The impact of virtual reality scenes on stress response characteristics of individuals with different personality traits.

Virtual reality based physical stress (VRPS) paradigms could eliminate the influence of social factors on participants, and it may be a desirable tool to explore the impact of personality traits on stress levels. In this study, we attempt to explore the effects of VRPS on stress response among individuals with different personality traits. Forty male participants with an average age of 22.79 ± 0.41 years were divided into two groups based on Harm Avoidance (HA) scores of Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), referred to as the Low-HA group and the High-HA group. The stress levels of the participants were assessed using salivary α-amylase (sAA) activity and heart rate variability (HRV) indices pre- and post-stress. The influence of personality traits on stress response among different groups was analyzed. VRPS significantly affected the sAA activity and HRV indicators of both groups. During and after stress, there were significant differences in sAA activity and HRV indicators between the two groups. The sAA levels and HRV indices of the Low-HA group were lower than those of the High-HA group. Furthermore, sAA levels and HRV indices were correlated with the scores of TPQ. VRPS scenarios elicit different stress responses on individuals with different harm avoidance personality traits. Stress evaluation based on VR scenarios presents potential in personality trait assessments, particularly for distinguishing between individuals with low and high HA tendencies.

Small-molecule exhibits anti-tumor activity by targeting the RNA m6A reader IGF2BP3 in ovarian cancer.

Based on its absence in normal tissues and its role in tumorigenesis and tumor progression, insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3), a reader of N6-methyladenosine (M6A) on RNA, represents a putative valuable and specific target for some cancer therapy. In this study, we performed bioinformatic analysis and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to find that IGF2BP3 was highly expressed in tumor epithelial cells and fibroblasts of ovarian cancer (OC), and was associated with poor prognosis, metastasis, and chemosensitivity in OC patients. In particular, we discovered that knockdown IGF2BP3 expression inhibited the malignant phenotype of OC cell lines by decreasing the protein levels of c-MYC, VEGF, CDK2, CDK6, and STAT1. To explore the feasibility of IGF2BP3 as a therapeutic target for OC, a small molecular AE-848 was designed and screened by molecular operating environment (MOE), which not only could duplicate the above results of knockdown assay but also reduced the expression of c-MYC in M2 macrophages and tumor-associated macrophages and promoted the cytokine IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion. The pharmacodynamic models of two kinds of OC bearing animals were suggested that systemic therapy with AE-848 significantly inhibited tumor growth by reducing the expression of tumor-associated antigen (c-MYC/VEGF/Ki67/CDK2) and improving the anti-tumor effect of macrophages. These results suggest that AE-848 can inhibit the growth and progression of OC cells by disrupting the stability of the targeted mRNAs of IGF2BP3 and may be a targeted drug for OC treatment.

Optimal surgical sequence for colorectal cancer liver metastases patients receiving colorectal cancer resection with simultaneous liver metastasis resection: A multicentre retrospective propensity score matching study.

BACKGROUND: There is little evidence regarding the optimal surgical sequence for colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM) patients undergoing colorectal resection with simultaneous liver metastasis resection. METHODS: CRLM patients from five centers were retrospectively evaluated. The short-term outcomes included intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. Postoperative complications were measured according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Grade I to II complications were defined as minor postoperative complications. The long-term outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were performed to overcome the selection bias between colorectal resection first and liver resection first. RESULTS: A total of 1255 CRLM patients were included. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, a body mass index (BMI) < 24 kg/m2, primary site in the left hemicolon, non-bilobar distribution of liver metastases and no preoperative chemotherapy were significantly associated with the likelihood of colorectal resection first. After 1:1 PSM, there was no significant difference between the colorectal resection first group and the liver resection first group. Compared with patients with colorectal resection first, patients with liver resection first had a comparable postoperative infection rate (15.0% vs. 16.0%, P = 0.735), a longer operation time (305.0 [231.3-416.0] vs. 300.0 [225.0-374.0], P = 0.033), more intraoperative blood loss (200.0 [150.0-400.0] vs. 100.0 [100.0-300.0], P < 0.001), a higher postoperative minor complication rate (28.7% vs. 20.7%, P = 0.023) and a higher postoperative ICU rate (14.7% vs. 8.7%, P = 0.022). IPTW-adjusted Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients who underwent colorectal resection first had a similar PFS (P = 0.702, median: 20.6 months vs. 16.6 months) and unfavourable OS (P = 0.014, median: 48.5 months vs. 67.0 months) compared with patients who underwent liver resection first. In the IPTW-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, colorectal resection first was an unfavourable risk factor for OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.301, 95% CI 1.048-1.616, P = 0.017) and was not an independent predictor for PFS (HR = 0.986, 95% CI 0.831-1.170, P = 0.874). IPTW-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, including postoperative complications, operation time, intraoperative blood loss and postoperative chemotherapy, produced consistent results. CONCLUSION: Although violating the "sterility principle", patients who underwent colorectal resection first did not have an increased postoperative infection rate and had some better short-term outcomes and comparable PFS than those who underwent liver resection first.

