Incidence trend of nasopharyngeal carcinoma from 1987 to 2011 in Sihui County,Guangdong Province,South China:an age-period-cohort analysis

Introduction:In the past several decades, declining incidences of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) have been observed in Chinese populations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Los Angeles, and Singapore. A previous s...     

MC1R gene variants and non-melanoma skin cancer: a pooled-analysis from the M-SKIP project

Background:

The melanocortin-1-receptor (MC1R) gene regulates human pigmentation and is highly polymorphic in populations of European origins. The aims of this study were to evaluate the association between MC1R variants and the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), and to investigate whether risk estimates differed by phenotypic characteristics.

Methods:

Data on 3527 NMSC cases and 9391 controls were gathered through the M-SKIP Project, an international pooled-analysis on MC1R, skin cancer and phenotypic characteristics. We calculated summary odds ratios (SOR) with random-effect models, and performed stratified analyses.

Results:

Subjects carrying at least one MC1R variant had an increased risk of NMSC overall, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC): SOR (95%CI) were 1.48 (1.24–1.76), 1.39 (1.15–1.69) and 1.61 (1.35–1.91), respectively. All of the investigated variants showed positive associations with NMSC, with consistent significant results obtained for V60L, D84E, V92M, R151C, R160W, R163Q and D294H: SOR (95%CI) ranged from 1.42 (1.19–1.70) for V60L to 2.66 (1.06–6.65) for D84E variant. In stratified analysis, there was no consistent pattern of association between MC1R and NMSC by skin type, but we consistently observed higher SORs for subjects without red hair.

Conclusions:

Our pooled-analysis highlighted a role of MC1R variants in NMSC development and suggested an effect modification by red hair colour phenotype.     

Modification of N staging systems for penile cancer: a more precise prediction of prognosis

Background:

The tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) classification is the most widely used tool for penile cancer. However, the current system is based on few studies and has been unchanged since 2009. We determined whether a modified pathological N staging system that incorporates the laterality and number of lymph node metastases (LNMs) increases the accuracy of the results in predicting survival compared with the 7th edition of the pathological N staging system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) for penile cancer.

Methods:

The clinical and histopathologic data from 111 patients with penile cancer with LNMs were analysed. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to determine the impact of the clinical and pathological factors on disease-specific survival of these patients. The predictive accuracy was further assessed using the concordance index.

Results:

According to the 7th edition of the pathological N classification, the 3-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rates for patients with pN1, pN2, and pN3 disease are 89.6%, 65.9%, and 33.6%, respectively (P_N1–N2=0.030, P_N2–N3<0.001, P<0.001). Under the modified pathological N category criteria, the 3-year DSS rates for pN1, pN2, and pN3 patients were 90.7%, 60.5%, and 31.4%, respectively (P_N1–N2=0.005, P_N2–N3=0.004, P<0.001). In separate multivariate Cox regression models, only modified N stages (hazard ratio: 4.877, 10.895; P=0.018, P<0.001) exhibited independent effects on the outcome. The accuracy of the modified pathological N category was significantly increased.

Conclusions:

The modified pathological N staging system is a better reflection of the prognosis of patients with penile cancer. Our study should contribute to the improvement of prognostic stratification and systemic treatment to avoid overtreatment of patients.     

AFP、CEA检测对良恶性腹腔积液的诊断价值

目的:探讨腹腔积液患者甲胎蛋白(alpha-fetoprotein,AFP)、癌胚抗原(carcinoembryonic antigen,CEA)表达水平对良恶性腹腔积液的诊断价值。方法:回顾性分析本院97例腹腔积液患者的临床资料,按照腹腔积液性质分为良性组42例和恶性组55例,应用罗氏Cobas E601全自动电化学发光免疫分析仪检测并比较两组患者血清和腹腔积液中AFP、CEA的测定结果。结果:恶性腹腔积液组血清和腹腔积液表达均显著高于良性腹腔积液组的表达(P<0.05);恶性腹腔积液组AFP和CEA的腹腔积液/血清比值显著高于良性组(P<0.05);腹腔积液AFP和CEA的表达同血清中的表达比较具有显著性差异(P<0.05)。单项肿瘤标志物检测腹腔积液AFP检测的准确度最高,两项指标联合检测腹腔积液检测的准确度高于血清检测的准确度(P<0.05)。结论:检测腹腔积液患者AFP、CEA表达水平有助于积液性质的良恶性鉴别;腹腔积液AFP、CEA的检测对恶性腹腔积液的诊断较血清学检测更有价值;肿瘤标志物联合检测能提高恶性腹腔积液诊断的准确度。