Studies have indicated that serum levels of cystatin C (a sensitive marker of renal function) are significantly associated with cerebral vascular events. However, the influence of cystatin C on infarct size and hemorrhage volume in acute cerebral stroke has not been well established. A total of 222 patients with cerebral infarction, and 69 patients with cerebral hemorrhage, as well as 122 healthy controls were included in this study. Patients were further divided into subgroups according to infarct size and hemorrhage volume. Serum levels of cystatin C were significantly higher in cerebral-stroke patients than healthy controls (p < 0.05). Logistic multiple regression analyses showed that cystatin C levels were correlated with ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic cerebral stroke (p < 0.01). Cystatin C levels were correlated only with age, urea level, and creatinine level (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between cystatin C levels and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, as well as levels of fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p > 0.05). Patients with larger infarcts or larger hemorrhage volumes had higher levels of cystatin C (p < 0.05). Certain factors affect cystatin C levels in cerebral-stroke patients, and they could be considered to be independent predictors of infarct size and hemorrhage volume in acute cerebral stroke events.

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Background. Circulating tumor-derived endothelial cell (CTEC) is a new potential tumor biomarker to be associated with cancer development and treatment efficacy. However, few evidences are available for breast cancer. Methods. Eighty-nine breast cancer patients were recruited, and preoperative and postoperative blood samples were collected. Besides, 20 noncancer persons were enrolled as controls. An improved subtraction enrichment and immunostaining-fluorescence in situ hybridization (SE-iFISH) method was adopted to codetect CD31+ aneuploid CTEC and CD31− aneuploid circulating tumor cell (CTC). Then, the clinical significance of CTCs and CTECs on breast cancer screening and prognosis prediction was evaluated and compared. Results. The positive rate of CTCs and CTECs in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients was 68.75% and 71.88%. Among detected aneuploid circulating rare cells, CTEC accounts for a greater proportion than CTC in breast cancer patients. CTEC-positive rate and level were significantly higher in breast cancer patients with lymph node metastasis (LNM) than those without LNM ( P = 0.043 ), while there was no significant difference in CTC. CTEC (area under the curve, AUC = 0.859) had better performance than CTC (AUC = 0.795) to distinguish breast cancer patients from controls by receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. Preoperative CTEC count ≥ 2 was a significant risk factor for reducing PFS of breast cancer patients. Conclusions. CTECs may function as a reliable supplementary biomarker in breast cancer screening and prognosis prediction.

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