The circadian clock is a highly conserved timekeeping system in organisms, which maintains physiological homeostasis by precisely regulating periodic fluctuations in gene expression. Substantial clinical and experimental evidence has established a close association between circadian rhythm disruption and the development of various malignancies. Research has revealed characteristic alterations in the circadian gene expression profiles in tumor tissues, primarily manifested as a dysfunction of core clock components (particularly circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK) and brain and muscle ARNT-like 1 (BMAL1)) and the widespread dysregulation of their downstream target genes. Notably, CLOCK demonstrates non-canonical oncogenic functions, including epigenetic regulation via histone acetyltransferase activity and the circadian-independent modulation of cancer pathways. This review systematically elaborates on the oncogenic mechanisms mediated by CLOCK/BMAL1, encompassing multidimensional effects such as cell cycle control, DNA damage response, metabolic reprogramming, and tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling. Regarding the therapeutic strategies, we focus on cutting-edge approaches such as chrononutritional interventions, chronopharmacological modulation, and treatment regimen optimization, along with a discussion of future perspectives. The research breakthroughs highlighted in this work not only deepen our understanding of the crucial role of circadian regulation in cancer biology but also provide novel insights for the development of chronotherapeutic oncology, particularly through targeting the non-canonical functions of circadian proteins to develop innovative anti-cancer strategies.
Humans ; ARNTL Transcription Factors/physiology* ; Neoplasms/therapy* ; CLOCK Proteins/physiology* ; Circadian Clocks/genetics* ; Animals ; Circadian Rhythm/genetics* ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic

Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of bronchial arterial chemoembolization(BACE)combined with tislelizumab for advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods A total of 30 patients in First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ NSCLC from December 2021 to August 2022 were enrolled in this study.All the patients received BACE,which was followed by 200 mg tislelizumab once every 3 weeks until the disease progressed,or the patient developed intolerable adverse effects,or the investigator decided to terminate this drug treatment.The primary study endpoint was progression-free survival(PFS),and the secondary study endpoints included overall survival(OS),objective response rate(ORR),disease control rate(DCR),safety,and quality of life(QoL).Results The median follow-up time was 12 months(range of 1.5-12 months),the median PFS was 10.5 months(95％CI:7.8-13.2 months),and the median OS was not available.The 3-month,6-month,and 12-month ORRs were 63.3％(95％CI:43.9％-80.1％),56.7％(95％CI:37.4％-74.5％),and 30.4％(95％CI:13.2％-52.9％)respectively.The 3-month,6-month,and 12-month DCRs were 80％(95％CI:61.4％-92.3％),76.7％(95％CI:57.7％-90.1％),and 47.8％(95％CI:26.8％-69.4％)respectively.The expression ratio of PD-L1 ≥50％(HR=0.29,P=0.039),tumor having a single feeding artery(HR=0.35,P=0.028),and completion of＞10 cycles of tislelizumab therapy(HR=0.42,P=0.064)were the protective factors for PFS.No ≥grade Ⅲ treatment-related adverse events(TRAEs)occurred.The common below grade Ⅱ TRAEs were nausea,fever,and cough.After one cycle of treatment,the patient's QoL,including overall quality of life,physical functioning,and emotional functioning,was significantly improved.Conclusion For the treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC,BACE plus tislelizumab has satisfactory clinical efficacy and safety.

