Objective To investigate the differential diagnostic features of subtypes of renal cell carcinoma(RCC) using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI(DCE-MRI).Methods The MRI appearances of 77 RCCs, including 55 clear cell RCCs(CCRCC),14 papillary RCCs(PRCC) and 8 chromophobe RCCs(CRCC), were retrospectively analyzed and compared with findings of pathology. DCE-MRI was conducted in each case after intravenous administration of contrast agent. Region of interest measurements (cortical, nephrographic and delayed Phases) of signals within tumor and uninvolved renal cortex were used to calculate percentage signal intensity change and tumor-to-cortex enhancement index, and the data was analyzed by AVONA and t test. Results On unenhanced and enhanced MRI, most CRCCs showed homogeneous signal(7/8). CCRCC and PRCC often show inhomogenous signal with necrosis(36/55, 7/14). Hemorrhage and cystic degeneration were often found in PRCC (9/14). On the cortical, nephrographic and delayed phase images, CCRCCs showed greater signal intensity change[(296.15±60.27)%, (236.33±58.31)% and (216.83±46.72)%,respectively than PRCCs (79.70±18.84)%, (122.81±27.35)% and (117.55±20.63)%, respectively], and CRCCs showed intermediate change [(119.56±40.76)%, (163.06±33.91)% and (179.72±32.89)%, respectively].A phenomenon of quick staining and quick fainting was observed in CCRCCs. Both of CRCCs and PRCCs showed delayed enhancement. The tumor-to-cortex enhancement index at the cortical, nephrographic and delayed phases was highest for CCRCCs (1.26±0.34, 0.92±0.23 and 0.76±0.14, respectively), lowest for PRCCs (0.33±0.12, 0.41±0.23 and 0.35±0.11, respectively), and intermediate for CRCCs (0.54±0.10, 0.62±0.15 and 0.69±0.12, respectively,P＜0.01). The degree of enhancement was significantly different among the 3 subtypes at the every contrast enhanced phase (F=940.931, 124.515 and 38.194, P＜0.01), so was the tumor-to-cortex enhancement index(F=798.625,78.308 and 73.699, P＜0.01). There was a good consistency between MR appearances of the 3 RCC subtypes and pathological characteristics. Conclusion DCE-MRI could distinctly show imaging features of CCRCC, PRCC and CRCC, which were related to their pathological characteristics, and these features were helpful in predicting a specific subtype of RCC.

Objective:To explore the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of pancreatic gastrointestinal interstitial tumors(pGISTs).Methods:Three cases of pGISTs diagnosed in the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from August 2015 to October 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. Relevant literatures at home and abroad were searched and reviewed through PubMed, China knowledge Network, Wanfang and VIP databases. The sex, age, tumor size, tumor location, cystic or solid tumor, mode of treatment, mitosis, gene mutation, survival status and survival time were recorded, and the correlation between tumor cystic-solid characteristics and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier′s method was used to calculate the overall survival (OS) rate and disease-free survival (DFS) rate. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to analyze the independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of pGISTs.Results:In this group, 3 cases were combined with 71 cases reported in the literature, and a total of 74 cases of pGISTs were included. Among them, 36 cases were male and 38 were female, the age of onset was 55(19-84) years, and the diameter of the tumor was 8 cm(2-35 cm). The tumor location of 71 patients was recorded by literature; 30 cases (42.3%) were located in the head of the pancreas. The solid-cystic characteristics of tumor in 63 patients were recorded by literature, and 33 cases (52.4%) were solid. The mode of treatment of 74 patients was recorded, and 60 cases (81.1%) underwent radical resection. The mitosis figures of 59 patients were recorded, and 33 cases (55.9%) were <5/50 high power field of vision (HPF). The gene mutation of 14 patients was recorded, and 11 cases (78.6%) were c-kit exon gene mutation. Correlation analysis showed that the cystic-solid characteristics of the tumor were significantly correlated with tumor location, tumor diameter and mitosis figures, but not with age, sex, histological type, Ki-67 index and modification National Institutes of Health(mNIH) classification. The 5-year OS rate of 51 patients after radical resection was 88.8%, and the 5-year DFS rate was 60.3%. The 1-year OS rate of patients receiving palliative treatment was 51.9%, and the 1-year fatality rate was 33.3%. Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that male ( P=0.083), mitosis figures >5/50 HPF ( P=0.008)and CD 34 negative ( P=0.055)were risk factors for postoperative recurrence of pGISTs, while multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that mitosis figures >5/50 HPF ( P=0.023)was an independent risk factor for the prognosis of pGISTs. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with mitosis figures ≤5/50 HPF had a higher survival rate ( P=0.0003), but there was no significant difference on prognosis between patients with 10/50 HPF and >10/50 HPF( P=0.3075). Conclusions:pGISTs usually occured in the head of pancreas, and the tumor volume was usually found to be large. The main treatment was radical operation, and the main mutation type was exon mutation of c-kit gene. Nuclear fission image figures >5/50HPF was an independent risk factor for postoperative recurrence.

