No abstract

MicroRNA has been recently recognized as playing a prominent role in tumorigenesis and metastasis. Here, we report that miR-338-3p was epigenetically silenced in gastric cancer, and its down-regulation was significantly correlated with gastric cancer clinicopathological features. Strikingly, restoring miR-338-3p expression in SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion and tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo, at least partly through inducing apoptosis. Furthermore, we demonstrate the oncogene SSX2IP is a target of miR-338-3p. We propose that miR-338-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer, and the methylation status of its CpG island could serve as a potential diagnostic marker for gastric cancer.

Background: The evidence of combining neoadjuvant chemotherapy with targeted therapy for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer is inadequate. We conducted a singlearm phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of S-1, oxaliplatin and apatinib (SOXA) in patients with locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma. Methods: Treatment-naïve patients received three preoperative cycles of S-1 (80e120 mg/day on days 1e14) and oxaliplatin (130 mg/m 2 on day 1) and two cycles of apatinib (500 mg/day for 21 days) at 3-week intervals, followed by surgery. The primary end-point was pathologic response rate (pRR). This trial is registered at ChiCTR.gov.cn: ChiCTR-OPC-16010061. Results: Of 29 patients included, median age was 60 (range, 43e73) years; 20 (69.0%) were male. The pRR was 89.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 72.7%e97.8%; 26 of 29 patients; P < 0.001) with 28 patients treated with surgery. All 29 patients were available for preoperative response evaluation, achieving an objective response rate of 79.3% (95% CI, 60.3% e92.0%) and a disease control rate of 96.6% (95% CI, 82.2%e99.9%). The margin-free resection rate was 96.6% (95% CI, 82.2%e99.9%). The pathologic complete response rate was 13.8% (95%CI, 1.2%e26.3%). Downstaging of overall TNM stage was observed in 16