Objective:To compare the safety and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with donafenib and programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors and TACE combined with donafenib in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC).Methods:Clinical data of 148 patients with uHCC treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2021 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 127 males and 21 females, aged (56.6±9.9) years. Patients were divided into two groups: the TACE combined with donafenib and PD-1 inhibitors group (TACE+ DP, n=73) and TACE combined with single donafenib (TACE+ D, n=75). The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and the occurrence of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of the two groups of patients were observed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for survival assessment, and the log-rank test was used for comparison. The related factors affecting the prognosis of patients were indentified and analyzed. Results:The median PFS of patients in the TACE+ D group and the TACE+ DP group were 7.2 months (95% CI: 5.7-8.3 months) and 10.5months (95% CI: 8.9-11.3 months), respectively. The median OS was 13.2 months (95% CI: 12.3-13.7 months) and 16.9 months (95% CI: 15.1-19.8 months), respectively. All these differences were statistically significant ( χ2=17.81, 26.92, respectively, both P<0.001). The ORR and DCR of TACE+ DP group were both higher than those in TACE+ D group [53.4% (39/73) vs 36.0% (27/75), χ2=4.55, P=0.031; and 90.4% (66/73) vs 77.3% (58/75), χ2=4.66, P=0.044]. No grade 4 or above adverse events occurred in either the TACE+ DP or the TACE+ D group. The most common treatment-related adverse events in TACE+ D and TACE+ DP group were hand-foot syndrome [46.7% (35/75) vs 49.3% (36/73)], hypertension [26.7% (20/75) vs 30.1% (22/73)], fatigue [22.7% (17/75) vs 24.7% (18/73)], diarrhea [26.7% (20/75) vs 28.8% (21/73)], and thrombocytopenia [25.3% (19/75) vs 28.8% (21/73)]. There was no significant difference in the incidence and severity of TRAEs between the groups ( χ2=0.08, P=0.774). TACE+ DP treatment was a favorable prognostic factor for PFS ( HR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.22-0.49, P<0.001) and OS ( HR=0.19, 95% CI: 0.11-0.33, P<0.001) of patients. Conclusion:Compared to TACE combined with donafenib, TACE combined with donafenib and PD-1 inhibitors, with good efficacy and safety, significantly improved the treatment response and survival in patients with uHCC.

Objective:To compare the safety and efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with donafenib and programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors and TACE combined with donafenib in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC).Methods:Clinical data of 148 patients with uHCC treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2021 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 127 males and 21 females, aged (56.6±9.9) years. Patients were divided into two groups: the TACE combined with donafenib and PD-1 inhibitors group (TACE+ DP, n=73) and TACE combined with single donafenib (TACE+ D, n=75). The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and the occurrence of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of the two groups of patients were observed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for survival assessment, and the log-rank test was used for comparison. The related factors affecting the prognosis of patients were indentified and analyzed. Results:The median PFS of patients in the TACE+ D group and the TACE+ DP group were 7.2 months (95% CI: 5.7-8.3 months) and 10.5months (95% CI: 8.9-11.3 months), respectively. The median OS was 13.2 months (95% CI: 12.3-13.7 months) and 16.9 months (95% CI: 15.1-19.8 months), respectively. All these differences were statistically significant ( χ2=17.81, 26.92, respectively, both P<0.001). The ORR and DCR of TACE+ DP group were both higher than those in TACE+ D group [53.4% (39/73) vs 36.0% (27/75), χ2=4.55, P=0.031; and 90.4% (66/73) vs 77.3% (58/75), χ2=4.66, P=0.044]. No grade 4 or above adverse events occurred in either the TACE+ DP or the TACE+ D group. The most common treatment-related adverse events in TACE+ D and TACE+ DP group were hand-foot syndrome [46.7% (35/75) vs 49.3% (36/73)], hypertension [26.7% (20/75) vs 30.1% (22/73)], fatigue [22.7% (17/75) vs 24.7% (18/73)], diarrhea [26.7% (20/75) vs 28.8% (21/73)], and thrombocytopenia [25.3% (19/75) vs 28.8% (21/73)]. There was no significant difference in the incidence and severity of TRAEs between the groups ( χ2=0.08, P=0.774). TACE+ DP treatment was a favorable prognostic factor for PFS ( HR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.22-0.49, P<0.001) and OS ( HR=0.19, 95% CI: 0.11-0.33, P<0.001) of patients. Conclusion:Compared to TACE combined with donafenib, TACE combined with donafenib and PD-1 inhibitors, with good efficacy and safety, significantly improved the treatment response and survival in patients with uHCC.

