Objective To detect the expression of MAGE-A9 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to investigate the association between expression of MAGE-A9 and the clinicopathological characteristics of HCC.Methods Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), one-step quantitative-PCR (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) methods were performed to characterize the expression of MAGE-A9 in HCC cell lines and tissues.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression were employed to evaluate the prognosis of 100 HCC patients.Results The expression of MAGE-A9 mRNA in HCC (4.44±0.342) was significantly higher than that in non-cancerous cells and tissues (1.73±0.178) (P ＜ 0.05).The expression level of the MAGE-A9 protein in HCC was related to the pathological grade (P =0.003), portal vein invasion (P =0.001), distant metastasis (P =0.022) and TNM stage (P =0.005).Cox regression analysis revealed that MAGE-A9 expression is an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival (P =0.006) and overall survival (P =0.022).Conclusion MAGE-A9 is a valuable prognostic biomarker for HCC patients, and its high expression suggests unfavorable survival outcomes in HCC patients.

Objective To screen the optimal dose of Tangtong Formula in vitro. Methods RSC96 Schwann Cells were cultivate by DMEM mediums which contains different concentrations of glucose (5–125 mmol/L). The prevention effects of Tangtong Formula at different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0 mg/mL) on the proliferation of RSC96 Schwann Cells induced by high glucose were detected. After the RSC96 Schwann Cells were cultivated in 100 mmol/L and 125 mmol/L high glucose mediums for 72 h, the apoptosis of RSC96 Schwann Cells was detected by flow cytometry Annexin V/PI, and the apoptosis rate was calculate; the proliferation situation of RSC96 Schwann cells in different times was detected by CCK-8 method. Results RSC96 Schwann cells were in apoptosis after being intervened by 100 mmol/L and 125 mmol/L high glucose mediums. The apoptosis rates were respectively(7.46±0.96)％ and(16.53±1.01)％, with statistical significance compared with control group (P<0.01). Different concentrations of Tangtong Formula could alleviate the inhibitory effect of high glucose on the proliferation of RSC96 Schwann cells, and the threshold concentration of Tangtong Formula in 24 h was 0.25 mg/mL. The concentrations of Tangtong Formula in 0.5 mg/mL, 1.0 mg/mL, and 1.5 mg/mL could inhibit the apoptosis of RSC96 Schwann cells induced by high glucos, compared with 125 mmol/L high glucose group, the apoptosis rate of RSC96 Schwann cells decreased significantly (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion Among three different doses, when the dose of Tangtong Formula is in 1.5 mg/mL, the effects on inhibiting apoptosis are the best.

Objective:To compare the dosimetric parameters and plan complexity between newly-delicated HyperArc (HA) and conventional volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in the treatment of brain metastases.Methods:For 26 patients with brain metastases, HA, conventional coplanar (Cop) and non-coplanar (Non-cop) VMAT plans with a prescription dose of 9 Gy 3fx or 6 Gy 5fx were generated. The dosimetric parameters for planning target volume (PTV), RTOG conformity index (RTOG CI), Paddick CI, homogeneity index (HI), gradient index (GI), maximum dose (D max) of brainstem and dose-volume parameters of brain-PTV(V 2Gy-V 26Gy) were statisticaly compared among these three approaches. In addition, the monitor unit (MU) and the plan complexity parameters (including MCSv and AlPO) were statistically compared. Results:To prevent missed targets during treatment, all plans were established with RTOG CI of greater than 1.1. For Paddick CI, HA provided significantly higher conformity (0.89±0.019) than Non-cop (0.87±0.036, P=0.001) and Cop (0.88±0.017, P=0.003) VMAT. For GI, the fastest dose fall-off was noted in HA (3.35±0.64), followed by conventional Non-cop VMAT of (3.70±0.80), and conventional Cop VMAT of (4.90±1.85)(all P<0.05). For the brainstem sparing, HA plan performed better than Non-cop plan[(604.14±531.61) cGy vs.(682.75±558.22) cGy, P<0.05)]. For normal brain tissue sparing, HA approach showed significant reduction than conventional Cop and Non-cop VMAT (both P<0.05). For MU, HA approach (2 872.60 ± 566.93) was significantly lower than those of Non-cop VMAT (3 771.28 ± 1 022.38, P<0.05) and Cop VMAT (4 494.08 ± 1 323.09, P<0.05). In terms of plan complexity, the MCSv of Cop plan was the lowest, indicating that the complexity was the highest ( P<0.05). The AlPO of HA was significantly higher than that of Non-cop VMAT ( P<0.05), suggesting that the complexity of HA plan was lower ( P<0.05). Conclusion:For the treatment of brain metastases, HA provides better conformity, more rapid dose fall-off, better sparing of brainstem and normal brain tissues and less plan complexity compared with conventional VMAT.

