Corrigendum: Probiotics for the treatment of docetaxel-related weight gain of breast cancer patients-A single-center, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2021.762929.].

A 5-year follow-up study on the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided laser ablation in elderly patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: A retrospective, single-center study from China.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) for the treatment of elderly patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). Methods: From September 2015 to April 2017, 38 elderly patients with PTMC confirmed through fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) were treated with PLA. Before the treatment, the location and volume of the nodule together with the patients' symptoms were evaluated. Twenty-four hours after the treatment, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was performed to evaluate the completeness of the ablation. To evaluate the volume of the ablation area and recurrence or metastasis, ultrasound examination was performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the treatment and every 6 months thereafter. FNAB was performed for any suspicious recurrence or metastasis lesions. Result: The ablation of all the 38 patients was all achieved completely as confirmed by CEUS. No obvious complications were found. The success rate of single ablation was 100%. The average follow-up time was 64.58 ± 5.29 months (60-78 months). By the time of the last follow-up, 31 (81.58%) ablation lesions disappeared completely and seven (18.42%) ablation lesions showed scar-like changes. The volume of nodules was 40.69 ± 16.45 mm3 before operation, which decreased to 0.22 ± 0.76 mm3 by the end of 42 months, and all nodules disappeared 4 years after ablation (P < 0.01). At 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42 months after ablation, the average volume reduction rates (VRRs) were 12.09%, 31.21%, 50.9%, 72.06%, 84.79%, 95.65%, and 100%, respectively. Of all the patients enrolled, one patient (2.6%) had local recurrence and was treated with PLA again. No regrowth of treated nodule or lymph node metastasis and distant metastases was detected. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided PLA is effective and safe for the treatment of elderly patients with PTMC who are ineligible for surgery.

Probiotic supplement attenuates chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment in patients with breast cancer: a randomised, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is highly prevalent in patients with cancer and is associated with poor outcomes and quality of life. To date, the management of CRCI remains a clinical challenge. Herein, we aim to determine the preventive effects of probiotics on CRCI development and underlying mechanisms. METHODS: We conducted a randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial (ChiCTR-INQ-17014181) of 159 patients with breast cancer and further investigated the underlying mechanism in a pre-clinical setting. From 2018 to 2019, patients with breast cancer (Stage I-III) who needed adjuvant chemotherapy were screened, enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either probiotics or placebo (three capsules, twice/day) during chemotherapy. Their cognition, anxiety and depression were assessed with well-established assays; their plasma biomarkers, metabolites and faecal microbiota compositions were measured. In addition, the systemic effects of the metabolites found in the clinical trial on long-term potentiation, synapse injury, oxidative stress and glial activation were assessed in rats. RESULTS: Probiotics supplement significantly decreased the incidence of CRCI, improved the allover cognitive functions, changed the gut microbial composition and modulated nine plasma metabolite changes. Among these metabolites, p-Mentha-1,8-dien-7-ol, Linoelaidyl carnitine and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid were negatively correlated with the occurrence of CRCI. Furthermore, probiotics supplement increased plasma p-Mentha-1,8-dien-7-ol in rats. Administration of exogenous p-Mentha-1,8-dien-7-ol significantly alleviated chemotherapy-induced long-term potentiation impairment, synapse injury, oxidative stress and glial activation in the hippocampus of rats. CONCLUSION: Our data indicated that probiotics supplement prevents the occurrence of CRCI in patients with breast cancer via modulating plasma metabolites, including p-Mentha-1,8-dien-7-ol. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-INQ-17014181) [http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=24294].

