AIM:To study the expression of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein survivin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its correlation with clinicopathological factors, cell proliferation, recurrence and prognosis after hepatectomy. METHODS:Immunohistochemical staining of survivin and Ki-67 was performed by the standard streptavidinperoxidase technique on paraffin sections of 55 cases of HCC. RESULTS:The positive rate of survivin in HCC was 52.7% (29/55). Significant correlation was found between survivin expression with portal vein thrombi and intrahepatic matastasistic nodes (P < 0.05). The recurrent rate in survivin-positive HCC was significantly h i g h e r t h a n t h a t in sur vivin-ne gat ive H CC af t e r hepatectomy, the 1-and 3-year survival rate in patients with survivin-positive tumors was significantly lower than that in patients with survivin-negative tumors (58.62 and 10.34% vs 76.92 and 30.77%, P < 0.05, log-rank test).

AIM:To study the expression of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein survivin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its correlation with clinicopathological factors, cell proliferation, recurrence and prognosis after hepatectomy. METHODS:Immunohistochemical staining of survivin and Ki-67 was performed by the standard streptavidinperoxidase technique on paraffin sections of 55 cases of HCC. RESULTS:The positive rate of survivin in HCC was 52.7% (29/55). Significant correlation was found between survivin expression with portal vein thrombi and intrahepatic matastasistic nodes (P < 0.05). The recurrent rate in survivin-positive HCC was significantly h i g h e r t h a n t h a t in sur vivin-ne gat ive H CC af t e r hepatectomy, the 1-and 3-year survival rate in patients with survivin-positive tumors was significantly lower than that in patients with survivin-negative tumors (58.62 and 10.34% vs 76.92 and 30.77%, P < 0.05, log-rank test).

We investigated the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO), alone and in combination, on apoptosis and intracellular calcium concentration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. We used HepG2 cells to test the effects of ATRA and ATO, individually and in combination, on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and intracellular-free calcium concentration. The results indicate that each drug decreased cell proliferation, increased apoptosis, and increased intracellular-free calcium in a time- and dose-dependent manner. We also calculated the coefficients of drug interaction for sub-threshold administration of both drugs in combination (1 μmol/L each). ATRA and ATO acted synergistically in inhibition of cell proliferation and additively in the promotion of apoptosis. All-trans retinoic acid and ATO interacted synergistically to reduce cell proliferation in HepG2 cells.

Background Urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer worldwide and it has a poor prognosis for patients with distant metastasis. Nomograms are frequently used in clinical research, but no research has evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic factors of distant metastasis in urothelial bladder cancer (UBC). Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to analyze all patients diagnosed with UBC between 2000 and 2017. Lasso regression was used to identify the potential risk predictive factors for distant metastasis in UBC. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed to determine independent prognostic factors for distant metastasis urothelial bladder cancer (DMUBC). Subsequently, two nomograms were constructed based on the above models. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and calibration curves were performed to evaluate the two nomograms. Results The study included 73,264 patients with UBC, with 2,129 (2.9%) having distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. In the diagnostic model, tumor size, histologic type, and stage N and T were all important risk predictive factors for distant metastasis of UBC. In the prognostic model, age, tumor size, surgery, and chemotherapy were independent factors affecting the prognosis of DMUBC. DCA, ROC, calibration, and Kaplan–Meier (K–M) survival curves reveal that the two nomograms can effectively predict the diagnosis and prognosis of DMUBC. Conclusion The developed nomograms are practical methods for predicting the occurrence risk and prognosis of distant metastasis urothelial bladder cancer patients, which may benefit the clinical decision-making process.