protein expression in human insulinomas when compared to human pancreatic islets of Langerhans and an imbalance between MAPT isoforms in insulinomas tissue. We cloned one 3-repeat domain MAPT and transduced this into a beta-cell derived rodent cell line Rin-5F. Proliferation experiments showed higher growth rates and metabolic activities of cells overexpressing MAPT protein. We observed that a MAPT overexpressing cell line demonstrates altered insulin transcription, translation, and insulin secretion rates. We found the relative insulin secretion rates were significantly decreased in a MAPT overexpressing cell line and these findings could be confirmed using partial MAPT knock-down cell lines. Our findings support that MAPT may play an important role in insulin granule trafficking and indicate the importance of balanced MAPT phosphorylation and dephosphorylation for adequate insulin release.

POU5F1 is a key regulator of self-renewal and differentiation in embryonic stem cells and may be associated with initiation, promotion, and progression in cancer. We hypothesized that functional polymorphisms in POU5F1 may play an important role in modifying the lung cancer risk. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a case-control study to explore the association between 17 potentially functional SNPs in POU5F1 gene and the lung cancer risk in 1,341 incident lung cancer cases and 1,982 healthy controls in a Chinese population. We found that variant alleles of rs887468 and rs3130457 were significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer after multiple comparison (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.51, P fdr = 0.017 for rs887468; OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.10-1.51, P fdr = 0.034 for rs3130457, resp.). In addition, we detected a significant interaction between rs887468 genotypes and smoking status on lung cancer risk (P = 0.017). Combined analysis of these 2 SNPs showed a significant allele-dosage association between the number of risk alleles and increased risk of lung cancer (P trend < 0.001). These findings indicate that potentially functional polymorphisms in POU5F1 gene may contribute to lung cancer susceptibility in a Chinese population.

Oxidative stress might contribute to the occurrence of cancers, including the hematological ones. Various genetic polymorphisms were shown to increase the quantity of reactive oxygen species, a phenomenon that is able to induce mutations and thus promote cancers. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between CAT C262T, GPX1 Pro198Leu, MnSOD Ala16Val, GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 Ile105Val gene polymorphisms and acute myeloid leukemia risk, in a case-control study comprising 102 patients and 303 controls. No association was observed between AML and variant genotypes of CAT, MnSOD, GSTM1, and GSTT1 polymorphisms. Our data revealed a statistically significant difference regarding the frequencies of GPX1 Pro198Leu and GSTP1 Ile105Val variant genotypes between AML patients and controls (p < 0.001). Our results showed no association in the distribution of any of the CAT C262T, GPX1 Pro198Leu, GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 polymorphisms regarding age, gender, FAB subtype, cytogenetic risk groups, FLT3 and DNMT3 gene mutations, and overall survival. Our data suggests that the presence of variant allele and genotype of GPX1 Pro198Leu and GSTP1 Ile105Val gene polymorphisms may modulate the risk of developing AML.

WISP1, a Wnt-induced secreted protein, has been found to have anticancer activity. ALL is a leading cause of death. Here we investigate the WISP1 effects on ALL Jurkat cells. Cell viability was assessed by CCK-8. Cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was monitored using TMRM. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was quantified using DCFH-DA. Western blot was used to detect the expression of cell proliferation and apoptosis related genes. The results showed that knockdown of WISP1 significantly inhibited proliferation of Jurkat cells. Parallelly, cell cycle distribution was increased at G1 phase and apoptotic rate was induced after WISP1 knockdown. Furthermore, knockdown of WISP1 induced apoptosis of Jurkat cells was also associated with loss of MMP and generation of ROS. Western blot results showed that the protein expression p-AKT, PCNA, CDK1, P-ERK, CDK2, VEGF, VEGFR2 and Bcl2 were decreased, while the expression of Bax was up-regulated. In conclusion, WISP1 plays an important role in proliferation and apoptosis of Jurkat cells in mitochondria dependent pathway, the specific mechanisms need further study.

This study attempted to examine the methylation status of SH3GL2 gene in different types of human vulvar lesions and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters.

