Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor (VEGFR) are highly expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma; therefore, blocking the binding of VEGF and VEGFR may be a potential way to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Apatinib inhibits tumor angiogenesis. Previous studies have suggested that treatment with apatinib has an antitumor effect on nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This study will investigate the effect of apatinib combined with radiotherapy. In this study, nude mice injected with CNE-2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells were randomly divided into 6 groups. Therapeutic effects were assessed by evaluating tumor inhibition rate, phosphorylation of VEGFR-2, CD31, partial oxygen pressure, and tumor metabolism. We found that the tumor inhibition of mice in the treated groups was better compared to that of the control group. In mice treated with apatinib alone, angiogenesis was prevented, and the tumor tissue partial oxygen pressure was reduced, thereby achieving an antitumor effect. Moreover, the tumor inhibitory effect of combined treatment was stronger than treatment with either apatinib or radiotherapy alone. Compared with monotherapy treatment, combined treatment better resisted angiogenesis. Apatinib combined with radiotherapy to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma has synergistic effects, which may be related to enhanced antiangiogenesis.

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Background: Studies on the prognostic significance of site-specific distant metastasis, multiple-site metastases, and the impact of surgery of the primary tumor and metastatic lesion on survival outcomes of patients with metastatic gastric cancer (GC) remain elusive. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of the site of distant metastasis among patients with metastatic GC. Furthermore, the effect of surgery of the primary tumor and metastatic lesion on the prognosis of metastatic GC was also analyzed. Methods: The data of 4,221 eligible patients, who were diagnosed with metastatic GC between 2010 and 2015, were identified from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between potential prognostic factors, including the site of metastasis and surgery, and survival of patients with metastatic GC. Overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS) were determined using the Kaplan-Meier survival curves and differences were assessed using the Log-rank test. Results: Out of the total 4,221 GC patients with definite organ metastases, 3312 patients had single-site metastasis while 909 patients had multiple-site metastases. GC patients with single-site metastasis of liver or lung exhibited better CSS and OS compared to those with bone metastasis. Furthermore, GC patients with liver metastasis benefited from surgery of both the primary and metastatic lesions, while those with lung metastasis benefited from surgery of metastasis resection only. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that GC patients with single-site metastasis, well-differentiated tumors, GC patients who underwent surgery of the primary tumor and those who received chemotherapy exhibited favorable prognosis. Conclusions: The site of metastasis was an independent prognostic factor for metastatic GC. Surgery had survival benefits in certain cases of metastatic GC; however, further studies are warranted to clarify these benefits in carefully selected patients.

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Exosomes are extracellular membrane-encapsulated vesicles that are released into the extracellular space or biological fluids by many cell types through exocytosis. As a newly identified form of intercellular signal communication, exosomes mediate various pathological and physiological processes by exchanging various active substances between cells. The incidence and mortality of liver diseases is increasing worldwide. Therefore, we reviewed recent studies evaluating the role of exosomes from various sources in the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases.