Benefit of [18F] FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis and salvage treatment of recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To compare PET/CT, MRI and ultrasonography in detecting recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and identify their benefit in staging, contouring and overall survival (OS). METHODS: Cohort A included 1453 patients with or without histopathology-confirmed local recurrence, while cohort B consisted of 316 patients with 606 histopathology-confirmed lymph nodes to compare the sensitivities and specificities of PET/CT, MRI and ultrasonography using McNemar test. Cohorts C and D consisted of 273 patients from cohort A and 267 patients from cohort B, respectively, to compare the distribution of PET/CT-based and MRI-based rT-stage and rN-stage and the accuracy of rN-stage using McNemar test. Cohort E included 30 random patients from cohort A to evaluate the changes in contouring with or without PET/CT by related-samples T test or Wilcoxon rank test. The OS of 61 rT3-4N0M0 patients staged by PET/CT plus MRI (cohort F) and 67 MRI-staged rT3-4N0M0 patients (cohort G) who underwent similar salvage treatment were compared by log-rank test and Cox regression. RESULTS: PET/CT had similar specificity to MRI but higher sensitivity (93.9% vs. 79.3%, P < 0.001) in detecting local recurrence. PET/CT, MRI and ultrasonography had comparable specificities, but PET/CT had greater sensitivity than MRI (90.9% vs. 67.6%, P < 0.001) and similar sensitivity to ultrasonography in diagnosing lymph nodes. According to PET/CT, more patients were staged rT3-4 (82.8% vs. 68.1%, P < 0.001) or rN + (89.9% vs. 69.3%, P < 0.001), and the rN-stage was more accurate (90.6% vs. 73.8%, P < 0.001). Accordingly, the contours of local recurrence were more precise (median Dice similarity coefficient 0.41 vs. 0.62, P < 0.001) when aided by PET/CT plus MRI. Patients staged by PET/CT plus MRI had a higher 3-year OS than patients staged by MRI alone (85.5% vs. 60.4%, P = 0.006; adjusted HR = 0.34, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: PET/CT more accurately detected and staged recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and accordingly complemented MRI, providing benefit in contouring and OS.

Long non-coding RNA Opa interacting protein 5-antisense RNA 1 promotes mitochondrial autophagy and protects SH-SY5Y cells from 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine-induced damage by binding to microRNA-137 and upregulating NIX.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a leading cause of disability. Long noncoding RNA (LncRNA) OIP5-AS1 alleviates the accumulation and toxicity of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+ )/-induced α-synuclein in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, which may be involved in the pathological process of PD. This study explored the neuroprotective effect of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 on MPP+ /-induced SH-SY5Y cell model of PD, so as to provide a theoretical basis for PD treatment. The PD cell model was established (MPP+ group). The overexpression vector oe-OIP5-AS1 was constructed and transfected into MPP+/-induced SH-SY5Y cells, which were further transfected with miR-137 mimic or si-NIX plasmids. The localization of OIP5-AS1 and its binding sites with miR-137 were predicted by subcellular isolation and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. The targeting relationships between OIP5-AS1 and miR-137, and miR-137 and NIX were detected by dual-luciferase reporter assays. The mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and total reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and expressions of α-synuclein, inflammatory cytokines, and microglia-activated chemokines, cell activity, and apoptosis were assessed. OIP5-AS1 was downregulated in MPP+ cells. After OIP5-AS1 overexpression, miR-137 was downregulated and NIX was upregulated in MPP+ cells, inflammatory factors and chemokines were downregulated. There were target relationships between OIP5-AS1 and miR-137, and miR-137 and NIX. After OIP5-AS1 overexpression, miR-137 overexpression or NIX downregulation inhibited mitochondrial autophagy and ROS levels and aggravated mitochondrial vacuolation; and partially reversed the effect of OIP5-AS1 overexpression on promoting mitochondrial autophagy and protection on MPP+ cells. Collectively, lncRNA OIP5-AS1 promoted NIX expression through competitively binding to miR-137, and promoted mitochondrial autophagy, thus protecting neurons from degeneration which might be seen in patients with PD.

Preoperative lymphocyte to C-reactive protein ratio as a new prognostic indicator in patients with resectable gallbladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is often related to cancer, and several inflammatory scores have been established to predict the prognosis of various types of cancer. Our study aimed to determine the prognostic value of the preoperative lymphocyte to C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) for predicting postoperative outcomes in patients with resectable gallbladder cancer (GBC). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 104 GBC patients who received curative surgery at Xinhua Hospital, Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from January 2000 to December 2016 was performed. A time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to evaluate the accuracy of different markers. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to define factors associated with overall survival. RESULTS: Among the assessed variables, the preoperative LCR showed the highest accuracy in predicting the overall survival of GBC patients (AUC: 0.736). Decreased preoperative LCR was significantly associated with advanced tumor stage, including tumor invasion (P = 0.018), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.011) and TNM stage (P = 0.022). A low preoperative LCR (cutoff threshold = 145.5) was an independent risk factor for overall survival in patients with resectable GBC (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative LCR is a novel and valuable prognostic indicator of postoperative survival in patients with resectable GBC.

ERRα promotes pancreatic cancer progression by enhancing the transcription of PAI1 and activating the MEK/ERK pathway.

Estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα), an orphan nuclear receptor, was reported to be highly associated with the progression and tumorigenesis of several human malignancies. However, the biological role and underlying molecular mechanisms of ERRα in pancreatic cancer (PC) remain unknown. The present study demonstrated that ERRα was significantly overexpressed in PC tissues and cell lines. Its high expression was correlated with tumor size, distant metastasis, TNM stage, tumor differentiation and poor prognosis of PC. Subsequent functional assays showed that ERRα promoted PC cell proliferation, tumor growth, as well as migration and invasion via activating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In addition, knockdown of ERRα induced apoptosis and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in PC cells. Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI1) was identified by RNA sequencing, knockdown of which could suppress the cell proliferation, migration and invasion that promoted by ERRα overexpression. Further mechanistic investigation using chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase reporter assays revealed that ERRα could bind to the PAI1 promoter region and transcriptionally enhance PAI1 expression. Moreover, our data indicated that ERRα played its oncogenic role in PC via activating the MEK/ERK pathway. Taken together, our study demonstrates that ERRα promotes PC progression by enhancing the transcription of PAI1 and activation of the MEK/ERK pathway, pointing to ERRα as a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target for PC.

Combining Immunoscore with Clinicopathologic Features in Cholangiocarcinoma: An Influential Prognostic Nomogram.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the Immunoscore as an independent prognostic factor for cholangiocarcinoma and establish a useful prognostic model for postoperative patients. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed to assess the correlation between the clinicopathological features, tumor immune microenvironment, and prognosis of 76 patients with cholangiocarcinoma. Multivariate analysis was used to identify independent factors significantly associated with local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) and overall survival (OS). Finally, we constructed a nomogram combining the Immunoscore with clinicopathologic features to predict postoperative recurrence and OS. RESULTS: The present study showed that immune cell infiltration was negatively correlated with tumor size, peripheral vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, and tumor staging. Kaplan-Meier curves indicated that a decreased Immunoscore was associated with poor prognosis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that resection type, number of tumors, lymph node metastasis, TNM staging, and the Immunoscore were significantly associated with LRFS. For OS, the significantly correlated factors included resection type, peripheral vascular invasion, TNM staging, and the Immunoscore. Immunoscore was superior to TNM staging in predicting both LRFS and OS according to the receiver operating characteristic analysis. Based on the results of the Cox regression analysis, a prognostic nomogram for the postoperative recurrence of cholangiocarcinoma and OS of patients was established. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the Immunoscore may be used as an independent predictor of postoperative recurrence and OS of patients with cholangiocarcinoma. The Immunoscore appears to offer distinct advantages over the TNM staging system. By combining the Immunoscore and clinicopathological features, the proposed nomogram provides a more accurate predictive tool for postoperative patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioners' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Pain Management Study in Central China.

BACKGROUND: Nurses' level of knowledge about pain management directly determines the steps of implementation of clinical pain policies. METHOD: This study surveyed 2,882 pediatric nurse practitioners from six children's hospitals using demographics and pain management questionnaires, as well as the Chinese version questionnaire of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioners' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (PNKAS) via the WeChat application. RESULTS: The total score on the PNKAS was 14.88 ± 3.58 for the pediatric nurse practitioners. Multiple regression results showed the main factors influencing the PNKAS score related to position, the frequency of receiving training pain-related knowledge, and working department, which could account for 35.1% of the total variance. CONCLUSION: Pediatric nurse practitioners from pediatric hospitals were not found to have sufficient knowledge or an appropriate attitude regarding pain management. A new standardized training project of pain management that is closely related to clinical practice for children should be conducted in the future. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(6):275-281.].

Comparison of set up accuracy among three common immobilisation systems for intensity modulated radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.

INTRODUCTION: In intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients, an effective immobilisation system is important to minimise set up deviation. This study evaluated the effectiveness of three immobilisation systems by assessing their set up deviations. METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to one of the three immobilisation systems: (1) supine on head rest and base plate (HB); (2) supine with alpha cradle supporting the head and shoulder (AC); (3) supine with vacuum bag supporting the head and shoulder (VB). CBCT was conducted weekly for each patient on the linear accelerator. Image registration was conducted at the nasopharynx (NP) and cervical regions. The translational displacements (latero-medial, antero-posterior and cranio-caudal), rotational displacements (pitch, yaw and roll) and 3D vectors obtained at the NP and cervical regions were recorded and compared among the three systems. RESULTS: The mean translational and rotational deviations were within 3 mm and 2°, respectively, and the range of 3D vector was 1.53-3.47 mm. At the NP region, the AC system demonstrated the smallest translational and rotational deviations and 3D vector. The differences were significant except for the latero-medial, yaw and roll directions. Similarly, at the cervical region, the AC system showed smaller translational and rotational deviations and 3D vector, with only the cranio-caudal and yaw deviations that did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Set up deviation was greater in the neck than the NP region. The set up accuracy of the AC system was better than the other two systems, and it is recommended for IMRT of NPC patients in our institution.

The Effect of Virtual Reality Distraction on Pain Relief During Dressing Changes in Children with Chronic Wounds on Lower Limbs.

It has been demonstrated that patients with chronic wounds experience the most pain during dressing changes. Currently, researchers focus mostly on analgesics and appropriate dressing materials to relieve pain during dressing changes of chronic wounds. However, the effect of nonpharmacologic interventions, such as virtual reality distraction, on pain management during dressing changes of pediatric chronic wounds remains poorly understood. To investigate the effect of virtual reality distraction on alleviating pain during dressing changes in children with chronic wounds on their lower limbs. A prospective randomized study. A pediatric center in a tertiary hospital. Sixty-five children, aged from 4 to 16 years, with chronic wounds on their lower limbs. Pain and anxiety scores during dressing changes were recorded by using the Wong-Baker Faces picture scale, visual analogue scale, and pain behavior scale, as well as physiological measurements including pulse rate and oxygen saturation. Time length of dressing change was recorded. Virtual reality distraction significantly relieved pain and anxiety scores during dressing changes and reduced the time length for dressing changes as compared to standard distraction methods. The use of virtual reality as a distraction tool in a pediatric ward offered superior pain reduction to children as compared to standard distractions. This device can potentially improve clinical efficiency by reducing length time for dressing changes.