Biomedical subjects

W Y Lui

Publications and source records attributed to W Y Lui.

230 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

The role of MIB-1 index in the prognosis of resectable pancreatic head cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cell kinetics are important indicators of the biological behavior of various human tumors. In this study, we evaluated the prognostic values of the proliferative factors including MIB-1 index, DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction, and further determined the independent prognostic factors in pancreatic head cancer after pancreatoduodenectomy. METHODOLOGY: Patients with pancreatic head cancer undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy were included. Cell proliferative parameters including MIB-1 index, DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction measured by flow cytometry were evaluated and compared with the conventional clinicopathologic factors. RESULTS: There were 21 resectable pancreatic head cancers. By univariate analysis MIB-1 index, cell differentiation and lymphovascular invasion were significant prognostic factors. The 5-year survival rate was 22.2% for overall patients and 29.2% for patients with MIB-1 < or = 11%, while it was 0% for MIB-1 index > 11%, p=0.011. Tumors without lymphovascular invasion had significantly better prognosis than those with lymphovascular invasion (median survival: 38 vs. 10 months, p=0.009). The median survival was significantly longer for well-differentiated cancers than for moderately and poorly differentiated cancers (44 vs. 11 and 9 months, p=0.038). There was no correlation between the MIB-1 index and the other 2 conventional prognostic factors. After multivariate analysis, only the MIB-1 index emerged as the independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: MIB-1 index played a significant role in the prognosis of the resectable pancreatic head cancer and could potentially complement the conventional factors in predicting the prognosis and determining the optimal treatment strategy. MIB-1 index was also an important independent prognostic factor.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Diverticular disease of the small bowel.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The clinical picture of small bowel diverticula has not been well-clarified because of its infrequent incidence and limited case number in most published reports. We evaluated a large series of small bowel diverticula and further compared the clinical picture of the diverticula at different parts of small bowel. METHODOLOGY: The medical records of 88 patients with diverticular disease of the small bowel were reviewed from 1979-1997. This study included all diverticula from duodenum to ileum. RESULTS: The most common small bowel diverticulum was duodenal diverticulum (45%), followed by Meckel's diverticulum (23%). The most common clinical presentation was abdominal pain (48.9%), followed by gastrointestinal bleeding (29.5%). However, among the Meckel's diverticula, gastrointestinal bleeding (60%) was the most common presentation. The accurate diagnostic rate for diverticula, overall, was 25.0%. Thirty-nine (44.3%) of the diverticula were found incidentally. Twenty-three cases (26.1%) were diagnosed by gastrointestinal barium study. Thirty-eight (42.1%) diverticula were left alone without any sequela, and the remaining 55 (56.8%) diverticula needed either bowel resection (30.7%) or diverticulectomy (26.1%). All of the Meckel's diverticula were treated by surgery. Postoperative complication occurred in 9 (10.3%) patients. Hospital mortality rate was 3.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Duodenal diverticulum was the most common small bowel diverticulum. Abdominal pain and gastrointestinal bleeding were the most common clinical presentations. The small bowel diverticula, except for Meckel's diverticulum, did not need to be treated if there were no significant symptoms.

