AIM: To conduct a cohort study of 101 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presenting to a tertiary care medical referral center in Germany between 1997 and 1999. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were retrospectively...AIM: To conduct a cohort study of 101 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presenting to a tertiary care medical referral center in Germany between 1997 and 1999. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were retrospectively analyzed by chart review. In 95 cases (72 males and 23 females) sufficient data were available for analysis. Twenty five (29%) of 85 patients were HBsAg or anti HBc positive, 21/85 (25%) were anti HCV positive, and 6/85 (7%) were positive for both HBV and HCV-markers. Age was significantly lower in HBV positive patients than in the other two groups. Thirty one (34%) of 90 patients had histories of alcohol abuse. In 79/94 (84%) patients, cirrhosis was diagnosed. Of these cirrhotic patients, 29/79 (37%) belonged to Child Pugh's group (CHILD) A, 32/79 (40%) to CHILD B, and 18/79 (23%) to CHILD C. AFP was elevated in 61/91 (67%) patients. A single tumor nodule was found in 38/94 (40%), more than one nodule in 31/94 (34%), and 25/94 (26%) had a diffusely infiltrating tumor, i.e. the tumor margins could not be seen on imaging procedures. Portal vein thrombosis was present in 19/94 (20%). Imaging data consistent with lymph node metastases were found in 10/92 (11%), while distant metastases were found in 8/93 (9%). According to Okuda 28/94 (30%) were grouped to stage I, 53/94 (56%) were grouped to stage II, and 13/94 (14%) were grouped to stage II. Survival data were available for 83 patients. The Kaplan-Meier estimate for median survival was 8 4 months. Factors influencing survival were the Okuda score, the presence of portal vein thrombosis, and the presence of ascites. The presence of non complicated liver cirrhosis by itself, distant metastases, or infection with hepatitis viruses did not influence survival. AFP positivity by itself did not influence survival, though patients with an AFP value greater than 100 microg/L did experience shortened survival. Treatment besides tamoxifen or supportive care was associated with prolonged survival. The influence of therapy on survival was most pronounced in Okuda stage II patients. There was longer survival in those Okuda stage II patients who were treated with percutaneous ethanol injection. CONCLUSION: Even in a low incidence area such as Germany, the majority of HCC is caused by viral hepatitis and therefore potentially preventable. Reflecting the high proportion of advanced stage tumors in our patients, the median survival was poor. Patients who received active therapy had a longer survival.展开更多
AIM:Cytokine release by macrophages critically determines the type of immune response to an antigen.Therefore,we studied hepatitis C virus(HCV)-specific induction of interleukins-1β,-10,-12(IL-1β,IL-10,IL-12),and tu...AIM:Cytokine release by macrophages critically determines the type of immune response to an antigen.Therefore,we studied hepatitis C virus(HCV)-specific induction of interleukins-1β,-10,-12(IL-1β,IL-10,IL-12),and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in monocytes. METHODS:Intracallular cytokine expression was studied by flow cytometry in 23 patients with chronic hepatitis C,14 anti-HCV seropositives without viremia and 11 controls after stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear calls with recombinant core,NS3,NS4,NSSa and NSSb proteins. RESULTS:Patients with HCV viremia revealed greater spontaneous expression of IL-1β,TNF-α,and IL-10. Furthermore,greater than twofold higher IL-10 expression was induced by the HCV antigens in chronic hepatitis C than in the other two groups(P<0.05).In contrast,neither IL- 12 nor TNF-α was induced preferentially. CONCLUSION:In chronic hepatitis C antigen-specific cytokine induction in monocytes is apparently shifted towards predominant IL-10 induction-not counterbalanced by antiviral type 1 cytokines.This may contribute to persistent viral replication.展开更多
