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C W Wu

Publications and source records attributed to C W Wu.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Serum anti-p53 antibodies in gastric adenocarcinoma patients are associated with poor prognosis, lymph node metastasis and poorly differentiated nuclear grade.

Mutation of the p53 tumour suppressor gene often leads to the accumulation of mutant p53 protein in tumour cells. Many cancer patients develop antibodies that recognize the overexpressed p53 protein. The presence of these antibodies is, in some tumour types, associated with poor prognosis. Gastric cancer is a highly prevalent disease associated with a high rate of mortality, there is a need for improved clinical and biological markers for disease behaviour. To investigate the clinical relevance of serum anti-p53 antibodies in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, we have examined the sera of 501 gastric cancer patients for the presence of serum antibodies against the p53 protein. By immunoblotting analysis using a cell lysate containing overexpressed p53 protein as well as affinity-purified recombinant p53 protein as antigens, we have detected anti-p53 antibodies in 11.2% (61 of 501) of gastric cancer patients, but in none of 46 cancer-free individuals. The presence of anti-p53 antibodies was tightly associated with tumours of higher nuclear grade and lymph node metastasis, and a negative association was found between the presence of anti-p53 antibodies and survival. These results suggest that a preoperative test of serum anti-p53 antibodies in gastric cancer patients can be useful to identify subset of patients who may need gastrectomy with lymph node dissection and post-operative adjuvant therapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Expression and up-regulation of interleukin-6 in oesophageal carcinoma cells by n-sodium butyrate.

Recently, the serum level of interleukin (IL)-6 has been shown to correlate with disease progression and prognosis of cancer patients. However, the available information about the source and the pathophysiological regulation of IL-6 in cancer cells is limited. Thus, in this study, we tried to identify the source and the clinical roles of serum IL-6 in patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and then further to characterize the biological regulation of IL-6 in ESCC cell lines. Sera and tissue specimens from 80 consecutive patients with ESCC were collected between 1993 and 1997. Additionally, three ESCC cell lines were used for in vitro study. The concentration of serum IL-6 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and correlated the survival time with measured IL-6 level. Expressions of IL-6, IL-6R alpha (IL-6 receptor alpha) and gp130 in pathological sections and cell lines were characterized by immunological staining. Detection of IL-6 mRNA was determined by in situ hybridization (ISH) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Up-regulation of IL-6 by n-sodium butyrate (n-BT) was studied in ESCC cell lines. The levels of serum IL-6 in patients with ESCC were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls. Serum levels of IL-6 were also shown to correlate with disease progression and survival. However, sCD8 levels and lymphocyte counts in the peripheral blood were not parallel to the changed pattern of serum IL-6. In pathological sections and ESCC cell lines, message of IL-6 was identified by ISH in cancer cells. Expression of IL-6 mRNA was further confirmed with RT-PCR in ESCC cell lines. Although IL-6 was detected in some ESCC cell lines, IL-6 gene expression and protein production could be induced or enhanced by n-BT treatment in all three cell lines. The serum levels of IL-6 are frequently elevated at diagnosis of ESCC, and are associated with poor prognosis. IL-6 that could be produced by cancer cells is up-regulated by n-BT.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Berberine modulates expression of mdr1 gene product and the responses of digestive track cancer cells to Paclitaxel.

Berberine is the major constituent of Coptis chinese and is commonly used in Chinese herbal medicine to treat patients with gastrointestinal disorders. In this study, using flow cytometry, we have found that a 24-h berberine treatment up-regulated the multidrug-resistant transporter (pgp-170) expression in two oral (KB, OC2), two gastric (SC-M1, NUGC-3) and two colon (COLO 205, CT 26) cancer cell lines. Decreased retention of rhodamine 123 was observed in berberine-treated cells as compared to vehicle control. To examine whether the berberine modulated pgp-170 expression in cancer cells is associated with changes in drug resistance, we determined the cytotoxicity, cell cycle progression and cell morphology of Paclitaxel-treated cells. Paclitaxel (1 nM-10 microM) treatment for 24 h induced cytotoxicity in OC2, SC-M1 and COLO 205 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment of cells with 32 microM berberine for 24 h prior to Paclitaxel treatment resulted in increased viability as compared to that of Paclitaxel-treated cells. In addition, Paclitaxel-induced apoptosis and/or G2/M arrest in these three cancer cell lines. Pretreatment of cells with berberine prior to Paclitaxel blocked the Paclitaxel-induced cell cycle responses and morphological changes. These results together suggest that berberine modulated the expression and function of pgp-170 that leads to reduced response to Paclitaxel in digestive track cancer cells.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1999

