Oxidative DNA damage plays crucial roles in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases including cancer. 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is the most representative product of oxidative modifications of DNA, and urinary 8-OHdG is potentially the best non-invasive biomarker of oxidative damage to DNA. Herein, we developed a sensitive, specific and accurate method for quantification of 8-OHdG in human urine. The urine samples were pretreated using off-line solid-phase extraction (SPE), followed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis. By the use of acetic acid as an additive to the mobile phase, we improved the UPLC-MS/MS detection of 8-OHdG by 2.7−5.3 times. Using the developed strategy, we measured the contents of 8-OHdG in urine samples from 142 healthy volunteers and 84 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). We observed increased levels of urinary 8-OHdG in patients with CRC and patients with tumor metastasis, compared to healthy controls and patients without tumor metastasis, respectively. Additionally, logistic regression analysis and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed. Our findings implicate that oxidative stress plays important roles in the development of CRC and the marked increase of urinary 8-OHdG may serve as a potential liquid biomarker for the risk estimation, early warning and detection of CRC.

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Lymph node involvement is associated with recurrence in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The central neck compartment (level VI) lymph nodes are at the greatest risk of metastases from PTC, but the role of central neck dissection (CND) remains controversial, particularly in PTC without clinical cervical lymph node metastasis (cN0). The present study aimed to identify risk factors of central cervical nodal metastasis and the safety of CND in patients with cN0 PTC. The current study retrospectively investigated 389 patients who had been followed up for 12.0–25.5 months after surgery, and were divided into positive or negative lymph node involvement groups according to the pathological results subsequent to this surgery. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to study the risk factor of central node involvement. The mean tumor size was 0.71±0.35 cm (range, 0.1–2.0 cm). There was no significant difference in the rate of central lymph node involvement based on age (<45 or ≥45 years) or tumor focality (unifocal or multifocal). However, there were significant differences based on gender, extra-thyroid invasion and tumor size (P<0.05). The incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism and transient vocal cord paralysis following CND was 12.34 and 4.11%, respectively. No patient experienced permanent hypoparathyroidism or vocal cord paralysis. One patient (1/389; 0.23%) experienced disease recurrence during the follow-up. A larger tumor size and the male gender were significantly associated with the central nodal metastasis rate for cN0 PTC with a tumor size of <2.0 cm. CND for cN0 PTC patients was safe and the tumor-associated recurrence rate following CND plus total thyroidectomy was low. The present study suggests that CND should be conducted for male cN0 PTC patients with a larger tumor size (≥0.5 cm).

Background and purposeOxidative stress is closely related to the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) is a typical bio-marker of oxidative stress. Serum uric acid (SUA) is one of the most abundant molecules with antioxidant properties in human blood. This study aimed to explore whether 8-oxodG and SUA could be prognostic factors of CRC.MethodsUrinary 8-oxodG level was analyzed using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). SUA concentration was measured using an automatic biochemistry analyzer. Seventy-three newly diagnosed Chinese CRC patients were included. According to the mean level of urinary 8-oxodG or SUA, patients were divided into high and low groups.ResultsThe level of 8-oxodG and SUA gradually elevated from stage I to stage IV in CRC patients. High 8-oxodG concentration and SUA levels were associated with worse overall survival (P=0.03). In the stage II and stage III CRC group, no statistically significant relationship was found between the urinary 8-oxodG level and overall survival or between the SUA level and overall survival. Nevertheless, when these two biomarkers were combined, there was a statistically significant association with overall survival (P=0.02).ConclusionElevated urinary 8-oxodG and SUA levels measured at the time of diagnosis were associated with the progression of CRC. Both urinary 8-oxodG and SUA might be valuable as CRC prognostic factors, and the combination of the two biomarkers might help to determine the prognoses of CRC, particularly in stage II and stage III CRC patients.

This study aimed to quantify arterial volume distensibility in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) in comparison with normal subjects and to investigate factors associated with their differences. 40 normal subjects and 30 BRVO patients were studied. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was measured to determine arterial volume distensibility. In comparison with the normal subjects, after adjusting for pulse pressure, baPWV in the BRVO patients was significantly higher by 2.3 m/s (P < 0.01) and arterial distensibility was significantly lower by 0.015% per mmHg (P < 0.01). No subject in the normal group had an arterial distensibility lower than 0.04% per mmHg, in comparison with 67% (20/30) in the BRVO group. Arterial distensibility was significantly related to systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP) and ageing for both groups (all P < 0.05), but in the BRVO group, blood pressures and ageing had more prominent effect on arterial volume distensibility. Peripheral arterial distensibility has been shown to be significantly lower in BRVO patients in comparison with normal subjects. The more prominent effect of SBP, DBP and ageing on arterial distensibility indicates the potential underlying mechanisms of the interaction between higher blood pressures, ageing and BRVO disease.