Comparison of the Survival Time in the Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Different Organ Metastasis / 中国肺癌杂志

BACKGROUND@#The purpose of this study is to compare the survival time of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with different organ metastasis. Among all cancers, the morbidity and mortality of lung cancer is the highest worldwide, which may caused by local recurrence and distant metastasis, and the location of metastasis may predict the prognosis of patients.@*METHODS@#A total of 117,542 patients with NSCLC diagnosed between 2010 and 2014 were enrolled from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) databases, and the relationship between distant metastasis and survival time was retrospectively analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Of all the 117,542 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, 42,071 (35.8%) patients had different degrees of distant metastasis during their medical history, including 26,932 single organ metastases and 15,139 multiple organ metastases, accounting for 64.0% and 36.0% of the metastatic patients respectively. Compared with patients with no metastasis, whose median survival time was 21 months, the median survival time of patients with metastases was 7 months (lung), 6 months (brain), 5 months (bone), 4 months (liver), and 3 months (multiple organ) respectively, and the difference was significant (P<0.001, except liver vs multiple organ P=0.650); Most patients with NSCLC (88.4%) eventually died of lung cancer.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Distant metastasis of NSCLC patients indicates poor prognosis. In NSCLC patients with single organ metastasis, the prognosis of lung metastasis is the best, and liver metastasis is the worst, and multiple organ metastasis is worse than single organ metastasis.

The relationship between hazard ratio and median survival time / 中华预防医学杂志

The hazard ratio and median survival time are the routine indicators in survival analysis. We briefly introduced the relationship between hazard ratio and median survival time and the role of proportional hazard assumption. We compared 110 pairs of hazard ratio and median survival time ratio in 58 articles and demonstrated the reasons for the difference by examples. The results showed that the hazard ratio estimated by the Cox regression model is unreasonable and not equivalent to median survival time ratio when the proportional hazard assumption is not met. Therefore, before performing the Cox regression model, the proportional hazard assumption should be tested first. If proportional hazard assumption is met, Cox regression model can be used; if proportional hazard assumption is not met, restricted mean survival times is suggested.

Survival Time and Prognostic Factors of Mortality among Patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in North-East Peninsular Malaysia

@#Background: Death resulting from the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a worldwide concern. This study is aimed at determining the overall median survival time, and the prognostic factors of mortality among AIDS-infected patients in North-East Peninsular Malaysia. Methods: In 2018, a retrospective cohort study stretching from January to April was conducted. This study involved a review of data obtained from the National AIDS Registry. A total of 1,073 AIDS cases diagnosed from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014 were selected, and followup procedures were conducted until 31 March 2015 (a 3-month follow-up). The Kaplan-Meier plot and Cox’s proportional hazard regression were used for data analyses. Results: 564 (52.5%) patients died due to AIDS, while the remaining 509 (47.4%) were censored. The overall median survival time was 11 months. The probability of survival in 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year and 5-year periods were 49.1%, 47.8%, 47.3%, 47.0% and 46.7%, respectively. Multiple Cox regression revealed that the significant prognostic factors were age 30– 49 years [adjusted hazard ratio (Adj. HR) 1.57; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.16; P = 0.006], male (Adj. HR 1.39; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.79; P = 0.012), unemployed (Adj. HR 1.40; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.75; P = 0.003) and HIV-TB co-infection (Adj. HR 1.78; 95% CI: 1.37, 2.31; P < 0.001). Conclusion: The overall median survival time among AIDS patients in North-East Peninsular Malaysia was revealed to be short, in comparison to the other studies. The chances for survival can be improved with more emphasis on early detection (to ensure early treatment) and social support, particularly for HIV-TB co-infected patients, as well as for younger and unemployed patients.

Clinical efficacy of implantation of 125Ⅰ particles in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective To study the clinical efficacy of intra-operative implantation of 125Ⅰ particles to treat advanced pancreatic cancer,and to evaluate the treatment effects on pain relief and survival of patients.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 53 patients who were treated in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from May 2013 to November 2016.The patients were divided into the particle implantation group (n =32,palliative operation combined with intra-operative implantation of 125Ⅰ particles or just intra-operative implantation) and the control group (n =21,palliative operation).The outcomes on pain relief and median survival after operation were compared between the 2 groups.Results Patients in the implantation group were implanted with 20 to 70 (41.4± 12.1) particles.There were no postoperative complications such as pancreatic fistula and bleeding.There was also no perioperative death.Of the 46(86.8％) patients who were followed-up,three patients were still alive at the time the data were analyzed.The postoperative survival time of the patients ranged from 3 to 27 months.For the implantation group,the median survival time was 11.5 months.The 3-,6-,12-,24-months survival rates were 100.0％,90.6％,65.6％,15.6％,respectively.Postoperative pain relief happened in 92.6％ of patients.For the control group,postoperative survival time ranged from 2 to 17 months.The median survival time was 7 months.The 3-,6-,12-,24-months survival rates were 95.2％,57.1％,9.5％,0,respectively.Postoperative pain relief happened in 16.7％ of patients.Postoperative pain relief for patients in the implantation group was significantly better than the preoperative,and than patients in the control group (both P ＜ 0.05).The Log-rank test showed a significant difference in survival between the two groups (P＜0.05).Conclusion Particle implantation significantly relieved pain and prolonged survival time of the patients.

