Clinically,transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)plays a crucial role in the treatment of intermediate-advanced stage hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),and it is the most widely used therapeutic approach in clinical practice.Based on the fact that the hypoxic environment inside the tumor after TACE leads to an increase of the vascular endothelial growth factor,thereby increasing the risk of tumor progression,TACE combined with anti-angiogenic agents might theoretically have a synergistic effect.Nevertheless,most trials on this topic have failed.In recent years,immunotherapy-based systemic therapy has made breakthrough in the field of HCC treatment,which not only promotes TACE treatment,but also makes physicians to face the challenges of new general systemic treatment.Considering that the two treatments may have potential synergistic mechanism,the combination use of TACE and immunotherapy-based systemic therapy may be superior to the use of only one of the two treatment methods in improving the curative effect in patients with intermediate-advanced stage HCC.This article aims to make a detailed review about the current evidence in the field of TACE-based combination therapies and to discuss the published and ongoing trials concerning the combination use of TACE and systemic treatments,focusing on the synergistic efficacy and the important role of TACE-based combination therapies in treating patients with intermediate-advanced-stage HCC.

Being a minimally-invasive surgery,the transcatheter arterial embolization treats tumor and vascular diseases mainly through the way of selective endovascular obstruction.Clinically,a variety of embolic agents are available,which include solid embolic agents,liquid embolic agents,and embolic devices.Owing to the consistency of particle size and controllable delivery,the solid embolic agents,especially microspheres-based embolic agents,can effectively achieve the accurate embolization of the tumor blood vessels.Such embolic agents can not only obstruct blood flow but also carry effective anticancer drugs which can be released at the same time of embolization procedure,thus,enhancing the therapeutic effect.Besides,embolic microspheres containing radiopaque components such as iodine,barium,and tantalum,can achieve inherent traceability and monitor the real-time location of embolic agent within body,providing timely information feedback to physicians.As the first part of the topic,this paper makes a comprehensive review about the recent advances in solid embolic agents(focusing on embolic microspheres),aiming to promote the development of this scientific research field.

Being a minimally-invasive procedure,transcatheter arterial embolization can treat tumors and vascular diseases by obstructing the lesion s blood vessels.Embolic agents have been constantly developed so as to meet the requirements in clinical practice.Compared with solid embolic agents,liquid embolic agents and new-type liquid-solid phase conversion type embolic agents have more unique physicochemical properties,which,theoretically,are capable of occluding all the fine vascular branches at the target site.Besides,the microrobot drugs emerging in recent years can be delivered to lesion sites that are difficult to reach in the human body by using multiple external driving sources(such as sound,light,magnetic,etc.),which is of a great advantage in embolization therapy.As the second part of the topic,this paper makes a comprehensive review about the research achievements in embolic equipment,liquid embolic agents and liquid-solid phase conversion type embolic agents,and discusses their characteristics,advantages,clinical application prospects and their shortcomings,aiming to promote the development of this scientific research field.

Objective To analyze the clinical outcomes of extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (MG) patients under different surgical approaches, and to determine the factors affecting the prognosis of MG. Methods The MG patients who underwent extended thymectomy from January 2014 to March 2021 in our hospital were retrospectively collected. According to the surgical approach, they were divided into a subxiphoid group and an intercostal group, and the perioperative results and prognosis were compared between the two groups. A “good outcome” was defined as complete stable remission (CSR), pharmacological remission (PR) or minimal manifestations state (MMS); a “poor outcome” was defined as outcomes worse than MMS. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the factors associated with the good outcomes. Results A total of 187 MG patients were included in the study, including 82 males and 105 females, with a median age of 50 (36, 60) years. There were 134 patients in the intercostal group and 53 patients in the subxiphoid group. Compared with the intercostal group, although the operation time of the subxiphoid group was longer [200.0 (172.0, 232.0) min vs. 141.0 (118.0, 169.0) min, P<0.001], the intraoperative blood loss was less [10.0 (10.0, 20.0) mL vs. 20.0 (10.0, 50.0) mL, P<0.001], the postoperative hospital stay was shorter [3.0 (2.5, 4.0) d vs. 5.0 (3.0, 7.0) d, P<0.001], and the incidence of complications was lower [1 (1.9%) vs. 26 (19.4%), P=0.001]. A total of 159 (85.0%) patients were followed up for a median period of 46 (13, 99) months, with a good outcome rate of 90.6% and CSR rate of 33.3%. There were no statistical differences in PR, MMS or overall good outcome rates between the two groups (P>0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that age≤50 years was an independent predictor for "good outcome" of MG patients. Conclusion Extended thymectomy via subxiphoid for MG is a safe, feasible and effective surgical approach.

