ABSTRACT. The results of previous epidemiological studies exploring the relationship between interleukin-10 (IL-10) promoter polymorphisms and susceptibility to pediatric asthma are not consistent. Therefore, we have performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide a more convincing conclusion. Odds ratios (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the strength of association between the IL-10 promoter polymorphisms and susceptibility to pediatric asthma. Publication bias was examined by Begg's funnel plots and the Egger test. A detailed literature search based on stringent parameters yielded sixteen relevant studies, comprising 2494 cases and 2160 controls. The overall population showed no significant association between the IL-10 -1082G/A polymorphism and pediatric asthma risk in any of the genetic models and atopic status subgroups. However, there was no evidence of a significant association between the other two polymorphisms (-819C/ T and -592C/A) and pediatric asthma in our study. No significant publication bias was observed in this meta-analysis. The results of this study indicate that the IL-10 -1082G/A polymorphism might be a risk factor for asthma in children. However, because of the small sample size included in the subgroup analyses, the results should be interpreted with caution.
ABSTRACT. This study investigated 5 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) haplotypes in susceptibility genes for coronary artery disease (CAD) and the putative involvement of these SNPs in CAD in the Chinese Han population. From March 2008 to June 2009, we selected 119 CAD patients and 115 subjects not related to the CAD of Chinese Han origin as controls. The SNP genotypes were performed by multiplex SNaPshot technology. The HNRPUL1 gene rs11881940T and GATA2 gene rs3803T loci were highly correlated with CAD (P < 0.05). rs10757278G increased the risk of CAD in patients indicated by an odds ratio (OR) = 1.242 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-1.49]; rs11881940T and rs3803T were protective factors for CAD with ORs = 0.767 (95%CI = 0.61-0.97) and 0.53 (95%CI = 0.40-0.72), respectively. Analysis of the rs10757278, rs11881940 and rs3803 loci showed that haplotypes ATC (OR = 4.26; 95%CI = 2.85-6.40, P < 0.01), GAC (OR = 1.50; 95%CI = 1.25-1.81, P < 0.01) and GAT (OR = 1.53; 95%CI = 1.12-2.09, P < 0.01) were CAD risk factors, whereas GTC was protective (OR = 0.48; 95%CI = 0.32-0.72, P < 0.01). ATC and glucose were positively correlated (OR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.01-3.61, P < 0.05). GAT was a risk factor for hypertension (OR = 2.86; 95%CI = 1.40-5.83, P < 0.01). In conclusion, polymorphisms and haplotype analysis of susceptibility genes for CAD can improve predicting this disease and will enable early diagnosis of CAD.
Background: The incidence rate of HCC in the oldest-old (85 years or older) patients is rising along with the global progression of aging society. However, the optimal oncological management of this population has to be elucidated due to the paucity of published studies about very elderly patients. Proton beam therapy (PBT) is a less invasive and effective treatment for HCC. However, long-term outcome of elderly patients underwent PBT for HCC has not been reported. The purpose of our study is to present the outcome and toxicity of PBT for the oldest-old patients with HCC.Methods: This is a single institutional, retrospective study of 201 elderly patients treated with PBT for HCC from November 2001 to November 2014. Of which, 98 patients (48.8%) were young-old (age: 75-80), 74 (36.8%) were old-old (age: 80-85), and 29 (14.4%) were the oldest-old (age ! 85). Overall survival (OS) and progressionfree survival (PFS) rates were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test was used for comparisons. Cumulative incidence function (CIF) of local recurrence (LR) was computed by competing risk analysis with death as a competing event. Toxicities were graded according to the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0.
Results:The median follow-up period was 34.9 months. The median age of all patients was 80 (range, 75-92). The median size of a tumor was 3.9 (range, 1.0-15.5) cm. The majority of patients had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-1 (n¼182, 90.6%), solitary tumor (n¼145, 72.1%), hepatitis C virus as an underlying cause (n¼123, 61.2%), and no previous treatment history (n¼106, 52.7%).
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