Emerging evidence has demonstrated the altered expression of mRNAs in cancer development and progression. In this study, the precise role of miRNA-22 (miR-22) in colon cancer cells was investigated. Upon transfection with a miR-22 expression vector, the viability of HCT-116 human colon cancer cells was significantly reduced and tumor cell migration and invasion capacity were also suppressed. Computational in silico analysis predicted that T-cell lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1 (TIAM1) is a target gene of miR-22. This was confirmed by qRT-PCR and western blotting, which showed that miR-22 expression inhibited TIAM1 mRNA and protein expression, respectively. In addition, the expression of pro-invasive gene matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and pro-angiogenic protein vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were also reduced by miR-22 expression. Collectively, these data suggest that miR-22 may act as a tumor suppressor in colon cancer, most likely by targeting TIAM1 expression.

Recent evidence demonstrated an enhanced metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation, which reflected an important role of inflammation in tumor progression. However, the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. Here, we evaluated the potential role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling enhanced NSCLC metastasis. NSCLC cells were isolated from clinical surgical tissues. We found that LPS stimulation of NSCLC cells facilitates their metastasis that was accompanied by increased ROS production and could be abrogated by ROS inhibition. NADPH oxidase was essential for TLR4 signaling-enhanced NSCLC metastasis. Elevated NADPH oxidase 1 (NOX1) expression by LPS stimulation was observed. Blockade of NOX1 with ML171 alleviated enhanced NSCLC metastasis by TLR4 signaling. Enforced NOX1 expression promoted TLR4 signaling-enhanced NSCLC metastasis, while decreased NOX1 expression inhibited TLR4 signaling-enhanced NSCLC metastasis. Further, NOX1 could regulate the expression of CXCR4 and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) in NSCLC cells. NOX1 expression in tumor tissues was correlated with TLR4 expression and clinical stages in NSCLC patients. Finally, inhibition of NOX1/ROS prevented enhanced lung tumor burdens of NSCLC by LPS-induced acute lung infection. Our findings demonstrated a crucial role of NOX1-dependent ROS for TLR4 signaling to enhance the metastasis of NSCLC, which could further the understanding of NSCLC pathogenesis and helpful for developing novel therapeutics for NSCLC.

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Esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms are rare. With the improvement and popularization of diagnostic methods, the morbidity statistics have increased annually in recent years. There are currently no treatment guidelines for esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms, and surgery is the only cure. This usually involves radical surgery when the tumor is limited to the primary site or when only regional lymph node metastasis occurs. Surgical treatment is key to treating esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms, but combined treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy can significantly improve patient survival. The effect of radiotherapy alone on this disease is poor. However, targeted endocrine therapy can improve endocrine hormone symptoms. The prognosis of patients with esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms is mainly determined by the pathological stage. With the development of molecular biology techniques, the combination of targeted drugs and traditional chemotherapy is expected to provide novel ideas and directions for the treatment of esophageal neuroendocrine neoplasms in the coming years. In this article, the status of esophageal neuroendocrine tumor treatments was reviewed in detail.

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Lymph node involvement in thymic malignancies is more common than previously recognized, especially in tumors with aggressive histology and advanced T category. Intentional lymph node dissection increases the detection of nodal involvement and improves accuracy of staging. In selected high-risk patients, systemic dissection of both N1and N2 nodes should be considered for accurate tumor staging.

Abstract. Thymomas are the most common adult tumors in the anterior mediastinal compartment, and a significant amount of thymomas are complicated by myasthenia gravis (MG). Extended thymectomy (ET) is the primary treatment method for thymomas and is used to completely resect possible ectopic thymus to avoid recurrence. Studies on the effect of MG in thymoma patients following ET are limited. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the presence of MG affects the prognosis of patients with thymoma. The present study consisted of 104 patients with thymoma that underwent ET; 61 men (58.7%) and 43 women (41.3%) (mean age, 54.6 years). In total, 38 patients had MG (36.5%). MG was most frequently observed in World Health Organization (WHO) classification type B2 thymoma compared with other types of thymoma. During the 5-year follow-up period, 11 patients succumbed to a recurrence of thymoma or respiratory failure due to MG. The overall 5-year survival rate in patients without MG or with MG was 89.1 and 76.0%, respectively. The overall survival (OS) rate in patients with Masaoka stages I + II and III + IV was 90.0 and 68.0%, respectively. The OS rate in patients with WHO type A + AB + B1 and type B2 + B3 was 96.9 and 76.8%, respectively. The patients with MG (P=0.026), Masaoka stages III + IV (P= 0.008) and WHO type B2 + B3 (P=0.032) had a poorer prognosis compared with patients without these characteristics. Furthermore, multivariate analysis by Cox regression revealed that age [P=0.032; relative risk (RR)=1.097; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1. 097-1.192] and MG (P= 0.042; RR= 0.167; 95% CI= 0.037-0.940) significantly affected OS rate. In summary, ET is a reliable method for the treatment of thymoma. Long-term survival is expected for patients at early Masaoka stages, and for patients without MG. The prognosis of patients with thymomas with MG is poorer compared with patients without MG. The present findings provide useful information for the future management of patients with thymomas. IntroductionThymoma is a tumor originating from the epithelial cells of the thymus and is a relatively rare neoplasm with an incidence of 0.13 cases per 100,000 individuals per year (1,2). The prognosis of patients with thymoma largely depends on the Masaoka stage of disease and prognosis is poorer for patients with stage III or IV compared with patients with stage I and II tumors (3). The 10-year survival rates are 90, 70, 55 and 35% for stages I, II, III, and IV thymoma, respectively (4). Surgical resection is the primary treatment method for thymoma and a sternotomy is the optimal surgical procedure for thymoma, since it may not be possible to perform a complete thymectomy via thoracotomy on locally advanced lesions, particularly those that are stage III-IV (5,6). Normally, thymoma is a slow-growing tumor, but 40% of thymomas exhibit a locally invasive growth pattern. In addition, thymomas often result in the development of pleural dissemination and distant metastasis (7,8). Therefore, complete resection should be th...

This study investigates the prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes and their associated risk factors among adults in Northeast China. A multistage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select adults from Jilin Province. Out of an initial recruitment of 23,050 individuals, 21,435 participants completed an interview and medical examination. The estimated prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes were 9.1% and 19.8%, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity were the highest in participants with previously diagnosed diabetes. Participants who were previously diagnosed with diabetes were more likely to be aware of their hypertension and dyslipidemia status. Participants who were older, male, more educated, or who were widows or widowers were at greater risk for pre-diabetes. Similarly, those who were current drinkers or smokers, had higher BMI or waist circumference, had a family history of diabetes, or who reported they lived in urban areas or had low physical activity levels had increased pre-diabetes risk. The observed levels of diabetes and pre-diabetes in this study indicate that the medical authority needs to focus more attention in this area, and that health monitoring is essential to improving the health awareness of its residents.