Adjuvant TACE may not improve recurrence-free or overall survival in HCC patients with low risk of recurrence after hepatectomy.

Background: To identify whether adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) can improve prognosis in HCC patients with a low risk of recurrence (tumor size ≤ 5 cm, single nodule, no satellites, and no microvascular or macrovascular invasions) after hepatectomy. Methods: The data of 489 HCC patients with a low risk of recurrence after hepatectomy from Shanghai Cancer Center (SHCC) and Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (EHBH) were retrospectively reviewed. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models. The effects of selection bias and confounding factors were balanced using propensity score matching (PSM). Results: In the SHCC cohort, 40 patients (19.9%, 40/201) received adjuvant TACE, and in the EHBH cohort, 113 patients (46.2%, 133/288) received adjuvant TACE. Compared to the patients without adjuvant TACE after hepatectomy, patients receiving adjuvant TACE had significantly shorter RFS (P=0.022; P=0.014) in both cohorts before PSM. However, no significant difference existed in OS (P=0.568; P=0.082). Multivariate analysis revealed that serum alkaline phosphatase and adjuvant TACE were independent prognostic factors for recurrence in both cohorts. Furthermore, significant differences existed in tumor size between the adjuvant TACE and non-adjuvant TACE groups in the SHCC cohort. There were differences in transfusion, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage and tumor-node-metastasis stage in the EHBH cohort. These factors were balanced by PSM. After PSM, patients with adjuvant TACE after hepatectomy still had significantly shorter RFS than those without (P=0.035; P=0.035) in both cohorts, but there was no difference in OS (P=0.638; P=0.159). Adjuvant TACE was the only independent prognostic factor for recurrence in multivariate analysis, with hazard ratios of 1.95 and 1.57. Conclusions: Adjuvant TACE may not improve long-term survival and might promote postoperative recurrence in HCC patients with a low risk of recurrence after hepatectomy.

Value and prognostic factors of repeat hepatectomy for recurrent colorectal liver metastasis.

BACKGROUND: More than 50% of patients with colorectal cancer develop liver metastases. Hepatectomy is the preferred treatment for resectable liver metastases. This review provides a perspective on the utility and relevant prognostic factors of repeat hepatectomy in recurrent colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM). DATA SOURCES: The keywords "recurrent colorectal liver metastases", "recurrent hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer", "liver metastases of colorectal cancer", "repeat hepatectomy", "repeat hepatic resection", "second hepatic resection", and "prognostic factors" were used to retrieve articles published in the PubMed database up to August 2020. Additional articles were identified by a manual search of references from key articles. RESULTS: Despite improvements in surgical methods and perioperative chemotherapy, recurrence remains common in 37%-68% of patients. Standards or guidelines for the treatment of recurrent liver metastases are lacking. Repeat hepatectomy appears to be the best option for patients with resectable metastases. The commonly reported prognostic factors after repeat hepatectomy were R0 resection, carcinoembryonic antigen level, the presence of extrahepatic disease, a short disease-free interval between initial and repeat hepatectomy, the number (> 1) and size (≥ 5 cm) of hepatic lesions, requiring blood transfusion, and no adjuvant chemotherapy after initial hepatectomy. The median overall survival after repeat hepatectomy ranged from 19.3 to 62 months, and the 5-year overall survival ranged from 21% to 73%. Chemotherapy can act as a test for the biological behavior of tumors with the goal of avoiding unnecessary surgery, and a multimodal approach involving aggressive chemotherapy and repeat hepatectomy might be the treatment of choice for patients with early recurrent CRLM. CONCLUSIONS: Repeat hepatectomy is a relatively safe and effective treatment for resectable recurrent CRLM. The presence or absence of prognostic factors might facilitate patient selection to improve short- and long-term outcomes.

A Practical Risk Classification of Early Recurrence in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Microvascular invasion after Hepatectomy: A Decision Tree Analysis.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to establish risk classifications for early recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with microvascular invasion (MVI) after hepatectomy. METHODS: The data of 563 HCC patients with MVI after hepatectomy from two hospitals were retrospectively reviewed. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyse early recurrence. The risk classification for early recurrence was established by using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis and validated by using two independent validation cohorts from two hospitals. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis revealed that four indices, namely, infection of chronic viral hepatitis, MVI classification, tumour size, and serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), were independent prognostic factors for early recurrence in HCC patients with MVI. By CART analysis, MVI classification and serum AFP became the nodes of a decision tree and 3-stratification classifications that satisfactorily determined the risk of early recurrence were established. The area under the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of the classification for early recurrence at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 years were 0.75, 0.73, and 0.71, respectively, which were all significantly higher than three common classic HCC stages (BCLC stage, Chinese stage, and TNM stage). The calibration curves showed good agreement between predictions by classification for early recurrence and actual survival outcomes. These prediction results also were confirmed in the independent internal and external validation cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: The 3 stratification classifications enabled satisfactory risk evaluation of early recurrence in HCC patients with MVI after hepatectomy.