Over the past 50 years,the global incidence of obesity has dramatically increased,posing a serious threat to human health.Conventional weight loss methods,such as dieting and exercise therapy,are difficult to obtain a stable and rapid weight-loss effect.Besides,most weight-loss drugs available nowadays are not specifically designed for the pure obese population,they are mainly used for diabetes.The prevalence of traditional bariatric surgery is low,and it carries high surgical costs and high risk of developing complications.Therefore,bariatric artery embolization(BAE),regarded as a new weight-loss therapy,has emerged and it has developed rapidly.BAE can not only achieve long-term weight control,but also provide glycemic benefit to patients with pre-diabetes.Compared with traditional bariatric surgery,BAE has the advantages of less trauma,quick recovery and low risk of postoperative complications.However,there is no unified standard for the selection of intraoperative embolization materials and embolization sites so far,and the postoperative changes of gastric function and the specific mechanism of body metabolism improvement need to be further explored.This paper aims to make a detailed review about BAE,focusing on the research background,the technical principles,the latest research progress,and the existing problems.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of CT-guided percutaneous osteoplasty(POP)in the treatment of osteolytic metastases of the pelvis.Methods The clinical data of a total of 40 patients with pelvic osteolytic metastases,who received CT-guided POP at the Affiliated Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University between October 2011 and December 2021,were collected.Visual analogue scale(VAS)score was used to evaluate the clinical pain relief degree at one week,one month,3 months,6 months and 12 months after POP,and the joint function and the used dose of analgesic drugs were recorded.The preoperative and the postoperative 3-month,6-month and 12-month extents of the pelvic tumor destruction were compared.Based on the progression of local lesions within 12 months of follow-up,the patients were divided into controlled group and progression group.The proportion of using systemic anti-tumor therapy,the size of lesion,the amount of bone cement injected,and the cement filling ratio were compared between the two groups.Results Successful surgical procedure was accomplished for 57 lesions in 40 patients.The mean amount of bone cement injected was(4.56±2.25)mUpoint.In the 40 patients,the preoperative and the postoperative one-week,one-month and 3-month VAS score were(8.00±0.85)points,(2.05±0.96)points,(2.08±0.94)points and(2.18±0.84)points respectively,the difference in VAS score between preoperative value and postoperative one-week value was statistically significant(P＜0.01).In 37 patients,the postoperative 6-month VAS score was(2.35±0.54)points;and in 28 patients,the postoperative 12-month VAS score was(2.43±0.79)points.The differences in VAS score between postoperative one-week value and postoperative one-month,3-month,6-month,and 12-month values were not statistically significant(all P＞0.05),while the differences in VAS score between preoperative value and postoperative values were statistically significant(F=316.3,P＜0.01).The postoperative 3-month,6-month,and 12-month local control rates were 96.49％,85.19％,and 78.12％respectively,the differences between each other among the above three values were statistically significant(P=0.026).No statistically significant differences in the proportion of using systemic anti-tumor therapy,the lesion size and the amount of bone cement injected existed between the controlled group and the progression group(all P＞0.05).The cement filling ratio in the controlled group and the progression group was(81.26±9.17)％and(68.40±12.98)％respectively,and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(P＜0.01).Conclusion For the treatment of pelvic metastases,CT-guided POP is clinically safe and effective.The injected bone cement can control the progression of local lesions for a longer time.(J Intervent Radiol,2023,32:1197-1201)

