Objective To investigate the role of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α （PPARα） in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer. Method The literatures about PPARα and the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer were reviewed and analyzed. Result The relationships of PPARα to the proliferation， apoptosis， and differentiation of colorectal cancer cells in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer were controversial. Conclusions PPARα might be involved in the regulation of proliferation， differentiation， apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells， but the pathogenesis and the up- and down-stream signal pathways are not elucidated. In additional， PPARα might partly be involved in the mechanism of drug resistance of chemotherapy drugs for colorectal cancer， but the role is not very clear yet. So more research works need to be done about the relationship of PPARα to pathogenesis of colorectal cancer.
ObjectiveCD44 and CD54 are two specific biomarkers of gastric cancer stem cells and were used as targets in this study. The number of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cell subsets in peripheral blood of gastric cancer patients was detected by flow cytometry. Further, we combined these results with the clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer patients to analyze the significance of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cell subsets.MethodsFrom December 2016 to September 2017, 38 patients with gastric cancer in gastrointestinal surgery of West China Hospital of Sichuan University were included as the study object. The content of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cell subsets in their peripheral blood was detected by flow cytometry and its clinical significance was analyzed.ResultsThe median number of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cells were 541.9/mL (71.7–8 057.0/mL) in 38 patients and 555.9/mL (71.7–8 057.0/mL) in the group of patients with R0 resection. Patients without lymph node metastasis were found to have more CD45–CD44+CD54+ cells than patients with lymph node metastasis [941.4/mL (183.5–8 057.0)/mL vs 379.3/mL (71.7–2 269.7/mL, P=0.002], and more CD45–CD44+CD54+ cells in patients with TNM stage Ⅰ–Ⅱ than in TNM stage Ⅲ–Ⅳ [858.6/mL (183.5–8 057.0/mL) vs 364.6/mL (71.7–2 269.7/mL, P=0.015]. The patients with T3–4 stages (P= 0.025), N+ stage (P=0.009) and TNM Ⅲ–Ⅳ stage (P=0.012) had low ratios of the subgroup with high number of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cells, respectively. We made a more accurate judgment of N stage and TNM stage when we combined tumor size and the number of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cells together. However, there was no significant correlation between the number of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cells and other clinicopathological features and prognosis.ConclusionsThe number of CD45–CD44+CD54+ cell subsets is correlated with tumor progression, which might be used to predict TNM stage and N stage. However, the number of patients included in this study is too small, and the clinical significance of CD45–CD44+CD54+ subsets in gastric cancer patients needs to be further demonstrated by expanding the sample size.