Minimally invasive esophagectomy with non-invasive ventilation by laryngeal mask-assisted anesthesia for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: case report.

Minimally invasive esophagectomy for cancer surgery remains associated with significant morbidity and surgical complications across the globe. Non-intubation video-assisted thoracic surgery (NIVATS) has been successfully employed in lung resection in recent years, but there are few reported cases with regard to the safety and feasibility of this approach in radical esophagectomy for patients with esophageal cancers. We present 4 consecutive cases with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who received minimally invasive McKeown's esophagectomy under non-intubation general anesthesia from November 2022 to April 2023. All these patients were aged from 55 to 75 years old and were pathologically diagnosed with ESCC. All procedures of McKeown's esophagectomy in these patients were completed with non-invasive ventilation by laryngeal mask-assisted anesthesia. Operation duration ranged from 185 to 395 minutes and the estimated blood loss ranged from 25 to 60 ml in these 4 cases. No severe hypoxia was observed and transient hypercapnia was resolved intraoperatively. None of them was converted to endotracheal intubation with mechanical ventilation or to thoracotomy. The number of retrieved lymph nodes in mediastinum were 21-27 and all patients received R0 surgery with pathological stage as T1bN0M0 to T3N2M0. There was no serious complication (Clavien-Dindo grade III-IV) observed perioperatively and they were all discharged 11-14 days after the surgery with resumption of oral feeding. They are all alive without tumor recurrence at the date of data collection. The safety and efficacy of minimally invasive esophagectomy with non-invasive ventilation by laryngeal mask-assisted anesthesia for patients with ESCC are warranted for explored in a larger cohort study.

Circular RNA circCHSY1 silencing inhibits the malignant progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: CircRNAs play a crucial role in the regulation of various cancers. This study aims to investigate the involvement of circCHSY1 in the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: RNA levels were quantified using qRT-PCR, and protein levels were measured by western blot. The stability of circCHSY1 was analyzed using RNase R. The functional effect of circCHSY1 on cell behavior was evaluated by CCK-8, EdU, flow cytometry, transwell, tube formation, and xenograft tumor model assays. The associations among circCHSY1, miR-1229-3p, and Tectonic-1 (TCTN1) were certified by bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and RNA pull-down assay. RESULTS: CircCHSY1 was up-regulated in both ESCC tissues and cell lines in comparison with the control groups. Knockdown of circCHSY1 inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation and promoted apoptosis of ESCC cells. Mechanistically, circCHSY1 targeted miR-1229-3p, which was downregulated in ESCC tissues and cells. Inhibition of miR-1229-3p attenuated the effects mediated by circCHSY1 suppression. Besides, miR-1229-3p bound to TCTN1, and TCTN1 overexpression restored miR-1229-3p-induced effects in ESCC cells. Animal experiments revealed that circCHSY1 silencing suppressed tumor tumorigenesis in vivo. CONCLUSION: CircCHSY1 contributed to ESCC cell malignancy, and the underlying mechanism involved the circCHSY1/miR-1229-3p/TCTN1 axis, providing potential therapeutic targets for ESCC.

Triptolide inhibits esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression by regulating the circNOX4/miR-153-3p/SATB1 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: To explore the role and mechanism of triptolide in regulating esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) progression by mediating the circular RNA (circRNA)-related pathway. METHODS: The expression levels of circNOX4, miR-153-3p and special AT-rich sequence binding protein-1 (SATB1) were measured by qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation was confirmed by cell counting kit-8 assay and colony formation assay. Flow cytometry was employed to measure cell apoptosis and cell cycle process. Moreover, cell migration and invasion were detected using transwell assay. The protein levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transformation markers and SATB1 were determined by western blot analysis. Furthermore, dual-luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay were performed to confirm the interaction between miR-153-3p and circNOX4 or SATB1. Xenograft tumor models were built to verify the effects of triptolide and circNOX4 on ESCC tumor growth. RESULTS: CircNOX4 was highly expressed in ESCC tissues and cells, and its expression could be reduced by triptolide. Triptolide could inhibit ESCC proliferation, cell cycle process, migration, invasion, EMT process, and promote apoptosis, while these effects were reversed by circNOX4 overexpression. MiR-153-3p could be sponged by circNOX4, and the promotion effect of circNOX4 on the progression of triptolide-treated ESCC cells was abolished by miR-153-3p overexpression. SATB1 was a target of miR-153-3p. Also, SATB1 knockdown reversed the enhancing effect of miR-153-3p inhibitor on the progression of triptolide-treated ESCC cells. Triptolide reduced ESCC tumor growth by regulating the circNOX4/miR-153-3p/SATB1 axis. CONCLUSION: Triptolide could hinder ESCC progression, which was mainly achieved by regulating the circNOX4/miR-153-3p/SATB1 axis.

Mining Database to Identify Aging-Related Molecular Subtype and Prognostic Signature in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Lung cancer is emerging as one of most deadly diseases, and the mortality rate was still high with 5-year overall survival rate less than 20%. Aging is referred as protumorigenic state, and it plays a significant role in cancer development. Methods: Molecular subtype of lung cancer was identified by consensus cluster analysis. Prognostic signature was constructed using LASSO cox regression analysis. CeRNA network was constructed to explore lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axis. Results: A total of 27 differentially expressed aging-related genes (ARGs) were obtained in LUAD. Three clusters of TCGA-LUAD patients with significant difference in prognosis, immune infiltration, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy were identified. We also developed an aging-related prognostic signature that had a better performance in predicting the1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival of LUAD. Further analysis suggested a significant correlation between prognostic signature gene expression and clinical stage, immune infiltration, tumor mutation burden, microsatellite instability, and drug sensitivity. We also identified the lncRNA UCA1/miR-143-3p/CDK1 regulatory axis in LUAD. Conclusion: Our study identified three clusters of TCGA-LUAD patients with significant difference in prognosis, immune infiltration, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. We also developed an aging-related prognostic signature that had a good performance in the prognosis of LUAD.

Circ_0001273 downregulation inhibits the growth, migration and glutamine metabolism of esophageal cancer cells via targeting the miR-622/SLC1A5 signaling axis.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer is a relatively rare cancer. However, its death rate is not to be taken lightly. Accumulating evidence indicates circular RNA (circRNA) is implicated in cancer development. The objective of this study was to unveil the role of circ_0001273 in esophageal cancer (EC). METHODS: For expression analysis of circ_0001273, miR-622 and solute carrier family 1 member 5 (SLC1A5), quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot were conducted. Cell proliferation was evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), EdU and colony formation assays. Cell apoptosis and cell migration were investigated using flow cytometry assay and wound healing assay. Glutamine metabolism was assessed by glutamine consumption and glutamate production using matched kits. The predicted binding relationship between miR-622 and circ_0001273 or SLC1A5 was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay. An in vivo xenograft model was established to determine the role of circ_0001273 on tumor growth. RESULTS: Circ_0001273 was upregulated in EC tumor tissues and cells. Knockdown of circ_0001273 repressed EC cell proliferation, migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and glutamine metabolism. Circ_0001273 knockdown also blocked tumor development in animal models. MiR-622 was targeted by circ_0001273, and its inhibition reversed the functional effects of circ_0001273 knockdown. SLC1A5 was a target gene of miR-622, and circ_0001273 targeted miR-622 to positively regulate SLC1A5 expression. The inhibitory effects of miR-622 enrichment on EC cell proliferation, migration, EMT and glutamine metabolism were recovered by SLC1A5 overexpression. CONCLUSION: Circ_0001273 high expression contributed to EC progression via modulating the miR-622/SLC1A5 signaling axis.