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the home-made umbrella-shaped Octoparms inferior vena cava filter in the prevention of pulmonary embolism.Methods:A multicenter, randomized, positive parallel controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial was conducted in ten hospitals in China from October 2017 to March 2019. A total of 188 subjects were enrolled according to the same inclusion and exclusion criteria in different institutes. The 188 subjects were randomly divided into the trial group or the control group according to 1∶1 by the central randomization system, with 94 cases in each group. Octoparms inferior vena cava filter was used in the trial group, and the Celect inferior vena cava filter in the control group. The primary effective index was clinical success rate,including the clinical success rate of filter placement and filter retrieval. The secondary index included the rate of manual success of the delivery sheath system,incidence of pulmonary embolism(within 6 months), incidence of filter fracture,migration (>20 mm),tilt(>15°) on insertion/retrieval,and the situation of inferior vena cava flow(within 6 months). Safety evaluation included the incidence of filter related complications and device-related adverse events immediately after surgery and during follow-up.Results:The success rate of implantation was 100% in 188 subjects. Filter retrieval was performed in 87 cases (92.55%) in the trial group and 91 cases (96.81%) in the control group. The clinical success rate of the trial group was 97.87%(92/94) and that of the control group 98.94%(93/94). There was no significant difference between the two groups (χ 2=0.77, P=0.380). The success rate of delivery sheath system was 96.81%(91/94) and 98.94%(93/94) in the trail group and the control group,respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups( P=0.621). There was 1 case (1.22%) of new asymptomatic pulmonary embolism in the trial group after filter placement and 2 cases (2.44%) in the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). No filter fracture or migration (>20 mm) occurred in either group. The tilting of filter (>15°) was found in 1 case (1.06%) in the test group and 1 case (1.06%) in the control group when the filter was placed. The tilting of filter (>15°) was found in 0 case in the test group and 2 cases (2.44%) in the control group when the filter was retrieved. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). Inferior vena cava thrombosis before filter retrieval was found in 5 cases (5.75%) in trial group and 3 cases (3.30%) in control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( P=0.489). There were no immediate serious complications during filter placement/removal in either group. No filter obstruction,migration,deformation,penetration and occlusion of inferior vena cava. The incidence of device-related adverse events was low in both group. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The home-made umbrella-shaped Octoparms inferior vena cava filter is effective and safe in preventing pulmonary embolism, and is not worse than Celect filter.

Interventional medicine plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, hepatobiliary tumors and other diseases, which has become the third largest type of treatment technology besides internal and surgical treatment. In recent years, with technological breakthroughs in imaging technology, robotic surgical system, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other fields, unprecedented opportunities have been provided for interventional/minimally invasive+robotics. Interventional robotic surgical systems have mushroomed around this field. The authors discuss the current status and future of interventional robotic surgical system with high recognition worldwide, especially the three categories of specialized robotic surgical system for vascular intervention, percutaneous puncture intervention and natural non-vascular luminal intervention.

Interventional therapy has become an important palliative therapy for advanced liver cancer, and meanwhile, interventional therapy is playing an important role in the downstaging of liver cancer. Local interventional therapy can help patients meet the criteria for transplantation or resection by reducing tumor volume and number in patients with advanced liver cancer. Interventional downstaging techniques include transarterial chemotherapy, drug-eluting beads, transarterial radioembolization, and various ablation techniques (radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, cryoablation, and ethanol ablation). No consensus has been reached on the optimal interventional downstaging strategy, while high-level evidence-based clinical studies are needed to screen out the optimal candidates for different methods and evaluate the complexity, safety, and long-term efficacy of subsequent liver transplantation after interventional downstaging therapy, so as to improve the effect of interventional therapy in the downstaging of advanced liver cancer.

Bacterial liver abscess is a rare and life-threatening disease, and, clinically, its incidence has gradually increased in recent years. In terms of its treatment, percutaneous puncturing drainage combined with antibiotics has been the first-line therapeutic means, and surgical procedures are often used for patients in whom the interventional drainage is ineffective or in whom the liver abscess is complicated by abdominal disease that needs surgical management. Percutaneous catheter drainage and percutaneous fine needle aspiration, regarded as the two most commonly used interventional drainage methods, have been widely employed in the treatment of bacterial liver abscess; and percutaneous catheter drainage is more commonly adopted in clinical practice. Although the prognosis of bacterial liver abscess has been improved significantly, there is still a certain fatality rate. There is still no a well-accepted consensus on treatment guidelines. Moreover, there are still many controversies over the indications of percutaneous puncturing drainage. Based on a comprehensive review of the domestic and foreign literature, this paper aims to make a detailed introduction concerning percutaneous puncturing drainage for the treatment of bacterial liver abscess, focusing on its development history, curative effect and prognosis, and, in order to guide the clinical practice, the principles of the use of antibiotics, the comparison of clinical effect with surgery and the therapeutic indications will be also discussed.