A pleural effusion containing chylomicrons is termed chylothorax and results from leakage of lymph fluid into the pleural cavity.We report on the case of a 59-year-old woman with severe dyspnea due to a large chylotho...A pleural effusion containing chylomicrons is termed chylothorax and results from leakage of lymph fluid into the pleural cavity.We report on the case of a 59-year-old woman with severe dyspnea due to a large chylothorax.She was known to have liver cirrhosis but no ascites.There was no history of trauma,cardiac function was normal and thorough diagnostic work-up did not reveal any signs of malignancy.In summary,no other etiology of the chylothorax than portal hypertension could be found.Therapy with diuretics as well as parenteral feeding failed to relieve symptoms.After a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS) had successfully been placed,pleural effusion decreased considerably.Eight months later,TIPS revision had to be performed because of stenosis,resulting in remission from chylothorax.This case shows that even in the absence of ascites,chylothorax might be caused by portal hypertension and that TIPS can be an effective treatment option.展开更多
INTRODUCTIONMore than 10 years ago ,an interventional technique for the creation of an intrahepatic decompressive shunt between a branch of the portal vein and a main hepatic vein using expandable metallic stents has ...INTRODUCTIONMore than 10 years ago ,an interventional technique for the creation of an intrahepatic decompressive shunt between a branch of the portal vein and a main hepatic vein using expandable metallic stents has been intriduced for the treatmint of portal hypertension[1,2],This transjugular portosystemic intrahepatic stent shunt (TIPS) functions as a side to side shunt ,similarly to surgical shunts .展开更多
AIM： To evaluate prognostic indicators for the outcome of patients with perihilar extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in an unselected cohort. METHODS： We retrospectively analyzed 98 patients with perihilar cholangiocar...AIM： To evaluate prognostic indicators for the outcome of patients with perihilar extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in an unselected cohort. METHODS： We retrospectively analyzed 98 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. Twenty-three patients （23.5%） underwent tumor resection. Patients with non-resectable tumors underwent either transpapillary or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage. Additionally, 32 patients （32.7%） received photodynamic therapy （PDT） and 18 patients （18.4%） systemic chemotherapy. Predefined variables at the time of diagnosis and characteristics considering the mode of treatment were entered into a Cox＇s proportional hazards model. Included in the analysis were age, tumor stage following the modified Bismuth-Corlette classification, bilirubin, prothrombin time （PT）, C-reactive protein （CRP）, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 （CA19-9）, history of weight loss, surgical resection, chemotherapy and PDT. RESULTS： The Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall median survival was 10.5 （95%CI： 8.4-12.6） mo. In the univariate analysis, low Bismuth stage, low CRP and surgical resection correlated significantly with better survival. In the multivariate analysis, only CRP （P = 0.005） and surgical resection （P = 0.029） were found to be independently predictive of survival in the cohort. Receiver operating characteristic （ROC） analysis identified a CRP level of 11.75 mg/L as the value associated with the highest sensitivity and specificity predicting a survival 〉 5 too. Applying Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with a CRP 〈 12 mg/L at the time of diagnosis had a significantly longer median survival than patients with higher values （16.2 vs 7.6 mo; P = 0.009）.CONCLUSION： This retrospective analysis identified CRP level at the time of diagnosis as a novel indicator for the prognosis of patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. It should be evaluated in future prospective trials on this entity.展开更多
AIM： Tumor angiogenesis has been shown to be promoted by vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） via stimulating endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and survival. Blockade of VEGF signaling by different me...AIM： Tumor angiogenesis has been shown to be promoted by vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） via stimulating endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and survival. Blockade of VEGF signaling by different means has been demonstrated to result in reduced tumor growth and suppression of tumor angiogenesis in distinct tumor entities. Here, we tested a recombinant adenovirus, AdsFItl-3, that encodes an antagonistically acting fragment of the VEGF receptor 1 （Fit-l）, for systemic antitumor effects in pre-established subcutaneous CRC tumors in mice.METHODS： Murine colorectal carcinoma cells （CT26） were inoculated subcutaneously into Balb/c mice for in vivo studies. Tumor size and survival were determined. 