The aim of the present study was to assess the correlations between diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) features with the histologic differentiation and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A total of 52 patients with ESCC included in the present study received radiotherapy, and all patients underwent contrast enhanced MRI and DW-MRI prior to and following radiotherapy. The diffusion sensitivity coefficient ( b value) was set as 800 s/mm 2 . Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were automatically computed. VEGF expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. The results demonstrated that the pathological grading of ESCC was positively correlated with ADC values ( r =0.635, P=0.0007), and the VEGF expression was inversely correlated with ADC values ( r =−0.321, P=0.008). However, no correlation was identified between the pathological grading and the VEGF expression ( r =0.178, P=0.284). All patients were categorized as complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) and the ADC values were increased significantly following radiotherapy. The mean ADC values in the CR group were higher than the PR group prior to radiotherapy ( t =5.156, P=0.0004). Therefore, we concluded that the DWI with ADC value measurement may represent the grade of tumor histologic differentiation and the degree of VEGF expression, and may also serve as a useful marker to predict radiotherapy and anti-VEGF response in ESCC. ADC value may be a substitution for assessing tumor angiogenesis and novel prognostic factor and contribute to the treatment of ESCC.

AbstractIntroductionThe fascin-1 protein is a cytoskeleton-like protein, which can prompt structural changes in cell membranes and affect the integrity of intercellular relations to promote invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. In this study, we researched the expression of fascin-1 in glioma.Material and methodsThe fascin-1 protein and mRNA were detected by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Then, we analyzed the relationship between the expression of fascin-1 protein and the clinical pathological characteristics of patients with glioma. Finally, the fascin-1 protein expression status and prognosis of glioma patients were investigated.ResultsThe fascin-1 protein was mainly located in the cytoplasm of cells from glioma. The high expression rate of fascin-1 protein in glioma tissue was higher than that of normal brain tissue. At same time, we found that high fascin-1 protein expression was significantly correlated with World Health Organization (WHO) grading of glioma patients. The results survival analysis suggested high expression of fascin-1 protein in glioma patients with a shorter survival time. Multivariate analysis showed that high expression of fascin-1 protein was an independent predictor of the prognosis of patients with glioma.ConclusionsHigh expression of the fascin-1 protein indicates poor prognosis for glioma patients.