Bronchial surface epithelium (BSE)-type lung adenocarcinoma is a subtype of non-terminal respiratory unit (TRU)-type lung adenocarcinoma originating in the bronchial surface epithelium. However, there are few known cases of BSE-type adenocarcinoma with marked expression of thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1). This paper describes a very rare case of KRAS mutation-positive BSE-type adenocarcinoma that exhibited strong expression of TTF-1 that was putatively involved in oncogenesis. An 84-year-old woman, a never smoker, was referred to our hospital because of an abnormal chest radiograph. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed a solid mass lesion, 15 mm × 10 mm, with a relatively smooth margin in the left upper lobe. The patient underwent partial resection of the left upper lobe for strongly suspected lung cancer with a clinical stage of cT1aN0M0. Histopathological findings showed continuous migration of papillary, hyperplastic, atypical columnar tumor cells originating from normal bronchial surface epithelium, leading to a diagnosis of BSE-type adenocarcinoma. TTF-1 was strongly expressed in almost 100% of the tumor cells, which tested positive for the KRAS mutation. TTF-1 has recently attracted attention as an oncogene, and it is purportedly involved in the carcinogenesis and survival of lung adenocarcinoma cells. There is typically an inverse correlation between the respective expressions of KRAS and TTF-1, but in the present study, they appeared simultaneously and were both putatively involved as oncogenic driver alterations. This case is important in that it sheds some light on the largely unknown pathogenic mechanism of BSE-type adenocarcinoma.

Epithelioid inflammatory myofibroblastic sarcoma is extremely rare and belongs to a variant of inflammatory myofibrobalstic tumor with aggressive clinical course. We describe a case of a 22 years old man presented with an abdominal huge tumor. Microscopically, the neoplasm cells were rounded and epithelioid in shape. Abundant interstitial edema and less myxoid stroma were also present together with an inflammatory infiltrate. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that ALK gene presented mutation. After surgery the patient received chemotherapy with an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor, crizotinib. The patient continues to be alive with disease for 16 months and has no recurrence. Although EIMS has a poor prognosis, this is the few successful case with sustained response of targeted therapy.

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) is a common soft tissue tumor in children which can rarely metastasize to the breast in adults. Here we report the rare case of a 42-year-old Asian woman, who was diagnosed with ARMS of the nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses, and got a complete remission (CR) after surgery and chemoradiotherapy. Then the patient relapsed in the unilateral breast seventeen months later. Histology and immunohistochemistry of the primary sites and the breast lesions, combined with FISH, have been performed to confirm the diagnosis of metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. With a rational therapeutic regimen of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the patient has got a complete remission again.

Reports of clinical cases with Auer bodies in the plasma cells in multiple myeloma (MM) are rare; however, most of those reported contain peroxidase (POX)-negative Auer bodies rather than the POX-positive Auer bodies observed in myeloid progenitors, indicating differences in their chemical properties. Furthermore, the cases with POX-positive Auer bodies similar to those observed in myeloid cells are extremely rare in non-myeloid cells. Here, we report the clinical features, laboratory investigations, diagnosis and treatment of a case of MM with POX-positive Auer bodies in plasma cells and review related the literature to advance the prognostic evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of similar cases.

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) is one of the most curable leukemia which shows great sensitivity to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) although a small number of the patients present poor prognosis and short survival. Isochromosome 17 in APL which usually bears an additional copy of RARA/PML fusion gene is considered to be a negative factor on its prognosis. Cryptic t(15;17) on i(17q) leads to an extra copy of PML/RARA rather than RARA/PML which may confer a worse prognosis. We describe here a rare APL case with complex chromosomal abnormality including isochromosome 17 bearing cryptic t(15;17) showing poor outcome. The patient lacks a classic t(15;17) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) presents 2 PML/RARA fusion signals on both long arms of the isochromosome. The patient also acquired a secondary mutation at relapse when the initial karyotype was already a complex karyotype involving chromosome 13, 17 and 22 at the same time. The poor response of this patient to traditional chemotherapy like ATRA and novel therapy like arsenic trioxide (ATO) suggests that early auto-hematological stem cell transplantation may be the choice of APL with isochromosome 17 especially with cryptic t(15;17) on i(17q). We are the first to show a clear history and evidence of FISH of these kind of cases. A small summary of cases with cryptic t(15;17) on isochromosome 17 is also made.

Our study was carried out to explore the relationship of PIK3CA rs17849071 and rs17849079 polymorphisms with the susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Chinese Han population.