Hepatic resection prolongs overall survival in the selected patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma liver metastases.

BACKGROUND: The role of surgery in nasopharyngeal carcinoma liver metastases (NCLM) remains elusive, and the current application is limited. We aim to investigate whether hepatic resection (HR) of NCLM improves survival compared with non-hepatic resection (NHR) treatment. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-three patients with NCLM from 2007 to 2017 were divided into two groups. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to compare the clinical outcomes. RESULTS: After PSM the median overall survival (OS) and the 1, 3 and 5-year OS rates in HR group were 32.60 months, 86.2%, 37.3% and 37.3%, respectively; while for NHR group these values were 19.57 months, 61.5%, 12.9% and 2.9%, respectively (P = 0.008). Multivariate analysis indicated hepatitis B virus infection (P = 0.029) and hepatic resection (P = 0.018) were independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that hepatectomy yields a survival benefit safely compared with systemic treatments, especially for patients with the size of largest metastasis < 5 cm, unilobar distribution of liver tumor and received unanatomical hepatectomy.

Enhanced recovery after surgery program in the patients undergoing hepatectomy for benign liver lesions.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has shown effectiveness in terms of reducing the hospital stay and cost. However, the benefit of ERAS in patients undergoing hepatectomy for benign liver lesions is still unclear. METHODS: ERAS was implemented in our center since March 1st, 2018. From September 2016 to February 2018, 109 patients were enrolled into the control group, and from March 2018 to June 2019, 124 patients were enrolled into the ERAS group. All the indicators related to operation, liver functions, and postoperative outcomes were included in the analysis. RESULTS: The clinicopathologic baselines were similar in these two groups. A significantly higher proportion of patients underwent laparoscopic surgery in the ERAS group. On the whole, intraoperative blood loss (100.00 mL vs. 200.00 mL, P < 0.001), blood transfusion (3.23% vs. 10.09%, P = 0.033), total bilirubin (17.10 µmol/L vs. 21.00 µmol/L, P = 0.041), D-dimer (2.08 µg/mL vs. 2.57 µg/mL, P = 0.031), postoperative hospital stay (5.00 d vs. 6.00 d, P < 0.001), and postoperative morbidity (16.13% vs. 32.11%, P = 0.008) were significantly shorter or less in the ERAS group than those in the control group. After stratified by operation methods, ERAS group showed significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay in both open and laparoscopic operation (both P < 0.001). In patients underwent open surgery, ERAS group demonstrated significantly shorter operative duration (131.76 ± 8.75 min vs. 160.73 ± 7.23 min, P = 0.016), less intraoperative blood loss (200.00 mL vs. 450.00 mL, P = 0.008) and less postoperative morbidity (16.00% vs. 44.44%, P = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: ERAS program may be safe and effective for the patients underwent hepatectomy, especially open surgery, for benign liver lesions.

Diagnostic role of carbohydrate antigen 72-4 for gastrointestinal malignancy screening in Chinese patients: A prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Over the past decades, carbohydrate antigen 72-4 (CA72-4) was thought to be a tumor marker that was elevated in healthy individuals and patients with malignancies, including gastrointestinal (GI), ovarian, endometrial and lung malignancies. Furthermore, studies found that elevated serum CA72-4 might predict digestive tumors, especially gastric tumors, although there was still neither a sensitive nor specific tumor biomarker for gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CA72-4 in predicting malignancies, especially GC. METHODS: Altogether 403 patients underwent a CA72-4 test after admission to the Department of Gastroenterology in Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, from 1 June 2015 to 31 October 2015. Their age and sex, main symptoms, and final diagnoses were summarized. RESULTS: The positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of CA72-4 for diagnosing GC were 31.58%, 79.17%, 1.70, and 0.97, respectively. In the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the area under the ROC curve for discriminating between patients with GC and those without was 0.62. CONCLUSION: Performing a CA72-4 test on its own is of little use for predicting malignances, especially GC, in patients with GI diseases.

Simvastatin decreases hyperbaric oxygen-induced acute lung injury by upregulating eNOS.

