Accumulating evidences indicate that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a vital role in diverse cancer biology. However, the contributions of circRNAs to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their underlying mechanism remain largely unknown. The present study aims at investigating the role of circRNA-104718 in HCC progression, which has been observed to be significantly up-regulated in HCC tissues. We found that, higher expression of circRNA-104718 also leds to a poor prognosis in HCC patients. Using luciferase binding assays and RNA immunoprecipitation studies, we identified circRNA-104718 is physically associated and co-expressed with microRNA (miR)-218-5p in HCC. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that circRNA-104718 functions as a competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and competes with thioredoxin domain-containing protein 5 (TXNDC5) mRNA and directly binds to miR-218-5p. Functionally, we found that ectopically expressed circRNA-104718 accelerated cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and inhibited apoptosis. In vivo studies on a nude mice model showed that circRNA-104718 overexpression could increase the tumor size and the rate of metastasis. Silencing of circRNA-104718 could decrease both the tumor size and metastasis significantly. Conversely, we also observed overexpression of miR-218-5p could in turn decrease the proliferation, migration, invasion, and increase apoptosis. Furthermore, circRNA-104718 could relieve the suppression of miR-218-5p target TXNDC5 and thereby cause an inhibition of miR’s functions. In summary, our results indicate that circRNA-104718 acts as a ceRNA and promotes HCC progression through the targeting of miR-218-5p/TXNDC5 signaling pathway. Thus, we propose that circRNA-104718 would be a promising target for HCC diagnosis and therapy.

It has been demonstrated that nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), which is overactivated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), plays important roles in the development of HCC. Recently, a group of dysregulated micro RNAs were reported to be involved in HCC progression. Further understanding of micro RNA-mediated regulation of NF-κB pathway may provide novel therapeutic targets for HCC. In this study, we found that miR-451 expression was markedly downregulated in HCC cells and tissues compared with immortalized normal liver epithelial cells and adjacent non- cancerous tissues, respectively. Upregulation of miR-451 inhibited, while downregulation of miR-451 promoted, the tumorigenicity of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. These changes in the properties of HCC cells were associated with deregulation of two well-known cellular G1/S transitional regulators, cyclin D1 and c-Myc, which are downstream targets of NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-451 upregulation led to downregulation of cyclin D1 and c-Myc through inhibition of NF-κB pathway initiated by direct targeting of the IKBKB 3'-untranslated region. Therefore, these results suggest that miR-451 downregulation plays an important role in promoting proliferation of HCC cells and may provide the basis for the development of novel anti-HCC therapies.

Purpose To conduct a single-center, open-label, randomized, controlled trial to compare the effectiveness and safety of (a) ginsenoside Rg3 combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and (b) TACE alone in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods This trial was approved by the Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital ethics committee and was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-TRC-11001643). After informed consent was obtained, 228 patients with advanced HCC (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C) were randomly assigned to receive an Rg3 capsule and undergo TACE (n = 152; mean age ± standard deviation, 52.4 years ± 11.8; 84.2% men) or undergo TACE alone (n = 76; mean age, 52.4 years ± 10.4; 82.9% men). TACE was performed by using iodized oil with epirubicin and gelatin sponge after oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil were infused. The primary end point was overall survival. Secondary end points included time to progression, time to untreatable progression, disease control rate, and safety. Data were compared with the log-rank test, and survival curves were generated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Median overall survival was 13.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.15, 15.26) in the TACE with Rg3 group and 10.1 months (95% CI: 9.14, 11.06) in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.63 [95% CI: 0.46, 0.85]; P = .002). Median time to progression (4.3 vs 3.2 months, respectively; P = .151) and median time to untreatable progression (8.3 vs 7.3 months, respectively; P = .063) were similar in the two groups. Disease control rate was 69.7% in the TACE with Rg3 group versus 51.3% in the control group (P = .012). Constipation and epistaxis were more frequent in the Rg3 with TACE group (P < .05). Importantly, Rg3 alleviated some TACE-related adverse syndromes and blood anomalies. Conclusion In patients with advanced HCC and adequate liver function, the combination of TACE and ginsenoside Rg3 may prolong overall survival when compared with TACE alone. (©) RSNA, 2016.