Self-supervised patient-specific features learning for OCT image classification.

Deep learning's great success in image classification is heavily reliant on large-scale annotated datasets. However, obtaining labels for optical coherence tomography (OCT) data requires the significant effort of professional ophthalmologists, which hinders the application of deep learning in OCT image classification. In this paper, we propose a self-supervised patient-specific features learning (SSPSF) method to reduce the amount of data required for well OCT image classification results. Specifically, the SSPSF consists of a self-supervised learning phase and a downstream OCT image classification learning phase. The self-supervised learning phase contains two self-supervised patient-specific features learning tasks. One is to learn to discriminate an OCT scan which belongs to a specific patient. The other task is to learn the invariant features related to patients. In addition, our proposed self-supervised learning model can learn inherent representations from the OCT images without any manual labels, which provides well initialization parameters for the downstream OCT image classification model. The proposed SSPSF achieves classification accuracy of 97.74% and 98.94% on the public RETOUCH dataset and AI Challenger dataset, respectively. The experimental results on two public OCT datasets show the effectiveness of the proposed method compared with other well-known OCT image classification methods with less annotated data.

Surgical outcomes of gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors G3 versus neuroendocrine carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: To define surgical outcomes of patients with high-grade gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm grade G3 (GEP-NEN G3). METHODS: Patients who underwent surgical resection between 2000 and 2016 were identified. The overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of patients with gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors grade G3 (GEP-NET G3) versus neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) were evaluated. RESULTS: Fifty-one out of 2182 (2.3%) patients who underwent surgical resection were diagnosed as GEP-NEN G3. The pancreas was the most common primary site (n = 3772.5%). A majority of patients had lymph node metastasis (n = 3262.7%); one in three (n = 1631.4%) had distant metastasis. The median OS and RFS of the entire cohort were 56.4 and 34.5 months, respectively. Perineural invasion was a strong prognostic factor associate with OS after surgical resection. Patients with NEC had a worse survival outcome versus patients with NET G3 (median OS: 33.1 months vs. not attained, p = 0.088). In contrast, among patients who underwent curative-intent resection, patients with NEC had comparable RFS versus patients with NET G3 (median RFS: 35.6 vs. 33.9 months, p = 0.774). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical resection provided acceptable short- and long-outcomes for well-selected patients with resectable GEP-NEN G3. NEC was associated with a worse OS versus NET G3.

Surgical Treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Terminal Ileum or Cecum: Ileocecectomy Versus Right Hemicolectomy.

BACKGROUND: Simple ileocecectomy and right hemicolectomy are two potential operative approaches to treat patients with neuroendocrine neoplasm in the terminal ileum and/or cecum (IC-NENs). We sought to define the long-term outcome of patients undergoing ileocecectomy versus right hemicolectomy for IC-NENs, as well as characterize number of nodes evaluated and lymph node metastasis (LNM) associated with each procedure. METHODS: Patients who underwent curative-intent resections for IC-NENs between 2000 and 2016 were identified from a multi-institutional database. The clinicopathologic characteristics, surgical procedures, and the overall (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared among patients who underwent formal right hemicolectomy versus ileocecectomy only. RESULTS: Among 127 patients with IC-NENs, median size of the largest tumor size was 2.0 (IQR 1.2-2.9) cm; 35 (27.6%) patients had multiple lesions. At the time of surgery, 93 (73.2%) patients underwent a right hemicolectomy, whereas 34 (26.8%) had ileocecectomy only. Every patient had a lymph node dissection (LND) with a median number of 16 (IQR 12-22) nodes evaluated. A majority (n = 110, 86.6%) of patients had LNM with a median number of 3 (IQR 2-5) LNM. Patients who underwent hemicolectomy had more lymph nodes evaluated versus patients who had an ileocecectomy only (median, 18 vs. 14, p = 0.004). Patients who underwent formal right hemicolectomy versus ileocecectomy had a similar OS (median OS, 101.9 vs. 144.5 months, p = 0.44) and RFS (median RFS, 70.3 vs. not attained, p = 0.80), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Ileocecectomy had similar long-term outcomes versus right hemicolectomy in treatment of IC-NENs despite a difference in the lymph node harvest.

