Curcumin, a derivative from the dried rhizome of curcuma longa, has been proven to possess anti-tumor effects. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we aimed to explore the anti-tumor mechanisms of curcumin in treating gastric cancer. BALB/C mice grafted with a mouse gastric adenocarcinoma cell line (MFC) were used as the experimental model. Mice received different doses of curcumin after grafting. Tumor size was measured and tumor weight was determined after tumor inoculation. TUNEL assay and flow cytometric analysis were applied to evaluate the apoptosis of the cancer cells. Serum cytokines IFN-γ, TNF-α, granzyme B and perforin were detected by ELISA assay. The anti-tumor effect was determined using cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) assays and in vivo tumor prevention tests. The expression of DEC1, HIF-1α, STAT3 and VEGF in tumor tissues was examined by immunostaining and analyzed using an Image J analysis system. Compared with controls, tumor growth (size and weight) was significantly inhibited by curcumin treatment (P < 0.05). The apoptotic index in gastric cancer cells was significantly increased in the curcumin treatment group. Splenocyte cells from mice treated with curcumin exhibited higher cytolytic effects on MFC cancer cells than those from mice treated with saline (P < 0.01). The expression of DEC1, HIF-1α, STAT3 and VEGF in tumor tissues was down-regulated after curcumin treatment. Our results indicate that curcumin inhibits the proliferation of gastric carcinoma by inducing the apoptosis of tumor cells, activating immune cells to secrete a large amount of cytokines, and down-regulating the DEC1, HIF-1α, VEGF and STAT3 signal transduction pathways.

Our study aimed to identify more accurate results about the diagnostic role of shear-wave elastography (SWE) for thyroid malignant nodules through a meta-analysis.Potential articles were searched in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases. Overall sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was used to represent the diagnostic accuracy of SWE. Summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to illustrate the results. In addition, χ2 and I2 tests were performed to assess heterogeneity. A value of p≤0.05 indicated significant heterogeneity. All the analysis was conducted in Meta-DiSc version 1.4 software.Twenty studies were included in the analysis. There were a total of 2,907 patients and 3,397 thyroid nodules included in the meta-analysis. Overall sensitivity and specificity were 0.68 (95% CI: 0.66–0.70) and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.84–0.87), respectively. The results showed the area under curve (AUC) was 0.9041, suggesting high accuracy of SWE for differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.SWE showed high accuracy in identifying thyroid malignant nodules, suggesting it could serve as a diagnostic biomarker in thyroid nodules.

This study was carried out to investigate the indigenous use and pharmacological activity of traditional medicinal plants of Mount Taibai, China. Pharmacological data were collected by conducting informal interviews with local experienced doctors practicing traditional Chinese medicine and via open-ended questionnaires on villagers. We conclude that the residents of Mt. Taibai possess rich pharmacological knowledge. This study may help identify high-value traditional medicinal plant species, promote economic development associated with local medicinal plants, and increase awareness from government departments.

Abstract. Background/Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), VEGFR-3 antibody-conjugated ginsenoside Rg .). Real-time fluorescence imaging was performed to assess tumor inhibition in each group. Metastasis was evaluated by open fluorescence imaging at autopsy. The expression of lymphangiogenesis-related factors VEGF-C, VEDF-D and VEGFR-3 in the tumors were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and real-time RCP. Results: VRIN and 5-FU significantly inhibited primary tumor growth as compared to vehicle control (p<0.05). However, significant inhibition of lymph-node metastasis was only found in the VRIN-treated group (p<0.05). The expression of VEGF-C, VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 in the tumor was suppressed by VRIN treatment (p<0.05). Expression of VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 in the 5-FUtreated group was not significantly increased (p>0.05). No obvious toxicity was found in