293 cell line was used for propagation of the adenoviral vectors. Human lung cancer line A549 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells were transfected for in vitro experiments.RESULTS： Infection of tumor cells with AdsFlt1-3 resulted in protein secretion into cell supernatant, demonstrating correct vector function. As expected, the secreted sFlt1-3 protein had no direct effect on CT26 tumor cell proliferation in vitro, but endothelial cell function was inhibited by about 46% as compared to the AdLacZ control in a tube formation assay. When AdsFlt1-3 （5×10^9 PFU/animal） was applied to tumor bearing mice, we found a tumor inhibition by 72% at d 12 after treatment initiation, in spite of these antitumoral effects, the survival time was not improved. According to reduced intratumoral microvessel density in AdsFlt1-3-treated mice, the antitumor mechanism can be attributed to angiostatic vector effects. We did not detect increased systemic VEGF levels after AdsFlt1-3 treatment and liver toxicity was low as judged by serum alanine aminotransferase determination.CONCLUSION： In this study we confirmed the value of a systemic administration of AdsFItl-3 to block VEGF signaling as antitumor therapy in an experimental metastatic colorectal carcinoma model in mice.展开更多
AIM: Chemokines and their receptors are crucial for immune responses in HCV and HIV infection. RANTES gene polymorphisms lead to altered gene expression and influence the natural course of HIV infection. Therefore,the...AIM: Chemokines and their receptors are crucial for immune responses in HCV and HIV infection. RANTES gene polymorphisms lead to altered gene expression and influence the natural course of HIV infection. Therefore,these mutations may also affect the course of HIV/HCV coinfection.METHODS: We determined allele frequencies of RANTES-403 (G→A), RANTES-28 (C→G) and RANTESIN1.1 (T→C) polymorphisms using real-time PCR and hybridization probes in patients with HIV (n = 85), HCV (n= 112), HIV/HCV coinfection (n = 121), and 109 healthy controls. Furthermore, HIV and HCV loads as well as CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts were compared between different RANTES genotypes.RESULTS: Frequencies of RANTES-403 A, RANTES-28 G and RANTES-IN1.1 C alleles were higher in HIV infected patients than in healthy controls (-403: 28.2% vs 15.1%,P = 0.002; -28: 5.4% vs 2.8%, not significant; IN1.1:19.0% vs 11.0%, P = 0.038). In HIV/HCV coinfected patients, these RANTES alleles were less frequent than in patients with HIV infection alone (15.4% P = 0.002;1.7%; P = 0.048; 12.0%; not significant). Frequencies of these alleles were not significantly different between HIV/HCV positive patients, HCV positive patients and healthy controls.CONCLUSION: All three RANTES polymorphisms showed increased frequencies of the variant allele exclusively in patients with HIV monoinfection. The finding that the frequencies of these alleles remained unaltered in HIV/HCV coinfected patients suggests that HCV coinfection interferes with selection processes associated with these alleles in HIV infection.展开更多
BACKGROUND:Micro-RNAs(miRNAs) are small,non-coding RNA species considered to fine-tune basic cellular functions by modulating target gene translation and/or mRNA stability.A common G/C polymorphism(rs2910164) in the p...BACKGROUND:Micro-RNAs(miRNAs) are small,non-coding RNA species considered to fine-tune basic cellular functions by modulating target gene translation and/or mRNA stability.A common G/C polymorphism(rs2910164) in the precursor(pre-) miR-146a gene engaged in NF-κB signaling and apoptosis pathways has been reported to modulate the genetic risk of hepatocellular carcinoma by increased G-allelic production of mature miR-146a.We investigated rs2910164 in a large Europeanbased cholangiocarcinoma(CCA) cohort.METHODS:We recruited 182 CCA patients and 350 controls in three academic medical centers.Genotyping for rs2910164 was performed by PCR-based assays with 5’-nuclease and fluorescence detection.Genotype frequencies were tested for consistency with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium using an exact test;allelic and genotypic differences between the patients and controls were assessed by the Chi-square test and Armitage’s trend test.Exploratory subgroup analyses included gender,tumor localization(extra-versus intrahepatic CCA) and early-onset CCA.RESULTS:Genotype distributions were consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.No significant differences in either allele or genotype distributions were detected between the CCA and control groups or the