Objective Brain metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) significantly reduces the survival time of the patients, and no effective tool is yet available for the prediction of the risk.This study aimed to develop an effective and feasible nomogram for predicting brain metastasis of NSCLC after radical surgery.Methods This retrospective study included 636 cases of NSCLC treated by radical resection of the tumor in our hospitals between January 2010 and January 2014.Based on the analysis of the risk factors for brain metastasis, we developed a nomogram using logistic regression with the R-language, calculated the confidence interval (CI) of the C-index using the bootstrap, and then internally verified the overfitting degree of the model to evaluate its stability.Results Brain metastasis developed in 94 of the 636 patients.According to the results logistic regression analysis, the risk factors for brain metastasis included history of cigarette smoking (OR=1.783, 95% CI: 1.037-3.066), pathological types (OR=0.453, 95% CI: 0.275-0.744), the T stage (OR=2.047, 95% CI: 1.511-2.774), and the N stage (OR=1.588, 95% CI: 1.154-2.184).The nomogram showed a coefficient of coincidence of 0.73 (0.71-0.82) and a mean absolute error rate of 0.012, which indicated an excellent stability.Conclusion The nomogram we developed can be used to predict the risk of brain metastasis in individual NSCLC patients after surgery, contributing to follow-up programs and preventive strategies for brain metastasis.

Objective:To investigate the expressions and clinical significances of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) and tubulin β3 (TUBB3) in patients with gastric cancer, so as to provide a basis for accurate diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.Methods:The data of 46 hospitalized patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastroscopebiopsy or operation in Maanshan People's Hospital in Anhui Province from December 2018 to May 2020 were collected. The expressions of BRCA1 and TUBB3 in tumor tissues and peritumoral tissues were determined by immunohistochemistry. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect BRCA1 and TUBB3 mRNA expressions in tumor tissues and peritumoral tissues. The correlations between expressions of BRCA1 and TUBB3 in gastric cancer tissues and clinicopathologic features were analyzed.Results:The positive rates of BRCA1 and TUBB3 proteins in gastric cancer tissues were higher than those in peritumoral tissues [43.5% (20/46) vs. 16.7% (5/30), 65.2% (30/46) vs. 6.7% (2/30), both P < 0.05]. qRT-PCR showed that the relative expression of BRCA1 mRNA in gastric cancer tissues was higher than that in peritumoral tissues (15.5±6.8 vs. 5.0±1.6, t = 9.41, P < 0.01); the relative expression of TUBB3 mRNA in gastric cancer tissues was higher than that in peritumoral tissues (22.1±6.3 vs. 5.7±1.9, t = 3.51, P < 0.01). The positive rate of TUBB3 protein in female patients was lower than that in male patients [15.4% (2/13) vs. 84.8% (28/33)], the positive rate of BRCA1 protein in patients with positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was higher than that in patients with negative HER2 [87.5% (7/8) vs. 47.4% (18/38)], the positive rate of BRCA1 protein in patients with family history was higher than that in patients without family history [85.7% (6/7) vs. 35.9% (14/39)], and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The positive expressions of BRCA1 and TUBB3 proteins in gastric cancer tissues were both correlated with tumor stage and differentiation (all P < 0.05), and the expressions of BRCA1 and TUBB3 proteins were correlated ( χ2 = 33.52, P < 0.01). Conclusions:BRCA1 and TUBB3 may be related to the occurrence and development of gastric cancer, and there may be a certain relationship between BRCA1 and TUBB3, BRCA1 and HER2. BRCA1 and TUBB3 may have significances in the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.