Objective To explore CT manifestations of perivascular epithelioid cell tumor(PEComa)of liver and kidney.Methods Totally 18 hepatic PEComa and 5 renal PEComa confirmed by surgical pathology were retrospectively enrolled,and the preoperative CT manifestations were explored.Results Single lesion of liver or kidney was found in all 23 cases,and the main CT manifestations included low or slightly low density lesion(23/23,100％),with irregular morphology(16/23,69.57％),clear boundaries(17/23,73.91％),non-envelope(21/23,91.30％)and enhancement after administration of contrast agents(21/23,91.30％).Among 18 cases of liver PEComa,most lesions(13/18,72.22％)presented as uniform density,while some(5/18,27.88％)presented as non-uniform density lesions often contained with fat components(5/5,100％)and thickened blood vessels(4/5,80.00％)but rare hemorrhagic necrosis(1/5,20.00％)nor calcification(0/5,0).Fast in and fast out of contrast agents were observed in 16(16/18,88.89％)lesions.Uneven density and internal fat components were found in all 5(5/5,100％)renal PEComa,which rarely with hemorrhagic necrosis(1/5,20.00％),blood vessels orientation(1/5,20.00％)and calcification(0/5,0).After enhancement,fast in and fast out,progressive enhancement and non-enhancement was observed in 2(2/5,40.00％),1(1/5,20.00％)and 2(2/5,40.00％)cases,respectively.Conclusion CT manifestations of PEComa in liver and kidney had certain characteristics.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy (AB-BNCT) in the treatment of recurrent and refractory malignant tumors.Methods:The data of 14 patients admitted to Xiamen Humanity Hospital from September 2022 to April 2023 were prospectively collected, including 7 patients with primary brain malignancies and 7 patients with locally recurrent inoperable head and neck malignancies. All patients received intravenous infusion of boron drug (NBB-001, p-dihydroxyborylphe nylalanine, a patented freeze-dried formulation) at a total nominal dosage of 500 mg/kg (11 patients) or 750 mg/kg (3 patients), and were irradiated with neutrons (operating with NeuPex system). Adverse events after treatment were recorded and assessed. The primary efficacy endpoint was the 90 d objective response rate (ORR), while the secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) and complete response rate (CRR). Data were compiled and analyzed by SAS 9.4 software. The rate and 95% CI were calculated using Clopper-Pearson method. Results:The median dose delivered to 80% of the target volume (D 80%) was 16.80 GyE (range: 8.93-23.79 GyE). The most common adverse reactions were hyperamylasemia, alopecia, and hyperprolactinemia. Five patients experienced 8 cases of grade 3 or above adverse events, including 1 case of grade 4 acute kidney injury and 7 cases of grade 3 adverse events. All adverse events were recovered after observation or treatment. At 90 d after treatment, the ORR of all patients was 9/14 (64%, 95% CI: 35%-87%), disease control rate (DCR) was 10/14 (71%, 95% CI: 42%-92%), CRR was 2/14 (14%, 95% CI: 2%-42%); and the best overall response during the entire course included an ORR of 10/14 (71% ,95% CI: 42%-92%), DCR of 13/14 (93%, 95% CI: 66%-100%), and CRR of 3/14 (21% ,95% CI: 5%-51%). The 1-year survival rate for head and neck malignancies was 71.4%, and the 2-year survival rate was 42.8%. The 1-year survival rate for recurrent brain malignancies was 42.8%. Conclusion:AB-BNCT demonstrates favorable safety and promising efficacy in treating primary brain malignancies and recurrent/refractory head and neck malignancies, representing a potential therapeutic option.

