AIM: To detect sequence and mutation of K-ras oncogene in tissue and stool DNA of patients with colorectal cancer in order to provide a method of noninvasive and simple colorectal cancer diagnosis. METHODS: DNA was separated and purified from colorectal cancer tissue or stool of patient with colorectal cancer, then the K-ras gene was amplified by PCR and PCR products were cloned, the K-ras gene was sequenced, and the mutation was identified. The expression of color/colorectal cancer antigen was inspected by immunohistochemical technique. Stool sample of patient with colorectal cancer was detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: K-ras gene sequence of the stool was completely same as that of the tissue of the patient;K-ras mutation was detected in one case. There was relativity between the mutation of K-ras gene and the pathology type of colorectal cancer and the expression level of colorectal cancer antigen in stool sample. CONCLUSION: It is feasible that colorectal tumors can be detected by a noninvasive method based on the molecular pathogenesis of the disease. Detecting K-ras gene mutations of stool DNA can provide bases for the screening, early detection, and prognosis to patients with colorectal cancer.

Objective:Recent studies have shown that in contrast to decrease in distal gastric adenocarcinoma (DGA), incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) has increased noticeably in numerous counties. However, the reasons remain unclear. This study evaluated the possible differences in the expression of KLF4, SP1, and Cyclin D1 in AEG and DGA, and explored the potential carcinogenesis of AEG. Methods:Immunohistochemistry was performed on paraffin-embedded tissues to evaluate the pu-tative differences in the expressions of KLF4, SP1, and Cyclin D1 at protein level between AEG (n=58) and DGA (n=47). The patholog-ical significance of these markers between the two groups was also compared and analyzed. Results:The percentage of positive KLF4 expression was significantly lower in DGA than in AEG (P<0.05). Lower KLF4 expression was found both in well-or moderately dif-ferentiated cases and in poorly differentiated cases with DGA compared with their AEG counterparts (P<0.05). However, positive stain-ing for SP1 was significantly higher in DGA (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in the expression of Cyclin D1 between the two groups. Further analysis showed that in DGA, the positive expression of KLF4, SP1, and Cyclin D1 were significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis. In AEG, only Cyclin D1 expression was correlated with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). No correlation was found among the expression of KLF4, SP1, and Cyclin D1 in AEG. In DGA, KLF4 was inversely correlated with SP1 and Cyclin D1 (r=-0.334 and r=-0.341, respectively, P<0.05), and SP1 was positively correlated with Cyclin D1 expression (r=0.340, P<0.05).Conclusion:Different expression patterns and clinicopathological significance of KLF4, SP1, and Cyclin D1 were observed between AEG and DGA, suggesting the putative difference in the carcinogenesis and progression of AEG and DGA.

Aim Toinvestigatetheeffectsoftriptonot-erpene methyl ether ( TME ) , a diterpene derived from the medicinal plant Triptergium wilfordii, on human gastric cancer AGS cell proliferation inhibition and ap-optosisinducedinvitro.Methods MTTassaywas used for screening tumor spectrum and detecting the vi-ability of AGS cells and normal human gastric epitheli-al cells GES-1 . Cell morphology was observed by light microscopy and AO / EB staining. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptotic rate and cell cycle. JC-1 staining and fluorescence probe DCFH-DA were em-ployed to detect the changes of mitochondrial mem-brane potential and reactive oxygen species ( ROS ) . The effect of inhibiting AGS clonogenic survival was as-sayed by the method of plate clone formation. Western blot was used to analyse the expression of caspase-3 , caspase-8,Bcl-2andBax.Results MTTresults showed that TME exhibited significantly higher cytotox-icity to gastric cancer AGS cell line than to noncancer-ous cell line GES-1. IC50 for AGS of 48 h treatment was 23 . 85 μmol · L-1 . TME significantly inhibited colony formation and caused morphological changes in AGS cells. Annexin V-FITC / PI double staining showed the apoptotic rate increased. DCFH-DA stai-ning showed TME resulted in an increase in intracellu-lar ROS levels. Mitochondrial membrane potential de-creased after TME treatment. Western blot results showed that TME increased the proportion of Bax /Bcl-2 , with the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3 . The broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk pre-treatment reduced the expression of caspase-8 and caspase-3. TME enabled AGS cell cycle arrest in G0/G1phase.Conclusion TMEpossessespotenttumor selected toxicity and can induce apoptosis of AGS cells through cell cycle arrest, which is associated with Bcl-2 protein family.