Prognostic value of MIB-1 index and DNA ploidy in resectable ampulla of Vater carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic value of the proliferative factors, MIB-1 index, DNA ploidy, and S-phase fraction, and further to determine the independent prognostic factors in ampulla of Vater carcinoma after pancreaticoduodenectomy. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Cell kinetics are important indicators of the biologic behavior of various human tumors, but only a few authors have reported the application of cell proliferative factors in ampulla of Vater carcinoma. METHODS: Patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy for ampulla of Vater carcinoma were included. Proliferative factors, MIB-1 index, and DNA contents, measured by flow cytometry, were evaluated and compared with the conventional clinicopathologic factors. RESULTS: Ninety resectable ampulla of Vater carcinomas were included. By univariate analysis, MIB-1 index, DNA ploidy, S-phase fraction, stage, and lymph node status were significant prognostic factors. The 5-year survival rate was 40.7% for tumors with MIB-1 index < or =15% and 0% for those with MIB-1 index >15%. Diploid tumors had a significantly better prognosis than aneuploid. Outcomes of stage I and II tumors were more favorable than those of stage III and IV. After multivariate analysis, MIB-1 index, DNA ploidy, and stage remained as the independent prognostic factors. Among the three independent prognostic factors, MIB-1 index was the most powerful. CONCLUSIONS: Both MIB-1 index and DNA ploidy provide important prognostic value and potentially complement the conventional prognostic factors in resectable ampulla of Vater carcinoma. MIB-1 index is the most powerful independent prognostic factor.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Heterotopic pancreas: a difficult diagnosis.

Heterotopic pancreas is a rare disease. We evaluated 17 patients treated surgically at our hospital. Epigastric pain (77%), abdominal fullness (30%), and tarry stools (24%) were the three most frequent symptoms and signs. The lesions were diagnosed as gastroduodenal tumors by gastroduodenoscopy (67%) or upper gastrointestinal series (71%). Among these, only one gastric submucosal tumor was considered to be heterotopic pancreas preoperatively. Three patients were found to have gastric tumor by abdominal ultrasound. Computed tomography, small-intestinal series, barium enema, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, angiography, and cholescintigraphy did not help in disclosing lesion. In about half of the patients, the lesions were located at the stomach. Tumor size varied from 1 to 3 cm. Surgical excision relieved symptoms. These findings indicated heterotopic pancreas is still a difficult disease for diagnosis, regardless of the improvements of diagnostic tools and techniques.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Distribution of the superficial temporal artery in the Chinese adult.

The superficial temporal artery is important in head and neck surgery. Ethnologic variation may affect surgical procedure. In this study, we evaluated the variations of the artery in Chinese adults. We measured its bifurcating location, the diameter of its vessels, and its relationship to nearby structures. A total of 26 cadavers with 52 superficial temporal arteries were examined in 3 consecutive years. The superficial temporal artery ran 1.14 cm anteriorly to the bony external auditory canal. The average diameters of the superficial temporal artery, frontal branch, and parietal branch were 2.14, 1.61, and 1.68 mm, respectively. In 45 of 52 cases (86.5 percent), bifurcation of the artery occurred well above the zygomatic arch. The present study thus demonstrated that the superficial temporal artery in the Chinese adult differs from that in the Caucasian and has provided a detailed anatomic distribution analysis of the superficial temporal artery in Chinese adults, which should benefit the clinician in dealing with operation procedures related to this artery.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Factors correlated with number of metastatic lymph nodes in gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: We had previously reported a reasonable categorization of the number of positive lymph nodes (LN: 0, 1-4, 5-8, and > 8) as a prognostic indicator. This study was an extension, to see which factors correlated with number of positive lymph nodes. METHODS: A total of 533 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, who underwent curative surgery between January 1988 and December 1995, were entered into this study. Patients were divided into four groups according to metastatic LN number (0, 1-4, 5-8, and > 8). Their survival and clinicopathological factors were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 16,457 LNs, with an average of 30.9 per specimen, were removed, of which 1686 (10.2%) showed metastases. The 5-yr cumulative survival rate decreased as the number of metastatic LNs increased, ie., 91.3% for LN 0; 67.4% for LN 1-4; 37.2 for LN 5-8, and 14.1% for LN > 8. Multivariate analyses showed that depth of cancer invasion (odds ratio: 2.4), gross appearance (odds ratio: 1.9), size (odds ratio: 1.9), and location (odds ratio: 1.4) of tumor were four independent factors correlated with the number of metastatic LNs. Number of metastatic LNs increased with advanced Japanese nodal stage and UICC-TNM stage. CONCLUSIONS: Depth of tumor invasion, and gross appearance, size, and location of tumor were four pathological factors independently correlated with number of metastatic LNs in gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Serum albumin concentration as a prognostic indicator for acute surgical patients.

