Objective:To analyze the clinical value of fine needle aspiration biopsy combined with real-time elastography in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.Methods:From May 2018 to November 2019, 40 patients(58 nodules) with thyroid nodules who underwent fine needle aspiration biopsy and real-time elastography in Heshan People's Hospital were randomly selected, and the results were compared with surgical pathology.Fine needle aspiration biopsy, real-time elastography, and the combined diagnostic value of both were evaluated and the influencing factors were analyzed.Results:Among the 40 cases (58 nodules) of thyroid nodules, 41 nodules (41/58, 70.689%) and 17 nodules (17/58, 29.311%) were benign and malignant.The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, the area under the ROC curve of fine needle biopsy, real-time elastography outside the joint detection were 88.645%, 86.496%, 88.424%, 85.453% and 0.843, respectively, which were higher than the single index, the differences were statistically significant (χ 2=6.131, 5.164, 5.1427.196, 7.668, all P<0.05). The sensitivity(84.3%, 90.2%), specificity (83.4%, 97.9%) of fine needle biopsy combined with real-time ultrasound elastography in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules without merge calcification or Hashimoto's thyroiditis were significantly higher than those in the diagnosis of merged thyroid nodule calcification or Hashimoto's thyroiditis [sensitivity (80.2%, 84.2%), specificity (75.2%, 96.5%)], the differences were statistically significant (χ 2=3.154, 2.166, all P<0.05). Conclusion:Compared with the individual detection indicators, fine needle aspiration biopsy combined with real-time elastography has higher sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules, and thyroid nodules with/without calcification or Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an important factor affecting diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the value of real-time elastography (RTE) in evaluating the characteristics and elasticity index (E-index) changes at different echo level of uterine fibroids before and after radiofrequency ablation (RFA).Methods A total of 43 patients (with 55 lesions) accepted RFA under ultrasound guidance in the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from September 2013 to January 2015.All lesions were confirmed to have no perfusion through ultrasonography 1 h after RFA.The diameter of lesions ranging from 1.0 cm to 3.0 cm (with an average of 1.9± 1.2 cm).Preoperative lesions were classified into 3 groups for comparison based on ultrasonic echo type,group A:hypo echo (n=30);group B:hyper echo (n=12);and group C:mixed echo (n=12).Measured elasticity index E-index and internal uniformity (△ E) were analyzed.Comparisons of E value and△ E value were performed with repeated measures.RTE images features using x2 test of Fisher inspection comparison at the same time differences between groups.Results (1) Before RFA,RTE images showed blue alternating with green with green being dominated accounting for 70％ (21/30).50％ of RTE images in group B were completely covered in blue (6/12),while group C exhibited 53.9％ blue alternating with green with blue being dominated (7/13).There were statistically significant characteristics of RTE images among 3 groups (P ＜ 0.01).1 h after RFA,74.5％ lesions exhibited with blue being dominated (41/55).However,83.6％ (41/55) exhibited with blue 3 months after RFA.The difference in characteristics of RTE among 3 groups displayed no statistical significance (P ＞ 0.05).(2) The comparison of E-index revealed that before RFA,the E value was the lowest in the group A and the highest in the group B,while the group C was between them.There was significant difference between group A and B (F=19.25,P ＜ 0.01).E-index elevated in all the three groups and significant differences were found 1 h,3 month after RFA in comparison with that before RFA in the group A (F=386.75,294.68,both P ＜ 0.01).In addition,significant differences were also found 1 h,3 month after RFA in comparison with the treatment in the group B (F=29.98,45.88,both P ＜ 0.01).As for the group C,there were significant differences in E-index 1 h,3 month after RFA compared with before RFA (F=120.29,139.64,both P ＜ 0.01).3 months after RFA,E-index further elevated in the three groups and no significant inter-group difference was found at the same time points (P ＞ 0.05).(3)Before RFA,the△ E value was lower in group A and group B,while higher in the group C,group C presenting significant difference from group A and B (F=484.68,344.15,both P ＜ 0.01).At 1 h after RFA,△ E value was higher in group A and group C,while lower in group B,with group B showing significant difference from the low and mixed echo groups (F=53.58,94.79,both P ＜ 0.01).Significant difference was observed 1 h after surgery compared to before RFA in group A (F=154.35,P ＜ 0.01).Significant difference was also found 1 h after RFA compared to 3 month after RFA in group A (F=266.85,P ＜ 0.01).As for group C,there were also significant differences in△ E-index before treatment and 1 h after RFA compared with 3 month after RFA (F=103.24,76.53,both P ＜ 0.01).At 3 months after RFA,△ E-index decreased in all three groups.No significant inter-group difference was found at the same time points (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions RTE characteristics and the elasticity index are distinctly different among uterine fibroid at various echo intensities.RTE contributes to judging changes in hardness before and after RFA.The application of RTE for quantitative comparison of lesion hardness and uniformity can be served as the foundation for evaluating therapeutic effects of RFA.

