OBJECTIVE: To search for ideal bone graft substitute. METHODS: The beta TCP/rhBMP-2 composite was constructed by combining beta-Tricalcium phosphat (beta-TCP) that was prepared by the authors with recombinant human morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) and was implanted into the muscle pouches in the thigh of mice. beta-TCP alone was implanted on the opposite side as controls. At intervals of 1,3,7,14 and 28 days after the implantation, the specimens were obtained, and histologic study and alkaline phosphatase assay (7,14,28 days) were performed. RESULTS: There was a large amount of cartilage and bone formation within the composite, increasing with time; whereas there was no new bone formation where beta-TCP alone was implanted. Besides, the levels of alkaline phosphatase in the beta-TCP/rhBMP-2 implants also were increasing with time and were higher than those in controls. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that beta-TCP/rhBMP-2 composite possesses heterotopic osteoinductive potential.

In recent years, immunotherapy has been used more frequently for metastatic gastric cancer that has progressed after chemotherapy, the most commonly used of which are immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, the efficacy of ICIs varies greatly among different patients. Therefore, more and more studies have been carried out on biomarkers that predict the efficacy of ICIs. Microsatellite instability and Epstein-Barr virus subtype are relatively accurate biomarkers indicating the response rate of ICIs treatment. The predictive roles of programmed death ligand-1 and tumor mutation burden are still controversial. Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte, tumor-associated macrophages, fibrinogen-like-protein 1, alternative promoters and other predictors are also being studied.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can not only prolong the survival time of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a short time, but also achieve a lasting response to the tumor. However, there has been significant heterogeneity in the efficacy of ICIs among patients with different types of NSCLC, and there has been still a lack of universal biomarkers to predict the benefit of ICIs treatment. Inflammation has played a definite role in the occurrence and development of tumors, and a variety of inflammatory markers in serum also have become clinical indicators reflecting immune status, such as lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, serum neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets and other indicators. These inflammatory markers are easy to obtain and are associated with the prognosis of a variety of solid tumors.