BACKGROUND: Whether or not the rapid reduction in serum albumin concentration in acute surgical patients without evidence of pre-existing energy deficit correlates with outcome has yet to be studied. In this study, we attempted to determine whether albumin infusion or nutritional supplementation can improve outcome for patients with hypoalbuminemia. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 80 non-calorie-deficient patients newly admitted to the surgical intensive care unit of the Veterans General Hospital-Taipei with complete data for serum albumin concentration and APACHE II score within 24 hours from August, 1998, to February, 1994. The relationships between age, sex, diagnosis, reason for intensive care, albumin infusion, hyperalimentation, APACHE II score, serum albumin concentration, days in intensive care and prognosis within three months were analyzed. RESULTS: Univariate statistical analysis showed that the serum albumin concentration and APACHE II score correlated well with patient survival (p = 0.002 and p = 0.025, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that hypoalbuminemia was independently associated with patient outcome (p = 0.003). Simple albumin infusion or hyperalimentation for patients with hypoalbuminemia did not improve survival. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that serum albumin concentration appears to be a good prognostic marker for acute surgical patients. While decreased serum albumin concentration may also reflect poor nutritional status, for patients with moderate to severe hypoalbuminemia due to other causes, simple albumin infusion and/or nutritional support did not significantly improve survival. Consequently, aggressive treatment of the underlying disease is far more important.

APACHE↗
PubMed1999

Comparison of pylorus-preserving and classic pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND: The authors present their recent experience with the treatment of periampullary lesions to compare the surgical technique, safety and prognosis between pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD) and classic pancreaticoduodenectomy (CPD). METHODS: Prospective data from 100 patients with periampullary lesions treated with either PPPD or CPD between January, 1991, and June, 1997, were evaluated, including demographic data, surgical technique, surgical risk and prognosis. RESULTS: There were 35 patients treated with PPPD and 65 treated with CPD. The operating time was significantly shorter in the PPPD group (9.3 +/- 0.3 hours) than in CPD (10.4 +/- 0.3 hours). The average overall blood loss was 1,275 +/- 71 ml, with no statistical difference between PPPD and CPD groups. The overall complication rate was 56%, with 54% in the PPPD group and 57% in the CPD group (p = 0.755). The overall mortality was 4%, with 0% in the PPPD group and 6.2% in CPD (p = 0.655). There was no statistical difference in survival time for overall periampullary cancers between the PPPD and CPD groups (median = 28.0 vs 26.5 months, p = 0.393). The difference in survival time was still of no significance between the PPPD and CPD groups when the periampullary cancers were further stratified into pancreatic head cancer and nonpancreatic periampullary cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity and mortality of PPPD did not exceed that of CPD, and the prognosis after PPPD was not compromised in patients with periampullary cancer. PPPD, with a shorter operating time, can be a safe and effective alternative to CPD in the treatment of periampullary lesions.

Ampulla of Vater↗
PubMed1999

[Construction of expressing vector for phage display scFv and a mouse unspecified antibody library].

The display of antibody gene library on the surface of E. coli filamentous phage offers a new method of obtaining antibodies against specific antigens. In the paper, it is reported that a phagemid for phage display antibody, named after pFUW80, characterized expressing scFv either secretly or stickily. With a series of designed PCR primers, heavy-chain and light-chain variable region genes of mice antibodies were amplified and a mouse unspecified single-chain antibody library with the size of 1.2 x 10(6) clones was constructed. From this library, phage was selected out against antigen human IgG and detected by ELISA and partial sequence analysis. These primary results established the foundation for future research using this system.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Relationship between hormone receptor concentration and tumor shrinkage in uterine myoma after treatment with a GnRHa.