respective subgroups investigated.However,there was a trend for a protective effect of the heterozygous single-nucleotide polymorphism state GC,as indicated by an underrepresentation in the CCA group in general(29% vs 35%;P=0.18) and,in particular,for extrahepatic tumor sites(26% vs 35%;OR=0.67;95% CI,0.43-1.02;P=0.065).CONCLUSIONS:Our data do not support a prominent contribution of the pre-miR-146a sequence variant in the genetic predisposition to CCA.However,current studies functionally characterizing rs2910164 have proposed that distinct repertoires of target genes are addressed by genotype-specific mature miR146a species.Given the detected trend towards a potentially protective role of GC heterozygosity,a subtle modulation of genetic CCA risk by the pre-miR-146a GC genotype may exist and should be evaluated further.展开更多
基金This research Was supported by a grant from Bonfor(O-107.0022)to C. Rabe
文摘AIM: To conduct a cohort study of 101 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presenting to a tertiary care medical referral center in Germany between 1997 and 1999. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were retrospectively analyzed by chart review. In 95 cases (72 males and 23 females) sufficient data were available for analysis. Twenty five (29%) of 85 patients were HBsAg or anti HBc positive, 21/85 (25%) were anti HCV positive, and 6/85 (7%) were positive for both HBV and HCV-markers. Age was significantly lower in HBV positive patients than in the other two groups. Thirty one (34%) of 90 patients had histories of alcohol abuse. In 79/94 (84%) patients, cirrhosis was diagnosed. Of these cirrhotic patients, 29/79 (37%) belonged to Child Pugh's group (CHILD) A, 32/79 (40%) to CHILD B, and 18/79 (23%) to CHILD C. AFP was elevated in 61/91 (67%) patients. A single tumor nodule was found in 38/94 (40%), more than one nodule in 31/94 (34%), and 25/94 (26%) had a diffusely infiltrating tumor, i.e. the tumor margins could not be seen on imaging procedures. Portal vein thrombosis was present in 19/94 (20%). Imaging data consistent with lymph node metastases were found in 10/92 (11%), while distant metastases were found in 8/93 (9%). According to Okuda 28/94 (30%) were grouped to stage I, 53/94 (56%) were grouped to stage II, and 13/94 (14%) were grouped to stage II. Survival data were available for 83 patients. The Kaplan-Meier estimate for median survival was 8 4 months. Factors influencing survival were the Okuda score, the presence of portal vein thrombosis, and the presence of ascites. The presence of non complicated liver cirrhosis by itself, distant metastases, or infection with hepatitis viruses did not influence survival. AFP positivity by itself did not influence survival, though patients with an AFP value greater than 100 microg/L did experience shortened survival. Treatment besides tamoxifen or supportive care was associated with prolonged survival. The influence of therapy on survival was most pronounced in Okuda stage II patients. There was longer survival in those Okuda stage II patients who were treated with percutaneous ethanol injection. CONCLUSION: Even in a low incidence area such as Germany, the majority of HCC is caused by viral hepatitis and therefore potentially preventable. Reflecting the high proportion of advanced stage tumors in our patients, the median survival was poor. Patients who received active therapy had a longer survival.
基金a generous grant of the Joachim Kuhlinann AIDS-Stiftung
文摘AIM:Cytokine release by macrophages critically determines the type of immune response to an antigen.Therefore,we studied hepatitis C virus(HCV)-specific induction of interleukins-1β,-10,-12(IL-1β,IL-10,IL-12),and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in monocytes. METHODS:Intracallular cytokine expression was studied by flow cytometry in 23 patients with chronic hepatitis C,14 anti-HCV seropositives without viremia and 11 controls after stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear calls with recombinant core,NS3,NS4,NSSa and NSSb proteins. RESULTS:Patients with HCV viremia revealed greater spontaneous expression of IL-1β,TNF-α,and IL-10. Furthermore,greater than twofold higher IL-10 expression was induced by the HCV antigens in chronic hepatitis C than in the other two groups(P<0.05).In contrast,neither IL- 12 nor TNF-α was induced preferentially. CONCLUSION:In chronic hepatitis C antigen-specific cytokine induction in monocytes is apparently shifted towards predominant IL-10 induction-not counterbalanced by antiviral type 1 cytokines.This may contribute to persistent viral replication.