Chinese expert recommendations on management of hepatocellular carcinoma during COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide multicenter survey.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the work status of clinicians in China and their management strategy alteration for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A nationwide online questionnaire survey was conducted in 42 class-A tertiary hospitals across China. Experienced clinicians of HCC-related specialties responded with their work status and management suggestions for HCC patients during the pandemic. RESULTS: 716 doctors responded effectively with a response rate of 60.1%, and 664 were included in the final analysis. Overall, 51.4% (341/664) of clinicians reported more than a 60% reduction of the regular workload and surgeons declared the highest proportion of workload reduction. 92.5% (614/664) of the respondents have been using online medical consultation to substitute for the "face-to-face" visits. Adaptive adjustment for the treatment strategy for HCC was made, including the recommendations of noninvasive and minimally invasive treatments such as transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for early and intermediate stage. Targeted therapy has been the mainstay for advanced stage and also as a bridge therapy for resectable HCC. DISCUSSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, online medical consultation is recommended to avoid social contact. Targeted therapy as a bridge therapy is recommended for resectable HCC considering the possibility of delayed surgery.

Shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy reduced the rate of clinically related pancreatic fistula: a historic cohort comparative analysis.

BACKGROUND: A novel procedure called shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy (SMP) was developed, for the reconstruction of the pancreatic stump which has a theoretical advantage for anastomosis healing and wide applicability. METHODS: A comparative study of the patients who underwent SMP (SMP cohort) and those who underwent end-to-end dunking pancreaticojejunostomy (historic cohort) at Peking University Third Hospital was conducted. Each group was analyzed for the incidence of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) and morbidities. RESULTS: The clinicopathological data of 151 patients from the SMP cohort and 82 patients from the historic cohort were analyzed. In the SMP group, the rate of CR-POPF was 7.3% (11/151), which was significantly lower than the rate of CR-POPF in the historic group as 19.5% (16/82) (P = 0.005). The primary results were unaffected by sensitivity analyses based on several risk factors for CR-POPF. The rates of morbidities besides CR-POPF were 15.9% (24/151) in the SMP group and 17.1% (14/82) in the historic cohort (P = 0.194). The principal results were not changed by the propensity score matched (PSM) analysis. CONCLUSION: SMP is a safe and simple surgical procedure for the reconstruction of the pancreatic stump compared with end-to-end dunking pancreticojejunostomy.

Establishment of a Macrophage Phenotypic Switch Related Prognostic Signature in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Macrophage phenotype switch plays a vital role in the progression of malignancies. We aimed to build a prognostic signature by exploring the expression pattern of macrophage phenotypic switch related genes (MRGs) in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx)-Pancreas, and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. METHODS: We identified the differentially expressed genes between the PAAD and normal tissues. We used single factor Cox proportional risk regression analysis, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) analysis, and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to establish the prognosis risk score by the MRGs. The relationships between the risk score and immune landscape, "key driver" mutations and clinicopathological factors were also analyzed. Gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis was also performed. RESULTS: We detected 198 differentially expressed MRGs. The risk score was constructed based on 9 genes (KIF23, BIN1, LAPTM4A, ERAP2, ATP8B2, FAM118A, RGS16, ELMO1, RAPGEFL1). The median overall survival time of patients in the low-risk group was significantly longer than that of patients in the high-risk group (P < 0.001). The prognostic value of the risk score was validated in GSE62452 dataset. The prognostic performance of nomogram based on risk score was superior to that of TNM stage. And GSEA analysis also showed that the risk score was closely related with P53 signaling pathway, pancreatic cancer and T cell receptor signaling pathway. qRT-PCR assay showed that the expressions of the 9 MRGs in PDAC cell lines were higher than those in human pancreatic ductal epithelium cell line. CONCLUSIONS: The nine gene risk score could be used as an independent prognostic index for PAAD patients. Further studies validating the prognostic value of the risk score are warranted.

