• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2797-2801
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• 2014

Background: Endometrial adenocarcinoma is the most common gynecological cancer in the Western world and its incidence appears to be rising. However, population-based studies on endometrial cancer providing survival estimates by age, histology, and stage in Asia have been sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological data and survival for patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma treated at three institutions in Yazd, Iran. Materials and Methods: Medical and anatomicopathological records at the Department of Pathology and Radiotherapy of the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Madar private hospital, between 2005 and 2012 were reviewed. All cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma were included. The Kaplan-Maier method was used for survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards model for multiple regression analysis. Results: The study included 84 patients. Stages I, II, III, and IV were identified in 65.4%, 21.5%, 11.9% and 1.2%, respectively. Disease-free survival rate was $73.9{\pm}3.77$ months (95% confidence interval, 64.51-83.22 months) and relapse occurred in 12.3% of the patients. The overall survival rate was $78.2{\pm}3.65$ months (95% confidence interval, 71.0-85.3 months). A multivariate analysis revealed that stage and grade were associated with overall survival. Conclusions: In this survival analysis of patients with endometrial cancer, we found that the prognosis of endometrial cancer was fair but strongly varied by stage and grade, and moderately varied by histology and age.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1346-1353
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• 2014

In the present study, an anthraquinone derivative, questinol was successfully isolated from the broth extract of the marine-derived fungus Eurotium amstelodami for the first time. The structure of questinol was determined based on the analysis of the MS and NMR spectral data as well as comparison of those data with the published data. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effect of questinol in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells was investigated. The results showed that questinol did not exhibit cytotoxicity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells up to $200{\mu}M$. Questinol could significantly inhibit NO and $PGE_2$ production at indicated concentrations. Questinol was also found to inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-1${\beta}$, and IL-6. Furthermore, the western blot analysis showed that questinol suppressed the expression level of iNOS in a dose-dependent manner. However, questinol could slightly inhibit the expression of COX-2 at the concentration of $200{\mu}M$. Therefore, our study suggests that questinol might be selected as a promising agent for the prevention and therapy of inflammatory disease.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.63-74
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• 2018

Objectives: Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease with the destruction of periodontal ligament, alveolar bone loss and inflammation of gingva, leading to teeth loss. Eclipta prostrata L. (Ecliptae Herba) has been used to treat the inflammatory disease as a Korean traditional medicine. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of E. prostrata L. on periodontitis. Methods: E. prostrata L. was extracted with water and lyophilized. The aqueous extract of E. prostrata L. (EP) was topically applied to the periodontal lesion for 2 weeks. To induce the periodontitis, a 3-0 nylon ligature was placed around the cervix of the lower first molar in rat. Rats were divided into 3 groups (n = 7); NL group (non-ligatured and non-treated), L group (ligatured and vehicle-treated) and EP group (ligatured and EP-treated). After sacrifice, the mandibles was dissected and stained with methylene blue solution to analyze the alveolar bone loss. The expression of MMP-9 was determined in gingival tissues. To confirm the effect of EP on recovery of gingiva, mRNA expressions of type I pro-collagen and MMP-9 levels were investigated in LPS-treated HS68 fibroblast cells. In addition, inflammatory mediators were evaluated in LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells. Results: Alveolar bone loss was significantly inhibited by EP treatment. The mRNA expression of MMP-9 was attenuated in rats treated with EP. In addition, treatment with EP increased the expression of type I pro-collagen, while the expression of MMP-9 was decreased in LPS-stimulated HS68 fibroblast cells. Furthermore, EP down-regulated the LPS-induced IL-6, $TNF-{\alpha}$, COX-2 and iNOS production in RAW264.7 cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that EP have ameliorative effects on periodontitis through inhibiting alveolar bone loss and modulating the inflammatory mediators. Therefore, E. prostrata L. may be an alternative on patients with periodontitis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.923-927
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• 2013