BACKGROUND: Uterine myomas are benign tumors of the uterus, occurring in up to 25% of women of reproductive age. We examined the possible causes for different degrees of volume reduction in patients with uterine myomas who received gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) treatment by investigating the hormone receptors at the end of GnRHa treatment. METHODS: This trial was designed as a prospective study of five premenopausal women presenting with symptomatic uterine myoma. All patients were treated with a subcutaneous injection of goserelin depot 3.6 mg every four weeks for 16 weeks. Clinical examinations, hormonal evaluation and ultrasound determinations were performed before, during and after treatment. At the end of the treatment period, all patients underwent myomectomy. The concentrations of the unbound progesterone receptors and estrogen receptors were evaluated. RESULTS: The volume of the uterine myoma decreased by 21% to 65%. The percentage of decrease in volume of treated uterine myomas was found to negatively correlate with the concentration of unbound progesterone receptors (r2 = 0.92, p = 0.008). This percentage was not significantly correlated with the concentration of unbound estrogen receptors (r2 = 0.02, p = 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: The limited data available suggested that the volume decrease of uterine myomas in GnRHa-treated patients is partly dependent on the concentrations of unbound sex-hormone receptors in the uterine myomas.

Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal↗
PubMed1999

Evaluation of a simplified staging system for prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The current TNM (tumor, nodes, metastases) staging system for human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been challenged since a new T staging system was proposed to correlate the staging group with patient outcome after curative liver resection. The new T staging system proposed T1 as no vascular invasion, small size (< or = 5 cm), and solitary tumor. T2 was defined as the presence of one of the following factors: size greater than 5 cm, vascular invasion, or multiple tumors; T3 as the presence of two of the above three factors; and T4, the presence of all three factors. A total of 323 patients undergoing curative partial hepatectomy for HCC were studied. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the postoperative outcome. The new T staging showed good correlation between the staging group and patient outcome. The 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate were 80.0% and 87.8% for stage 1 (n = 115), 67.6% and 81.6% for stage 2 (n = 136), 40.0% and 58.0% for stage 3 (n = 58), and 21.4% and 42.8% for stage 4 (n = 14), respectively. The 3-year DFS rate and OS rate were 61.0% and 64.5% for stage 1, 37.8% and 50.7% for stage 2, 21.4% and 29.8% for stage 3, and 21.4% and 34.3% for stage 4, respectively. When analyzed using the current International Union Against Cancer (UICC) pathologic (p) TNM staging system, the 1-year and 3-year DFS rates were 86.2% and 64.0% for stage 1 (n = 30), 73.9% and 50.0% for stage 2 (n = 182), and 46.8% and 22.3% for stage 3 (n = 111), respectively. Our results showed that, while both staging systems allow clear stratification of patients into prognostic groups, the modified TNM system is not superior to the UICCpTNM system in predicting survival of HCC patients after curative partial hepatectomy. A larger scale, multicenter study may be needed to test the revised TNM system.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗
PubMed1999

tie-1 protein tyrosine kinase: a novel independent prognostic marker for gastric cancer.

Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are a major class of proto-oncogenes that are involved in tumor progression. The purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive PTK expression profile in gastric cancers, with the objective of identifying possible biomarkers for gastric cancer progression. We have designed degenerate primers according to the consensus catalytic motifs to amplify PTK molecules from gastric cancers by reverse transcriptase-PCR methods. The PTK expression profile was established by sequencing analysis of the cloned PCR products. We have identified 17 PTKs from a gastric adenocarcinoma. Two receptor PTKs, tie-1 and axl, were selected for in situ immunohistochemistry studies because of their higher expression level and their described roles in adhesion, invasion, and angiogenesis. Among the 97 gastric adenocarcinoma tissues examined, we observed positive immunohistochemical staining of tie-1 PTK in 69 and positive staining of axl kinase in 71 tissues. Statistical analysis with clinicopathological features indicates that tie-1 kinase expression is inversely correlated with patients' survival, whereas axl fails to show similar clinical significance. Our results illustrate the utility of tyrosine kinase gene family profiling in human gastric cancers and show that tie-1 tyrosine kinase may serve as a novel independent prognostic marker for gastric adenocarcinoma patients.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Glucagonoma syndrome: a case report.

