Comprehensive analysis of the glutathione S-transferase Mu (GSTM) gene family in ovarian cancer identifies prognostic and expression significance.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common types of gynecologic tumor over the world. The Glutathione S-transferase Mu (GSTM) has five members, including GSTM1-5. These GSTMs is involved in cell metabolism and detoxification, but their role in OC remains unknown. Methods: Data from multiple public databases associated with OC and GSTMs were collected. Expression, prognosis, function enrichment, immune infiltration, stemness index, and drug sensitivity analysis was utilized to identify the roles of GSTMs in OC progression. RT-qPCR analysis confirmed the effect of AICAR, AT-7519, PHA-793887 and PI-103 on the mRNA levels of GSTM3/4. Results: GSTM1-5 were decreased in OC samples compared to normal ovary samples. GSTM1/5 were positively correlated with OC prognosis, but GSTM3 was negatively correlated with OC prognosis. Function enrichment analysis indicated GSTMs were involved in glutathione metabolism, drug metabolism, and drug resistance. Immune infiltration analysis indicated GSTM2/3/4 promoted immune escape in OC. GSTM5 was significantly correlated with OC stemness index. GSTM3/4 were remarkedly associated with OC chemoresistance, especially in AICAR, AT-7519, PHA-793887 and PI-103. Conclusion: GSTM3 was negatively correlated with OC prognosis, and associated with OC chemoresistance and immune escape. This gene may serve as potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic target for OC patients.

Diagnostic performance of DCE-MRI, multiparametric MRI and multimodality imaging for discrimination of breast non-mass-like enhancement lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the diagnostic performance of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI, multiparametric MRI (mpMRI), and multimodality imaging (MMI) combining mpMRI and mammography (MG) for discriminating breast non-mass-like enhancement (NME) lesions. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 193 patients with 199 lesions who underwent 3.0 T MRI and MG from January 2017 to December 2019. The features of DCE-MRI, turbo inversion recovery magnitude (TIRM), and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) were assessed by two breast radiologists. Then, all lesions were divided into microcalcification and non-microcalcification groups to assess the features of MG. Comparisons were performed between groups using univariate analyses. Then, multivariate analyses were performed to construct diagnostic models for distinguishing NME lesions. Diagnostic performance was evaluated by using the area under the curve (AUC) and the differences between AUCs were evaluated by using the DeLong test. RESULTS: Overall (n = 199), mpMRI outperformed DCE-MRI alone (AUCmpMRI = 0.924 vs. AUCDCE-MRI = 0.884; p = 0.007). Furthermore, MMI outperformed both mpMRI and MG (the microcalcification group [n = 140]: AUCMMI = 0.997 vs. AUCmpMRI = 0.978, p = 0.018 and AUCMMI = 0.997 vs. AUCMG = 0.912, p < 0.001; the non-microcalcification group [n = 59]: AUCMMI = 0.857 vs. AUCmpMRI = 0.768, p = 0.044 and AUCMMI = 0.857 vs. AUCMG = 0.759, p = 0.039). CONCLUSION & ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: DCE-MRI combined with DWI and TIRM information could improve the diagnostic performance for discriminating NME lesions compared with DCE-MRI alone. Furthermore, MMI combining mpMRI and MG showed better discrimination than both mpMRI and MG.

Comparison on efficacy and the safety evaluation on peripheral facial paralysis treated with electroacupuncture of different waveforms / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To use electroacupuncture (EA) of different waveforms to treat peripheral facial paralysis and assess the clinical efficacies of 3 kinds of EA waveforms (continuous wave, disperse-dense wave and intermittent wave).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty-nine cases of Bell's palsy were randomly divided into a continuous wave group (45 cases), a disperse-dense wave group (40 cases) and an intermittent wave group (44 cases). The acupoints were Dicang (ST 4), Jiache (ST 6), Taiyang (EX-HN 5), Xiaguan (ST 7), Hegu (LI 4), etc. The House-Brackmann (H-B) scale was used in the assessment on the day of the inclusion, in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th sessions of treatment and in 1st and 3rd months of the follow-up visit after the end of treatment separately.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The cured rates were 68.9% (31/45), 60.0% (24/40) and 65.9% (29/44) in the continuous wave group, the disperse-dense wave group and the intermittent wave group separately. The results of the rank sum test showed that the efficacy comparison among the groups did not present the statistically significant difference (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Electroacupuncture achieves the significant clinical efficacy on peripheral facial paralysis and there are no any significant differences in the efficacy among the different waveforms. It is suggested that the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture on the disease has nothing significant correlation with the waveforms.</p>