Serum Transforming Growth Factor-ß1 Change After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy Is Associated With Postoperative Pulmonary Complications in Esophageal Cancer Patients Undergoing Combined Modality Therapy.

PURPOSE: Our aim was to investigate the association of clinical factors, dosimetric parameters, and biomarkers with postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated by neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) under strict pulmonary dose constraints and esophagectomy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We prospectively enrolled 112 patients undergoing trimodality treatment (including radiation therapy [40 Gy], concurrent taxane-/5-fluorouracil-based regimens, and radical esophagectomy) for ESCC. A PPC was defined as pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome within 30 days after surgery. Serum samples were collected before and within 1 month after CCRT. The association of serum biomarkers with PPCs was detected by proximity ligation assay (PLA) and verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Associations of clinical factors, lung dosimetric parameters, and biomarkers with PPC were tested statistically. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients (29.5%) had PPCs. None of the dosimetric parameters was associated with PPCs. Preoperative functional vital capacity (FVC) was significantly associated with PPCs (P=.004). Of the 15 PLA-screened biomarkers, posttreatment transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) was borderline significantly associated with PPCs (P=.087). Patients with PPCs had significantly larger pre-CCRT to post-CCRT decrease in serum TGF-ß1 concentration (-11,310 vs -5332 pg/mL, P=.005) and higher pre-CCRT to post-CCRT percent decline in serum TGF-ß1 concentration (-37.4% vs -25.0%, P=.009) than patients without PPCs. On multivariate analysis, preoperative FVC (P=.003) and decrease in TGF-ß1 >7040 pg/mL (P=.014) were independent factors associated with PPCs. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative FVC and decrease in serum TGF-ß1 level after dose-limited CCRT to the lung are associated with the development of PPCs.

Fast synthesis of PbS nanocrystals in aqueous solution with shape evolution from cubic to octahedral structures and their assembled structures.

In this study, we have developed for the first time a fast and energy-efficient method for the synthesis of PbS nanocrystals with systematic shape evolution from cubic to truncated cubic, cuboctahedral, truncated octahedral, and octahedral structures. The method involves the addition of a small volume of preheated lead acetate and thioacetamide (TAA) mixture to an aqueous growth solution of lead acetate, thioacetamide, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and nitric acid. By varying the amount of thioacetamide added to the growth solution, PbS nanocrystals with different morphologies were generated in 2 h at 90 °C. Slight experimental modifications were adopted to generate truncated octahedra. The nanocrystals have very uniform dimensions with average sizes of 32-47 nm. Their structures have been extensively examined by electron microscopy. Nanocube sizes can also be tuned within a range. UV/Vis absorption spectra of PbS cubes, cuboctahedra, and octahedra all show decreasing but continuous absorption from 300 nm to beyond 1000 nm. By monitoring the speed of darkening of solution color, particle growth rate was found to be fastest for nanocubes, followed by truncated cubes, cuboctahedra, and octahedra. These monodisperse nanocrystals can readily form self-assembled structures. Truncated cubes and octahedra that form monolayer and multilayer packing arrangements have also been studied. This green approach to the synthesis of PbS nanocrystals with fine size and shape control should allow for investigations of their facet-dependent properties and the fabrication of novel heterostructures.