Objective:To help clinicians simplify the post-processing operations of structures by developing rapid processing software for target area and organs at risk structures based on ESAPI.Methods:SmartStructure script software was developed based on ESAPI, verified and evaluated in clinical work. 10 cases of rectal cancer receiving neoadjuvant radiotherapy, 10 breast cancer treated with postoperative radiotherapy, 10 cervical cancer receiving postoperative radiotherapy, 10 nasopharyngeal carcinoma receiving radical radiotherapy and 10 lung stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) were selected, and different types of tumors had different post-processing operations of structures. In each case, three methods were used for post-processing of structures. In the control group (manual group), normal manual processing was employed. In the experimental group 1(SmaStru-N group), scripts without templates were utilized. In the experimental group 2(SmaStru-P group). scripts combined with templates were adopted. The processing time of the three methods was compared. Clinicians scored the scripting software from multiple aspects and compared the feeling scores of scripting software and manual operation.Results:All three methods can be normally applied in clinical settings. The error rate in the manual group was 7.0%, 3.0% in the SmaStru-N group 0% in the SmaStru-P group, respectively. Compared with the manual method, SmaStru-N shortened the processing time of target area and organs at risk by 60.9% and 93.3% for SmaStru-P. In addition, SmartStructure was superior to manual method in terms of using feeling scores. Clinicians gave lower score for the" applicability" and" simplicity" , and higher score on the" accuracy" and" efficiency" .Conclusions:Compared with conventional manual structure processing method, SmartStructure software can rapidly and accurately process all structures of the target area and organs at risk, and its advantages become more obvious with the increasing number of structures that need to be processed. SmartStructure software can meet clinical requirements, reduce the error rate, elevate processing speed, improve the working efficiency of clinicians, providing basis for the development of adaptive radiotherapy.

Objective    To study the clinical characteristics of overseas imported and related local COVID-19 patients in Chengdu. Methods    Fifty overseas imported patients who were Chinese and 14 related local patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu from November to December 2020 were selected. The epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, auxiliary examination, treatment and prognosis were summarized and analyzed. Results    The local group were older, and they were mostly elderly and females (P≤0.05). Compared with the imported group, the proportion of the local group was higher in heart disease and tumor. More patients had cough, fever and expectoration symptoms (P≤0.05). C-reactive protein, fasting blood glucose and fibrinogen were higher, and the lymphocyte count, blood platelet count, CD3+ T lymphocyte count, CD4+ T lymphocyte count, CD8+ T lymphocyte count were lower. The positive rate of novel coronavirus total antibody, IgG antibody and IgM antibody in the imported group were higher than those in the local group (P≤0.05). The negative conversion time of the median nucleic acid was shorter than that of local patients (P≤0.05). Conclusion    There are differences in sex ratio, age, complications, clinical manifestations, lymphocyte measurement value, T lymphocyte count and negative conversion time of nucleic acid between overseas imported and local COVID-19 patients in Chengdu. The local patients are mostly elderly and have more complicated conditions, but all of them have good prognosis.