All clinical trials

Cervical cancer is a major health problem for Chinese women. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 new cervical cancer cases occur in China every year, which accounts for about 20 percent of global new cases. Surgery and radiotherapy are two major radical treatment methods for IB-IIB cervical cancer. Unlike the United States and some other countries, most of operable women with IB-IIB cervical cancer received radical surgery other than radiotherapy in China. Patients with recurrence risk factors (lymph node metastasis, deep stromal invasion, positive lymphatic vascular space, et al. ) also received adjuvant therapy after surgery, such as radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy that are recommended in the NCCN guidelines. However, in China a substantial part of patients especially those admitted to tertiary hospitals received several courses of chemotherapy instead of radiotherapy if they had recurrence risk factors . In our previous study, we found that patients with intermediate risk factors (deep stromal invasion, positive lymphatic vascular space, bulky tumor>4cm) had better disease-free survival and recurrence-free survival when they received chemotherapy compared with radiotherapy. The objective in this study is to investigate whether the advantage of postoperative chemotherapy is a result of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in some of the patients with intermediate risk factors.

With the advances in multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) technology, CT angiography (CTA) of the coronary arteries using 64-slice or dual-source CT systems has evolved into a robust, alternative, noninvasive imaging technique to rule out coronary artery disease (CAD). Reported sensitivities and specificities of coronary CTA can compete with those of catheter angiography. Because CT is the major source of ionizing radiation in medicine, dual isotope myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and coronary CTA 16-, 64-slice MDCT and DSCT scanners are associated with the highest amount of radiation dose. Recently, a new generation of MDCT machines with even more detector row (320) has become clinically available. The maximum detector width of 16 cm enables the entire heart to be examined in a single rotation and within a single heartbeat and is expected to substantially reduce artifacts from breathing and body motion. Due to high volume coverage, 320-slice CT machines are able to perform a nonspiral, ECG-gated examination of the heart within a single breath-hold. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation of hemodynamic status of 320 MDCT, echocardiography, and coronary catheterization in patients who suspected coronary artery disease.

This is a cross-sectional study including patients with permanent atrial fibrillation. Assessment will include: clinic blood pressure measurements (mercury sphygmomanometer and automated oscillometric device) 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring determination of various serum markers and cardiac ultrasound. evaluation of a 24h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring device (Microlife WatchBPO3) in terms of its diagnostic value for the detection of atrial fibrillation compared with the reference 24h Holter ECG

Children with chronic otitis media have more resistant bacteria that require surgical intervention to eradicate the infections. The study will evaluate the dominant bacteria and their sensitivities to antibiotics. The information will assist in better treatment plans for children with chronic infections. The data will also assess the changing patterns in the bacteria colonizing middle ear fluid.

The immune response to Helicobacter pylori (Hp) importantly determines the pathogenesis of infection as well as the success of antibiotic eradication of the bacteria. The investigators want to demonstrate the importance of cathepsin X (CTSX), a cysteine protease, for the Hp eradication success. The diversity of the innate immune response to H. pylori antigens leading to either successful eradication of the infection or maintenance of chronic inflammation is connected to CTSX. The aim of this study is to determine whether H. pylori suppresses the CTSX expression and cytokine secretion in macrophage cell line THP-1 in the individuals that are not capable of eradicating the infection, opposite to H pylori in patients with successful H pylori eradication . The investigators also investigate the possibility whether strain-dependent differences in H. pylori lipopolysaccharide (LPS) influence the CTSX expression and cytokine secretion.

Shortness of breath, fatigue, and exercise intolerance are clinical symptoms of chronic heart failure (CHF). Recent studies suggested that peripheral impairment was the major cause of clinical symptoms, and mechanism may be related to neuroendocrine impairment and vascular smooth muscle dysfunction. It results in increased peripheral resistance that may influence limb blood flow, muscle fitness and activities of daily.The purposes of this study are to compare muscular strength, endurance, and perfusion of quadriceps between CHF patients and healthy controls by isokinetic test and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and difference in activities of daily living to compare endothelium function between CHF patients and healthy control subjects the relationship between endothelium function, muscular strength, endurance, perfusion, and metabolism of quadriceps.

This is a study to evaluate the incidence of sampling bias during pathologic assessment of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) when they are cut at a certain thickness (1 mm) and the tissue slices are completely analyzed by histopathology (at 200 µm sections). The sponsor and investigators would like to determine how often small cancer deposits are present in one slice but not the other. The data will provide an empirical estimate of the incidence of tissue sampling bias inherent in using different tissue sections for analysis. The data will also show how varying degrees of detail in evaluating the sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) with histopathology methods will impact the degree of agreement.

FLT3 overexpression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is often caused by mutations in this gene. These mutations cause constitutive phosphorylation of FLT3 proteins leading to increased proliferation and survival, decreased apoptosis and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents in AML cells. There are two major types of FLT3 mutations- internal tandem duplication (ITD) and point mutation at 835th amino residue. AMLs with FLT3 mutations have worse prognosis and are often resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Several small molecule compounds targeting FLT3 have been in the market or in clinical trials. Therefore, identification of these mutations at the time of diagnosis will provide a better prognostic prediction, might guide the treatment selection and follow-up strategies. In this study, the investigators will develop a sensitive molecular assay to detect FLT3 mutations for future clinical application. The investigators will collect 100 AML samples with at least 20 samples with known FLT3 mutations. The investigators will compare this assay with commonly used methods and standardize the procedure to meet the requirement of clinical pathology laboratory with reasonable cost.

Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) is a rare skin condition that causes extreme sensitivity to the sun and an increased incidence of skin cancers. The purpose of this study is to find out more about XP patient experiences and their quality of life.

The purpose of this study is to prospectively evaluated the T2* values of normal feti.A standardized scale of T2* values for fetal and neonatal iron organ overload have yet to be reported or devised.