Objective:To explore the prognostic value of PD-L1 expression level in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).Methods:The clinicopathological and survival data of patients with mRCC in our hospital from Jan 2014 to Apr 2016 were retrospectively analyzed including 46 males and 15 females. The median age of these patients was 56 years(range: 29-75 years), with 41 patients ≤60 years and 20 patients >60 years. The baseline data before the systemic therapy showed 36 patients(59.0%)had 1 metastatic organ and 25 patients (41.0%) had equal or more than 2 organs to be metastasized. Among them, 17 patients(27.9%)had lung metastasis and 54 patients(88.5%)had liver metastasis. Abnormal baseline LDH occurred in 4 patients and 52 patients had normal LDH. Favorite and intermediate risk patients categorized by MSKCC risk stratification accounted for 59.6%(34 patients)and 40.4%(23 patients), respectively. Six patients(9.8%)experienced distant metastasis at initial diagnosis, with 4 of them undergoing primary site resection, and the other 55 patients undergoing radical nephrectomy. PD-L1 expression was detected by the immunohistochemical staining method. PD-L1 staining rate ≥1% detected on the tumor cell membrane was defined as positive expression. The correlation between PD-L1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics were compared. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare the differences about DFS and OS under different factors. Cox proportional hazards regression model is used for multivariable analysis of survival data.Results:The detailed pathological types of the 61 patients with renal cell carcinoma were classified as 53 clear cell carcinomas, 3 papillary carcinomas, 1 collecting duct carcinoma, 2 translocation renal cell carcinomas and 2 being unclassified. There were 4, 20, 19 and 9 patients categorized as WHO/ISUP nuclear grade 1, 2, 3 and 4, and 26, 12, 20 and 2 patients were categorized as T 1, T 2, T 3 and T 4 stage, respectively. Five patients had regional lymph node metastasis(N+), and the other 56 patients had no regional lymph node metastasis(N-). The numbers of patients categorized as stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ diseases according to TNM staging system were 20, 11, 21 and 8, respectively. The total PD-L1 positive rate was 24.6%(15/61). The corresponding PD-L1 expression rate of patients with WHO/ISUP nuclear grade 1-4 were 0(0 patient), 5.0%(1 patient), 31.6%(6 patients)and 44.4%(4 patients), respectively; With the increasing WHO/ISUP nuclear grade, the positive rate of PD-L1 gradually escalated with a linear correlation ( P=0.006). The PD-L1 expression of the normal and abnormal LDH group were 19.2%(10 patients)and 75.0%(3 patients), respectively, with significant difference( P=0.035). Univariate analysis of disease-free survival time(DFS)showed that the prognostic factors include PD-L1( P=0.045), age group( P=0.014), WHO/ISUP nuclear grade( P<0.001), T stage( P=0.015), N stage( P=0.026)and TNM stage( P=0.005). However multivariate analysis only suggested WHO/ISUP nuclear grade as the independent prognostic factors for DFS( HR=1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.9, P=0.018). Either in univariate or multivariate analysis, PD-L1 was not a prognostic factor for overall survival (OS)of mRCC patients(univariate analysis: P=0.154; multivariate analysis: P=0.902). The independent prognostic factors of OS include WHO/ISUP nuclear grade( HR=3.0, 95% CI 1.1-8.0, P=0.033)and MSKCC risk stratification( HR=5.9, 95% CI 1.2-29.7, P=0.03). Conclusions:This study showed that the higher the WHO/ISUP nuclear grade of patients with mRCC, the higher the positive rate of PD-L1. PD-L1 expression was not the independent prognostic factor for DFS or OS of mRCC.

[Abstract] Objective: To explore the expression patterns of melanoma lineage antigens and nuclear antigen Ki-67 and their correlations with survival in melanoma patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted to analyze the pathological data of melanoma patients treated at the Department of Melanoma, Peking University Cancer Hospital from February 2008 to August 2020, mainly including the expression patterns of melanoma lineage antigens (S-100, HMB-45, Melan-A) and Ki-67, demographics, clinical features and survival. The correlation between expression patterns of melanoma lineage antigens, Ki-67 and melanoma-specific survival (MSS) was analyzed. Results: In total, 603 patients were included in this study. The median follow-up time was 47.4 months. The positive rates of S-100, HMB, and Melan-A were 92.8%, 92.1% and 90.0%, respectively. The percentages of patients with melanoma lineage antigen scores (S-100, HMB-45 and Melan-A was scored each, as 1 when positive and 0 when negative) of 0, 1, 2, and 3 were 0.5%, 5.0%, 15.6%, and 78.8%, respectively. The percentages of patients with Ki-67 scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 were 43.0%, 36.3%, 16.3%, and 4.5%, respectively. Ki-67 was highly expressed in mucosal and progressive melanomas. In a multivariate analysis, Ki-67 expression was an independent prognostic factor for poorer MSS (HR=1.506, 95%CI: 1.248-1.818, P<0.001) as the incidence of MSS event increased by 50% per 25% increase in Ki-67 expression, whereas there was no statistical correlation between melanoma lineage antigen expression and MSS (HR=0.991, 95%CI: 0.759-1.293, P=0.94). Conclusion: High expressions melanoma lineage antigens are ubiquitous in melanoma tissues, and Ki-67 is an independent prognostic factor for MSS.