Abdominal Pain↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Better post-resectional survival in female cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatocellular carcinoma is notably more prevalent in male. The purpose of this study was to assess the surgical results in male and female cirrhotic patients. METHODOLOGY: The surgical outcomes of 129 hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cirrhosis, including 109 males and 20 females, who had undergone hepatic resection were studied. The clinical, histologic features, DNA ploidy and proliferative phase fraction of tumor and cirrhotic liver were compared between male and female patients. RESULTS: Female patients had significantly lower incidences of history of smoking (5.6% vs. 52.9%, P < 0.001), alcohol intake (5.6% vs. 42.3%, P = 0.003) and hepatitis B surface antigen positivity (47.1% vs. 73.5%, P = 0.028) than male. Cell-cycle analysis of tumor part revealed female had a significant lower G2M phase fraction (3.4%) than male (5.7%) (P = 0.027). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rates in male and female patients were 65.5% and 88.2%, 36% and 64.4%, and 29.7% and 64.4%, respectively. Female patients had a significantly better disease-free survival than male (P = 0.034, log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS: Female hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhosis had lower incidences of hepatitis B surface antigenemia, alcohol abuse and lower DNA postsynthetic phase fraction in tumor tissue than male. Consequently, female hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhosis had better survival than male.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 level associated with stromal reaction in patients with gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) plays an important role in cancer invasion and metastasis. The relationship between serum MMP-9 levels and clinicopathological factors in gastric cancer patients is not clear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Preoperative serum was obtained from 170 patients who had undergone gastrectomy for gastric cancer at the Veterans General Hospital-Taipei. The serum MMP-9 level was measured using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay by monoclonal antibodies. RESULTS: The median serum MMP-9 level was 368.6 ng/mL (range: 43.9-1871.3 ng/mL). Univariate analysis showed that stromal reaction and Lauren's histological classification were two factors related to serum MMP-9 levels (p = 0.014 and p = 0.030 respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that stromal reaction was the only factor independently (odds ratio: 1.695) associated with MMP-9 levels. Patients with a serum MMP-9 level < 368.5 ng/mL had a tendency towards better survival rate (5-year survival rate: 64.4%) than those with > 368.5 ng/mL (58.5%), but this tendency did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.512). CONCLUSION: These data suggests that serum MMP-9 levels are associated with stromal reaction in gastric cancer.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term outcome of kidney transplantation in patients with hepatitis C virus infection.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The impact of HCV (hepatitis C virus) infection on the long-term outcome of kidney transplant patients is controversial. METHODOLOGY: Eighty-four renal allograft recipients who were seronegative for hepatitis B surface antigen and had been screened for antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were included. The outcome and survival were compared between anti-HCV-positive (n = 30, group 1) and anti-HCV-negative (n = 54, group 2) kidney transplant patients. Group 1 patients were further compared to 52 anti-HCV-positive end-stage renal disease patients (group 3) who were on chronic dialysis. RESULTS: Group 1 patients had a higher prevalence of chronic hepatitis than group 2 and group 3 patients did (67% vs. 2% and 31%). Liver-related complications and deaths between group 1 and group 2, and group 1 and group 3 patients were not significantly different. The comparisons of the long-term survival between these groups showed no significant differences, despite group 3 patients had a higher overall mortality rate. Cox regression analysis confirmed that age more than 45 years was the only independent factor that affected survival in anti-HCV-positive end-stage renal disease patients with or without kidney transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: HCV infection is not a contraindication to kidney transplantation. For anti-HCV-positive end stage renal disease patients, survival is better in younger patients, and is not influenced by kidney transplantation or continuing dialysis.