Background and purpose:Rectal cancer is one of the malignant tumors that seriously harm human health in the world,ranking third in incidence and second in mortality.With the development of social and economic level,the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer in China are increasing,and China becomes one of the countries with high incidence of colorectal cancer disease in the world.The recommended treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer is neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy combined with surgery,which greatly improves the prognosis of patients.However,intestinal adverse reactions such as diarrhea caused by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy are increased,and some patients are forced to delay or interrupt treatment due to serious side effects.Amifostine is a broad-spectrum normal cell protective agent,which has good protective effect against various radiochemotherapy toxicity.We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant radiotherapy combined with irinotecan concurrent chemotherapy to investigate whether concurrent use of amifostine alleviated gastrointestinal and hematological toxicities.Methods:A retrospective cohort analysis was used in this study.Clinical data of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy at the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Fudan University during the period of discharge from January 1,2018 to December 31,2019 were retrospectively collected.The patients were divided into 2 groups by whether amifostine was used during the same period.The main purpose of the study was to analyze whether amifostine can reduce gastrointestinal and hematological toxicities,and secondary objectives included whether amifostine could alter tumor marker levels,mesorectal fascia invasion(MRF)positive rate,extramural vascular invasion,positive rate of EMVI and pathological complete response(pCR).Using SAS9.4 statistical software,the normality test was carried out for continuous variables.The rank sum test of Wilcoxon was performed when the diarrhea grade did not conform to normal distribution.Analysis of variance was performed for intra-group comparison,and Wilcoxon rank sum test was performed for inter-group comparison.Because of the imbalance between groups,the difference between the two groups was compared using a generalized linear model.This study strictly followed the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology(STROBE)guidelines to ensure the transparency of the research methodology and the reliability of the results.Results:Finally,154 eligible patients were included,of whom 78 were in the amifostine group and 76 were in the control group.The highest grade of diarrhea in amifostine group was 1.00(1.00,1.00),lower than that in control group(2.00,3.00),and the difference between groups was statistically significant(P＜0.01).After radiotherapy,white blood cell count(WBC),hemoglobin(HB)and absolute neutrophil count(ANC)from the two groups were obtained.ANC and platelet count(PLT)showed no statistically significant difference(P＞0.05),and the lowest values of WBC,RBC and PLT did not have statistically significant difference between the two groups during neoadjuvant period(P＞0.05).Amifostine may not alleviate hematological toxicity.Carbohydrate antigen 72-4(CA72-4)(Z=2.22,P=0.03),carbohydrate antigen 50(CA50)(Z=-2.49,P=0.01)and carbohydrate antigen 24-2(CA24-2)had statistically significant difference(Z=-2.29,P=0.02).There were no significant differences in MRF positive rate(P=0.11),EMVI positive rate(P=0.61)and pCR rate(P=0.94)between the two groups.Conclusion:Concurrent administration of amifostine in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy can reduce gastrointestinal toxicity and reduce the levels of tumor markers CA72-4,CA50 and CA24-2.However,it may have no significant effect on improving hematological toxicity,MRF and EMVI positive rate and pCR rate.