Objective: This work aims to investigate the therapeutic regimen of brain metastatic cancers and the relationship between clinical features and prognosis. Methods: Clinical data of 184 patients with brain metastatic cancers were collected and analysed for the relationship between survival time and age, gender, primary diseases, quantity of brain metastatic foci, their position, extra cranial lesions, and therapeutic regimens. Results: The average age of onset was 59.1 years old. The median survival time (MST) was 15.0 months, and the patients with breast cancer as the primary disease had the longest survival time. Females had a longer survival time than males. Patients with meningeal metastasis had extremely short survival time. Those with less than 3 brain metastatic foci survived longer than patients with more than 3. The MST of patients receiving radiotherapy only and the patients receiving chemotherapy only were all 10.0 months while the MST of patients receiving combination therapy was 16.0 months. Multiple COX regression analysis demonstrated that gender, primary diseases, and quantity of brain metastatic foci were independent prognostic factors for brain metastatic cancers. Conclusions: Chemotherapy is as important as radiotherapy in the treatment of brain metastatic cancer. Combination therapy is the best treatment mode. Male gender, brain metastatic cancers originating in the gastrointestinal tract, more than 3 metastatic foci, and involvement of meninges indicate a worse prognosis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2018

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic value of $^{18}F$-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG PET) with computed tomography (CT) before and during radiotherapy (RT) in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods: Twenty patients with primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma were enrolled in this study, of whom 6 had oropharyngeal cancer, 10 had hypopharyngeal cancer, and 4 had laryngeal cancer. Fifteen patients received concurrent cisplatin and 2 received concurrent cetuximab chemotherapy. FDG PET/CT was performed before RT and in the 4th week of RT. The parameters of maximum standardized uptake value, metabolic tumor volume, and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of the primary tumor were measured, and the prognostic significance of each was analyzed with the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Higher TLG (>19.0) on FDG PET/CT during RT was a poor prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) (p = 0.001) and progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.007). In the multivariate analysis, TLG during RT as a continuous variable was significantly associated with OS and PFS rate (p = 0.023 and p = 0.016, respectively). Tumor response worse than partial remission at 1 month after RT was another independent prognostic factor for PFS (p = 0.024). Conclusions: Higher TLG of the primary tumor on FDG PET/CT during RT was a poor prognostic factor for OS and PFS in patients with head and neck cancer.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 2016

Purpose: PIK3CA is often mutated in a variety of malignancies, including colon, gastric, ovary, breast, and brain tumors. We investigated PIK3CA expression in gastric cancer and explored the relationships between the PIK3CA expression level and clinicopathological features as well as survival of the patients. Materials and Methods: We examined PIK3CA expression in a tissue microarray of 178 gastric adenocarcinomas by immunohistochemistry and reviewed patients' medical records. Results: In our study, 112 of the 178 gastric cancer patients displayed positive PIK3CA expression. Overexpression of PIK3CA was correlated with low grade differentiation (P=0.001), frequent lymphatic invasion (P=0.032), and high T stage (P=0.040). Patients with positive PIK3CA staining were more likely to display worse overall survival rate than those with negative PIK3CA staining, as determined by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with log-rank test (P=0.047) and a univariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazard model (hazard ratio=1.832, P=0.051). Conclusions: Elevated PIK3CA expression was significantly correlated with tumor invasiveness, tumor phenotypes, and poor patient survival.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.255-262
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• 2012

Inflammation is the immune system's response to infection and injury-related disorders, and is related to pro-inflammatory factors (NO, $PGE_2$, cytokines, etc.) produced by inflammatory cells. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a representative inflammatory skin disease that is characterized by increasing serum levels of inflammatory chemokines, including macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC). Carpinus tschonoskii is a member of the genus Carpinus. We investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of C. tschonoskii by studying the effects of various solvent fractions prepared from its leaves on inflammatory mediators in HaCaT and RAW264.7 cells. We found that the chloroform fraction of C. tschonoskii inhibited MDC at both the protein and mRNA levels in HaCaT cells, acting via the inhibition of STAT1 in the IFN-${\gamma}$ signaling pathway. In addition, the chloroform fraction significantly suppressed the expression of inflammatory factors induced by lipopolysaccharide stimulation, except COX-2 and TNF-${\alpha}$. These results suggest that the chloroform fraction of C. tschonoskii leaves may include a component with potential anti-inflammatory activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1069-1078
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• 2021