Probiotics for the Treatment of Docetaxel-Related Weight Gain of Breast Cancer Patients-A Single-Center, Randomized, Double-Blind, and Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: Docetaxel is an important chemotherapy-agent for breast cancer treatment. One of its side-effects is weight gain, which increases the all-cause mortality rate. Considering gut microbiota is one important factor for weight regulation, we hypothesized that probiotics could be potentially used to reduce the docetaxel-related weight gain in breast cancer patients. Methods: From 10/8/2018 to 10/17/2019, 100 breast cancer (Stage I-III) patients underwent four cycles of docetaxel-based chemotherapy were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive probiotics (Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Enterococcus faecalis) or placebo (supplementary material of the probiotics capsule) treatment for 84 days with three capsules per time, twice/day. The primary outcome: the changes in body weight and body-fat percentage of the patients were measured by a designated physician using a fat analyzer, and the secondary outcomes: the fasting insulin, plasma glucose, and lipids were directly obtained from the Hospital Information System (HIS); The metabolites were measured using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS); The fecal microbiome was analyzed using bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence. All indicators were measured 1 day before the first cycle of docetaxel-based chemotherapy and 21 days after the last cycle of docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Results: Compared with the placebo group, the probiotic group showed significantly smaller changes in body weight (Mean [SD] 0.77 [2.58] vs. 2.70 [3.08], P = 0.03), body-fat percentage (Mean [SD] 0.04 [1.14] vs. 3.86 [11.09], P = 0.02), and low density lipoprotein (LDL) (Mean [SD]-0.05[0.68] vs. 0.39 [0.58], P = 0.002). Moreover, five of the 340 detected plasma metabolites showed significant differences between the two groups. The change of biliverdin dihydrochloride (B = -0.724, P = 0.02) was inverse correlated with weight gain. One strain of the phylum and three strains of the genus were detected to be significantly different between the two groups. Also, the changes of Bacteroides (B = -0.917, P < 0.001) and Anaerostipes (B = -0.894, P < 0.001) were inverse correlated with the change of LDL. Conclusions: Probiotics supplement during docetaxel-based chemotherapy for breast cancer treatment may help to reduce the increase in body weight, body-fat percentage, plasma LDL, and minimize the metabolic changes and gut dysbacteriosis. Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=24294, ChiCTR-INQ-17014181.

Evaluation of the Quadri-Planes Method in Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Breast Lesions by Ultrasonography: Prospective Single-Center Study.

BACKGROUND: Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) is a tool that can help radiologists diagnose breast lesions by ultrasonography. Previous studies have demonstrated that CAD can help reduce the incidence of missed diagnoses by radiologists. However, the optimal method to apply CAD to breast lesions using diagnostic planes has not been assessed. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the performance of radiologists with different levels of experience when using CAD with the quadri-planes method to detect breast tumors. METHODS: From November 2018 to October 2019, we enrolled patients in the study who had a breast mass as their most prominent symptom. We assigned 2 ultrasound radiologists (with 1 and 5 years of experience, respectively) to read breast ultrasonography images without CAD and then to perform a second reading while applying CAD with the quadri-planes method. We then compared the diagnostic performance of the readers for the 2 readings (without and with CAD). The McNemar test for paired data was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 331 patients were included in this study (mean age 43.88 years, range 17-70, SD 12.10), including 512 lesions (mean diameter 1.85 centimeters, SD 1.19; range 0.26-9.5); 200/512 (39.1%) were malignant, and 312/512 (60.9%) were benign. For CAD, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) improved significantly from 0.76 (95% CI 0.71-0.79) with the cross-planes method to 0.84 (95% CI 0.80-0.88; P<.001) with the quadri-planes method. For the novice reader, the AUC significantly improved from 0.73 (95% CI 0.69-0.78) for the without-CAD mode to 0.83 (95% CI 0.80-0.87; P<.001) for the combined-CAD mode with the quadri-planes method. For the experienced reader, the AUC improved from 0.85 (95% CI 0.81-0.88) to 0.87 (95% CI 0.84-0.91; P=.15). The kappa indicating consistency between the experienced reader and the novice reader for the combined-CAD mode was 0.63. For the novice reader, the sensitivity significantly improved from 60.0% for the without-CAD mode to 79.0% for the combined-CAD mode (P=.004). The specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, and accuracy improved from 84.9% to 87.8% (P=.53), 76.8% to 86.7% (P=.07), 71.9% to 80.6% (P=.13), and 75.2% to 84.4% (P=.12), respectively. For the experienced reader, the sensitivity improved significantly from 76.0% for the without-CAD mode to 87.0% for the combined-CAD mode (P=.045). The NPV and accuracy moderately improved from 85.8% and 86.3% to 91.0% (P=.27) and 87.0% (P=.84), respectively. The specificity and positive predictive value decreased from 87.4% to 81.3% (P=.25) and from 87.2% to 93.0% (P=.16), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: S-Detect is a feasible diagnostic tool that can improve the sensitivity, accuracy, and AUC of the quadri-planes method for both novice and experienced readers while also improving the specificity for the novice reader. It demonstrates important application value in the clinical diagnosis of breast cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR.org.cn 1800019649; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=33094.

Performance of Computer-Aided Diagnosis in Ultrasonography for Detection of Breast Lesions Less and More Than 2 cm: Prospective Comparative Study.

