BackgroundStudies have shown that type-specific persistence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection contributed significantly to cervical carcinogenesis.MethodsIn this population-based study (on 24041 women), we report on the prevalent genotypes of HPVs and the prevalent genotypes of HPV persistent infection in the northeast of China.ResultsOur results showed that in HPV infected women (45.6% in total), (95% CI, 44.97%–46.23%), 17.35% (95%CI, 16.87%–17.83%) suffered persistent infection. The most common high-risk HPV types in persistent positivity were HPV-16 (18.21%; 95%CI, 17.04%–19.38%), HPV-58 (13.2%; 95%CI, 12.17%–14.23%), HPV-18 (8.66%; 95%CI, 7.81%–9.51%), HPV-52 (7.06%; 95% CI, 6.28%–7.84%) and HPV-33 (6.78%; 95% CI, 6.02%–7.54%). The prevalence of persistent infections with HPV-16,–58, −18, −52 and 33 in cervicitis were lower compared to those in CIN (all P < 0.05). HPV-58, −33 and multiple HPV persistent positivity were significantly associated with older age (all P < 0.05). HPV-18 persistent positivity was significantly associated with adenocarcinoma and lymphatic metastasis (all P < 0.05). HPV-18 persistent positivity was associated with cervical cancer prognosis (P <0.0001). Multivariate analyses showed that HPV-18 persistent positivity, (RR = 1.704, 95%CI = 1.095–2.654, p = 0.028) and lymphatic metastasis (RR = 2.304, 95%CI = 1.354–3.254, P = 0.015) were independent predictors for 3-year survival in cervical cancer.Conclusionswe provided extensive results of HPV genotype prevalence and distribution in the northeast of China. HPV genotyping is worthwhile to perform because of its independent prognostic value in cervical cancer

Ovarian cancer accounts for the major part of the mortality attributable to female reproductive system malignant tumors worldwide. Recently, the incidence of ovarian cancer has been increasing annually, and there remains a lack of suitable treatment methods that can significantly improve the 5-year survival rates of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to identify more effective treatments for ovarian cancer. It is established that microRNAs (miRNAs) have important roles in the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer and a specific miRNA, miR-762, can promote the development of a variety of tumors. Menin is encoded by MEN1, a tumor suppressor gene, that is usually downregulated in ovarian cancer. In this study, we evaluated the expression levels of miR-762 and menin in ovarian cancer tissues and demonstrated that they were correlated. In addition, we found that miR-762 can downregulate the expression of menin through a binding site in its 3′-UTR and consequently upregulate the Wnt cell signaling pathway to promote the development of ovarian cancer. These results indicate that miR-762 is a promising potential target for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is a secreted protein involved in embryonic development. Dickkopf-1 is also implicated in osteoporosis, arthritis, and cancer and represents a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of these diseases. Because DKK-1 encodes a secreted protein, we investigated whether the DKK-1 protein is secreted into the sera of patients with gynecological cancer. The levels of DKK-1 protein were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the sera of 104 patients with gynecological cancer including 36 with ovarian, 40 with cervical, and 28 with endometrial cancers. The serum levels of DKK-1 protein were higher in patients with cervical (314.13 [385.02] pg/mL, P = 0.000) and endometrial (46.95 [21.62] pg/mL, P = 0.000) cancers than in healthy individuals (29.45 [11.86] pg/mL). The serum levels of DKK-1 protein were associated with clinical stage in all patients with gynecological cancer. In patients with cervical cancer, the serum levels of DKK-1 protein were also associated with histological type and lymphatic metastasis. Dickkopf-1 protein detection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a molecular marker can contribute to the detection and the diagnosis of cervical and endometrial cancers, especially for cervical squamous cell cancer.

Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) was known as a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway, which played a crucial role in carcinogenesis. However, its function in human cancers remained elusive. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of DKK1 in ovarian serous papillary adenocarcinoma (OSC) tumor progression and invasion. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that the expression of DKK1 mRNA and protein in 32 OSC tissues were elevated as compared with those in 10 normal ovarian tissues (P = 0.005, P = 0.003, respectively). Immunohistochemical analysis in 178 clinical OSC samples showed that the expression of DKK1 was positively associated with FIGO stage (P = 0.016). Furthermore, the expression of DKK1 protein was positively associated with P-JNK1 protein expression in 178 OSC tissues. DKK1, P-JNK1 and the co-expression of DKK1 and P-JNK1 were all unfavorable prognosis factors for OSC patients (P < 0.0001). DKK1, alone or combined with P-JNK1, was an independent predictor for the 5 year survival (P = 0.015, P < 0.0001, respectively). DKK1 could promote OSC cells invasion and the growth of OSC nude mice xenograft. DKK1 in OSC cells could activate P-JNK1 expression and significantly promote formations of actin filaments and filopodia. Thus, DKK1, alone or combined with P-JNK1, was a novel prognostic predictor for OSC patients and contributed to the invasion of OSC.

Hydrogen generation based on photocatalytic water splitting is a promising strategy for renewable energy production.

The purpose of the study was to determine the expression patterns of Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen in cervical cancer tissues and to explore their clinical significance and correlation with clinicopathological parameters. The expression of Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen was detected in 127 cervical cancer tissues, 21 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, as well as in 20 healthy controls by immunohistochemistry, and the relationship of Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen expression with clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Both Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen were more commonly expressed in cervical cancer than in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and in normal cervical tissue (respectively; P < 0.05); further, Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen expression in cervical cancer were positively correlated (r = 0.271, P < 0.05). In comparing the expression with clinicopathological parameters of tumor samples, Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen were both associated with FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis, and tumor size (P < 0.05), but not with patient age, pathological type, or differentiation. Increased Wnt-11 protein levels in cervical carcinoma samples were associated with a poor outcome in univariate and multivariate analysis. Wnt-11 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen are related to the malignancy degree and metastasis of cervical cancer, and thus may play a coordinating role in the occurrence and progression of cervical cancer. The study indicated that Wnt-11 may be a useful prognostic indicator for cervical carcinoma.

Dkk-3 protein detection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as molecular markers can contribute to detection and diagnosis of gynecological cancer, especially for ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer.

BackgroundWhile HPV infection is the main cause of cervical cancer, genetic susceptibility to HPV infection is not well understood. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), involved in the defense against HPV infection, plays an important role in cervical cancer progression and regression. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the TNF-alpha rs1800629 polymorphism and risk of HPV infection or cervical cancer.MethodsThree groups were involved in this study of Chinese women. Group 1 consisted of 285 high risk HPV positive cervical cancer patients, Group 2, 225 high risk HPV positive patients without cervical cancer, and Group 3, 318 HPV negative women with no cervical cancer. Blood samples were obtained from all patients and genotyped by PCR-RLFP. Fifty randomly selected samples were further sequenced.ResultsThe allele and genotype distributions of the TNF-alpha rs1800629 polymorphism were not significantly different between each of the groups (P>0.05). There are no significant relationship between rs1800629 polymorphism and high risk HPV infection (OR  = 0.649, 95% CI: 0.253–1.670, P = 0.371), cervical cancer (OR  = 0.993, 95% CI: 0.376–2.618, P = 0.988), or cervical cancer with HPV infection (OR  = 0.663, 95% CI: 0.250–1.758, P = 0.409).ConclusionsWe demonstrated that there is no association between TNF rs1800629 polymorphism and the HPV infection, or cervical cancer with HPV infection.