Objective To compare the long-term survival of elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with surgical versus non-surgical treatment. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of elderly patients aged ≥70 years with ESCC who underwent esophagectomy or radiotherapy/chemotherapy at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to September 2017. Patients were divided into a surgical group (S group) and a non-surgical group (NS group) according to the treatment method. The propensity score matching method was used to match the two groups of patients at a ratio of 1∶1, and the survival of the two groups before and after matching was analyzed. Results A total of 726 elderly patients with ESCC were included, including 552 males and 174 females, with 651 patients aged ≥70-80 years and 75 patients aged ≥80-90 years. There were 515 patients in the S group and 211 patients in the NS group. The median follow-up time was 60.8 months, and the median overall survival of the S group was 41.9 months [95%CI (35.2, 48.5)], while that of the NS group was only 24.0 months [95%CI (19.8, 28.3)]. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of the S group were 84%, 54%, and 40%, respectively, while those of the NS group were 72%, 40%, and 30%, respectively [HR=0.689, 95%CI (0.559, 0.849), P<0.001]. After matching, 138 patients were included in each group, and there was no statistical difference in the overall survival between the two groups [HR=0.871, 95%CI (0.649, 1.167), P=0.352]. Conclusion Compared with conservative treatment, there is no significant difference in the long-term survival of elderly patients aged ≥70 years who undergo esophagectomy for ESCC. Neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery is still an important choice to potentially improve the survival of elderly patients with ESCC.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and safety of Sentinel cerebral embolic protection device (CEPD) during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study is a subgroup analysis of the China Moderate to Severe Valvular Heart Disease Registry, which has been registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2300075006). METHODS: Patients undergoing TAVR with the Sentinel CEPD from October 2023 to September 2024 were retrospectively enrolled. A total of 80 patients were included, with a median age of 72 (68, 76) years, including 52 males (65.0%) and 28 females (35.0%); 62 patients (77.5%) with tricuspid valves, and 18 patients (22.5%) with bicuspid valves; 34 patients (42.5%) with type Ⅰ aortic arch, 24 patients (30.0%) with type Ⅱ aortic arch, 12 patients (15.0%) with type Ⅲ aortic arch, and 10 patients (12.5%) with bovine-type aortic arch. Clinical data of the patients were summarized and analyzed. The primary endpoints were success rate of Sentinel CEPD implantation, as well as all-cause death, symptomatic stroke, transient ischemic attack, and Sentinel CEPD access vessel complications during hospitalization and within 30 days postoperatively. RESULTS: In the 80 patients, self-expanding valves were used in 68 cases (85.0%) and balloon-expandable valves in 12 cases (15.0%). Seventy-nine patients (98.8%) successfully underwent TAVR with Sentinel CEPD deployment. Macroscopically visible debris was captured in 92.5% (74/80) by filters of Sentinel CEPD. Although the procedure time for Sentinel CEPD placement was slightly longer in patients with bovine-type aortic arch, there was no statistically significant difference in deployment time among different aortic arch types (P>0.05). During hospitalization and within 30 days postoperatively, only one case of transient ischemic attack occurred, and there was no all-cause mortality, symptomatic stroke, or access-site vascular complications related to the Sentinel CEPD observed. CONCLUSIONS The Sentinel CEPD demonstrates high feasibility across aortic arch types, potential efficacy in embolic capture, and excellent safety in TAVR.
