Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. However, no efficient therapy exists against cervical cancer and current treatments have several disadvantages. One possible novel approach is to develop immune-based strategies using tumor antigen-loaded dendritic cells (DCs) for the induction of cellular antitumor immunity. In this study, we created a modified HPV16 E7, HPV16mE7, to reduce its transformation activity and to enhance its antigenicity. The siRNA delivery technique was used to silence the suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) gene in DCs. BM-derived DCs infected by ad-shRNA-SOCS1 were pulsed with the HPV16mE7 protein and then were transfused into mouse models bearing TC-1 tumor cells expressing HPV16 E6/E7. IFN-γ, cytokine (TNF-α, IL-12, IL-6) expression, anti-E7 antibody and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) levels were measured. The survival rate, survival days and the tumor volume of the mouse models from the different treatment groups were monitored. The data showed that the mE7-pulsed DC vaccine enhanced by adenovirus-mediated SOCS1 silencing exhibited better immunotherapeutic effect on the allografted tumor mouse models. The method by silencing SOCS1 in HPV16mE7 protein-pulsed DCs may provide a new strategy for the development of safe and effective immunotherapy for cervical cancer.

BackgroundTo determine the difference in size-specific dose estimates (SSDEs), separately based on effective diameter (deff) and water equivalent diameter (dw) of the central slice of the scan range in computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA).Material/MethodsThere were 134 patients who underwent CTCA examination, were electronically retrieved. SSDEs (SSDEdeff and SSDEdw) were calculated using 2 approaches: deff and dw. The median SSDEs and mean absolute relative difference of SSDEs were calculated. Linear regression model was used to assess the absolute relative difference of SSDEs based on the ratio of deff to dw.ResultsThe median values of SSDEdeff and SSDEdw were 18.26 mGy and 20.56 mGy, respectively (P<0.01). The former was about 10.08% smaller than the latter. The mean absolute relative difference of SSDEs was 10.48%, ranging from 0.33% to 24.16%. A considerably positive correlation was found between the absolute relative difference of SSDEs and the ratio of deff to dw (R2=0.9561, r=0.979, P<0.01).ConclusionsThe value of SSDEdeff was smaller by an average of about 10.08% than SSDEdw in CTCA, and the absolute relative difference increased linearly with the ratio of effective diameter to water equivalent diameter.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to compare the metrics of volume computed tomography index (CTDIvol) and size-specific dose estimate (SSDE), and quantity the differences in head CT examinations of adult patients.Material/MethodsA total of 157 patients underwent head CT examination were enrolled in this retrospective study. Pearson correlation analysis and linear regression correlation analysis were performed to observe the correlation between the dose metrics of CTDIvol and SSDEaver versus tube current product (mAs) and water equivalent diameter (WED). Correlated factors of CTDIvol and SSDEaver were analyzed by multivariate linear stepwise regression analysis.ResultsA sum of 4239 data settings were measured: slices with WED >16 cm was 71.05%, and the slices with f <1 was 72.64%. The average value of the absolute difference between WED and the diameter of AAPM head phantom was 2.24±1.42 cm. Statistically significant difference was found between the values of CTDIvol and SSDEaver (P=0.000). The dispersion degree of the CTDIvol values was greater than that of SSDEaver. Strong positive correlation was shown between CTDIvol and mAs (P=0.000), as well as CTDIvol and WED (P=0.000). Strong positive correlation was shown between SSDEaver and mAs (P=0.000), and moderate correlation for SSDEaver and WED (P=0.000). Both the metrics of mAs and WED were included in the multivariate linear stepwise regression equation to observe the effect of related factors on the value of SSDEaver.ConclusionsSSDEaver with better representative can reproduce the radiation dosage of the specific adult patients in head CT examination.