BACKGROUND: Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) is used as an aid tool by radiologists on breast lesion diagnosis in ultrasonography. Previous studies demonstrated that CAD can improve the diagnosis performance of radiologists. However, the optimal use of CAD on breast lesions according to size (below or above 2 cm) has not been assessed. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the performance of different radiologists using CAD to detect breast tumors less and more than 2 cm in size. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 261 consecutive patients (mean age 43 years; age range 17-70 years), including 398 lesions (148 lesions>2 cm, 79 malignant and 69 benign; 250 lesions≤2 cm, 71 malignant and 179 benign) with breast mass as the prominent symptom. One novice radiologist with 1 year of ultrasonography experience and one experienced radiologist with 5 years of ultrasonography experience were each assigned to read the ultrasonography images without CAD, and then again at a second reading while applying the CAD S-Detect. We then compared the diagnostic performance of the readers in the two readings (without and combined with CAD) with breast imaging. The McNemar test for paired data was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: For the novice reader, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) improved from 0.74 (95% CI 0.67-0.82) from the without-CAD mode to 0.88 (95% CI 0.83-0.93; P<.001) at the combined-CAD mode in lesions≤2 cm. For the experienced reader, the AUC improved from 0.84 (95% CI 0.77-0.90) to 0.90 (95% CI 0.86-0.94; P=.002). In lesions>2 cm, the AUC moderately decreased from 0.81 to 0.80 (novice reader) and from 0.90 to 0.82 (experienced reader). The sensitivity of the novice and experienced reader in lesions≤2 cm improved from 61.97% and 73.23% at the without-CAD mode to 90.14% and 97.18% (both P<.001) at the combined-CAD mode, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: S-Detect is a feasible diagnostic tool that can improve the sensitivity for both novice and experienced readers, while also improving the negative predictive value and AUC for lesions≤2 cm, demonstrating important application value in the clinical diagnosis of breast cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1800019649; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=33094.

The diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in detecting small liver metastasis from breast cancer / 天津医药

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in detecting small liver metastasis (SLM) from breast cancer. Methods A total of 92 cases diagnosed as breast cancer by surgical pathology and suspected SLM by conventional ultrasonography were included in this study. CEUS was used to check liver lesion in patients. The biopsy operation was used as the gold standard. The coincidence rate of benign and malignant pathology was used to compare the consistency between CEUS and biopsy pathology. Results In 92 cases suspected liver metastases of breast cancer by routine ultrasound, there were 54 cases were diagnosed as benign by pathology, and all 92 cases were diagnosed as benign by CEUS. Thirty-eight cases were diagnosed as metastasis by pathology, in which 36 cases were correctly diagnosed by CEUS. The sensitivity of CEUS for the diagnosis of liver metastases of breast cancer was 94.74%(36/38), specificity was 100%(54/54), positive predictive value (PPV) was 100%(36/36) and negative predictive value (NPV) was 96.43%(54/56). Conclusion CEUS has a higher diagnostic value in SLM of breast cancer, and has clinical practical value.

Only overlapping stents therapy for intracranial vertebral artery dissection aneurysms / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the feasibility, safety, clinical, and angiographic follow-up of only overlapping stents therapy for intracranial vertebral artery dissection aneurysms (VADA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eight consecutive patients (6 men, 2 women; mean age 46.8 years ranging from 34 to 62 years) with intracranial VADA admitted to Department of Neurology, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from June 2008 to June 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were diagnosed intracranial VADA by MRI or digital subtraction angiography (DSA). All patients were treated by only overlapping stents therapy under general anesthesia. In the endovascular treatment process 2 to 3 Solitaire, Neuroform or Wingspan self-expandable stents were overlapping implanted in the segment of the aneurysms. All patients received routine antiplatelet therapy before and after endovascular treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The operative procedures were succeeded in all patients. Eight patients were implanted 18 stents (2 patients, 3 stents; 6 patients, 2 stents). The stents were located accurately and implanted smoothly, none perioperative complications occurred. All patients lived and worked normally and had no recurrent symptoms on follow-up of 6 to 48 months. All patients performed DSA reexamination on follow-up. The aneurysm blocked in 2 patients, the size lessened in 2 patients, and the size had no change in 3 patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Only overlapping stents therapy for treating intracranial VADA is feasible and has good operation safety. Preliminary follow-up results show that it can reduce the probability of thrombosis or hemorrhage and can improve the patients' life quality.</p>