Aim To evaluate the mucosal-protective effects of carboxymethylpachyman( CMP) on Fluorou-racil(5-Fu)-induced mice intestinal mucositis and ex-plore its mechanisms. Methods ICR mice were as-signed randomly to four groups:normal group( n=8;re-ceiving pure water orally for 14 d) ,CMP group( n=8;200 mg·kg-1 CMP for 14 d orally),5-Fu group(n=8;25 mg·kg-1 5-Fu for 7 d,intraperitoneally( i. p. ) , and CMP+5-Fu group( n=8;200 mg·kg-1 CMP for 14 d orally and 25 mg·kg-1 5-Fu for 7 d,i. p. ). At day 14the mice were sacrificed. The intestinal propel-ling rate and the colon length were measured. ROS, GSH and IL-1βcontents,and CAT,GSH-Px activities in homogenate supernatant of PPs were measured by kits for observing the effects of CMP on mice lipid peroxida-tion and intestinal mucosal inflammatory induced by 5-Fu. Colon tissues were used for hematoxylin and eosin ( HE ) staining for the determination of the effect of CMP on mice colon histopathology, immunohistochem-istry for the protein levels of NF-κB and p-p38 . Results CMP significantly extended colon lengths,accelerate the intestinal propelling rates, reduced colonic mucosa epithelium goblet cell loss, inflammatory cells infiltra-tion,and crypt depth shallow induced by 5-Fu. CMP obviously reduced ROS and IL-1β contents, and pre-vented reductions in homogenate supernatant of PPs GSH content, CATand GSH-Px activities by 5-Fu ad-ministration,and also reduced the expression of NF-κB and p-p38 in colon tissues. However, CMP alone had no effect on the colon of normal mice. Conclusion The current study demonstrates that CMP may have sig-nificant protective effects against 5-Fu-induced intesti-nal mucositis. Its mechanism may be related to enhan-cing the antioxidant activity,anti-inflammatory and an-ti-apoptotic effects.

Objective:To investigate the effects of ribonucleic acid for injection Ⅱ, often called RNA Ⅱ for short, combined with chemotherapeutic drug cyclophosphamide (CTX) on the tumor inhibition and survival of sarcoma cell S180 tumor-bearing mice.Methods:The solid transplanted tumor mouse model of sarcoma cell S180 and peritoneal fluid tumor mouse model were established respectively. CTX (25 mg/kg, once for 2 days) alone or combined with low-dose (25 mg/kg, once a day) and medium-dose (50 mg/kg, once a day) RNA Ⅱ were injected intraperitoneally into solid transplanted tumor mice for 10 d. CTX (25 mg/kg, once for 2 days) alone, medium-dose (50 mg/kg, once a day) or high-dose (100 mg/kg, once a day) RNA Ⅱ alone or combined with CTX were injected intraperitoneally into peritoneal effusion tumor mice until all mice died. The two models were set up for modeling groups without drug treatment, 8 mice in each group. The body mass of solid transplanted tumor mice after administration was weighed, the tumor tissue in vivo was taken out and weighed after the mice were executed, and the tumor inhibition rate was calculated. The body mass of peritoneal effusion tumor mice after administration was weighed, the growth rate of body mass was calculated, the survival curve of each group was drawn, and the life extension rate was calculated.Results:(1) Solid transplanted tumor mice: the body mass of mice in each administration group was lower than that in the modeling group after administration. During the administration period, the tumor volume in the modeling group was much higher than that in each administration group. From the 8th day of administration, the tumor volume in vivo in the CTX group began to be larger compared with that in the two combined administration groups. After stopping the administration and killing the mice, the weighing showed that the tumor mass of each administration group was lower than that in the modeling group (all P < 0.01), the tumor mass of CTX + RNA Ⅱ low-dose group and CTX + RNA Ⅱ medium-dose group was lower than that of CTX group (all P < 0.05), and the tumor inhibition rate of the two groups was higher than that of CTX group (83.6%, 77.2% vs. 58.5%). (2) Peritoneal effusion tumor mice: after administration for 12 d, the body mass growth rate of mice in CTX group was increased rapidly and reached the highest, and the body mass growth rate of mice in the two combined administration groups was lower than that in other groups. The life prolongation rates of RNA Ⅱ high-dose group and CTX group were 48.2% and 53.2% respectively, which had the same effect on life prolongation. The life prolongation rate in RNA Ⅱ medium-dose group was 20.9%. The life prolongation rates of CTX + RNA Ⅱ medium-dose group and CTX + RNA Ⅱ high-dose group were 94.2% and 105.0% respectively. Conclusions:RNA Ⅱ combined with CTX can significantly prolong the survival time of sarcoma cell S180 tumor-bearing mice, increase the tumor inhibition rate and improve the quality of life of the mice. Both of them have a synergistic effect.

