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Background: Phase II-III trials in patients with untreated and previously treated locally advanced or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) suggested that Endostar was able to enhance the effect of platinum-based chemotherapy (NP regimen) with tolerable adverse effects. Methods: Four hundred and eighty six patients were randomized into two arms: study arm A: NP plus Endostar (n = 322; vinorelbine, cisplatin, Endostar), and study arm B: NP plus placebo (n = 164; vinorelbine, cisplatin, 0.9% sodium chloride). Patients were treated every third week for two to six cycles. Results: Overall response rates were 35.4% in arm A and 19.5% in arm B (P = 0.0003). The median time to progression was 6.3 months for arm A and 3.6 months for B, respectively (P < 0.001). The clinical benefit rates were 73.3% in arm A and 64.0% in arm B (P = 0.035). Grade 3/4 neutropenia, anemia, and nausea/vomiting were 28.5%, 3.4%, and 8.0%, respectively, in Arm A compared with 28.2%, 3.0%, and 6.6%, respectively, in Arm B (P > 0.05). There were two treatment related deaths in arm A and one in arm B (P > 0.05). The median overall survival was longer in arm A than in arm B (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Long-term follow-up revealed that the addition of Endostar to an NP regimen can result in a significant clinical and survival benefit in advanced NSCLC patients, compared with NP alone.

The skin is a dynamic organ consisting of the dermis and epidermis, with the latter continuously undergoing regeneration to replace cells lost through normal exposure to the environment. The epidermis is composed of several cell layers. The deepest layer, located at the dermal-epidermal junction, is the basal layer, consisting of the undifferentiated basal keratinocytes, which continuously proliferate. As the cells migrate up through the epidermis, keratinocytes undergo a distinct pattern of differentiation that is essential for the function of the skin as a protective barrier. This pattern is characterized by growth arrest and expression of the mature cytokeratins 1 and 10 in the first differentiated layer of the epidermis, the spinous layer. Early differentiation in the spinous layer is followed by late differentiation in the granular layer accompanied by expression of proteins, including the enzyme transglutaminase, that are essential for the formation of the cornified envelope and corneocytes. The corneocytes are terminally differentiated and constitute the outer layer of the epidermis, the cornified layer, which gives skin its resistance to mechanical stresses (for reviews, see Refs. 1 and 2). The mechanism by which 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 inhibits proliferation and stimulates differentiation is still unclear. This hormone is thought to function through the vitamin D receptor, a transcription factor affecting expression of genes possessing vitamin D response elements. However, the keratin 1 gene is the only keratinocyte differentiation marker known to possess a 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 response element (5, 6), and the expression of this marker is inhibited by 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 (7). In addition, 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 was recently shown to enhance the expression of several phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C isoenzymes (8), the activity of which generates diacylglycerol (DAG). DAG, in turn, is known to regulate the activity of protein kinase C (PKC), and numerous data suggest the involvement of PKC in the regulation of keratinocyte growth and differentiation (reviewed in Refs. 1 and 9).Although PKC-activating DAG can be generated directly by phosphoinositide turnover via phospholipase C, such DAG can also be generated indirectly by an additional pathway. Diacylglycerol is generated by the combination of phospholipase D (PLD), which hydrolyzes phospholipids to generate phosphatidic acid (PA), and PA phosphohydrolase, which dephosphorylates PA to yield DAG (reviewed in Ref. 10). Indeed, in several cell systems, PLD activity has been shown to underlie at least

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) in Chinese aging males. Method: Data downloaded from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) was subjected to descriptive statistics followed by univariate logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression. Results: A total of 8563 participants with an overall LUTS/BPH prevalence of 11.97% were enrolled. With aging, the LUTS/BPH prevalence increased (p < 0.001). Men aged over 70 years suffered the highest prevalence of 22.70%. Marital status did nothing to the suffering of LUTS/ BPH. Subjects receiving more education or assessed as depression displayed higher incidence of LUTS/BPH (p < 0.001). In rural villages, settlers showed lower prevalence of 10.00% compared to 16.49% for urban residents. Smoking, sleeping time and alcohol consumption seemed to play a protective role in the occurrence of LUTS/BPH. One who slept more than 8 h, was smoking, and drank more than once a month had the lowest prevalence (p 0.001). Conclusions: For Chinese aging population, LUTS/BPH prevalence increased with aging and was interfered by educational level, depression, sleeping time, geographical region, smoke and alcohol consumption.

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