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of the UICC/AJCC 1992 and 1997 pN categories for gastric cancer patients after surgery.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: UICC/AJCC 1997 classification changes pN category. We evaluated its prognostic impact. METHODOLOGY: A total of 710 patients who underwent a > or = D2 gastrectomy were recruited. Among them, the data of 319 patients who had involved regional lymph nodes and no evidence of distant metastases were used for comparing the 1992 and 1997 pN categories. RESULTS: For 1997 category, 201 patients (64%) were pN1, 75 (23.5%) pN2, and 43 (13.5%) pN3. For 1992 category, 143 patients (44.8%) were pN1, and 147(46.1%) pN2. 29 patients (9.1%) with lymph node metastasis to the hepatoduodenal ligament were distant metastasis. The 1997 pN category was a more powerful prognostic discriminant (relative risk: 2.086) than the 1992 category. Compared to the 1992 stage classification, the 1997 one had a skewed distribution of patients with marked shift of patients of stage IIIA (105-126 patients), IIIB (116-58 patients), and IV (100-122 patients). The survival difference between stage IIIA and IIIB for the 1997 stage classification is narrower than for 1992. CONCLUSIONS: The 1997 pN category allows for estimation of prognosis superior to the 1992 category.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Arginine modulated cyclosporine-induced immune suppression in rats transplanted with gastric cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of cancer is significantly increased in kidney transplant patients receiving cyclosporine treatment. It has been reported that arginine can modify cyclosporine-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Whether arginine interfered with cyclosporine-induced immune suppression in tumor transplant is not clear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats were inoculated subcutaneously with human gastric cancer SC-M1 cells and separated into 4 groups; control, cyclosporine, cyclosporine plus arginine and cyclosporine plus glycine groups. The growth of SC-M1 tumor was monitored on 4, 7, 10, 14 and 21 days after tumor implant. In another set of experiments, the rats were separated into control, cyclosporine, arginine and cyclosporine plus arginine groups. After treatment for one week, mononuclear cells were collected and stained with anti-rat CD3 antibody followed by flowcytometric analysis. On the other hand, splenocytes from each group of rats were stimulated with phyto-hemaglutinin (PHA) to determine their DNA synthesis by 3H-thymidine uptake assay. RESULTS: The SC-M1 tumors in the cyclosporine-treated rats were larger than that of the arginine plus cyclosporine group. Although SC-M1 tumors were eventually rejected in Wistar rats, the duration of detectable SC-M1 tumors in cyclosporine-treated rats was longer than that of rats treated with arginine plus cyclosporine. More infiltrating inflammatory cells were detected at an early stage of tumor rejection in rats treated with arginine plus cyclosporine than in cyclosporine-treated rats. In vitro analysis of PHA-stimulated splenocyte proliferation showed that arginine activated lymphocyte proliferation while cyclosporine inhibited lymphocyte proliferation. Arginine significantly interfered with cyclosporine-induced growth inhibition of PHA stimulated lymphocytes (p = 0.0039). CONCLUSION: Using a tumor transplant model, we have found that dietary supplements of arginine interfered with cyclosporine-induced immunosuppression in rats. The antagonistic effect between arginine and cyclosporine on immune suppression is worthy of further investigation in organ transplant patients.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Tie-1 tyrosine kinase is an independent prognostic indicator for invasive breast cancer.