Sevoflurane postconditioning (SPostC) has been proved effective in cardioprotection against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. It was also reported that heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) could be induced by sevoflurane, which played a crucial role in hypoxic/reoxygenation (HR) injury of cardiomyocytes. However, the mechanism by which sevoflurane protects cardiomyocytes via HSP70 is still not understood. Here, we aimed to investigate the related mechanisms of SPostC inducing HSP70 expression to reduce the HR injury of cardiomyocytes. After the HR cardiomyocytes model was established, the cells transfected with siRNA for HSP70 (siHSP70) or not were treated with sevoflurane during reoxygenation. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level was detected by colorimetry while cell viability and apoptosis were detected by MTT and flow cytometry. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting were used to detect HSP70, apoptosis-, cell cycle-associated factors, iNOS, and Cox-2 expressions. Enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). SPostC decreased apoptosis, cell injury, oxidative stress and inflammation and increased viability of HR-induced cardiomyocytes. In addition, SPostC downregulated Bax and cleaved caspase-3 levels, while SPostC upregulated Bcl-2, CDK-4, Cyclin D1, and HSP70 levels. SiHSP70 had the opposite effect that SPostC had on HR-induced cardiomyocytes. Moreover, siHSP70 further reversed the effect of SPostC on apoptosis, cell injury, oxidative stress, inflammation, viability and the expressions of HSP70, apoptosis-, and cell cycle-associated factors in HR-induced cardiomyocytes. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that SPostC can reduce the HR injury of cardiomyocytes by inducing HSP70 expression.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.507-513
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• 2022

Objective : The goal of the following statewide age and gender-coordinated cohort study in Korea is to find out if there is a link between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods : Utilizing the National Health Insurance Sharing Service cohort, patient data were collected. Six thousand four hundred seventy-five individuals with PD were distinguished by utilizing the International Classification of Diseases 10 code G20 and have enrolled in the PD group. The number of participants decreased to 5259 after excluding 1039 patients who were hospitalized less than one time or who visited an outpatient clinic less than twice. Then, 26295 individuals were selected as part of the control group after case control matching was conducted through 1 : 5 age- and gender-coordinated matching. The Cox proportional hazard regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier method were utilized to analyze the likelihood of AMI in PD. Results : After controlling for age and gender, the hazard ratio of AMI in the PD group was 3.603 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.837-4.577). After that, the following hazard ratio of AMI in the PD group was modified against for co-morbid medical disorders, resulting in 3.551 (95% CI, 2.795-4.511). According to a subgroup analysis, in males and females aged <65 and aged ≥65 and in the non-diabetes and diabetes, hypertension and non-hypertension, dyslipidemia and non-dyslipidemia subgroups, the AMI incidence rates were dramatically higher in the PD group compared to that of the control. Conclusion : Individuals with PD have a greater chance of AMI, according to this cross-national study.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.310-318
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• 2022

The fruits of Paulownia tomentosa (Thunb.) (PT) Steud. have been reported to exert a variety of biological activities. A previous study confirmed that compounds isolated from PT fruits (PTF) exerted anti-inflammatory effects on TNF-α-stimulated airway epithelial cells. However, there is no report on the protective effects of PTF on acute lung injury (ALI). Here, we examined the ameliorative effects of PTF in an experimental animal model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. In ALI mice, increased levels of inflammatory cell influx were confirmed in the lungs of mice, and an increase of microphage numbers, TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 production and protein content were detected in mouse bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. However, these increases were significantly reversed with PTF pretreatment. In addition, PTF inhibited the increased expression of iNOS and COX-2 in the lungs of ALI mice. Furthermore, the upregulation of MAPK and NF-κB activation was decreased in the lungs of ALI mice by PTF. In the in vitro experiment, PTF pretreatment exerted an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the secretion of nitric oxide, TNF-α and IL-6 in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Collectively, these results indicated that PTF has ameliorative effects on airway inflammation in an experimental animal model of ALI.