• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7251-7256
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• 2013

Objectives: To estimate the proportion of liver cancer cases and deaths due to infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), aflatoxin exposure, alcohol drinking and smoking in China in 2005. Study design: Systemic assessment of the burden of five modifiable risk factors on the occurrence of liver cancer in China using the population attributable fraction. Methods: We estimated the population attributable fraction of liver cancer caused by five modifiable risk factors using the prevalence data around 1990 and data on relative risks from meta-analyses, and large-scale observational studies. Liver cancer mortality data were from the 3rd National Death Causes Survey, and data on liver cancer incidence were estimated from the mortality data from cancer registries in China and a mortality/incidence ratio calculated. Results: We estimated that HBV infection was responsible for 65.9% of liver cancer deaths in men and 58.4% in women, while HCV was responsible for 27.3% and 28.6% respectively. The fraction of liver cancer deaths attributable to aflatoxin was estimated to be 25.0% for both men and women. Alcohol drinking was responsible for 23.4% of liver cancer deaths in men and 2.2% in women. Smoking was responsible for 18.7% and 1.0%. Overall, 86% of liver cancer mortality and incidence (88% in men and 78% in women) was attributable to these five modifiable risk factors. Conclusions: HBV, HCV, aflatoxin, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking were responsible for 86% of liver cancer mortality and incidence in China in 2005. Our findings provide useful data for developing guidelines for liver cancer prevention and control in China and other developing countries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1889-1894
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• 2013

Background: Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (BSCCE) is a rare and distinctive tumor with no standard treatment. This study aimed to explore treatment in relation to prognosis of the disease. Methods: A total of 142 patients with BSCCE that underwent treatment in our hospital from March 1999 to July 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received surgery, 42 postoperative radiotherapy and 28 patients chemotherapy. Results: There were 26 patients included in stage I, 60 in stage II, 53 in stage III and 3 in stage IV. The clinical symptoms and macroscopic performances of BSCCE did not differ from those of typical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Among 118 patients receiving endoscopic biopsy, only 12 were diagnosed with BSCCE. The median survival time (MST) of the entire group was 32 months, with 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) of 81.4%, 46.8% and 31.0%, respectively. The 5-year OS of stage I and II patients was significantly longer than that of stages III/IV, at 60.3%, 36.1% and 10.9%, respectively (p<0.001, p=0.001). The MST and 5-year OS were 59.0 months and 47.4% in patients with tumors located in the lower thoracic esophagus, and 27.0 months and 18.1% in those with lesions in the upper/middle esophagus (p=0.002). However, the survival was not significantly improved in patients undegoing adjunctive therapy. Multivariate analysis showed TNM stage and tumor location to be independent prognostic factors. Furthermore, distant metastasis was the most frequent failure pattern, with a median recurrence time of 10 months. Conclusion: BSCCE is an aggressive disease with rapid progression and a propensity for distant metastasis. It is difficult to make a definitive diagnosis via preoperative biopsy. Multidisciplinary therapy including radical esophagectomy with extended lymphadenectomy should be recommended, while the effectiveness of radiochemotherapy requires further validation for BSCCE.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.536-547
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• 2008

Anthocyanidin synthase (ANS, leucoanthocyanidin oxygenase), a 2-oxoglutarate iron-dependent oxygenase, catalyzed the penultimate step in the biosynthesis of the anthocyanin class of flavonoids, from the colorless leucoanthocyanidins to the colored anthocyanidins. The full-length cDNA and genomic DNA sequences of ANS gene (designated as GbANS) were isolated from Ginkgo biloba for the first time. The full-length cDNA of GbANS contained a 1062-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 354-amino-acid protein. The genomic DNA analysis showed that GbANS gene had three exons and two introns. The deduced GbANS protein showed high identities to other plant ANSs. The conserved amino acids (H-X-D) ligating ferrous iron and residues (R-X-S) participating in 2-oxoglutarate binding were found in GbANS at the similar positions like other ANSs. Southern blot analysis indicated that GbANS belonged to a multi-gene family. The expression analysis by real-time PCR showed that GbANS expressed in a tissue-specific manner in G. biloba. GbANS was also found to be up-regulated by all of the six tested abiotic stresses, UV-B, abscisic acid, sucrose, salicylic acid, cold and ethylene, consistent with the promoter region analysis of GbANS. The recombinant protein was successfully expressed in E. coli strain with pET-28a vector. The in vitro enzyme activity assay by HPLC indicated that recombinant GbANS protein could catalyze the formation the cyanidin from leucocyanidin and conversion of dihydroquercetin to quercetin, suggesting GbANS is a bifunctional enzyme within the anthocyanidin and flavonol biosynthetic pathway.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1691-1698
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• 2000