KLHDC7B-DT aggravates pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma development via inducing cross-talk between cancer cells and macrophages.

Tumor microenvironment (TME) exerts key roles in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) development. However, the factors regulating the cross-talk between PDAC cells and TME are largely unknown. In the present study, we identified a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) KLHDC7B divergent transcript (KLHDC7B-DT), which was up-regulated in PDAC and correlated with poor survival of PDAC patients. Functional assays demonstrated that KLHDC7B-DT enhanced PDAC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Mechanistically, KLHDC7B-DT was found to directly bind IL-6 promoter, induce open chromatin structure at IL-6 promoter region, activate IL-6 transcription, and up-regulate IL-6 expression and secretion. The expression of KLHDC7B-DT was positively correlated with IL-6 in PDAC tissues. Via inducing IL-6 secretion, KLHDC7B-DT activated STAT3 signaling in PDAC cells in an autocrine manner. Furthermore, KLHDC7B-DT also activated STAT3 signaling in macrophages in a paracrine manner, which induced macrophage M2 polarization. KLHDC7B-DT overexpressed PDAC cells-primed macrophages promoted PDAC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Blocking IL-6/STAT3 signaling reversed the effects of KLHDC7B-DT on macrophage M2 polarization and PDAC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In conclusion, KLHDC7B-DT enhanced malignant behaviors of PDAC cells via IL-6-induced macrophage M2 polarization and IL-6-activated STAT3 signaling in PDAC cells. The cross-talk between PDAC cells and macrophages induced by KLHDC7B-DT represents potential therapeutic target for PDAC.

The eighth version of American Joint Committee on Cancer nodal classification for high grade pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor should be generalized for the whole population with this disease.

Several indexes evaluating the lymph node metastasis of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) have been raised. We aimed to compare the prognostic value of the indexes via the analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.We identified pNETs patients from SEER database (2004-2015). The prognostic value of N classification which adopted the 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) N classification for well differentiated pNET, revised N classification (rN) which adopted the AJCC 8th N classification for exocrine pancreatic cancer (EPC) and high grade pNET, lymph node ratio and log odds of positive nodes were analyzed.A total of 1791 eligible patients in the SEER cohort were included in this study. The indexes N, rN, lymph node ratio, and log odds of positive nodes were all significant independent prognostic factors for the overall survival. Specifically, the rN had the lowest akaike information criterion of 4050.19, the highest likelihood ratio test (χ) of 48.87, and the highest C-index of 0.6094. The rN was significantly associated with age, tumor location, tumor differentiation, T classification and M classification (P < .05 for all).The 8th version of AJCC N classification for high grade pNET could be generalized for the pNET population.

Overexpression of Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor Α D842V Mutants Prevents Liver Regeneration and Chemically Induced Hepatocarcinogenesis via Inhibition of MET and EGFR.

Platelet-derived growth receptor α (PDGFRα) is a key factor in many pathophysiological processes. The expression level of PDGFRα is significantly elevated in the early stage of liver development and maintained at a lower level in adult normal livers. In this study, we constructed a liver-specific PDGFRαD842 mutant transgenic (TG) mice model to explore the effect of continuous activation of PDGFRα on liver regeneration and hepatocarcinogenesis. 14-day-old TG and wild-type (WT) mice were intraperitoneally injected with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) at a dose of 25 µg/g body weight. Two-month-old male TG and WT mice were subjected to partial hepatectomy (PH). The liver tissues were collected for further analysis at different time points. Overexpression of PDGFRα D842V and its target genes, Akt, c-myc and cyclin D1 in hepatocytes with no overt phenotype versus WT mice were compared. Unexpectedly, a dramatic decrease in hepatocyte proliferation was noted after PH in TG versus WT mice, possibly due to the downregulation of hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). No TG mice developed HCC spontaneously after 14 months follow-up. However, TG mice were more resistant to DEN-induced hapatocarcinogenesis at 6, 10, and 12 months of age, showing delayed hepatocyte proliferation and apoptosis, lower tumor incidence, smaller size and fewer number, compared with age-matched WTs, partially through downregulation of MET and EGFR. In conclusion, continuous activation of PDGFRα signaling by expression of PDGFRα D842V does not promote, but inhibit hepatic regeneration and hepatocarcinogenesis, possibly through compensatory downregulation of MET and EGFR.

Shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy: a new enteric reconstruction procedure of pancreatic stump.