Humans ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Embolic Protection Devices ; Retrospective Studies ; Intracranial Embolism/prevention & control* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Aortic Valve/surgery*

Objective To compare the effect of sodium hualuronate(SH)and platelet rich plasma(PRP)injections in the treatment of glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis(GJO).Methods Sixty-three patients with GJO were randomly assigned to receive either PRP(PRP group,n=29)or SH(SH group,n=34)injec-tions.The injections were administered into the glenohumeral joint under ultrasound guidance.The patients were assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons(ASES)score and modified University of California(UCLA)shoulder joint score before injection and at 1,6,12 months of injection.Results There were no statistically significant differences in the general data between the two groups(P>0.05).Compared with before injection,the VAS scores at 1,6,and 12 months after injection in the two groups were significantly decreased(P<0.05).The VAS score at 12 months after injection in the SH group was significantly increased(P<0.05).The VAS score at 12 months after injection in the PRP group was lower than that in the SH group(P<0.05).The ASES scores showed a significant increase at 1 month after injection compared to before treatment(P<0.05),moreover the ASES scores at 6 months after injection in the PRP group were higher than those in the SH group(P<0.05).Compared with before injection,the modified UCLA shoulder joint scores at 1,6 months after injection in the two groups were significantly in-creased(P<0.05),moreover the scores of the modified UCLA shouder joint scores at 6 months after injec-tion in the PRP group were higher than those in the SH group(P<0.05).Conclusion Pain relief in intraar-ticular injection of PRP in GJO patients is more significant than intraarticular injection of SH,moreover PRP is significantly superior to SH in improving the shoulder joint function of the patients.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical application value of the adaptive aperture by comparing intensity-modulated proton radiotherapy(IMPT) plans using and not using the aperture for brain tumors.Methods:A total of twenty patients treated with postoperative radiotherapy for brain tumors were enrolled in this study. IMPT plans were developed for each patient using and not using the adaptive aperture under the same optimization conditions. The target conformal index (CI) value, target homogeneity index (HI) value, and the dose to normal tissues of the two sets of plans were compared.Results:The IMPT plans designed using the adaptive aperture significantly increased the mean CI value from 0.58 to 0.66, while decreasing the mean 50% prescription dose volume from 797.70 cm 3 to 638.15 cm 3. These plans also reduced the irradiation doses to the cochlea, brainstem, optic chiasm, optic nerve, and lens ( t = 2.06, 3.02, 2.11, 2.58, 2.67, P < 0.05). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the HI value of the target volumes and the machine jumps (MU) between the two sets of plans ( P > 0.05). Conclusions:The adaptive aperture can significantly reduce the irradiation dose to normal tissues outside the target volumes, positively impacting the protection of organs at risk (OARs) around the target values. This demonstrates its great potential for clinical application.

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of the South African herb Hoodia gordonii （HG） on glucolipid metabolism in diabetic db/db mice and explore the possible mechanisms of HG on the liver of db/db mice based on the phosphoinositide-3 kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/factor forkhead protein O1 （FoxO1） signaling pathway. MethodA total of 30 db/db mice were randomly divided into five groups according to fasting blood glucose： model group， metformin group （0.195 g·kg^-1）， and low dose （0.39 g·kg^-1）， medium dose （0.78 g·kg^-1）， and high dose （1.56 g·kg^-1） HG groups， with six m/m mice in each group， and another six m/m mice were set as normal group. The mice in the normal and model groups were given saline of 9 mL·kg^-1 by gavage. Body weight， water intake， and fasting blood glucose of the mice in each group were measured weekly. After six weeks of continuous administration， serum insulin （FINS）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL）， total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， urea， and creatinine （CREA） were measured， and liver sections were embedded and stained with hematoxylin-eosin （HE）， periodic acid-Schiff （PAS）， and oil red O. Protein expression of PI3K p85， p-Akt， and p-FoxO1 in liver was detected by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression of PI3K， Akt， and FoxO1 in liver tissue was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultAfter six weeks of administration