An in situ digestion trial (Experiment 1) and a lactation trial (Experiment 2) were conducted to determine the effects of replacing corn and wheat bran with soyhulls (SH) in lactating dairy cow diets on the extent and kinetics of digestion of DM and NDF, and lactation performance. In experiment 1, five mixed feeds consisting of mixed concentrate and roughages (50:50 on a DM basis) were formulated on isonitrogenous and isoenergetic bases to produce five levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of SH replacement for corn and wheat bran. SH had high in situ digestion (92 and 89% for potentially digestible DM and NDF) and fairly fast digestion rate (7.2 and 6.3 %/h for DM and NDF). Increasing level of SH replacement resulted in increased NDF digestibility (linear, p=0.001-0.04) and similar DM digestibility (beyond 12 h incubation, p=0.10-0.41). As level of SH replacement increased, percentage of slowly digestible fraction (b) of DM increased (linear, p=0.03), percentage of rapidly digestible fraction (a) of DM tended to decrease (linear, p=0.14), and DM digestion lag time tended to be longer (linear, p=0.13). Percentage of potentially digestible fraction (a+b) and digestion rate (c) of slowly digestible fraction of dietary DM remained unaltered (p=0.36-0.90) with increasing SH in the diet. Increasing level of SH for replacing corn and wheat bran in the diet resulted in increases in percentages of b (quadratic, p<0.001), a (linear, p=0.08), a+b (quadratic, p=0.001) and a tendency to increase in c for NDF (linear, p<0.19). It was also observed that there was a satisfactory fit of a non-linear regression model to NDF digestion data ($R^2=0.986-0.998$), but a relatively poor fit of the model to DM digestion data ($R^2=0.915-0.968$). In experiment 2, 42 lactating Holstein cows were used in a randomized complete block design. SH replaced corn and wheat bran in mixed concentrates at 0, 25, and 50%, respectively. These mixed concentrates were mixed with roughages and fed ad libitum as complete diets. Replacing corn and wheat bran with SH at 0, 25 and 50% levels did not influence (p=0.56-0.95) DM intakes (18.4, 18.6, and 18.5 kg/d), milk yields (27.7, 28.4 and 27.6 kg/d), 4% fat-corrected-milk (FCM) yields (26.2, 27.6, and 27.3 kg/d) and percentages of milk protein (3.12, 3.17 and 3.18%), milk lactose (4.69, 4.76 and 4.68%) and SNF (8.50, 8.64, and 8.54%). On the other hand, milk fat percentges linearly increased (3.63, 3.85 and 3.90% for SH replacement rates of 0, 25 and 50% in the diet, p=0.08), while feed costs per kg FCM production were reduced.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1621-1626
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in females worldwide. Many differences exist in clinico-pathological characteristics of breast cancer patients between China and Western countries. This study aimed to analyze clinico-pathological characteristics of breast cancer from central China. Methods: Clinico-pathological information on breast cancer from three hospitals in central China was collected and analyzed. Results: From 1994 to 2012, 2,525 patients with a median age 50 years were included in this study. The 45-49-year age group and invasive ductal carcinoma not otherwise specified accounted for the highest proportions (19.1%, 480/2,525 and 81.0%, 1,982/2,446). Stages 0-I, II and III accounted for 28.0% (682/2,441), 48.4% (1,180/2,441), and 23.7% (578/2,441), respectively. Distribution of N stage showed that N0 accounted for 53.2% (1,344/2,525), and proportion of N0 rose from 51.1% (157/307) in 30-39-year age group to 64.3% (110/171) in ${\geq}$ 70-year age group, with an average increase of 2.1% in each age group. Modified radical mastectomy, radical mastectomy, breast-conserving surgery and simple mastectomy were performed for 71.8% (1,812/2,525), 18.0% (454/2,525), 5.2% (131/2,525) and 2.6% (66/2,525), respectively. Proportions of breast-conserving surgery in age ${\leq}$ 44-year group (68/132, 51.5%) and simple mastectomy in age ${\geq}$ 60-year group (57/89, 64.0%) were higher than in the other age groups. Breast cancers positive for estrogen receptor accounted for 53.0% (1,107/ 2,112). The comparisons among this study and other reports showed higher proportion of younger patients, lower proportion of breast-conserving surgery and positive estrogen receptor patients in China than western countries. Conclusions: Clinico-pathological characteristics in this study demonstrated clear differences between the center of China than Western countries. Additional classification systems should be developed to guide grading of early breast cancer more accurately, especially for N0 patients. Invasive ductal carcinoma is a focus for intensive research.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4243-4247
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• 2013

