No abstract

Our study suggests a major difference in survival of SRCC based on the primary tumor locations.

This study explored the expression, biological function and prognostic role of SOX2 in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of SOX2 in TNBC cell lines and clinical tissues. MTT assay, Transwell assay, flow cytometry and xenograft mouse model were used to assess the biological functions of SOX2. It was found that SOX2 was up-regulated in both TNBC cell lines and clinical tissues. High expression of SOX2 was associated with shorter overall survival and disease free survival. Moreover, inhibition of SOX2 suppressed cell proliferation and invasion, induced cell apoptosis in vitro, and suppressed tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. In addition, analysis of TNM stage and lymph nodes infiltration among the 237 TNBC patients by paired χ2 test showed that SOX2 was inversely correlated with tumor status, our findings provided evidence that SOX2 acts as a tumor promoter in TNBC and inhibition of SOX2 could be a potential therapeutic strategy for TNBC.

Objective: To explore the potential of quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in differentiating focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods: 34 cases of FNH and 66 cases of HCC (all lesions ,5 cm) were studied using CEUS to evaluate enhancement patterns and using analytic software Sonoliver ® ( The quantitative features of maximum of intensity (IMAX), rise slope (RS), rise time (RT) and time to peak (TTP) were compared between the two groups and applied to further characterise both FNH and HCC with hypoenhancing patterns in the late phase on CEUS.Results: The sensitivity and specificity of CEUS for diagnosis of FNH were 67.6% and 93.9%, respectively. For quantitative analysis, IMAX and RS in FNHs were significantly higher than those in HCCs (p,0.05), while RT and

This study was to assess the changes in the haemodynamic parameters of the hepatic artery and vein in the diagnosis of liver metastases by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). 52 patients with proven liver metastases (patient group) and 23 normal volunteers (control group) were recruited in this study. Each subject was administered an intravenous bolus injection of SonoVue (0.6 ml). The arrival time in the hepatic artery (AT HA), time to peak in the hepatic artery (TTP HA), peak intensity of the hepatic artery (PI HA), arrival time in the hepatic vein (AT HV), time to peak in the hepatic vein (TTP HV) and peak intensity of the hepatic vein (PI HV) were measured with the use of time-intensity curve software. The hepatic artery to vein transit time (HAVTT) was calculated as the difference between the arrival times in the hepatic artery and the hepatic vein. AT HA, TTP HA, AT HV, TTP HV and HAVTT in the patient group were significantly shorter than those of the control group (P<0.01). PI HA and PI HV in the patient group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.01). These results suggest that CEUS assessment of changes in the haemodynamic parameters of the hepatic artery and vein help to diagnose liver metastases. This functional imaging technique may contribute to the early detection of micrometastases in the liver.