The postoperative pathological staging system (pTNM) has become an important reference for the selection of various tumor treatment strategies and prognosis evaluation at a global scale, and is a powerful predictor of the prognosis of a variety of solid tumors, but the prognosis is still different in patients with the same pTNM staging. In recent years, studies have confirmed that the negative lymph nodes count (NLNC) is related to the prognosis of a variety of solid tumors. Higher NLNC can improve the prognosis of cancer patients, and NLNC can reduce staging migration, which is expected to be a supplement to the pTNM staging system. This article reviews the value of NLNC in the prognosis of solid tumors.

Objective To explore the influence of negative lymph node count (NLNC) on the prognosis of patients with gastric signet ring cell carcinoma (GSRC) and develop a prognostic nomogram based on NLNC. Methods On the basis of the SEER database, 2 101 patients diagnosed with GSRC were collected and randomly divided into the modeling group and validation group to test the relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and the prognosis of GSRC. The multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the independent risk factors affecting overall survival and establish a prognostic prediction model. The consistency index (C-index), calibration curve, net reclassification index (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the accuracy and clinical applicability of the nomogram. Results All patients were divided according to the ratio of 7:3, with 1 473 in the modeling group and 628 in the validation group. NLNC > 10 (HR=0.578, 95%CI: 0.504-0.662, P < 0.001) was a protective factor for the prognosis of patients with GSRC, and the nomogram model was established based on multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. The C-index values of the nomogram were 0.737 (95%CI: 0.720-0.753) and 0.724 (95%CI: 0.699-0.749) in the modeling and validation groups, respectively, showing good discrimination. The calibration curves showed high consistency of the model. NRI=17.77%, continuous NRI=36.34%, and IDI=4.2% indicated that the model had positive returns compared with the traditional model. The DCA was far from the baseline, indicating that the model had good clinical applicability. Conclusion The increase in NLNC is a favorable factor for the prognosis of patients with GSRC, and a relatively accurate nomogram was established to predict the prognosis of patients with GSRC and help clinicians conduct individualized prognostic evaluations.

Objective:To provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of hepatic cystic echinococcosis by analyzing the clinical characteristics of these patients.Methods:Clinical data of 15 patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis hospitalized in the Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from April 22, 2019 to March 5, 2022 were collected. The general data, clinical manifestations, abdominal imaging results, treatment and outcome of the included patients were retrospectively analyzed.Results:The age of 15 patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis ranged from 39 to 78 years, with a median age of 51 years. Among the 15 patients, 12 were farmers, two were freelance workers, and one was unknown. Eleven patients presented with abdominal pain and fatigue, one patient presented with obstructive jaundice, and three patients whom were found by physical examination did not complain of obvious discomfort. Echinococcoid cysts were located at the right lobe of the liver in eight patients, at the left lobe of the liver in five patients, and with multiple lesions in the left and right lobes of the liver in two patients. Two patients received conservative therapy. All the 13 patients who received surgical treatment recovered without complications, such as biliary fistula and subphrenic infection. The clinical symptoms including abdominal pain and fatigue were relieved significantly after surgery. The hospital stay were four to 23 days. All patients were administrated with albendazole (400 mg once daily).Conclusions:Hepatic cystic echinococcosis is more common in the right lobe of the liver, with atypical clinical symptoms. Preoperative imaging diagnosis and postoperative pathological examination are necessary for diagnosis. Surgery is the most effective treatment at present, and albendazole should be taken regularly in all patients.