Genetic variants of SDCCAG8 and MAGI2 in mitosis-related pathway genes are independent predictors of cutaneous melanoma-specific survival

Mitosis is a prognostic factor for cutaneous melanoma (CM), but accurate mitosis detection in CM tissues is difficult. Therefore, the 8th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system has removed the mitotic rate as a category criterion of the tumor T-category, based on the evidence that the mitotic rate was not an independent prognostic factor for melanoma survival. As single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been shown to be potential predictors for cutaneous melanoma-specific survival (CMSS), we investigated the potential prognostic value of SNPs in mitosis-related pathway genes in CMSS by analyzing their associations with outcomes of 850 CM patients from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in a discovery dataset and validated the findings in another dataset of 409 CM patients from the Harvard University Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. In both datasets, we identified two SNPs (SDCCAG8 rs10803138 G>A and MAGI2 rs3807694 C>T) as independent prognostic factors for CMSS, with adjusted allelic hazards ratios of 1.49 (95% confidence interval = 1.17-1.90, P = .001) and 1.45 (1.13-1.86, P = .003), respectively. Furthermore, their combined unfavorable alleles also predicted a poor survival in both discovery and validation datasets in a dose-response manner (P_trend = .0006 and .0001, respectively). Additional functional analysis revealed that both SDCCAG8 rs10803138 A and MAGI2 rs3807694 T alleles were associated with elevated mRNA expression levels in normal tissues. Therefore, these findings suggest that SDCCAG8 rs10803138 G>A and MAGI2 rs3807694 C>T are independent prognostic biomarkers for CMSS, possibly by regulating the mRNA expression of the corresponding genes involved in mitosis.     

Mediation analysis of racial disparities in triple-negative breast cancer incidence among postmenopausal women

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment - Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is disproportionately higher in Black women relative to White women. The objective of this study was to examine to what...     

Hoffa Disease氏综合征MRI表现(附16例报告)

ＨＯＦＦＡ氏综合征在临床上并不少见，近年来由于关节镜的应用，才对此病有了比较全面的认识。现报告１６例经关节镜手术证实并有完整的膝关节ＭＲＩ检查资料对照的ＨＯＦＦＡ氏综合征病例。其主要ＭＲＩ表现为髌下脂肪垫增大，并且伸入挤夹于膑股关节或股、胫骨髁间隙。因此认为在膝关节ＭＲＩ检查时发现上述阳性征象者，应提示为ＨＯＦＦＡ氏综合征。     

Comparison of the EuroQol and short form 6D in Singapore multiethnic Asian knee osteoarthritis patients scheduled for total knee replacement

OBJECTIVE: To compare the EuroQol (EQ-5D) and Short Form 6D (SF-6D) among multiethnic Asian patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) scheduled for total knee replacement in Singapore. METHODS: Patients were asked to complete questionnaires including the EQ-5D, Short Form 36, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and Lequesne knee index. EQ-5D and SF-6D utility scores were calculated using the scoring algorithms developed from the UK general population. Agreement between the 2 instruments was assessed by comparing their score distributions, means, medians, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and a Bland-Altman plot. Correlations of the EQ-5D and SF-6D with WOMAC and Lequesne knee index scores were also examined. RESULTS: A consecutive sample of 258 knee OA patients (127 English-speaking and 131 Chinese-speaking) participated. The mean +/- SD EQ-5D utility score was 0.49 +/- 0.31 (range -0.25-1.00) and the mean SF-6D utility score was 0.63 +/- 0.12 (range 0.32-0.89). In a hypothetical example, this 0.14-point difference in mean utility scores yielded a difference of $10,000/quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in cost-effectiveness ratios. The score distribution was bimodal for the EQ-5D and normal for the SF-6D. This poor agreement was also demonstrated by the Bland-Altman plot and the low ICC (range 0.18-0.54). Correlations of the WOMAC and Lequesne index with the EQ-5D were higher than with the SF-6D. CONCLUSION: Using different preference-based health-related quality of life instruments may yield different utility scores, which could have a great impact on QALY estimates. This highlights the importance of selecting appropriate instruments for economic evaluation. Additional research is needed to determine which instrument (the EQ-5D or the SF-6D) should be used in OA patients.     

口服碘油丸对甲状腺自身抗体的影响

观察了山东省重度缺碘病区人群服用４００ｍｇ碘油前后的甲状腺自身抗体水平。服药前甲状腺自身抗体ＴｍＡｂ和ＴｇＡｂ均阴性，而服药一年、一年半和二年后分别出现５、６、１０例抗体阳性患者；服药后的ＴｍＡｂ、ＴｇＡｂ水平均明显高于服药前。提示服用碘油丸很可能会影响甲状腺自身抗体而诱发甲状腺自身免疫性疾病，应引起重视。