Obesity is a global public health problem that imposes a heavy economic burden on society. The current main strategies for treating obesity include lifestyle interventions, pharmacological treatments, endoscopic treatments and metabolic surgery. With the development of medical technology, weight reduction by intragastric occupancy devices represented by intragastric balloons and intragastric capsules are gradually emerging. Intragastric balloons are used to reduce weight by occupying the volume of the stomach with balloons filled with different volumes of gas or liquid, among which ReShape, Orbera, Obalon, Elipse and Spatz balloons are gradually used in patients with mild to moderate obesity due to their non-invasive, high safety and reusable advantages. Intragastric capsules are recommended in overweight and obese patients for weight loss through hydrogels with transient superabsorbent swelling properties and completely noninvasive. Both approaches achieve weight loss by limiting gastric volume, increasing satiety and reducing food intake. Despite the presence of adverse gastrointestinal events associated with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distention, they offer new ideas for the non-invasive clinical treatment of obesity.
Humans ; Capsules ; Weight Loss ; Obesity/surgery* ; Overweight ; Stomach/surgery*

Objective:To summarize and analyze the clinical data of Chinese patients with colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R)-related leukoencephalopathy, and clarify the phenotypic and genetic characteristics of Chinese patients.Methods:Medical history of patients with CSF1R-related leukoencephalopathy diagnosed from April 1, 2018 to January 31, 2021 in the department of neurology of 22 hospitals in China was collected, and scores of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), magnetic resonance severity scale were evaluated. Group comparison was performed between male and female patients.Results:A total of 62 patients were included, and the male-female ratio was 1∶1.95. The age of onset was (40.35±8.42) years. Cognitive impairment (82.3%, 51/62) and motor symptoms (77.4%,48/62) were the most common symptoms. The MMSE and MoCA scores were 18.79±7.16 and 13.96±7.23, respectively, and the scores of two scales in male patients (22.06±5.31 and 18.08±5.60) were significantly higher than those in females (15.53±7.41 , t=2.954, P=0.006; 10.15±6.26, t=3.328 , P=0.003). The most common radiographic feature was bilateral asymmetric white matter changes (100.0%), and the magnetic resonance imaging severity scale score was 27.42±11.40, while the white matter lesion score of females (22.94±8.39) was significantly higher than that of males (17.62±8.74 , t=-2.221, P<0.05). A total of 36 CSF1R gene mutations were found in this study, among which c.2381T>C/p.I794T was the hotspot mutation that carried by 17.9% (10/56) of the probands. Conclusions:The core phenotypic characteristics of CSF1R-related leukoencephalopathy in China are progressive motor and cognitive impairment, with bilateral asymmetrical white matter changes. In addition, there exist gender differences clinically, with severer cognitive impairment and imaging changes in female patients. Thirty-six CSF1R gene mutations were found in this study, and c.2381T>C/p. I794T was the hotspot mutation.

Objective:To study the surgical safety and efficacy of preoperative neoadjuvant therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with anti-angiogenic drugs in patients with China liver cancer staging(CNLC)-Ⅱb and Ⅲa resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:The data of 129 patients with Ⅱb and Ⅲa hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to December 2020 were analyzed. All patients were divided into two groups: the neoadjuvant therapy group( n=14,13 males and 1 female,aged (55.4±12.6)years(range:34 to 75 years)) received immune combined targeted therapy before surgery,immune checkpoint inhibitor camrelizumab was administered intravenously at a dose of 200 mg each time,every 2 weeks for 3 cycles,anti-angiogenesis drug apatinib was taken orally and continuously with a dose of 250 mg for 3 weeks and the conventional surgery group( n=115,103 males and 12 females,aged (55.8±12.0)years(range:21 to 83 years)) did not receive antitumor systemic therapy before surgery. There were 3 patients with CNLC-Ⅱb,11 with CNLC-Ⅲa in the neoadjuvant group;28 patients with CNLC-Ⅱb,87 with CNLC-Ⅲa in the conventional group. Student′s t test or rank-sum test was used to compare the differences between two groups for quantitative data, Fisher′s exact probability method was used to compare the differences of proportions between two groups, and Log-rank test was used to compare survival differences between two groups. Results:The 1-year recurrence rate in the neoadjuvant group was 42.9%,and the 1-year recurrence rate in the conventional group was 64.0%,with a statistically significant difference between the two groups(χ2=3.850, P=0.050);The 1-year survival rate in the neoadjuvant group was 100% and that in the conventional group was 74.2%,with a statistically significant difference between the two groups(χ2=5.170, P=0.023). According to the stratified analysis of the number of tumors,for single tumor,the 1-year recurrence rate in the neoadjuvant group was 25.0%,and that in the conventional surgery group was 71.0%,and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(χ2=5.280, P=0.022). For multiple tumors, the 1-year recurrence rate in the neoadjuvant group was 66.7%,and the 1-year recurrence rate in the conventional surgery group was 58.9%,with no significant difference between the two groups(χ2=0.110, P=0.736). The operative time,intraoperative blood loss,and postoperative hospital stay in the neoadjuvant group were similar to those in the conventional group,and their differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions:Immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with anti-angiogenic targeted drugs as a neoadjuvant therapy for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma can reduce the 1-year recurrence rate and improve the 1-year survival rate,especially for those with solitary tumor. Limited by the sample size of the neoadjuvant group,the safety of immune combined targeted therapy before surgery cannot be observed more comprehensively,and further studies will be explored.