文摘A pleural effusion containing chylomicrons is termed chylothorax and results from leakage of lymph fluid into the pleural cavity.We report on the case of a 59-year-old woman with severe dyspnea due to a large chylothorax.She was known to have liver cirrhosis but no ascites.There was no history of trauma,cardiac function was normal and thorough diagnostic work-up did not reveal any signs of malignancy.In summary,no other etiology of the chylothorax than portal hypertension could be found.Therapy with diuretics as well as parenteral feeding failed to relieve symptoms.After a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS) had successfully been placed,pleural effusion decreased considerably.Eight months later,TIPS revision had to be performed because of stenosis,resulting in remission from chylothorax.This case shows that even in the absence of ascites,chylothorax might be caused by portal hypertension and that TIPS can be an effective treatment option.
文摘INTRODUCTIONMore than 10 years ago ,an interventional technique for the creation of an intrahepatic decompressive shunt between a branch of the portal vein and a main hepatic vein using expandable metallic stents has been intriduced for the treatmint of portal hypertension[1,2],This transjugular portosystemic intrahepatic stent shunt (TIPS) functions as a side to side shunt ,similarly to surgical shunts .
文摘AIM： To evaluate prognostic indicators for the outcome of patients with perihilar extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in an unselected cohort. METHODS： We retrospectively analyzed 98 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. Twenty-three patients （23.5%） underwent tumor resection. Patients with non-resectable tumors underwent either transpapillary or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage. Additionally, 32 patients （32.7%） received photodynamic therapy （PDT） and 18 patients （18.4%） systemic chemotherapy. Predefined variables at the time of diagnosis and characteristics considering the mode of treatment were entered into a Cox＇s proportional hazards model. Included in the analysis were age, tumor stage following the modified Bismuth-Corlette classification, bilirubin, prothrombin time （PT）, C-reactive protein （CRP）, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 （CA19-9）, history of weight loss, surgical resection, chemotherapy and PDT. RESULTS： The Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall median survival was 10.5 （95%CI： 8.4-12.6） mo. In the univariate analysis, low Bismuth stage, low CRP and surgical resection correlated significantly with better survival. In the multivariate analysis, only CRP （P = 0.005） and surgical resection （P = 0.029） were found to be independently predictive of survival in the cohort. Receiver operating characteristic （ROC） analysis identified a CRP level of 11.75 mg/L as the value associated with the highest sensitivity and specificity predicting a survival 〉 5 too. Applying Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with a CRP 〈 12 mg/L at the time of diagnosis had a significantly longer median survival than patients with higher values （16.2 vs 7.6 mo; P = 0.009）.CONCLUSION： This retrospective analysis identified CRP level at the time of diagnosis as a novel indicator for the prognosis of patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. It should be evaluated in future prospective trials on this entity.
基金Supported by the Deutsche Krebshilfe, No. 70-3065-SchmI
文摘AIM： Tumor angiogenesis has been shown to be promoted by vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） via stimulating endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and survival. Blockade of VEGF signaling by different means has been demonstrated to result in reduced tumor growth and suppression of tumor angiogenesis in distinct tumor entities. Here, we tested a recombinant adenovirus, AdsFItl-3, that encodes an antagonistically acting fragment of the VEGF receptor 1 （Fit-l）, for systemic antitumor effects in pre-established subcutaneous CRC tumors in mice.METHODS： Murine colorectal carcinoma cells （CT26） were inoculated subcutaneously into Balb/c mice for in vivo studies. Tumor size and survival were determined. 293 cell line was used for propagation of the adenoviral vectors. Human lung cancer line A549 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells were transfected for in vitro experiments.RESULTS： Infection of tumor cells with AdsFlt1-3 resulted in protein secretion into cell supernatant, demonstrating correct vector function. As expected, the secreted sFlt1-3 protein had no direct effect on CT26 tumor cell proliferation in vitro, but endothelial cell function was inhibited by about 46% as compared to the AdLacZ control in a tube formation assay. When AdsFlt1-3 （5×10^9 PFU/animal） was applied to tumor bearing mice, we found a tumor inhibition by 72% at d 12 after treatment initiation, in spite of these antitumoral effects, the survival time was not improved. According to reduced intratumoral microvessel density in AdsFlt1-3-treated mice, the antitumor mechanism can be attributed to angiostatic vector effects. We did not detect increased systemic VEGF levels after AdsFlt1-3 treatment and liver toxicity was low as judged by serum alanine aminotransferase determination.CONCLUSION： In this study we confirmed the value of a systemic administration of AdsFItl-3 to block VEGF signaling as antitumor therapy in an experimental metastatic colorectal carcinoma model in mice.
