A novel tool for predicting the risk of central lymph node metastasis in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Central lymph node status in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) plays an important role in treatment decision-making clinically, however, it is not easy to predict central lymph node metastasis (CLNM). The present work focused on finding the more rational alternative for evaluating central lymph node status while identifying influencing factors to construct a model to predict CLNM incidence. METHODS: In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the typical sonographic and clinicopathologic features of 546 PTMC patients who underwent surgery, among which, the data of 382 patients were recruited in the training cohort and that of 164 patients in the validation cohort. Based on the outcome of the training cohort, significant influencing factors were further identified through univariate analysis and were considered as independent variables in multivariable logistic regression analysis and incorporated in and presented with a nomogram. RESULTS: In total, six independent predictors, including the age, sex, tumor size, multifocality, capsular invasion, Hashimotos thyroiditis were entered into the nomogram. Both internal validation and external validation revealed the favorable discrimination of our as-constructed nomogram. Calibration curves exhibited high consistency. As suggested by decision-curve analyses, the as-constructed nomogram might be applied in clinic. Besides, the model also distinguished patients according to risk stratification. CONCLUSIONS: The novel nomogram containing remarkable influencing factors for CLNM cases was established in the present work. The nomogram can assist clinicians in clinical decision-making.

Photodynamic therapy combined with immunotherapy for an advanced esophageal cancer with an obstruction post metal stent implantation: A case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Surgery is the main treatment for resectable esophageal cancer but not for advanced esophageal cancer with distant metastasis. PDT is a therapeutic strategy for dysphagia and select unresectable esophageal cancer, with tremendous advantages of minimal invasiveness and organ-preserving treatment modality. PDT prevents tumor progression and growth by inducing vascular injury and local acute inflammatory responses. Immunotherapy, combined with PDT, may contribute to the efficacy of PDT in the treatment of esophageal cancer and reduce the probability of tumor recurrence. CASE REPORT: A 54-year-old male patient with advanced esophageal cancer was hospitalized in the author's hospital on 20th April 2020, who had been treated with two cycles of chemotherapy at the local hospital but failed. In this case, after metal stent implantation, the patient underwent a remarkable and successful treatment of PDT combined with sintilimab, a PD-1 inhibitor. An additional immune checkpoint inhibitor and chemotherapy offer the opportunity to eliminate residual and invisible tumors. The patient had an excellent prognosis that not only the primary lesion was cured, but also the metastatic lymph nodes were significantly reduced, with no tumor recurrence in the last endoscopic review. CONCLUSION: PDT in combination with immunotherapy is a promising strategy to eliminate primary and metastatic esophageal cancer by generating local and systemic antitumor responses, especially after interventional esophageal stent implantation for relief of obstruction.

Key Genes Associated with Prognosis and Tumor Infiltrating Immune Cells in Gastric Cancer Patients Identified by Cross-Database Analysis.

Background: The molecular mechanisms underlying gastric cancer (GC) progression are unclear. The authors examined key genes associated with the prognosis and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in patients with GC. Materials and Methods: Gene expression omnibus (GEO) was used to filter and obtain GC-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The molecular functions, biological processes, and cellular components of the DEGs were subjected to enrichment analysis. Protein-protein interaction networks of proteins encoded by the DEGs were analyzed using STRING. The authors also identified hub genes of GC, as well as their expression levels in GC and their relationship with patient prognosis. The relationship between hub genes and tumor-infiltrating immune cells was analyzed by Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource. Results: Six GEO datasets were included in this study, and 265 DEGs were identified. These DEGs were enriched in different signaling pathways and had different biological functions. Six hub genes were potentially significantly related to the molecular mechanisms of GC (TOP2A, FN1, SPARC, COL3A1, COL1A1, and TIMP1). These genes are potential markers of prognosis. Five hub genes were significantly positively correlated with the number of macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells. Conclusions: The authors provide a theoretical basis for exploring the molecular regulation mechanism underlying GC and identifying therapeutic targets.

TRPM7 deficiency suppresses cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in human colorectal cancer via regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

BACKGROUND: It has been documented that transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) plays a pivotal role in the development of multiple cancers. However, the role of TRPM7 in human colorectal cancer (CRC) is poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the expression and significance of TRPM7 in CRC. METHODS: In this study, TRPM7 expression was first investigated in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and then validated it with the data from our medical center. CCK-8, colony survival, transwell, and flow cytometry assays were employed to evaluate the effects of TRPM7 knockdown on the CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as cell cycle and apoptosis. RESULTS: We observed markedly increased TRPM7 expression in CRC tissues. CRC patients with high expression of TRPM7 suggested deeper tumor infiltration, positive lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and advanced clinical stage. In addition, TRPM7 was also overexpressed in CRC cell lines. Downregulated TRPM7 in vitro suppressed CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as triggered cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, reduced the S phase, and promoted apoptosis. Importantly, decreased TRPM7 in CRC cells reversed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) status, accompanied by downregulation of N-cadherin and upregulation of E-cadherin. CONCLUSION: Our study indicated that the expression of TRPM7 was positively correlated with tumor infiltration, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and clinical stage of CRC. Besides, decreased TRPM7 in vitro inhibited CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion by modulating EMT.