In all, 81 patients aged ≥ 70 years who had undergone gastric cancer Selleck BMS 907351 surgery between 2009 and 2011 were prospectively enrolled in the study. Patients with plasma βDG levels > 11 pg/mL (the cut-off value) were randomly assigned to either receive antifungal treatment or not (n = 13 in each group). Postoperative outcomes were assessed using various clinical parameters. After gastric cancer surgery, plasma βDG levels were ≥ 11 pg/mL in 26 of 81 elderly patients

(32.1%). Of the βDG-positive patients, significantly more had stages III and IV rather than stages I and II disease (44.1% vs 23.4%, respectively; P = 0.049). Fever on postoperative day 8 was significantly reduced in the pre-emptive antifungal-treated group than in the control group (36.8°C vs 37.2°C, respectively; P = 0.045). However, there were no significant differences in mortality, morbidity, βDG levels, white blood cell count, and C-reactive protein levels between

the two groups. Pre-emptive antifungal treatment based on βDG after gastric surgery in elderly patients may help reduce the incidence of postoperative fever and suppress IFI. However, this needs to be confirmed in a larger prospective randomized, controlled trial. “
“MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are well-known regulators of proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation and are recognized to play an important role in the development of cancers. Here we aimed to identify the functional contribution of miRNAs to the Navitoclax biology of hepatoblastoma (HB), the most common malignant liver tumor in childhood. As overexpression of the oncogene PLAG1 (pleomorphic adenoma gene 1) is a characteristic phenomenon in HB, we used RNA interference and subsequent miRNA array analysis to identify miR-492 as most strongly influenced by PLAG1. We provide novel experimental evidence that miR-492 can originate from the coding sequence of the HB marker gene keratin 19 (KRT19). In agreement with these in vitro observations, significantly elevated levels of coexpressed KRT19 and miR-492

were particularly found in metastatic HB tumor samples. Stable overexpression of miR-492 in HB cell clones served to identify a broad range of differentially expressed transcripts, including several candidate targets of miR-492 MCE公司 predicted by computational algorithms. Among those the liver enzyme BAAT showed significant association with miR-492 expression in HB tumor samples. Conclusion: A close functional relationship between KRT19 and miR-492 was identified that may play an important role in the progression of malignant embryonal liver tumors. Additionally, miR-492 and its associated targets might serve as new HB biomarkers of clinical utility and could assist to explore targeted therapies, especially in metastatic HB with a poor prognosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2011) Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common primary liver neoplasia in childhood.