文摘AIM: Chemokines and their receptors are crucial for immune responses in HCV and HIV infection. RANTES gene polymorphisms lead to altered gene expression and influence the natural course of HIV infection. Therefore,these mutations may also affect the course of HIV/HCV coinfection.METHODS: We determined allele frequencies of RANTES-403 (G→A), RANTES-28 (C→G) and RANTESIN1.1 (T→C) polymorphisms using real-time PCR and hybridization probes in patients with HIV (n = 85), HCV (n= 112), HIV/HCV coinfection (n = 121), and 109 healthy controls. Furthermore, HIV and HCV loads as well as CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts were compared between different RANTES genotypes.RESULTS: Frequencies of RANTES-403 A, RANTES-28 G and RANTES-IN1.1 C alleles were higher in HIV infected patients than in healthy controls (-403: 28.2% vs 15.1%,P = 0.002; -28: 5.4% vs 2.8%, not significant; IN1.1:19.0% vs 11.0%, P = 0.038). In HIV/HCV coinfected patients, these RANTES alleles were less frequent than in patients with HIV infection alone (15.4% P = 0.002;1.7%; P = 0.048; 12.0%; not significant). Frequencies of these alleles were not significantly different between HIV/HCV positive patients, HCV positive patients and healthy controls.CONCLUSION: All three RANTES polymorphisms showed increased frequencies of the variant allele exclusively in patients with HIV monoinfection. The finding that the frequencies of these alleles remained unaltered in HIV/HCV coinfected patients suggests that HCV coinfection interferes with selection processes associated with these alleles in HIV infection.
基金supported by a grant from the HOMFOR(T201000688 to ZV)
文摘BACKGROUND:Micro-RNAs(miRNAs) are small,non-coding RNA species considered to fine-tune basic cellular functions by modulating target gene translation and/or mRNA stability.A common G/C polymorphism(rs2910164) in the precursor(pre-) miR-146a gene engaged in NF-κB signaling and apoptosis pathways has been reported to modulate the genetic risk of hepatocellular carcinoma by increased G-allelic production of mature miR-146a.We investigated rs2910164 in a large Europeanbased cholangiocarcinoma(CCA) cohort.METHODS:We recruited 182 CCA patients and 350 controls in three academic medical centers.Genotyping for rs2910164 was performed by PCR-based assays with 5’-nuclease and fluorescence detection.Genotype frequencies were tested for consistency with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium using an exact test;allelic and genotypic differences between the patients and controls were assessed by the Chi-square test and Armitage’s trend test.Exploratory subgroup analyses included gender,tumor localization(extra-versus intrahepatic CCA) and early-onset CCA.RESULTS:Genotype distributions were consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.No significant differences in either allele or genotype distributions were detected between the CCA and control groups or the respective subgroups investigated.However,there was a trend for a protective effect of the heterozygous single-nucleotide polymorphism state GC,as indicated by an underrepresentation in the CCA group in general(29% vs 35%;P=0.18) and,in particular,for extrahepatic tumor sites(26% vs 35%;OR=0.67;95% CI,0.43-1.02;P=0.065).CONCLUSIONS:Our data do not support a prominent contribution of the pre-miR-146a sequence variant in the genetic predisposition to CCA.However,current studies functionally characterizing rs2910164 have proposed that distinct repertoires of target genes are addressed by genotype-specific mature miR146a species.Given the detected trend towards a potentially protective role of GC heterozygosity,a subtle modulation of genetic CCA risk by the pre-miR-146a GC genotype may exist and should be evaluated further.