BACKGROUND: The enteric reconstruction procedure of pancreatic stump after pancreaticoduodenectomy remains to be the critical factor influencing the mortality and morbidity. No widely accepted surgical procedure for the pancreaticojejunostomy has been erected yet. We have developed a new technique of pancreaticojejunostomy named "shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy." The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of "shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy." METHODS: This is a prospective single-arm observational study to evaluate the clinical efficacy of "shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy." Patients with diseases, in whom a pancreaticoduodenectomy is indicated, would be recruited from Peking University Third Hospital. The hypothesis to be tested is that a "shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy" will reduce fistula rate from around 20% to less than 10%. A sample size of 120 patients will be needed. The primary endpoint is the incidence rate of postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF). The secondary endpoints of the study are anastomosis time, postoperative hospital stay, and morbidities besides the POPF such as the hemorrhage. Enrolled patients will undergo pancreaticoduodenectomy and be followed up for 3 months. The relevant data will be monitored and recorded. CONCLUSIONS: The current trial will explore the therapeutic value of the newly raised pancreaticojejunostomy procedure as the "shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy." Its theoretical base and pragmatic feature will promise high external validity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov: NCT03366038; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Clinicopathological features and surgical outcomes of four rare subtypes of primary liver carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze clinicopathological and prognostic features of four rare pathological subtypes of primary liver malignancies to make better understanding of their clinical features. METHODS: The clinicopathological data of 114 patients who were diagnosed with histologically proven four subtypes: clear cell carcinoma (CCC), giant cell carcinoma (GCC), sarcomatoid carcinoma (SC), and combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (CHC) between October 1998 and August 2015 were reviewed. Their survival data were compared with those of 908 patients with histologically proven common hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (early- and advanced-stage HCC) during the same period. RESULTS: The outcome of the CCC group was better than that of the other three subgroups, and was similar to that of the early-stage HCC group. Also, the smallest tumor size and the highest incidence of pseudocapsule formation were observed in the CCC group. The SC group had the worst outcome among these four subgroups; the prognosis was much poorer than that of any other subgroups, even poorer than that of the advanced-stage common HCC group. No statistical difference was observed between the GCC, CHC and advanced-stage HCC groups on survival analysis. The incidences of tumor vascular emboli, TNM staging and non-radical resection were three risk factors of the prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: CCC is a low-degree malignancy and relatively favorably prognostic subtype of HCC. However, GCC, SC, and CHC are three rare high-degree malignancy subtypes of HCC with poor prognosis.

Systematic review of resecting primary tumor in MNETs patients with unresectable liver metastases.

BACKGROUND: Treatment for midgut neuroendocrine tumor patients with unresectable liver metastasis has long been a controversial issue. This system review aims to summarize existing evidence concerning the value of primary tumor resection in this group of patients. RESULTS: 8 cohort studies were identified for qualitative analysis. None of them strictly met with the inclusion criteria and meta-analysis was impossible. There was a tendency towards better overall survival for the primary tumor resected group in all 8 studies, in which 6 demonstrated significant difference. Progression free survival to liver disease was prolonged and less patients died of liver failure in the resected group. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL were searched until 2016/7/4 for relevant studies, with primary outcome being overall survival, and secondary outcome being progression free survival, cause of death and symptom relief. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence supports resection of primary tumor for midgut neuroendocrine tumor patients with liver metastases, but randomized controlled trials are required to reach a final conclusion.

Prognostic value of the albumin-bilirubin grade in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: Validation in a Chinese cohort.

AIM: The prognostic value of the newly raised objective liver function assessment tool, the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma has not been fully validated. We aimed to compare the performance of ALBI grade with the specific Child-Pugh (C-P) score in predicting prognosis in this study. METHODS: The clinical data of 491 C-P class A patients who underwent liver resection as initial therapy from January 2000 to December 2007 in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (Beijing, China) were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic performances of ALBI and C-P score in predicting the short- and long-term clinical outcomes were compared. RESULTS: The ALBI score gained a significantly larger area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting the occurrence of severe postoperative complications than that of C-P score. With a median follow-up of 57 months, the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival rates of the patients were 92.1%, 65.8%, and 45.2%, respectively. Tumor number, tumor size, and ALBI grade were proved to be the independent prognostic factors for overall survival in the multivariate analysis. Prognostic performance was shown to be better for ALBI grade when it was compared to C-P score in terms of both the Akaike information criterion value and χ2 value of likelihood ratio test. CONCLUSIONS: The ALBI grade, which was featured by simplicity and objectivity, gained a superior prognostic value than that of C-P grade in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection. Future well-designed studies with larger sample sizes are warranted.