intervention， it was found that fasting blood glucose was significantly downregulated in mice in the three HG groups （P<0.05）. The level of islet resistance index was significantly reduced in both the low and medium dose HG groups （P<0.05）. The expression levels of TC， TG， and LDL were reduced in all HG groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Pathologically， HG could alleviate hepatocyte steatosis， reduce the volume and content of lipid droplets in liver， and increase the distribution of glycogen granules in liver to some extent in mice. Immunohistochemical assays revealed that PI3K p85 protein expression was significantly increased in the low， medium， and high dose HG groups compared with the model group （P<0.01）. p-Akt protein expression was significantly increased in the medium and high dose HG groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）. p-FoxO1 protein expression was significantly increased in the low， medium， and high dose HG groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， PI3K mRNA was increased in low dose， medium dose， and high dose HG groups （P<0.05）， and Akt mRNA was increased in high dose HG group （P<0.05）. FoxO1 mRNA was decreased in low dose， medium dose， and high dose HG groups （P<0.05）. ConclusionHG can ameliorate the disorder of glucolipid metabolism in db/db mice， which may be related to its activation of the hepatic PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND:Ischemic stroke is a serious threat to human health.After ischemia and hypoxia,astrocyte expresses lipocalin-2 in large amounts to aggravate brain injury,but the specific mechanism is not clear.Hydroxysafflor yellow A has anti-ischemia,anti-oxidation,anti-thrombosis and anti-inflammatory effects.However,whether hydroxysafflor yellow A affects the expression of lipocalin-2 in astrocytes after cerebral ischemia and hypoxia and its mechanism are not clear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect and mechanism of hydroxysafflor yellow A on the expression of lipocalin-2 in astrocytes after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. METHODS:(1)Thirty adult SD rats were randomly divided into three groups:sham operation group,middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion group,and hydroxysafflor yellow A group.The middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion model was established in the latter two groups,and hydroxysafflor yellow A group was intraperitoneally injected with 12 mg/kg hydroxysafflor yellow A after reperfusion.Longa score was used to evaluate the degree of neurological impairment.Infarct volume was determined by TTC staining.JAK2/STAT3 pathway and lipocalin-2 expression were detected by western blot assay and immunofluorescence.Levels of interleukin 1β,interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α were detected by ELISA.(2)Astrocytes were divided into four groups:Normal group,glucose-oxygen deprivation group,hydroxysafflor yellow A group and AG490 group.In the latter three groups,glucose-oxygen deprivation and glucose-oxygen recovery models were established.Astrocytes were treated with 75 μmol/L hydroxysafflor yellow A and 10 μmol/L tyrosine phosphorylation inhibitor AG490 for 8 hours during glucose-oxygen deprivation,respectively.The mechanism of hydroxysafflor yellow A on lipocalin-2 was further verified. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the sham operation group,cerebral infarction was significantly increased in the middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion group,accompanied by aggravated neurological impairment(P<0.01).Hydroxysafflor yellow A treatment could reduce cerebral infarction volume and improve neurological function(P<0.01).(2)The expressions of p-JAK2,p-STAT3 and lipocalin-2 in the middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion group were higher than those in the sham operation group(P<0.01).Hydroxysafflor yellow A treatment reduced the expressions of JAK2,STAT3 and lipocalin-2(P<0.01).(3)The expression levels of interleukin 1β,interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor α in the middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion group were higher than those in the sham operation group(P<0.01).Hydroxysafflor yellow A inhibited the expressions of interleukin 1β,interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor α(P<0.01).(4)In vitro,the expressions of p-JAK2,p-STAT3 and lipocalin-2 in the glucose-oxygen deprivation group were significantly higher than those in the normal group(P<0.01).After adding AG490,the phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3 decreased,and the expression of lipocalin-2 was inhibited(P<0.01).The results suggest that hydroxysafflor yellow A may inhibit the expression of lipocalin-2 in astrocytes after ischemia and hypoxia by regulating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway,thereby reducing brain injury.

