No abstract

Higher De Ritis ratio could be predictive for worse pathological outcomes and higher BCR in localized prostate cancer patients. A predictive model which incorporates De Ritis ratio, Gleason Score and pathological tumor stage could help risk stratification for BCRFS.

Chinese herbs have become a focus in cancer treatment. Icaritin, a prenylflavonoid derivative from Chinese herbs of the Epimedium genus, has selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulating activity. This study evaluates the effects of icaritin on the apoptosis of HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Icaritin (at 5-50 µM) induced apoptosis of HepG2 cells. Few changes in icaritin-induced apoptosis were observed after pretreatment with ICI182780. Consistent with apoptosis induction, icaritin increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caspase-3 activation in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, icaritin was capable of stimulating the c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1), but not the JNK2, ERK1/2, and p38 subgroups of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. Coincidently, icaritin-induced cell apoptosis was abolished by SP600125, a specific inhibitor for JNK. Collectively, our results suggest a novel pro-apoptotic activity of icaritin mediated via the JNK1 signaling pathway that is not associated with ER in HepG2 cells.

Sulfur is a bright yellow crystalline solid at room temperature. The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of sulfur on prostate cancer (PCa) in vivo. Prostate tumors were developed by injecting 22Rv1 or DU-145 PCa cells into sulfur-treated or untreated nude mice. The weight and volume of the tumors were measured. The cancer cells were separated from the tumors, and analyzed for their growth rate and clonogenicity in culture. The expression of PCa-targeted genes was also assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The rate of growth of 22Rv1 tumors in sulfur-treated nude mice gradually decreased, and was reduced by 41.99% (P<0.01) after 22 days when compared with that of the control group. In addition, the growth of DU-145 tumors was also suppressed by 75.16% (P<0.05) after 11 weeks. The clonogenicity of the sulfur-treated tumor cells decreased by 36.7% when compared with that of the control cells. However, no significant difference in cell growth was identified. mRNA levels of the androgen-receptor, prostate specific antigen and human Hox (NKX3.1) genes were significantly decreased by 32.8, 48.2 and 42.2% in sulfur-treated tumors, respectively. Additionally, it was found that the hydrogen sulfide concentration in the serum of sulfur-treated mice was increased by 4.73% (P<0.05). Sulfur significantly suppressed the growth of PCa in vivo. Since sulfur is a known ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine, it may be used clinically for the treatment of PCa, independently or in combination with other medicine.