A multicentre trial was organized in China as part of an international coordinated research project to study the efficacy and toxicity of single-dose samarium-153 ethylene diamine tetramethylene phosphonate (EDTMP) as a palliative treatment for painful skeletal metastases. One hundred and five patients with painful bone metastases from various primaries were treated with 153Sm-EDTMP at a dose of 37 MBq/kg(group I) or 18.5 MBq/kg (group II). The effects were evaluated according to change in daily analgesic consumption, pain score, sum of effect product (SEP), Physician's Global Assessment (PGA), blood counts, and organ function tests conducted regularly for 16 weeks. Fifty-eight of 70 patients in group I and 30 of 35 in group II had a positive response, with SEPs of 22.29+/-14. 47 and 20.13+/-13.90 respectively. Of 72 patients who had been receiving analgesics, 63 reduced their consumption. PGA showed that the Karnofsky score (KS) increased from 58.54+/-25.90 to 71.67+/-26. 53, indicating improved general condition, but the difference was not significant. Among subgroups of patients, only those with breast cancer showed a significant change in the Karnofsky score after treatment. Inter-group differences were found for net change in KS between patients with lung and patients with breast cancer, and between patients with lung and patients with oesophageal cancer. Seventeen patients showed no response. No serious side-effects were noted, except for falls in the white blood cell (nadir 1.5x10(9)/l) and platelet (nadir 6.0x10(10)/l) counts in 44/105 and 34/105 cases, respectively. Ten patients had an abnormal liver function test. Response and side-effects were both independent of dose. In conclusion, 153Sm-EDTMP provided effective palliation in 83.8% of patients with painful bone metastases; the major toxicity was temporary myelosuppression. Further studies are needed to identify better ways of determining the appropriate dose in the individual case and the efficacy of treatment.

Background Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common subtype of differentiated thyroid malignancy, with increasing incidence. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) AC005479.2 has been shown to play a role in the tumorigenesis and development of multiple cancers, although its role in PTC remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to identify the expression, function, and mechanisms of AC005479.2 in PTC. Methods The data were downloaded from TCGA database. The expression of AC005479.2 in PTC samples was determined by R package “limma” and RT-qPCR, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to explore the association between AC005479.2 and PTC. Through genetic enrichment analysis (GSEA) set of AC005479.2, potential function and molecular mechanism were discussed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the performance of AC005479.2. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to analyze the effects on the prognosis of patients with PTC. Results The results showed that AC005479.2 was up-regulated in TCGA-PTC and PTC samples. Eleven PTC-related modules were obtained from the WGCNA, and AC005479.2 was in the blue module, which had the strongest association with PTC. AC005479.2-related genes were obtained from the blue module, and GSEA-GO analysis of these genes was mainly enriched in aerobic respiration, lipid oxidation, and negative regulation of extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway via death down, while KEGG analysis was mainly enriched in the MAPK, JAK-STAT, and NOTCH signaling pathways. Area under the ROC curve is 0.838, prompt AC005479.2 may be PTC diagnostic biomarkers. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses indicated that AC005479.2 was an independent risk factor for the prognosis of patients with PTC. Conclusion AC005479.2 is up-regulated in PTC, where it may serve as a biomarker gene, providing an important basis for future research.