Objective To know the basic research and the clinical application of cartilage-derived retinoic acid-sensitive protein (CD-RAP) in orthopedic and in other clinical fields. Methods The literature related to CD-RAP in basic research and clinical application were extensively reviewed. Results CD-RAP, as a protein, which is cartilage-specific,could be a marker of the joint diseases. It also can be used to monitor metastsais of melanoma. Conclusion CD-RAP test provides a new way to study repair of cartilage and metastsais of melanoma.
ObjectiveTo review the recent advances in the pancreatic cancer stem cells field and identify the research trend in future. MethodsCurrent literatures on pancreatic cancer stem cells were collected and reviewed. ResultsPancreatic cancer was a highly lethal disease and was usually diagnosed at a late stage, for which there were few effective therapies. Emerging evidence had suggested that pancreatic cancer cells proposed a heterogeneous organization. A subpopulation of stem celllike cells sustains tumor growth, propagation, metastasis, and resistance to standard chemotherapy. Cancer stem cells were identified based on their expression of different sets of cell surface markers and functional characteristics. Some important signaling pathways which maintain self-renewal and metastasis were upregulated in pancreatic cancer stem cells. ConclusionsCurrent findings clearly suggest that specific elimination of cancer stem cells is possible and therapeutically relevant. An improved understanding of the biological behavior of such cells may lead to the development of novel diagnosis and treatment regimens for pancreatic cancer.
Objective To evaluate the markers which contribute to diagnosis and prognosis of thyroid neoplasm. Methods The references about thyroid markers in recent years were reviewed. Results CD26 and galectin-3 could be regarded as a simple, potent markers to differentiate thyroid carcinoma in preoperative diagnosis, CD97 was a specific marker for undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma and its metastasis, CD15 and telomerase could be used in fine-needle aspirate biopsy (FNAB) of thyroid mass, and to improve its diagnostic evaluation, RET/PTC was mainly expressed in thyroid medullary carcinoma, oncofetal fibronectin (oncFN) was specific to papillary and anaplastic carcinoma, thyroid peroxidase was used to identify benign and malignant thyroid tumor. Conclusion Although there are a lot of markers for thyroid neoplasm, but there is no marker which are completely specific to certain histotype of thyroid neoplasm at present.
ObjectiveTo introduce the general situation about oval cells and the advance in research on relation between the hepatic oval cells and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MethodRelevant literatures in recent years about oval cells in hepatocellular carcinoma were collected and analyzed. ResultsHepatic oval cells are progenies of the hepatic stem cells that are thought to reside in the terminal branches of the biliary tree, termed the canals of Hering.After severe liver injury resulting in hepatocyte and cholangiocyte necrosis/apoptosis, the dual-potential oval cells will proliferate and differentiate into hepatocytes or cholangiocytes to replace the respective lost cell types.Recent studies have found many new oval cell surface markers, and promoted the recognition of oval cells.The level of oval cells proliferation is positively correlated with the malignant and inflammatory level of chronic liver diseases.More importantly, oval cells is involved in the occurrence, development, recurrence, and metastasis of liver cancer, and closely related to the prognosis of HCC. ConclusionAn improved understanding of the biological behavior of hepatic oval cells may lead to the development of novel diagnosis, treatment regimens, and prevention for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Lung cancers are highly heterogeneous and resistant to available therapeutic agents, with a five-year survival rate of less than 15%. Despite significant advances in our knowledge of the genetic alterations and aberrations in lung cancer, it has been difficult to determine the basis of lung cancer's heterogeneity and drug resistance. Cancer stem cell model has attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years as a viable explanation for the heterogeneity, drug resistance, dormancy, recurrence and metastasis of various tumors. At the same time, cancer stem cells have been relatively less characterized in lung cancers. This review summarizes the current understanding of lung cancer stem cells, including their molecular features and signaling pathways that drive their stemness. This review also discusses the prognosis of lung cancer and its relationship with lung cancer stem cell, in an effort to eradicate these cells to combat lung cancer.
Endometriosis (EM) is a common benign gynecological disease with complex pathogenesis and lack of unified understanding. In recent years, the theory of stem/progenitor cells has gradually been recognized by scholars. The presence of stem/progenitor cells in the endometrium and researchers’ understanding of stem/progenitor cell specific markers has been further developed, which is of great significance for sorting stem/progenitor cells and further elucidating their roles in the pathogenesis of EM. At present, more endometrial stem cell signaling pathways have been studied including Wnt, Hedgehog, Notch, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B, Smad/connective tissue growth factor, CXCL12/CXCR4, etc. These signaling pathways can regulate stem cell involvement in the pathogenesis of EM. Exploring how signaling pathways to regulate stem cell involvement in the pathogenesis of EM can help elucidate the specific pathogenesis of EM and provide new directions for its treatment. This paper will summarize them.
This paper introduced the fundamental theory, method advantages, application scenario and R software implementation method of the covariate-adjusted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Compared with the traditional univariate ROC curve, the covariate-adjusted ROC curve has distinct methodological advantages and wider application scenarios, which can help to evaluate the ability of markers to predict the targeted outcome more scientifically. It merits more widespread and prior adoption in practical research.