Objective:To investigate the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with esophageal cancer (EC).Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 8 458 EC patients who were admitted to Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2017 to December 2021 were collected. There were 6 923 males and 1 535 females, aged (64±9)years. There were 3 187 patients undergoing surgical treatment, and 5 271 cases undergoing non-surgical treatment. Observation indicators: (1) incidence of VTE in EC patients; (2) treatment and outcomes of patients with VTE. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was analyzed using the nonparameter rank sum test. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was analyzed using the nonparameter rank sum test. Results:(1) Incidence of VTE in EC patients. Of 8 458 EC patients, 175 cases developed VTE, with an incidence rate of 2.069%(175/8 458). Among 175 VTE patients, there were 164 cases of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), 4 cases of pulmonary embolism (PE), 7 cases of DVT and PE. There were 59 surgical patients and 116 non-surgical patients. There was no significant difference in thrombus type between surgical and non-surgical EC patients with VTE ( χ2=1.95, P>0.05). Of 3 187 surgical patients, the incidence of VTE was 1.851%(59/3 187), including an incidence of 0.157%(5/3 187) of PE. PE accounted for 8.475%(5/59) of surgical patients with VTE. Of 5 271 non-surgical patients, the incidence of VTE was 2.201%(116/5 271), including an incidence of 0.114%(6/5 271) of PE. PE accounted for 5.172%(6/116) of non-surgical patients with VTE. There was no significant difference in the incidence of VTE or PE between surgical patients and non-surgical patients ( χ2=1.20, 0.05, P>0.05). (2) Treatment and outcomes of patients with VTE. Among 175 EC patients with VTE, 163 cases underwent drug treatment, and 12 cases did not receive treatment. Among 163 cases with drug therapy, 158 cases underwent anticoagulant therapy, 5 cases were treated with thrombolysis. All the 163 patients were improved and discharged from hospital. Conclusions:The incidence of VTE in patients with EC is relatively low, as 2.069%. There is no significant difference in the incidence of VTE or thrombus type between surgical EC patients and non-surgical EC patients.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of early gastric cancer with mixed histological staging, and to analyze the prognostic effect of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric cancer.Methods:Clinical data of early gastric cancer patients treated with ESD in Gansu Wuwei Cancer Hospital from January 2011 to March 2020 were collected, and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with mixed-type early gastric cancer were analyzed by descriptive statistical methods. The clinical effects and influencing factors of ESD on early gastric cancer were analyzed by logistic regression. Kaplan-Meier was used to estimate the survival rate, and log-rank test was used to compare the survival rate.Results:A total of 269 patients (280 lesions) were included in this study, including 216 males (80.30%) and 53 females (19.70%), with age of 60.43±8.01 years. There were 25 lesions (8.93%) of mixed early gastric cancer, 248 lesions (88.57%) of differentiated early gastric cancer, and 7 lesions (2.50%) of undifferentiated early gastric cancer. Compared with differentiated and undifferentiated early gastric cancer, the lesion site of mixed early gastric cancer was mainly located in the upper 1/3 of the stomach [64.00% (16/25), 40.73% (101/248) VS 0.00% (0/7), χ2=10.211, P=0.006], the proportion of the lesion size ≤2 cm was relatively small [52.00% (13/25), 80.65% (200/248) VS 85.71% (6/7), χ2=11.173, P=0.004], and the proportion of infiltration depth in the mucosa was lower [52.00% (13/25), 85.48% (212/248) VS 57.14% (4/7), χ2=20.019, P<0.001], the proportion of positive vertical resection margin was relatively high [20.00% (5/25), 2.82% (7/248) VS 0.00% (0/7), χ2=16.657, P<0.001], the proportion of vascular invasion was higher than that of differentiated carcinoma but lower than that of undifferentiated carcinoma [36.00% (9/25), 2.42% (6/248) VS 42.86% (3/7), χ2=58.413, P<0.001], the complete resection rate was lower [76.00% (19/25), 93.15% (231/248) VS 100.00% (7/7), χ2=9.497, P=0.009], the curative resection rate was lower than that of differentiated early gastric cancer, but higher than that of undifferentiated early gastric cancer [48.00% (12/25), 89.52% (222/248) VS 42.86% (3/7), χ2=39.757, P<0.001], and the proportion of eCura grade C2 was higher than that of differentiated cancer, but lower than that of undifferentiated cancer [48.00% (12/25), 5.65% (14/248) VS 57.14% (4/7), χ2=58.766, P<0.001]. The results of multivariate analysis showed that the larger lesions ( P=0.004, OR=0.539, 95% CI: 0.354-0.822) was the risk factor for curative resection. In terms of infiltration depth, mucosal ( P=0.001, OR=51.799, 95% CI: 5.535-84.768) and submucosal 1 ( P<0.001, OR=29.301, 95% CI: 24.694-73.972) were protective factors for curative resection compared with submucosal 2. In terms of differentiation degree, compared with mixed type, differentiated type ( P=0.024, OR=3.947, 95% CI: 1.195-13.032) was the protective factor for curative resection, while undifferentiated type ( P=0.443, OR=0.424, 95% CI: 0.048-3.788) showed no difference between curative resection and mixed type. During the follow-up, 7 patients died. The overall survival time was 114.42±0.97 months, and the 5-year survival rate was 97.10%. There was no significant difference in the survival rate of early gastric cancer patients with different degrees of differentiation ( χ2=0.434, P=0.805). The survival rate of early gastric cancer patients with or without curative resection was significantly different ( χ2=4.081, P=0.043). Conclusion:Mixed early gastric cancer patients show high margin positive rate, vascular infiltration, and less curative resection than differentiated early gastric cancer. Therefore, the process of treating mixed early gastric cancer should be more rigorous. The long-term survival prognosis of early gastric cancer after ESD treatment is promising.