Background In unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), methods to predict patients at increased risk of progression are required. Purpose To investigate the feasibility of radiomics model in predicting early progression of unresectable HCC after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) therapy using preoperative multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP‐MRI). Study Type Retrospective. Population A total of 84 patients with BCLC B stage HCC from one medical center. According to the modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors, patients who progressed at 6 months after TACE therapy were assigned as the progressive disease (PD) group (n = 32). Patients whose MRI was performed on four devices were divided into a training cohort (n = 67). Patients whose MRI was performed on other than the previous four devices were used as the testing set (n = 17). Field Strength/Sequence 3.0T, 1.5T axial T2‐weighted imaging (T2WI), diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI, b = 0, 500 s/mm2), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) Assessment PD was confirmed via imaging studies with MRI. Risk factors, including age, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), size, and radiomic‐related features of PD were assessed. In addition, the discrimination ability of each radiomics signature was tested on an independent testing set. Statistical Tests The area under the receiver‐operator characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the radiomic signature in both the training and testing sets. The results indicated that the MP‐MRI model achieved the greatest benefit. Results In the testing set, the model based on DWI features presented an AUC of (b = 0, 0.786; b = 500, 0.729), followed by T2WI features (0.729) and ADC (0.714). The AUC of the MP‐MRI signature was increased to 0.800 compared to any single MRI signature. The multivariate logistic analysis identified the radiomics signature as independent parameters of PD, while clinical information such as age, AFP, size, etc., had no significance in the PD group. Data Conclusion Preoperative MP‐MRI has the potential to predict the outcome of TACE therapy for unresectable HCC. In addition, these image features may be complementary to the current staging systems of HCC patients. Level of Evidence 2. Technical Efficacy Stage 3. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;52:1083–1090.

We report one case of brain glioma that developed in the scar of an old brain trauma. A 45-year-old man who presented with seizures; MRI showed a large mass in the right temporal region. Surgical biopsy showed a glioblastoma multiforme. The patient had suffered a cranial trauma in a road accident 10 years previously with an intracerebral hematoma in the right temporal region. This case fulfills the established criteria for a traumatic origin of brain tumors and adds further support to the relationship between cranial trauma and the onset of glioma. As stated by other authors, an association between head trauma and brain tumor risk cannot be ruled out and should be studied further.

The aims of this study were to assess the effect of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the peripheral blood and right atrium of patients with HCC and to evaluate whether perioperative shedding of CTCs affects time to progression of HCC. Before and after TACE, peripheral and right atrial blood samples (7.5 mL) were collected from 42 patients with HCC. CTCs were enriched using EpCAM antibody-conjugated magnetic beads. The number of CTCs was 0–30 and 0–54 in peripheral blood before and after TACE, respectively (P=0.166), and 0–65 and 0–98 in the right atrium before and after TACE, respectively (P=0.102). The number of CTCs was significantly different between the two samples both before (P=0.007) and after (P=0.021) TACE. There was no difference in time to progression between patients with and without an increase in the number of CTCs after TACE in either sample (P>0.05 for both). There were more CTCs in right atrial blood than in peripheral blood. The numbers of CTCs in both samples remained unchanged after TACE. Shedding of tumor cells did not affect time to progression of disease in patients with HCC.

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ObjectiveTo explore the determinants of smoking behaviour in recreational venues and to provide scientific bases for establishing smoke-free measures applying to these locations.MethodsThe International Tobacco Control (ITC) China Survey—a face-to-face cross-sectional survey of representative adult smokers from six cities (Shenyang, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changsha and Yinchuan) was conducted between April and August 2006. A total of 4815 smokers were selected using multistage sampling methods, and final analyses were conducted on 2875 smokers who reported patronising recreational venues at least once in the last six months. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors influencing the smoking behaviour within recreational settings.Outcome measureWhether a smoker reported smoking in recreational venues during the last 6 months.Results84% subjects reported smoking in recreational venues. Analyses showed that smoke-free laws had been exempted, 32.0% of the patrons reporting bans on smoking in these locations. The following factors were significant predictors of smoking in recreational venues: absence of bans on smoking, support for non-bans, being aged 18–24 years, positive smoking-related attitudes, low number of health effects reported and not living in Beijing.ConclusionsThe findings point to the importance of informing Chinese smokers about the active smoking and passive smoking harmfulness in both building support for smoke-free laws and in reducing smokers’ desire to smoke within recreational venues. They also point to the importance of good enforcement of smoke-free laws when implemented. Such strategies could also serve to de-normalise smoking in China, a key strategy for reducing smoking in general.