Glucagonoma is a very rare islet cell tumor of the pancreas. We present a case of pancreatic tail tumor with the typical glucagonoma syndrome of necrolytic migratory erythema (NME), diabetes mellitus (DM), anemia, weight loss and glossitis. After complete resection of the pancreatic tumor, the glucagonoma syndrome subsided. In reviewing 120 cases of glucagonoma in the literature, the average tumor diameter was 3.6 cm. Most (68.1%) of the tumors occurred in the pancreatic tail. Two-thirds of the reported glucagonomas were malignant and 53.5% metastasized to other organs. The curative resection rate was 45.8%. A triad of pancreatic tumor, NME and DM should lead to the diagnosis of glucagonoma.

Glucagonoma↗
PubMed1998

Allelic loss of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and other regions on 17q and 13q in breast cancer among women from Taiwan (area of low incidence but early onset).

We have examined the role of the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 and other loci in the vicinity of these 2 genes on the long arms of chromosomes 17 and 13 (17q and 13q) for the presence of genomic deletions in breast cancer among Taiwanese women. Breast cancer in Taiwan is particularly characterized by its low incidence rate and its early age of tumor onset. Twelve microsatellite markers spanning the region 17q12-21 and 8 microsatellite markers spanning the region 13q12-14 were analyzed for allelic loss or loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in 90 patients with primary infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Compared with the background LOH level (10-12%) estimated by LOH at 4 unrelated loci, 17 markers (11 at 17q and 6 at 13q) demonstrated a significantly increased frequency (21-42%) of allelic loss (p < 0.05). Subsequent construction of deletion maps based on LOH at these significant loci localized the 6 smallest regions of overlap, including those harboring BRCA1, BRCA2, the retinoblastoma gene and 3 novel regions (the 1st located approximately 0.5 to 1 cM telomeric to BRCA1, the 2nd centromeric to BRCA1 flanked by D17S857/D17S846 and the 3rd closely adjacent to BRCA2), suggesting sites of susceptibility genes. Allelic loss at BRCA1 and BRCA2 was specifically associated with poorly differentiated tumors.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Molecular cloning of bovine telomerase RNA.

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase essential for the maintenance of telomere length. However, the available information concerning the biochemical and structural aspects of mammalian telomerases is scarce, primarily due to the low abundance of these enzymes and the difficulty and expense involved in its purification. To overcome these problems, we started to purify and characterize telomerase from bovine testis. Bovine telomerase was purified over columns of hydroxyapatite, DEAE-Sepharose, heparin-agarose, phenyl-agarose and spermine-agarose. In a sedimentation study performed using a 15-40% glycerol gradient, partially purified bovine telomerase exhibited an apparent molecular weight of more than 1000 kDa. One 435-bp RNA, bTR, was cloned from the most purified telomerase fraction and shown to be co-purified with telomerase activity in a glycerol gradient. bTR shares 83% similarity to the human telomerase RNA and 65% to the mouse telomerase RNA. A putative template region encompassing 10 nucleotides (5'-CUAACCCUAA-3') complementary to the mammalian telomere sequence (TTAGGG)n is located between nucleotides 38-47 of bTR. Besides, the bTR 5'-flanking region shares only three regulatory elements with that of hTR: a TATA-like sequence, a CCAAT box and an E1A-F box. Furthermore, the addition of in-vitro transcribed bTR reconstituted telomerase activity after removal of the endogenous bTR by micrococcal nuclease digestion. Northern blot analysis identified a single RNA of about 430-440 nucleotides expressed in the bovine testis and an immortalized bovine cell line. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that bTR is the RNA component of bovine telomerase.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Profiling expression patterns and isolating differentially expressed genes by cDNA microarray system with colorimetry detection.

A high-density cDNA microarray with colorimetry detection system to simultaneously monitor the expression of many genes on nylon membrane is described and characterized. To quantify the expression of genes and to isolate differentially expressed genes, the southern hybridization process on filter membranes was employed. The levels of gene expression were represented by color intensities generated by colorimetric reactions in place of hazardous radioisotopes or costly laser-induced fluorescence detection. The gene expression patterns on nylon membranes were digitized by devices such as an economical flatbed scanner or a digital camera. The quantitative information of gene expression was retrieved by image analysis software. Quantitative comparison of the northern dot-blotting method with the microarray system is described. Applications employing single-color detection as well as dual-color detection to isolate differentially expressed genes among thousands of genes are demonstrated.

Blotting, Northern↗