[Abstract unavailable

In the present study, we examined the relationship between Beclin-1 expression and HIF-1α expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC). There was a loss of Beclin-1 protein expression in 33% of ESCCs. Beclin-1 expression significantly correlated with depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and clinical stage. Among the 54 patients, The survival rate of the Beclin-1-positive group was better than that of the Beclin-1-negative group. Twenty-five of the 54 (46%) tumor specimens showed high levels of HIF-1α immunoreactivity. Beclin-1 expression was associated with HIF-1α expression. The survival rate of patients with Beclin-1-positive and HIF-1α-low tumors was significantly higher than that of the other groups. These results suggest that Beclin-1 and HIF-1α expression are important determinants of survival in ESCCs.

BackgroundThis study explored the prevalence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in college students who lived in earthquake center one year after the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, the factors affecting the prevalence of PTSD was also investigated.Methods2987 students studying at the senior normal school in Tibetan autonomous region which was one of the most devastated regions were selected for this study. The PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) was used as a screening instrument.ResultsA total of 420 cases (14.1%) were diagnosed with PTSD, among which mild, moderate, severe and extreme symptoms were reported in 122, 185, 106 and 7 cases, respectively. The PTSD prevalence in college students lived in the severely affected area was significantly higher than that in the less severe area (P < 0.001). According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the students who were injured in the earthquake, those lost their first degree relative, and those confronted with dead bodies were more likely to express PTSD. Male students were more prone than female students to develop PTSD. However, the students who received psychological tutorship were less prone to express PTSD.ConclusionsAt one year after the earthquake, the PTSD rate in college students in the severely affected area was high. The social support, psychological help and rehabilitation project should be strengthened to improve their ability to cope with the trauma.

We proposed to compare the outcomes of first‐line epidermal growth factor receptor–tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR‐TKI) alone with EGFR‐TKI plus whole‐brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for the treatment of brain metastases (BM) in patients with EGFR‐mutated lung adenocarcinoma. A total of 1665 patients were screened from 2008 to 2014, and 132 were enrolled in our study. Among the 132 patients, 72 (54.5%) harbored a deletion in exon 19, 97 (73.5%) showed multiple intracranial lesions, and 67 (50.8%) had asymptomatic BM. Seventy‐nine patients (59.8%) were treated with EGFR‐TKI alone, 53 with concomitant WBRT. The intracranial objective response rate was significantly higher in the EGFR‐TKI plus WBRT treatment group (67.9%) compared with the EGFR‐TKI alone group (39.2%) (P = 0.001). After a median follow‐up of 36.2 months, 62.1% of patients were still alive. The median intracranial TTP was 24.7 months (95% CI, 19.5–29.9) in patients who received WBRT, which was significantly longer than in those who received EGFR‐TKI alone, with the median intracranial TTP of 18.2 months (95% CI, 12.5–23.9) (P = 0.004). There was no significant difference in overall survival between WBRT and EGFR‐TKI alone groups, (median, 48.0 vs 41.1 months; P = 0.740). The overall survival is significantly prolonged in patients who had an intracranial TTP exceeding 22 months compared to those who developed intracranial progression <22 months after treatment, (median, 58.0 vs 28.0 months; P = 0.001). For EGFR‐mutated lung adenocarcinoma patients with BM, treatment with concomitant WBRT achieved a higher response rate of BM and significant improvement in intracranial progression‐free survival compared with EGFR‐TKI alone.