Objective To investigate the changes in eosinophil counts and the activation of microglial cells in the brain tissues of mice at different stages of Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection, and to examine the role of microglia in regulating the progression of angiostrongyliasis and unravel the possible molecular mechanisms. Methods Fifty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the control group and the 7-d, 14-d, 21-day and 25-d infection groups, of 10 mice in each group. All mice in infection groups were infected with 30 stage III A. cantonensis larvae by gavage, and animals in the control group was given an equal amount of physiological saline. Five mice were collected from each of infection groups on days 7, 14, 21 d and 25 d post-infection, and 5 mice were collected from the control group on the day of oral gavage. The general and focal functional impairment was scored using the Clark scoring method to assess the degree of mouse neurological impairment. Five mice from each of infection groups were sacrificed on days 7, 14, 21 d and 25 d post-infection, and 5 mice from the control group were sacrificed on the day of oral gavage. Mouse brain tissues were sampled, and the pathological changes of brain tissues were dynamically observed using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Immunofluorescence staining with eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) was used to assess the degree of eosinophil infiltration and the counts of microglial cells in mouse brain tissues in each group, and the morphological parameters of microglial cells (skeleton analysis and fractal analysis) were quantified by using Image J software to determine the morphological changes of microglial cells. In addition, the expression of M1 microglia markers Fcγ receptor III (Fcgr3), Fcγ receptor IIb (Fcgr2b) and CD86 antigen (Cd86), M2 microglia markers Arginase 1 (Arg1), macrophage mannose receptor C-type 1 (Mrc1), chitinase-like 3 (Chil3), and phagocytosis genes myeloid cell triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (Trem2), CD68 antigen (Cd68), and apolipoprotein E (Apoe) was quantified using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) assay in the mouse cerebral cortex of mice post-infection. Results A large number of A. cantonensis larvae were seen on the mouse meninges surface post-infection, and many neuronal nuclei were crumpled and deeply stained, with a large number of bleeding points in the meninges. The median Clark scores of mouse general functional impairment were 0 (interquartile range, 0), 0 (interquartile range, 0.5), 6 (interquartile range, 1.0), 14 (interquartile range, 8.5) points and 20 (interquartile range, 9.0) points in the control group and the 7-d, 14-d, 21-d and 25-d groups, respectively (H = 22.45, P < 0.01), and the median Clark scores of mouse focal functional impairment were 0 (interquartile range, 0), 2 (interquartile range, 2.5), 7 (interquartile range, 3.0), 18 (interquartile range, 5.0) points and 25 (interquartile range, 6.5) points in the control group and the 7-d, 14-d, 21-d and 25-d groups, respectively (H = 22.72, P < 0.01). The mean scores of mice general and focal functional impairment were all higher in the infection groups than in the control group (all P values < 0.05). Immunofluorescence staining showed a significant difference in the eosinophil counts in mouse brain tissues among the five groups (F = 40.05, P < 0.000 1), and the eosinophil counts were significantly higher in mouse brain tissues in the 14-d (3.08 ± 0.78) and 21-d infection groups (5.97 ± 1.37) than in the control group (1.00 ± 0.28) (both P values < 0.05). Semi-quantitative analysis of microglia immunofluorescence showed a significant difference in the counts of microglial cells among the five groups (F = 17.66, P < 0.000 1), and higher Iba1 levels were detected in mouse brain tissues in 14-d (5.75 ± 1.28), 21-d (6.23 ± 1.89) and 25-d infection groups (3.70 ± 1.30) than in the control group (1.00 ± 0.30) (all P values < 0.05). Skeleton and fractal analyses showed that the branch length [(162.04 ± 34.10) μm vs. (395.37 ± 64.11) μm; t = 5.566, P < 0.05] and fractal dimension of microglial cells (1.30 ± 0.01 vs. 1.41 ± 0.03; t = 5.266, P < 0.05) were reduced in mouse brain tissues in the 21-d infection group relative to the control group. In addition, there were significant differences among the 5 groups in terms of M1 and M2 microglia markers Fcgr3 (F = 48.34, P < 0.05), Fcgr2b (F = 55.46, P < 0.05), Cd86 (F = 24.44, P < 0.05), Arg1 (F = 31.18, P < 0.05), Mrc1 (F = 15.42, P < 0.05) and Chil3 (F = 24.41, P < 0.05), as well as phagocytosis markers Trem2 (F = 21.19, P < 0.05), Cd68 (F = 43.95, P < 0.05) and Apoe (F = 7.12, P < 0.05) in mice brain tissues. Conclusions A. cantonensis infections may induce severe pathological injuries in mouse brain tissues that are characterized by massive eosinophil infiltration and persistent activation of microglia cells, thereby resulting in progressive deterioration of neurological functions.