The study aimed to investigate the role of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) rs6965469 and rs763317 polymorphisms in the occurrence and development of lung cancer.

We conducted a case-control study to assess the role of IL-16 rs4778889, rs11556218 and rs8034928 polymorphisms in the development of RCC. This case-control study included 181 patients with RCC and 278 control patients. The genotyping of IL-16 rs4778889, rs11556218 and rs8034928 polymorphisms were performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. By χ(2) test, we found that patients with RCC were more likely to suffer from hypertension (χ(2) = 9.06, P = 0.003) and diabetes (χ(2) = 7.91, P = 0.005). By unconditional logistic regression analysis, the CC genotype of rs4778889 was associated with an increased risk of RCC compared to TT genotype, and the adjusted OR (95% CI) was 3.58 (1.59-8.31). In dominant model and recessive model, we found the rs4778889 polymorphisms were associated with an elevated increased risk of RCC, and the adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 1.64 (1.10-2.43) and 3.07 (1.40-6.98), respectively. We found that rs4778889 polymorphism had interaction with hypertension (OR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.01-6.00) and diabetes (OR = 6.91, 95% CI = 1.44-37.05) in the risk of RCC. In conclusion, the results of our study suggested an association between the IL-16 rs4778889 polymorphism and an elevated risk of RCC.

We conducted a case-control study in a Chinese population, and investigated the association between four SNPs (rs3791679, rs1346786, rs1344733 and rs727878) in EFEMP1 and development of glioma. A case-control study was taken in the present study. The rs3791679, rs1346786, rs1344733 and rs727878 gene polymorphisms were analyzed using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. A total of 159 patients with glioma and 364 controls were collected between July 2012 and June 2014. By unconditional logistic regression analysis, we found that individuals carrying the AA genotype and GA+AA genotype were associated with development of glioma when compared with the GG genotype, and the adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 2.13 (1.15-3.90) and 1.55 (1.04-2.32), respectively. However, we did not find that rs1346786, rs1344733 and rs727878 were significantly associated with development of glioma. Moreover, we found that the GA+AA genotype of rs3791679 was associations with a heavy increased risk of glioma in patients who have family history of cancers, and the OR (95% CI) was 6.81 (1.17-48.06). The results of our study suggested an association between the rs3791679 polymorphism and an elevated risk of glioma, especially in those with family history of glioma.

To find out if there are any relationship between three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) gene (rs1234213, rs1234220, and rs2299939) and the susceptibility of liver cancer.

We conducted a case-control study to evaluate the association of miR-146a rs2910164 (C>G), miR-149 rs2292832 (T>C), miR-196a2 rs11614913 (T>C) and miR-499 rs3746444 (T>C) polymorphisms with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. A total of 274 patients with HCC were collected between January 2013 and December 2014. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was taken to determine the polymorphism of miR-146a C>G, miR-149 T>C, miR-196a2 T>C and miR-499 T>C. By comparing with control groups, patients with HCC were more likely to be males (OR=2.01, 95% CI=1.38-2.95), have older age (OR=1.52, 95% CI=1.09-2.13), have a history of alcohol drinking (OR=2.09, 95% CI=1.49-2.93), and be infected with HBV (OR=32.98, 95% CI=19.70-55.46) and HCV (OR=56.26, 95% CI=23.28-152.98) infection. By conditional regression analysis, individuals carrying the TC and CC genotypes of miR-196a2 T>C were found to be associated with an elevated risk of HCC compared to the TT genotype, and the adjusted odds ratio were 1.50 (1.03-2.17) and 2.86 (1.60-5.16), respectively. Moreover, the TC+CC genotype was correlated with an increased risk of HCC (OR=1.69, 95% CI=1.19-2.41) compared to the wide-type genotype. In conclusion, our results suggested that miR-196a2 T>C polymorphism is associated with HCC risk in Chinese population.

The co-stimulatory molecule CD40 plays an important role in anti-tumor responses by promoting cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity and differentiation of helper T cells. Growing evidence suggests that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CD40 are associated with the susceptibility to cancer. This study investigated the association between the CD40 -1C/T SNP (rs1883832) and lung cancer in a Chinese population.

To evaluate the significance of BRAF (V600E) and Ras mutations, and RET rearrangements in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in the South central region of China.