Lactate dehydrogenase is a prognostic indicator in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated by sorafenib: results from the real life practice in HBV endemic area.

PURPOSE: Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which was an indirect marker of hypoxia, was a potentially prognostic factor in several malignancies. There is a lack of evidence about the prognostic value of serum LDH level in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving sorafenib treatment from hepatitis B virus endemic areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 119 HBV-related HCC patients treated by sorafenib from a Chinese center were included into the study. They were categorized into 2 groups according to the cut-off value of pre-treatment LDH, which was determined by the time dependent receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve for the overall survival. The prognostic value of LDH was evaluated. The relationships between LDH and other clinicopathological factors were also assessed. RESULTS: The cut-off value was 221 U/L. With a median follow up of 15 (range, 3-73) months, 91 patients reached the endpoint. Multivariate analysis proved that pre-treatment serum LDH level was an independent prognostic factor for both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). For patients whose pre-treatment LDH ≥ 221 U/L, increased LDH value after 3 months of sorafenib treatment predicted inferior OS and PFS. And patients with elevated pre-treatment LDH level predisposed to be featured with lower serum albumin, presence of macroscopic vascular invasion, advanced Child-Pugh class, advanced T category, higher AFP, and higher serum total bilirubin. CONCLUSIONS: Serum LDH level was a potentially prognostic factor in HCC patients treated by sorafenib in HBV endemic area. More relevant studies with reasonable study design are needed to further strengthen its prognostic value.

Impaction of surgical margin status on the survival outcome after surgical resection of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Conflicting results about the prognostic value of surgical margin status in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) have been reported. We aimed to assess the association between surgical margin status and prognosis in ICC through a meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a literature search of the articles evaluating the prognostic value of surgical margin status in patients with ICC. The pooled estimation of the hazard ratio (HR) with the 95% confidence interval (CI) was performed to determine the influence of surgical margin status on the survival outcome. RESULTS: A total of 21 studies involving 3201 patients were finally included into the meta-analysis. The percentage of patients with positive surgical margin ranged from 7.2% to 75.9% in the enrolled studies. The pooled estimates showed that patients with positive surgical margin had inferior overall survival (HR: 1.864; 95% CI: 1.542-2.252; P < 0.001) and progression-free survival (HR: 2.033; 95% CI: 1.030-4.011; P = 0.041) than patients with negative ones. The subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were consistent with the overall results. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with negative surgical margin had significantly favorable overall survival and progression-free survival after surgical resection for ICC. The notion of achieving the R0 resection should be emphasized.

CEA Level, Radical Surgery, CD56 and CgA Expression Are Prognostic Factors for Patients With Locoregional Gastrin-Independent GNET.

Gastrin-independent gastric neuroendocrine tumors (GNETs) are highly malignant. Radical resections and lymphadenectomy are considered to be the only possible curative treatment for these tumors. However, the prognosis of gastrin-independent GNETs is not well defined. In this study, we identified prognostic factors of locoregional gastrin-independent GNETs.All patients diagnosed with locoregional gastrin-independent GNETs between 2000 and 2014 were included in this retrospective study. Clinical characteristics, blood tests, pathological characteristics, treatments, and follow-up data of the patients were collected and analyzed.Of the 66 patients diagnosed with locoregional gastrin-independent GNETs, 57 (86.4%) received radical resections, 7 (10.6%) with palliative resection, 1 (1.5%) with gastrojejunostomy, and 1 (1.5%) with exploration surgeries. The median survival time for these patients was 19.0 months (interquartile range, 11.0-38.0). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 72%, 34%, and 28%, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicated that carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level (P = 0.04), radical resection (P = 0.04), and positive Cluster of Differentiation 56 (CD56) expression (P = 0.016) were significant prognostic factors on overall survival rate. Further univariate and multivariate analysis of 57 patients who received radical resections found that CgA expression (P = 0.35) and CEA level (P = 0.33) are independent prognostic factors.Gastrin-independent GNETs had poor prognosis. Serum CEA level, radical surgery, CD56 and CgA expression are markers to evaluate the survival of patients with locoregional gastrin-independent GNETs.