Short term effect of multiple stents parallel placement and reconstruction technique for the treatment of giant fusiform vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the feasibility,safety and follow-up results of multiple stents parallel placement and reconstruction technique for treating giant vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five consecutive patients with giant fusiform vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms in Department of Neurology,Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital were retrospectively reviewed from April 2011 to October 2013. All patients were diagnosed vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms by MRI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA), the aneurysm size ranged 8.2-15.0 mm. All patients were treated by multiple stents parallel placement and reconstruction technique under general anesthesia. In the endovascular treatment process, 2-3 Solitaire or Neuroform self-expandable stents were parallel implanted in the maximum extension segment of the aneurysms to reconstruct the cavity of the aneurysm and solved the problem that the diameter of the intracranial stent is less than the diameter of the aneurysms. Multiple stents parallel placement can keep the stents stable in the cavity. The parallel stent can close the dissection as well as strengthen the aneurysm walls to alleviate the vessel pulsative compression of the brain stem. Furthermore, one of the parallel stents was selected for the main blood flow channel. Based on the main channel, telescope technique was used to completely covering the dissection. It can not only prevent the progress of dissection to normal regions, but also be helpful for blood flow channel reconstruction to reduce the hemodynamic disorders. All Patients received routine antiplatelet therapy before and after endovascular treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The operative procedures were succeeded in all patients. Five patients were implanted 18 stents (3 stents in 3 patients; 4 stents in 1 patient; 5 stents in 1 patient; parallel 3 stents in 2 patients; parallel 2 stents in 3 patients). The signs and symptoms of brain stem and posterior group of cranial nerves improved significantly. All patients lived and worked normally and had no recurrent symptoms on follow-up of 6-24 months. All patients performed DSA reexamination at 6-12 months postoperation. The aneurysm size lessened in 2 patients and had no change in 3 patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Multiple stents parallel placement and reconstruction technique for treating giant fusiform vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms is feasible and have good operation safety. It may control the dilatation of the aneurysm and reduce the probability of thrombosis or hemorrhage. It can improve the patients' clinical symptoms and quality of life in short term follow-up. The long term result need for further follow-up.</p>

The diagnostic value of positive 99Tcm-MIBI tumor imaging for thyroid cancer / 中国综合临床

Objective To evaluate the value of positive 99Tcm-MIBI tumor imaging for thyroid cancer diagnosis. Methods Fifty four suspected thyroid cancer patients underwent 99Tcm-O4 and 99Tcm-MIBI combined imaging procedure. The imaging data were confirmed by pathological findings. Results All the 54 cases had single throid nodules, and 25 of which were pathologically malignant. Fifty two cases of nodules were detected by the 99Tcm O4 thyroid static imaging, including 2 hot nodules,4 warm nodules, 10 cool nodules and 36 cold nodules;2 cases were negative by the imaging. Of the 25 malignant thyroid nodules, 16 nodules were visible by 99Tcm-MIBI uptake and were cold nodules;29 exhibited benign thyroid nodules,of which 15 could be seen by 99Tcm-MIBI uptake,including 1 warm nodules,2 cool nodules and 12 cold nodules. The sensitivity, specificity of the combined imaging of 99Tcm O4 and 99Tcm-MIBI were 64. 00% ( 16/25 ) and 48. 28% (14/29). No significant difference was found for the positivity between benign nodules and malignancy nodules by 99Tcm-MIBI tumor imaging ( χ2 = 0. 83, P ＞ 0. 05 ). Conclusion 99Tcm-MIBI tumor imaging is not specific for the diagnosis of thyroid malignancy.

Wenyang Huoxue Recipe up-regulates the expression of angiopoietin-1 mRNA in rats with chronic aristolochic acid nephropathy / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Wenyang Huoxue Recipe (WRHXR), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine for warming yang and promoting blood flow, on the expression of angiopoietin mRNA in rats with chronic aristolochic acid nephropathy induced by Caulis Aristolochia Manshuriensis (CAM) decoction, and to explore the protection mechanism of WYHXR against kidney damage. METHODS: Twenty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group, CAM group and WYHXR-treated group. Rats in the normal control group (n=8) and CAM group (n=10) were intragastrically administered with normal saline 10 ml/(kg.d) or CAM decoction 10 ml/(kg.d) respectively. Rats in the WYHXR-treated group (n=10) were intragastrically administered with WYHXR 30 g/(kg.d) and CAM decoction 10 ml/(kg.d). The expressions of Ang-l and Ang-2 mRNAs were detected by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) after 20-week treatment. RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, the expression of Ang-l mRNA was significantly decreased, and the expression of Ang-2 mRNA was significantly increased in the CAM group (P0.05). Renal pathology showed that renal damage in WYHXR-treated group was significantly reduced as compared with the CAM group. CONCLUSION: WYHXR can up-regulate the expression of Ang-l mRNA, which may be its action mechanism in protecting the kidneys.