Objective:To study the surgical safety and efficacy of preoperative neoadjuvant therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with anti-angiogenic drugs in patients with China liver cancer staging(CNLC)-Ⅱb and Ⅲa resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:The data of 129 patients with Ⅱb and Ⅲa hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to December 2020 were analyzed. All patients were divided into two groups: the neoadjuvant therapy group( n=14,13 males and 1 female,aged (55.4±12.6)years(range:34 to 75 years)) received immune combined targeted therapy before surgery,immune checkpoint inhibitor camrelizumab was administered intravenously at a dose of 200 mg each time,every 2 weeks for 3 cycles,anti-angiogenesis drug apatinib was taken orally and continuously with a dose of 250 mg for 3 weeks and the conventional surgery group( n=115,103 males and 12 females,aged (55.8±12.0)years(range:21 to 83 years)) did not receive antitumor systemic therapy before surgery. There were 3 patients with CNLC-Ⅱb,11 with CNLC-Ⅲa in the neoadjuvant group;28 patients with CNLC-Ⅱb,87 with CNLC-Ⅲa in the conventional group. Student′s t test or rank-sum test was used to compare the differences between two groups for quantitative data, Fisher′s exact probability method was used to compare the differences of proportions between two groups, and Log-rank test was used to compare survival differences between two groups. Results:The 1-year recurrence rate in the neoadjuvant group was 42.9%,and the 1-year recurrence rate in the conventional group was 64.0%,with a statistically significant difference between the two groups(χ2=3.850, P=0.050);The 1-year survival rate in the neoadjuvant group was 100% and that in the conventional group was 74.2%,with a statistically significant difference between the two groups(χ2=5.170, P=0.023). According to the stratified analysis of the number of tumors,for single tumor,the 1-year recurrence rate in the neoadjuvant group was 25.0%,and that in the conventional surgery group was 71.0%,and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(χ2=5.280, P=0.022). For multiple tumors, the 1-year recurrence rate in the neoadjuvant group was 66.7%,and the 1-year recurrence rate in the conventional surgery group was 58.9%,with no significant difference between the two groups(χ2=0.110, P=0.736). The operative time,intraoperative blood loss,and postoperative hospital stay in the neoadjuvant group were similar to those in the conventional group,and their differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions:Immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with anti-angiogenic targeted drugs as a neoadjuvant therapy for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma can reduce the 1-year recurrence rate and improve the 1-year survival rate,especially for those with solitary tumor. Limited by the sample size of the neoadjuvant group,the safety of immune combined targeted therapy before surgery cannot be observed more comprehensively,and further studies will be explored.

The goal of achieving elimination of schistosomiasis across all endemic counties in China by 2030 was proposed in the Outline of the Healthy China 2030 Plan. On June 16, 2023, the Action Plan to Accelerate the Elimination of Schistosomiasis in China (2023—2030) was jointly issued by National Disease Control and Prevention Administration and other 10 ministries, which deployed the targets and key tasks of the national schistosomiasis elimination programme in China. This article describes the progress of the national schistosomiasis control programme, analyzes the opportunities to eliminate schistosomiasis, and proposes targeted recommendations to tackle the challenges of schistosomiasis elimination, so as to accelerate the process towards schistosomiasis elimination and facilitate the building of a healthy China.