The relationship between the X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3) Thr241Met polymorphism and gliomas remains inclusive or controversial. For better understanding of the effect of XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism on glioma risk, a meta-analysis was performed. All eligible studies were identified through a search of PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase) and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) before May 2013. The association between the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism and gliomas risk was conducted by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). A total of nine case-control studies including 3,533 cases and 4,696 controls were eventually collected. Overall, we found that XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of gliomas (T vs. C: OR=1.10, 95%CI=1.01-1.20, P=0.034; TT vs. CC: OR=1.30, 95%CI=1.03-1.65, P=0.027; TT vs. TC/CC: OR=1.29, 95%CI=1.01-1.64, P=0.039). In the subgroup analysis based on ethnicity, the significant association was found in Asian under four models (T vs. C: OR=1.17, 95%CI=1.07-1.28, P=0.00; TT vs. CC: OR=1.79, 95%CI=1.36-2.36, P=0.00; TT vs. TC/CC: OR=1.75, 95%CI=1.32-2.32, P=0.00; TT/TC vs. CC: OR=1.11,95% CI=1.02-1.20). This meta-analysis suggested that the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism is a risk factor for gliomas, especially for Asians. Considering the limited sample size and ethnicities included in the meta-analysis, further large scale and well-designed studies are needed to confirm our results.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3175-3178
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• 2014

Background: Gastric cancer is a common malignant tumor. Our previous study demonstrated inhibitory effects of 3-bromopyruvate (3-BrPA) on pleural mesothelioma. Moreover, we found that 3-BrPA could inhibit human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 proliferation in vitro, but whether similar effects might be exerted in vivo have remained unclear. Aim: To investigate the effect of 3-BrPA to human gastric cancer implant tumors in nude mice. Materials and Methods: Animals were randomly divided into 6 groups: 3-BrPA low, medium and high dose groups, PBS negative control group 1 (PH7.4), control group 2 (PH 6.8-7.8) and positive control group receiving 5-FU. The TUNEL method was used to detect apoptosis, and cell morphology and structural changes of tumor tissue were observed under transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: 3-BrPA low, medium, high dose group, and 5-FU group, the tumor volume inhibition rates were 34.5%, 40.2%, 45.1%, 47.3%, tumor volume of experimental group compared with 2 PBS groups (p<0.05), with no significant difference between the high dose and 5-FU groups (p>0.05). TEM showed typical characteristics of apoptosis. TUNEL demonstrated apoptosis indices of 28.7%, 39.7%, 48.7% for the 3-BrPA low, medium, high dose groups, 42.2% for the 5-FU group and 5% and 4.3% for the PBS1 (PH7.4) and PBS2 (PH6.8-7.8) groups. Compared each experimental group with 2 negative control groups, there was significant difference (p<0.05); there was no significant difference between 5-FU group and medium dose group (p>0.05), but there was between the 5-FU and high dose groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study indicated that 3-BrPA in vivo has strong inhibitory effects on human gastric cancer implant tumors in nude mice.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3239-3245
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• 2014

Background: College students are recommended as the target groups for catch-up human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Systematical exploration of awareness, acceptability, and decision-making factors of HPV vaccination among Chinese college students has been limited. Materials and Methods: A multi-center survey was conducted in mainland China between November 2011 and May 2012. College students aged 18-22 years were stratified by their grade, gender, and major for sampling. Socio-demographic and HPV-related information such as knowledge, perceptions, acceptability, and attitudes were collected through a questionnaire. Results: A total of 3,497 undergraduates completed the questionnaire, among which 1,686 were males. The acceptability of the HPV vaccine was high (70.8%). Undergraduates from high-level universities, at lower grade, or with greater prior knowledge of HPV vaccines showed higher acceptability of HPV vaccination ($p_{trend}$ <0.001). Additionally, undergraduates with vaccination experience outside the National Expanded Program on Immunization (OR=1.29; 95%CI: 1.10-1.51) or fear of HPV-related diseases (OR=2.79; 95%CI: 2.28-3.41) were more willing to accept HPV vaccination. General knowledge of HPV vaccine was low among undergraduates, and safety was a major concern (71.05%). The majority of students wished to pay less than 300RMB for HPV vaccine and chose the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention as the most appropriate venue for vaccination. Conclusions: Although most undergraduates demonstrate positive attitudes towards HPV vaccination, challenges pertaining to introduction exist in China. Corresponding proactive education and governmental subsidy to do so are urgently needed by this age-group population. Suggestions and potential strategies indicated may help shape the future HPV vaccination program in China.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.637-642
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• 2014

The pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) related to habitual betel quid (BQ) chewing is unclear. Risk of HCCis increased with adverse hepatic fibrosis. This study aimed to assess the impact of chronic viral hepatitis on adverse hepatic fibrosis in HCC related to BQ chewing. This hospital-based case-control study enrolled 200 pairs of age- and gender-matched patients with HCC and unrelated healthy controls. Serologic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein (AFP), and surrogate markers for significant hepatic fibrosis were measured. Information on substance-use habits was obtained with a questionnaire. By analysis of surrogate markers for hepatic fibrosis, the prevalence of significant hepatic fibrosis in patients chewing BQ was between 45.8% and 91.7%, whereas that for patients without BQ chewing was between 18.4% and 57.9%. The difference was significant (P <0.05 for each surrogate marker). Multivariate analysis indicated that cirrhosis with Child-Pugh C (odds ratio (OR) = 3.28; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29-8.37), thrombocytopenia (OR = 3.92, 95% CI, 1.77-8.68), AFP >400 mg/L (OR = 2.21, 95% CI, 1.05-4.66) and male gender (OR = 4.06, 95% CI, 1.29-12.77) were independent factors associated with habitual BQ chewing. In conclusion, adverse hepatic fibrosis and severe liver damage play important roles in the pathogenesis of BQ-related HCC, which could be aggravated by chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C. BQ-cessation programs and prevention of chronic HBV/HCV infection are needed to prevent HCC related to BQ chewing.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.1210-1218
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• 2000

Four experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of temperature and humidity on biochemical indices of Arbor Acres broilers at different weeks of age. The alkaline phosphatase (AKP), acid phosphatase (ACP), lactic dehydrogenase (LD), creatine kinase (CK), plasma glucose (Glu), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), urea nitrogen (UN), uric acid (UA), plasma thyroxin (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and insulin levels were determined in all the four experiments. In experiment 1, the plasma Glu, LD and CK levels were increased by heat exposure ($35{^{\circ}C}$ and 35, 60, or 85% RH, 2 h) and this effect was aggravated by longer exposure (24 h). No significant changes (p>0.05) were found in Ca concentration, activity of AKP and ACP. In experiment 2, temperature (10, 20, 30, $33{^{\circ}C}$) had significant effect on the levels of K, Cl, UN, UA levels and the activity of LD (p<0.01), but had no significant influence on the activity of CK (p>0.05). The UN, UK and LD levels were elevated by low temperature $(10{^{\circ}C})$ (p<0.01), Cl content was increased by high temperature ($(33{^{\circ}C})$ (p<0.01), and K level was decreased by high ($(33{^{\circ}C})$ or low $(10{^{\circ}C})$ temperature and increased by medium temperature $(30{^{\circ}C})$ (p<0.01). The humidity (35, 85% RH) only had significant effect on Cl concentration which was decreased by high humidity (p<0.01). In experiment 3, the result showed that only the LD and CK activity were significantly increased (p<0.01) by high temperature (7, 24, 28, $32{^{\circ}C}$) or high humidity (35, 85% RH). Temperature and humidity had no significant effect on K, Cl, UA, UN and Glu levels (p>0.05). In experiment 4 (24, 27, 30, $33{^{\circ}C}$; 30, 45, 60, 75, 90% RH), plasma T3 level was declined by high temperature $(33{^{\circ}C})$, and this phenomena disappeared in birds under high temperature and high humidity environment. T4 concentration in plasma was not affected by temperature (p>0.05), but was increased by high or low humidity (p<0.01). Neither temperature nor humidity had significant effect on plasma insulin concentration (p>0.05). The results of the four experiments suggested that broilers at different growth periods might have different thermal requirements and would response differently to heat exposure. The plasma biochemical indices themselves had big variation; the reaction of the indices to thermal exposure treatment differed with the age of broilers. The big variation of biochemical indices themselves might cover the response of indices to temperature and humidity treatments.