Objective:To compare the effects of drug-loaded microsphere TACE (D-TACE) and iodinated oil emulsion TACE (cTACE) on liver fibrosis in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:Clinical data of 113 patients with HCC treated with D-TACE or cTACE at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2019 to September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including 96 males and 17 females, aged (56.8±9.8) years old. According to treatment protocol, patients were divided into two groups: the D-TACE group ( n=57) and the cTACE group ( n=56). Liver fibrosis panel, fibrosis index (FIB-4), aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI), and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) were compared between the groups at four timepoints: pre-treatment, one month after the first TACE, one month after the second TACE, and 12 months after the first TACE. Follow-ups were conducted through outpatient visits or telephone reviews to assess patient survivals. Data including the progression-free survival (PFS) and number of TACE sessions were compared between the two groups. Results:The D-TACE group received 2.84±1.12 sessions of treatment during the observation period, compared to 4.05±1.44 sessions of cTACE group ( t=4.94, P<0.001). The median PFS in D-TACE and cTACE groups were 10.0 and 5.0 months, respectively ( P<0.001). At one month after the second TACE and at 12 months after the first TACE, patients in cTACE group had a higher serum levels of fibrosis markers including hyaluronic acid, type IV collagen, type III procollagen N peptide and laminin than those in D-TACE group (all P<0.05). At the same timepoints, patients in cTACE group also had higher APRI, FIB-4 and LSM than those in D-TACE group (all P<0.05). Conclusion:Compared to cTACE, patients in D-TACE group received fewer sessions of treatment during the first year after initial TACE, and the degree of liver fibrosis was also lower in D-TACE group.

Myocardial dysfunction is the most serious complication of sepsis. Sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (SMD) is often associated with gastrointestinal dysfunction, but its pathophysiological significance remains unclear. The present study found that patients with SMD had higher plasma gastrin concentrations than those without SMD. In mice, knockdown of the gastrin receptor, cholecystokinin B receptor (Cckbr), aggravated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cardiac dysfunction and increased inflammation in the heart, whereas the intravenous administration of gastrin ameliorated SMD and cardiac injury. Macrophage infiltration plays a significant role in SMD because depletion of macrophages by the intravenous injection of clodronate liposomes, 48 h prior to LPS administration, alleviated LPS-induced cardiac injury in Cckbr-deficient mice. The intravenous injection of bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) overexpressing Cckbr reduced LPS-induced myocardial dysfunction. Furthermore, gastrin treatment inhibited toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression through the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPAR-α) signaling pathway in BMMs. Thus, our findings provide insights into the mechanism of the protective role of gastrin/CCKBR in SMD, which could be used to develop new treatment modalities for SMD.

Objective: To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of children with uremia who underwent renal replacement therapy (RRT) and identify the influencing factors for QOL in order to improve the QOL of children with uremia. Methods: Children with ESRD who underwent dialysis or kidney transplantation (KT) at Children's Hospital of Fudan University between November 2016 and October 2017 were enrolled. The children and/or their parents completed and returned the Pediatric QOL Inventory Measurement Models (PedsQL^TM) 4.0 questionnaire. Moreover, the clinical data of these children were collected. According to the way of RRT, children were divided into dialysis group and KT group. The differences of scores between two groups were compared. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting the QOL of children. Results: A total of 79 children undergoing RRT were enrolled. Among them, 48 cases in the dialysis group and 31 cases in the KT group. For children in KT group, the total PedsQL scores of child-self and parent-proxy assessment were higher than those in dialysis group (P<0.05). The total scores for the QOL of child-self and parent-proxy assessment were roughly the same for KT children (P>0.05). The total scores for the QOL of child-self and parent-proxy assessment were different for dialysis children (P=0.05). Short stature (height<3th percentile) and elevated left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were the independent influencing factors for the QOL of child-self and parent-proxy assessment in children undergoing KT, respectively (B=12.162, t=2.681, P<0.05; B=-0.240, t=-4.276, P<0.01). Conclusions QOL was higher in children undergoing KT than those on dialysis. Short stature and elevated LVMI were the independent influencing factors for QOL in children undergoing KT.

Objective To explore the differences of using different analytic quality requirements in the comparable validation of blood cell analysis multi-system range test comparable schemes for establishing appropriate analysis quality standards for laboratory.Methods According to WS/T 407-2012 Guideline for Comparability Verification of Quantitative Results in Medical Institution,the range test comparable method was established.According to different sources of analytic quality requirements from the WS/T 406-2012 Analysis Quality Requirements of Clinical Hematological Detection Routine Items,the US Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (88),GB/T 20470-2006 Requirements of External Quality Assessment for Clinical Laboratories and biological variations,corresponding analysis quality requirements standard was designed.Results With the standards designed by using WS/T 406-2012,CLIA′-88 and GB/T 20470-2006 as the analysis quality requirements,only the comparison results of low concentration levels in 3 items of HBC,PLT and HCT were not passed,while other results all were passed;all results passed the consistency verification by suitably revising the analytic quality requirements of low value concentrations.With the biological variations as the analysis quality requirement,the comparison results in WBC three concentration levels,and HBG high and low concentration levels were passed,but other results were not passed.Conclusion The biological variations analytical quality requirements are relative demanding.Using WS/T 406-2012 Analysis Quality Requirements of Clinical Hematological Detection Routine Items and GB/T 20470-2006 Requirements of External Quality Assessment for Clinical Laboratories,fully considering the suitability of low concentration quality requirements and formulating appropriate analysis quality standards of laboratory are the important contents of laboratory comparable validation scheme.