Ischemic stroke,with a high disability and mortality rate,seriously endangers human health.Pathological process of ischemic stoke involves participations of various cells such as microglia and astrocytes.Among them,microglia,as innate immune cells in central nervous system(CNS),play an important role whether in physiological or pathological states.Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2(TREM2)is an immunoglobulin like receptor mainly existing on microglia in CNS,and can bind to a variety of ligands,which can negatively regulate autoimmunity and inflammation.In addition,TREM2 can mainly play an important role in process of proliferation,phagocytosis,survival and expressions of inflammatory factors.This article focused on biological characteristics of TREM2 on microglia,corresponding ligands and its signaling pathways,discussing regulation of TREM2 in ischemic stroke and its potential therapeutic effects,in order to provide an new target for prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke.

Objective To explore the preoperative predictive factors influencing microscopic positive proximal margin in upper gastric cancer,and to establish a nomogram prediction model and to validate it internally.Methods Retrospective analysis of 187 patients with upper gastric cancer operated in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Hengshui People's Hospital from January 2018 to October 2022 were included in this study.Patients were divided into the microscopic positive proximal margin(the R0 group,n=15)and the negative microscopic proximal margin group(the R1 group,n=172)according to histopathological diagnosis.Preoperative factors that may influence positive upper margin of proximal gastric cancer were collected,including patient age,gender,tumor size,tumor location,Borrmann staging,tumor differentiation,Lauren staging,cT stage and cN stage.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to figure out the optimal cut-off value for predicting positive margin of proximal gastric cancer by tumor length.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the variables with statistical difference between the two groups,and independent risk factors were screened out,and prediction mode was constructed.The prediction accuracy of the model was verified internally using Bootstrap method.Results The best threshold for predicting positive margin of proximal gastric cancer by tumor length was 4.85 cm.Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in tumor length,tumor location,Borrmann staging,Lauren staging,cT staging and cN staging between the two groups(all P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that tumor length>4.85 cm(OR=4.000,95%CI:1.039-15.399),tumor located in esophagogastric junction(OR=7.108,95%CI:1.604-31.494),Borrmann staging Ⅲ—Ⅳ(OR=6.991,95%CI:1.538-31.782),Lauren staging as diffuse or mixed(OR=7.583,95%CI:1.814-31.701)and cT staging as cT4(OR=8.249,95%CI:1.890-36.007)were independent predictors of microscopic positive proximal margin of advanced upper gastric cancer before surgery,and a prediction model was established based on results of multivariate analysis.The area under ROC curve(AUC)value for subjects with the model was 0.862 after internal validation.The calibration curve showed that the model predicted the probability of microscopic positive proximal margin occurrence in good agreement with the probability of actual microscopic positive proximal margin occurrence(Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2=6.145,P=0.523).Conclusion The established nomogram prediction model can predict the probability of positive upper incisal margin of proximal gastric cancer before operation,and provide clinical guidance for formulating surgical strategy.