Receptor tyrosine kinases are known to be involved in the growth, progression and metastasis of solid tumors. We investigated the relationship between tie-1 expression and progression of invasive ductal breast carcinoma with immunohistochemical analysis. Tie-1 protein was detected in the microvessel endothelial cells and cytoplasm of tumor cells. The tumor size and stage were significantly associated with the expression of tie-1, which portends a worse 5-year disease-free status (39.3% v 59.2%, p = 0.07) and overall survival rate (67.3% v 93%, p = 0.02) than those without tie-1 expression. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that larger tumor size, presence of lymph node metastasis and tie-1 expression were independent prognostic parameters, both in 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival. Patients with lymph node metastases and tie-1 expression had the worst 5-year disease-free survival (0%) and overall survival (42.4%) compared to those without tie-1 expression (50.2%, 85%). In lymph node negative patients, those without tie-1 expression had better 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival (72.9%, 100%) compared to those with tie-1 expression (65.5%, 87.7%). We conclude that tie-1 expression is an independent prognostic factor for invasive ductal breast carcinoma, adversely affecting survival of breast cancer patients with positive nodes to a significant extent.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma in adults.

Retroperitoneal lymphangioma is an unusual disease, more customarily reported in infants, only occasionally in adults. This paper reports four cases of histologically-confirmed retroperitoneal cystic lymphangiomas detected in adulthood. All four patients presented with palpable abdominal mass. The diagnostic imaging methods used included abdominal ultrasonogram and CT scan. Correct preoperative diagnosis was made in only one case, but four tumors were totally excised. Biochemical analysis of the lymphangioma content from three of the patients proved protein and fat rich. The CT attenuation numbers of both serous and chylous lymphangioma were similar and near that of water and so were not helpful in differential diagnosis with other cystic lesions with watery density content.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Is gastric remnant cancer clinically different from primary gastric cancer?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Poorer survival, uncertain etiology and a possible surgically induced carcinoma prompted the question of whether the gastric remnant cancer is a special form of gastric carcinoma. A retrospective study was done to see if gastric remnant cancer is clinically different from primary gastric cancer without consideration of its etiology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There are 77 patient with gastric remnant cancer diagnosed in our hospital in past 15 years. Thirty-two out of 77 patients underwent gastrectomy. Another 536 patients with primary gastric cancer and 73 patients with proximal third gastric cancer were used as the controls. The clinicopathological characteristics including gender, age, TNM tumor stage, Lauren's classification, degree of tumor cell differentiation, rate of curative resection and 5-year survival rate were analyzed to see if there is significant difference among the three groups. RESULTS: Almost 90% of patients with gastric remnant cancer had a partial gastrectomy with Billroth II operation before and the median incubation interval was 24.5 years. Male predominance in gastric remnant cancer was shown in our series. However, the age distribution, TNM tumor stage, Lauren's classification, degree of tumor cell differentiation, rate of curative resection and 5-year survival after curative resection were no different among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference in clinical behavior of resected gastric remnant cancer from other gastric carcinoma. Since most of the tumors were detected too late to be resected, early detection is the only way to increase the resection rate and improve the survival. Annual endoscopic surveillance after gastrectomy was recommended for early detection.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of hepatocyte growth factor on cell cycle and c-met expression in human gastric cancer cells.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was found to stimulate the growth and progression of gastric cancer cells through hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR). In the present study, the effects of HGF on the expression of HGFR in relation to cell cycle progression of human gastric cancer cells were investigated by two-parameter flow cytometric analysis. We found that the expression of HGFR in SC-M1 and KATO-III gastric cancer cells was cycle dependent, the level of HGFR increased from GO-G1 to S phase and the highest level of HGFR was found in G2-M phases. The level of HGFR was higher in KATO-III than SC-M1 cells. However, HGF treatment induced a dose-dependent stimulation of growth as well as down-regulation of HGFR in SC-M1 cells but not in KATO-III cells. These results suggest that functional HGFR rather than overexpressed HGFR may be more important for the growth of gastric cancer cells.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum tumor necrosis factor in patients with gastric cancer.

We have measured serum TNF-alpha levels in 220 gastric cancer patients, 9 patients with gastric polyps or ulcers, 9 hepatitis B carriers and 85 normal controls. The results showed that no positive TNF-alpha value (> 10 pg/ml) was detected in Hepatitis B carriers and benign gastric lesions' patients and normal controls. In the cancer group, 17 out of 220 patients (7.7%) had positive-TNF-alpha values. The proportion of TNF-alpha positive was 6.8% in stage I disease, 6.5% in stage II disease, 3.7% stage III, and 12.9% stage IV. No clinicopathologic factors were related to positive TNF-alpha value. TNF-alpha value was not an independent prognostic indicator The role of TNF-alpha in gastric cancer remains obscures.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum hepatocyte growth factor level associate with gastric cancer progression.

We have measured serum HGF levels from 80 gastric cancer patients and 51 normal subjects by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that the mean value of serum HGF level in gastric cancer patients was significantly higher than in normal subjects (0.30 +/- 0.02 vs 0.22 +/- 0.05 ng/ml; p = 0.005). The increase was stage related. Patients with serum HGF < or = 0.30 ng/ml survived longer than those with serum HGF > 0.30 ng/ml (p = 0.02). These data suggest that HGF involve in progression of gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Differential paclitaxel-induced cytotoxicity in rodent and human hepatoma cell lines.

Hepatoma is the leading cause of death in male cancer patients in Taiwan. In this study, we examined the effect of Paclitaxel on the in vitro growth of 2 rodent and 4 human hepatoma cell lines. Differential Paclitaxel-induced cytotoxicity was observed among hepatoma cell lines. In Paclitaxel-sensitive Hep3B and N1S1 cells, Paclitaxel-induced cytotoxicity was dose- and time-dependent. The effective doses of Paclitaxel were in the range 0.1-1.0 microM. Flow cytometric analysis showed that Paclitaxel-treated hepatoma cells were arrested in G2-M phases prior to apoptosis. In addition, growth inhibition by Paclitaxel was accompanied by an increase in the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in hepatoma cells. For Paclitaxel-resistant hepatoma cells, cytostatic response and/or polyploidization was observed. Our results indicated that two thirds of the hepatoma cell lines examined showed some degree of resistance to Paclitaxel treatment in vitro. The expression of p53 gene had no direct effect on Paclitaxel-induced cytotoxicity. The expression of PCNA and the development of polyploidization appear to be good markers for measuring Paclitaxel response. These findings suggest that Paclitaxel alone appears to by cytostatic to hepatoma cells, combination of Paclitaxel with other chemotherapeutic agents may show better cytotoxic effects.

Animals↗