Somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been demonstrated in various tumors, including breast cancer. However, it still remains unclear whether the alterations in mtDNA are related to the clinicopathological features and/or the prognosis in the breast cancer. We analyzed somatic mutations in the D-loop region, the common 4,977-bp deletion, and the copy number of mtDNA in breast cancer and paired nontumorous breast tissues from 60 Taiwanese patients. We found that 18 of the 60 (30%) breast cancers displayed somatic mutations in mtDNA D-loop region. The incidence of the 4,977-bp deletion in nontumorous breast tissues (47%) was much higher than that in breast cancers (5%). The copy number of mtDNA was significantly decreased in 38 of the 60 (63%) breast cancers as compared to their corresponding nontumorous breast tissues (P ¼ 0.0008). The occurrence of D-loop mutations was associated with an older onset age (!50 years old, P ¼ 0.042), and tumors that lacked expressions of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor (P ¼ 0.024). Patients with mtDNA D-loop mutation and breast cancer had significantly poorer disease-free survival than those without mutation, when assessed by Kaplan-Meier curves and logrank test (P ¼ 0.005). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that a D-loop mutation is a significant marker that is independent of other clinical variables and that it can be used to assess the prognosis of patients. Our findings suggest that somatic mutations in mtDNA D-loop can be used as a new molecular prognostic indicator in breast cancer. V V C 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

No abstract

In conclusion, FIR therapy exerts a NO-related biological effect to increase skin microcirculation in rats. This might bring into perspective the clinical application of FIR to treat ischemic disease by augmenting L-arginine/NO pathway.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that play fundamental roles in diverse biological and pathological processes by targeting the expression of specific genes. Here, we identified 38 methylation-associated miRNAs, the expression of which could be epigenetically restored by cotreatment with 5-aza-2 0 -deoxycytidine and trichostatin A. Among these 38 miRNAs, we further analyzed miR-34b, miR-127-3p, miR-129-3p and miR-409 because CpG islands are predicted adjacent to them. The methylation-silenced expression of these miRNAs could be reactivated in gastric cancer cells by treatment with demethylating drugs in a time-dependent manner. Analysis of the methylation status of these miRNAs showed that the upstream CpG-rich regions of mir-34b and mir-129-2 are frequently methylated in gastric cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, and their methylation status correlated inversely with their expression patterns. The expression of miR-34b and miR-129-3p was downregulated by DNA hypermethylation in primary gastric cancers, and the low expression was associated with poor clinicopathological features. In summary, our study shows that tumor-specific methylation silences miR-34b and miR-129 in gastric cancer cells.

This work provides just a model, but a strong one, for quantitative assessments of ethanol metabolism in the human liver and stomach. The results indicate that the hepatic-alcohol clearance of ADH1B*2 individuals is higher than that of the ADH1B*1 and those of the ADH1B*3 versus the ADH1B*1 vary depending on sinusoidal ethanol levels. The maximal capacity for potential alcohol first-pass metabolism in the liver is greater than in the stomach.

In patients with HCC, the preoperative serum IL-10 level is related to the clinical outcome. IL-10 may play an important role in the progression of HCC.

No abstract

Heterotopic pancreas is a rare disease. We evaluated 17 patients treated surgically at our hospital. Epigastric pain (77%), abdominal fullness (30%), and tarry stools (24%) were the three most frequent symptoms and signs. The lesions were diagnosed as gastroduodenal tumors by gastroduodenoscopy (67%) or upper gastrointestinal series (71%). Among these, only one gastric submucosal tumor was considered to be heterotopic pancreas preoperatively. Three patients were found to have gastric tumor by abdominal ultrasound. Computed tomography, small-intestinal series, barium enema, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, angiography, and cholescintigraphy did not help in disclosing lesion. In about half of the patients, the lesions were located at the stomach. Tumor size varied from 1 to 3 cm. Surgical excision relieved symptoms. These findings indicated heterotopic pancreas is still a difficult disease for diagnosis, regardless of the improvements of diagnostic tools and techniques.