Objective:To evaluate the relationship between serum neopterin levels and nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its clinical significance. Method:The serum neopterin levels were determined in 54 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC group) and 32 healthy adults (normal group) by ELISA. Result:The serum neopterin levels in NPC group were significantly higher than that of in normal group (P<0.001). The serum neopterin levels in UICC-TNM stages were undifferentiated (P>0.05). The serum neopterin levels in patients with no lymph node metastasis were lower than that of in lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The serum neopterin levels decreased significantly after disappearance of tumor and its lymph node treated by radiotherapy (P<0.01). Conclusion:Cellular immunity mediated by macrophages might be involved in the pathologenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the measurement of the serum neopterin may be a useful objective index to evaluate cellular immunological functions and curative effects.

With the concepts of minimal invasive surgery and precision medicine embedding deeply in modern medicine, traditional clinical treatment strategies are constantly updated due to the rapid progression of medical research. Systematic dissection of the regional lymph nodes is a key component in the surgical therapy of gynecologic malignancies, however it may result in a series of complications, such as lower extremity lymphedema, deep venous thrombosis, immune disorders and so on, which seriously impact the patients' quality of life. The necessity of systematic lymphadenectomy and the extent of lymph nodes resection have always been one of the most controversial issues in gynecologic oncology. In recent years, the extensive application of sentinel lymph node (SLN) technology has been increasingly used in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies, which may provide important guidance on this issue. This article reviews the clinical application status, detection methods, detection efficiency, and current controversies regarding SLN mapping and biopsy in cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and vulvar cancer, discussing the application value of SLN technology in gynecologic oncology.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is not differentiated clinically from other respiratory infections, and intensive care units (ICUs) are vulnerable to in-hospital transmission due to interventions inducing respiratory aerosols.This study evaluated the effectiveness of universal SARS-CoV-2 screening in ICUs in terms of screened-out cases and reduction in anxiety of healthcare personnel (HCP).Materials and Methods: This prospective single-armed observational study was conducted in 2 ICUs of a single hospital. The number of patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by the screening program and healthcare workers in ICUs that visited the SARS-CoV-2 screening clinic or infection clinic were investigated. Results: During the 7-week study period, no positive screening case was reported among a total of 142 patients. Among 86 HCP in the ICUs, only 2 HCP sought medical consultation for SARS-CoV-2 infection during the initial 2 weeks. Conclusion A universal screening program for SARS-CoV-2 infection in ICUs with the coordination of other countermeasures in the hospital was reasonably effective in preventing in-hospital transmission in a pandemic situation and making clinical practices and HCP stable.