Objective Plasma circulating DNA can be em-ployed in place of bone marrow examination for the auxiliary diagnosis of leukemia.This study aimed to explore the clinical application of the plasma DNA level in evaluating the effect of chemotherapy on chronic leukemia. Methods We collected blood samples from 52 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) (33 in the chronic phase, 7 in the acceleration phase, and 12 in the blast phase) , 85 with chron-ic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (28 with complete remission, 27 with partial remission, and 30 with no remission), 4 patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL), and 80 healthy subjects.We simultaneously obtained plasma DNA and recombinant plasmid DNA using the BI-LATEST DNA Kit and examined the human β-actin gene and the level of plasmid DNA by real-time quantitative PCR. Results Before chemotherapy, the median value of plasma DNA was 149.46(30.63-496.91)ng/ml in the CML and 101.54(69.10-258.14) ng/ml in the CLL patients, both significantly higher than in the healthy controls (19.05[12.67-25.92]ng/ml) (P<0.01).After chemotherapy, the plasma DNA level of the CML patients was remarkably decreased, but still higher than that of the controls ( P<0.01).The CML patients in the chronic phase showed a markedly higher level of plasma DNA (302.89[93.33-541.52]ng/ml) than those in the blast phase (43.19[23.54-70.03]ng/ml) and acceleration phase (28.11[16.21-92.07]ng/ml) (P<0.05).The CLL patients with CR exhibited a significantly lower level of plasma DNA (24.29[14.64-30.74]ng/ml) than those with PR (106.88 [96.23-143.25]ng/ml) and NR (460.73[284.57-653.38〗ng/ml) (P<0.01), but all dramatically higher than that of the healthy controls (P<0.01) Conclusion The quantification of plasma DNA has a clinical application value in evaluating the effect of chemo-therapy on chronic leukemia.

Objective To discuss the value in quality improvement and continuous improvement through the way for determina-tion of target uncertainty in chemical quantitative detection project and regular evaluation of measurement uncertainty in different phase.Methods Based on the biological variability of quality specification and CNAS-TRL-001:CNAS technical report,to compare the five kinds of determination of target uncertainty.Method 1:the fundamental way(calculate the different levels of target impre-cision and bias);Method 2:biological variation of different grades of total allowable error;Method 3:the relative expanded uncer-tainty evaluation value based on target imprecision and bias;Method 4:the target relative expanded uncertainty based on biological variation of different grades;Method 5:the target relative expanded uncertainty based on the quality index of analysis.We used un-certainty evaluate index(UEI)to review the changes of uncertainty in different phase.Results The 14 conventional chemistry tests in 2013 with metrological traceability and participate in the Ministry of health EQA were as the target.There was no significant difference among the 2,3,4 method,the ratio of which reached the ideal value of uncertaninty target were not significantly different. In method 5,9 projects achieved the target of uncertainty requirements,accounted for 64.3%.TP,ALT,BUN,UA,CK,these5 pro-jects′UEI were less than 0,accounted for 35.7%;other 9 projects′UEI were more than 2.0%.Conclusion Method 5:the target relative expanded uncertainty based on the quality index of analysis which is based on WS/T403-2012 can give consideration to the quality standard of repeatability precision and bias in the laboratory at the same time,and is easy to be accepted for laboratory;method 4:the target relative expanded uncertainty based on biological variation of different grades is in the same way with the eval-uation of test results uncertainty,is better than method 2 and 3;method 1 is the fundamental way,can give the specific reasons when the test results cannot get the target uncertainty.Use UEI to assess the changes of uncertainty in different phase is more sensitive to changes of the test results′accuracy and its usefulness needs to be confirmed in practice.