Statins, which are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase competitive inhibitors, not only lower blood cholesterol but also exert pleiotropic and beneficial effects in various diseases. However, the effects of statins on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) have not been investigated. The present study is the first to investigate the effects of simvastatin in ALI induced by HBO in 8- to 9-wk-old C57BL/6 mice exposed to 0.23 MPa [=2.3 atmosphere absolute (ATA)] hyperoxia (≥95% O2) for 6 h. Mice were either given simvastatin (20 mg·kg·-1·day-1) in saline or a saline vehicle for 3 days before oxygen exposure. Lung tissue, serum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected for analysis of proapoptotic proteins, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and lung inflammation. Simvastatin treatment significantly reduced lung permeability, serum LDL-C levels, tissue apoptosis, and inflammation. However, simvastatin treatment had no effect on antioxidant enzyme activity, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (NADPH4) expression, and Akt phosphorylation levels. Furthermore, we investigated the role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in simvastatin protection through inhibiting eNOS activity with NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME; 20 mg/kg). Results showed that the beneficial effects of simvastatin on ALI induced by HBO (antiinflammatory, antiapoptotic, lipid lowering, and reduction in lung permeability) were reversed. These results showed that simvastatin curbs HBO-induced lung edema, permeability, inflammation, and apoptosis via upregulating eNOS expression and that simvastatin could be an effective therapy to treat prolonged HBO exposure.

[Changes in endothelial progenitor cells and their implications in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome caused by trauma in pigs].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate characteristics of changes in bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and implications on multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) as a result of trauma. METHODS: Eighteen mini-pigs were randomized into two groups: MODS group (n=9) and control group (n=9). The animal models of MODS were reproduced by "two-hit" injury with hemorrhagic shock and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. Bone marrow and peripheral blood of them were collected at five time points: normal condition (T1), before injection of LPS (T2), and 0 (T3), 24 (T4) and 48 hours (T5) after injection of LPS. Erythrocytic lysate was added to the samples, and the number of leucocytes in every sample was counted. The rate of EPCs in each sample was determined by flow cytometry. Number of EPCs in bone marrow and peripheral blood were calculated, and the results were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The number of EPCs (x10(6)/L) in bone marrow of control group at T1-5 was 7.64+/-0.68, 7.32+/-0.55, 7.58+/-1.13, 7.77+/-0.70, and 7.88+/-0.84, respectively, and in peripheral blood control group was 3.54+/-0.26, 4.06+/-0.64, 3.74+/-0.55, 3.61+/-0.37, and 3.98+/-0.63, respectively. The number of EPCs (x10(6)/L) in bone marrow in the experimental group was 7.45+/-1.55, 6.58+/-0.80, 11.27+/-1.20, 10.88+/-1.15, and 8.36+/-2.88, respectively. The number of EPCs (x10(6)/L) in peripheral blood in the experimental group was 3.21+/-0.48, 8.71+/-2.04, 5.98+/-0.77, 1.27+/-0.91, and 2.14+/-0.96, respectively. The number of EPCs in bone marrow of experimental group was larger than that of control group at T3, T4, T5. The number of EPCs in the experimental group in peripheral blood was larger than that of control group at T2, T3, T4, T5. The number of EPCs in bone marrow was larger than that in peripheral blood at every time point (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The number of EPCs in peripheral blood elevates sharply in the earlier period, then plummeted quickly during MODS after a trauma. While the number of EPCs in bone marrow descends mildly at first, then rises obviously. Along with the aggravation of MODS, a declination of EPCs in bone marrow emerges. The change in bone marrow EPCs plays an important role in recovery of MODS.

[Influences of the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen activated protein kinase on gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in pigs].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate that the phosphorylation of the p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) influences gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in pigs. METHODS: Thirty pigs were divided into MODS group and control group, and an animal model of MODS of "two-hit" injury, including hemorrhagic shock and endotoxemia, was reproduced. The content of p38MAPK's phosphorylation was assessed with Western blotting. TNF-alpha mRNA in peripheral blood monocytes was assayed with real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). TNF-alpha was monitored in the peripheral blood plasma with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Phosphorylation of p38MAPK was obviously increased in extent, which enhanced gene expression of TNF-alpha and then secretion of TNF-alpha by the peripheral blood mononuclear cell in MODS, and the differences were statistically significant compared with that of control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION: p38MAPK's phosphorylation is important in pathogenesis of MODS, and phosphorylation of p38MAPK can enhance TNF-alpha mRNA transcription and secretion of TNF-alpha from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which is the mechanism of increased TNF-alpha in MODS.