The correlation between serum miR-21 and miR-34a expression and the efficacy of Flofox chemotherapy regimen in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma / 实用肿瘤学杂志

Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the levels of serum miR-21 and miR-34a in patients with advanced gastric cancer before and after Folfox chemotherapy and its relationship with chemotherapy efficacy.Methods Forty-five patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent Folfox chemotherapy were enrolled from May 2015 to October 2015.The levels of miR-21 and miR-34a were analyzed by Real-time PCR before and after chemotherapy.The relationship between miR-21 and miR-34a levels and chemotherapy efficacy was analyzed.The predictive values of miR-21 and miR-34a on the efficacy of chemotherapy were evaluated by the receiver operating curve(ROC).Results After chemotherapy,6 cases(13.33%)were relieved,10 cases(22.22%)were stable disease(SD),29 cases(64.44%)were disease progress(PD),the objective response rate(ORR)was 13.33%,the disease control rate(DCR)was 35.56%,the median survival time was 8.1 months.The level of miR-21 was down-regulated and up-regulation for miR-34a after chemotherapy.They were statistically significant(P<0.05).The level of miR-21 in the chemotherapy group was lower than that in the ineffective group,and the level of miR-34a was higher than that of the ineffective group(P<0.05).MiR-21 was negatively correlated with the efficacy of chemotherapy(rs=-0.431,P<0.05),while miR-34a was positively correlated with it(rs=0.504,P<0.05).The median survival time was 7.6 months for low-level patients with miR-21 and 6.0 months for high-level patients.The median survival time of miR-34a patients was 5.5 months,compared with 8.3 months for high-level patients,with a statistically significant difference(P<0.05).The Log-Rank test showed that the median survival of patients with low miR-21 was higher than that of patients with high miR-21(P<0.05).The median survival of patients with high miR-34a was higher than that of patients with low miR-34a(P<0.05).The miR-21 combined with miR-34a in predicting chemotherapy efficacy under the curve(AUC)was 0.865,the sensitivity was 80.9% and the specificity was 89.8%.Conclusion miR-21 and miR-34a are correlated with chemotherapy efficacy median survival time of patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Long-term effect of pseudomonas aeruginosa preparation on advanced colorectal cancer during surgery / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective: This study aimed to observe the long-term effect of Pseudomonas aeruginosa preparation used in peritoneal injection of advanced colorectal cancer patients during surgery. Methods: A total of 83 colorectal cancer patients who received surgery between September 2006 and March 2008 were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into two groups. Palliative resection and a 10 ml P. aeruginosa peritoneal injection were performed in 30 of 83 patients in the treatment group. Simple palliative resection was conducted in the other 53 patients, which comprised the control group. Both groups were then treated by regular chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Results:The follow-up visit was completed in 79 of 83 patients, with a high follow-up rate of 95.2%. No significant difference was found in the five-year overall survival time between the two groups (P=0.403). However, the five-year median survival time in the control group was only 13.9 ± 2.14 months, whereas that in the treatment group was 17.2 ± 2.12 months. Conclusion: Within a short period, peritoneal injection of P. aeruginosa during surgery could confer certain survival advantages for advanced colorectal cancer patients. However, the long-term effect of this therapy remains unknown.

The median survival and the effect of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-positive former blood donors in Anhui province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To estimate the median survival and the effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV-positive former blood donors of Fuyang in Anhui province, China. Methods A retrospective survey was conducted among HIV-positive former blood donors, and data was collected on survivors who had received ART. Weibull function was used to calculate median survival of HIV-positive former blood donors. The effect of ART was estimated through comparing the actual number of deaths after ART with the expected number of deaths in those who did not receive ART. Results The median period of HIV infection was at the end of 1994, with the median survival of HIV-positive former blood donors in Fuyang as 10.8 years. By the end of September 2008, among 159 former blood donors, 74 received ART, with their mean CD4+ T-cell count increased from 247.8/μl to 475.1/μl (P<0.0001). 76 of the 159 former blood donors died. When comparing the expected number of deaths calculated by Weibull function, 31.7% of the total number of deaths was reduced. Conclusion Result from this study was in consistent to the UNAIDS' figures that in the absence of treatment, the net median survival time after infection with HIV was estimated to be 11 years and ART has reduced about one third of the expected deaths.