Objective To explore CT manifestations of perivascular epithelioid cell tumor(PEComa)of liver and kidney.Methods Totally 18 hepatic PEComa and 5 renal PEComa confirmed by surgical pathology were retrospectively enrolled,and the preoperative CT manifestations were explored.Results Single lesion of liver or kidney was found in all 23 cases,and the main CT manifestations included low or slightly low density lesion(23/23,100％),with irregular morphology(16/23,69.57％),clear boundaries(17/23,73.91％),non-envelope(21/23,91.30％)and enhancement after administration of contrast agents(21/23,91.30％).Among 18 cases of liver PEComa,most lesions(13/18,72.22％)presented as uniform density,while some(5/18,27.88％)presented as non-uniform density lesions often contained with fat components(5/5,100％)and thickened blood vessels(4/5,80.00％)but rare hemorrhagic necrosis(1/5,20.00％)nor calcification(0/5,0).Fast in and fast out of contrast agents were observed in 16(16/18,88.89％)lesions.Uneven density and internal fat components were found in all 5(5/5,100％)renal PEComa,which rarely with hemorrhagic necrosis(1/5,20.00％),blood vessels orientation(1/5,20.00％)and calcification(0/5,0).After enhancement,fast in and fast out,progressive enhancement and non-enhancement was observed in 2(2/5,40.00％),1(1/5,20.00％)and 2(2/5,40.00％)cases,respectively.Conclusion CT manifestations of PEComa in liver and kidney had certain characteristics.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy (AB-BNCT) in the treatment of recurrent and refractory malignant tumors.Methods:The data of 14 patients admitted to Xiamen Humanity Hospital from September 2022 to April 2023 were prospectively collected, including 7 patients with primary brain malignancies and 7 patients with locally recurrent inoperable head and neck malignancies. All patients received intravenous infusion of boron drug (NBB-001, p-dihydroxyborylphe nylalanine, a patented freeze-dried formulation) at a total nominal dosage of 500 mg/kg (11 patients) or 750 mg/kg (3 patients), and were irradiated with neutrons (operating with NeuPex system). Adverse events after treatment were recorded and assessed. The primary efficacy endpoint was the 90 d objective response rate (ORR), while the secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) and complete response rate (CRR). Data were compiled and analyzed by SAS 9.4 software. The rate and 95% CI were calculated using Clopper-Pearson method. Results:The median dose delivered to 80% of the target volume (D 80%) was 16.80 GyE (range: 8.93-23.79 GyE). The most common adverse reactions were hyperamylasemia, alopecia, and hyperprolactinemia. Five patients experienced 8 cases of grade 3 or above adverse events, including 1 case of grade 4 acute kidney injury and 7 cases of grade 3 adverse events. All adverse events were recovered after observation or treatment. At 90 d after treatment, the ORR of all patients was 9/14 (64%, 95% CI: 35%-87%), disease control rate (DCR) was 10/14 (71%, 95% CI: 42%-92%), CRR was 2/14 (14%, 95% CI: 2%-42%); and the best overall response during the entire course included an ORR of 10/14 (71% ,95% CI: 42%-92%), DCR of 13/14 (93%, 95% CI: 66%-100%), and CRR of 3/14 (21% ,95% CI: 5%-51%). The 1-year survival rate for head and neck malignancies was 71.4%, and the 2-year survival rate was 42.8%. The 1-year survival rate for recurrent brain malignancies was 42.8%. Conclusion:AB-BNCT demonstrates favorable safety and promising efficacy in treating primary brain malignancies and recurrent/refractory head and neck malignancies, representing a potential therapeutic option.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most threatening diseases of the central nervous system, and the prognosis has not improved despite the constant updating of therapeutic approaches. However, the introduction of tumor treating fields (TTFields) has changed the treatment of newly diagnosed and recurrent GBM. TTFields is a novel non-invasive therapy for the treatment of tumors using mid-frequency and low-intensity alternating electric fields, which is important for the treatment of central nervous system diseases such as GBM. TTFields has fewer side effects and greater local efficacy than traditional treatment modalities. In addition, the combination of chemotherapeutic drugs and radiotherapy with TTFields has shown significant advantages and may become one of the future clinical treatment strategies. Despite the potential of TTFields in the treatment of GBM, a number of limitations remain, including issues of device dependency, discomfort during use and tolerability in some patients. Therefore, the use of TTFields needs to be further optimized to maximize their therapeutic potential in patients with GBM and to provide more effective treatment options for patients.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a genetically determined, active and orderly cell death in the organism, and it affects the evolution of the organism, maintenance of its homeostasis, and development of several tissues and organs. The abnormal regulation of this process is closely related to various human diseases, including cancer. The identified pathways of PCD include apoptosis, autophagy, necroptosis, pyroptosis, and ferroptosis, which can be activated when cells are stimulated by various internal and external environmental factors. These pathways can induce cell death or maintain cell survival in kidney cancer cells under the regulation of various signaling molecules, thus affecting tumor progression or therapeutic efficacy. In this paper, the role of these PCD pathways in the development of kidney cancer was reviewed in light of recent research advances to provide new directions for the in-depth study of the pathogenesis of kidney cancer and the development of targeted antitumor drugs.

An innovative,ternary nanocomposite composed of overoxidized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(OPEDOT),gold nanoparticles (AuNPs),and electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) was prepared on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) (OPEDOT-AuNPs-ERGO/GCE) through homogeneous chemical reactions and heterogeneous electrochemical methods.The morphology,composition,and structure of this nanocomposite were characterized by transmission electron microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.The electrochemical properties of the OPEDOT-AuNPs-ERGO/GCE were investigated by cyclic voltammetry using potassium ferricyanide and hexaammineruthenium(Ⅲ) chloride redox probe systems.This modified electrode shows excellent electro-catalytic activity for dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) under physiological pH conditions,but inhibits the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA).Linear voltammetric responses were obtained when DA concentrations of approximately 4.0-100 μM and UA concentrations of approximately 20-100 μM were used.The detection limits (S/N=3) for DA and UA were 1.0 and 5.0 μ.M,respectively,under physiological conditions and in the presence of 1.0 mM of AA.This developed method was applied to the simultaneous detection of DA and UA in human urine,where satisfactory recoveries from 96.7％ to 105.0％were observed.This work demonstrates that the developed OPEDOT-AuNPs-ERGO ternary nano-composite,with its excellent ion-selectivity and electro-catalytic activity,is a promising candidate for the simultaneous detection of DA and UA in the presence of AA in physiological and pathological studies.

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia and a preliminary study to explore the relationship between different clinical classification and liver damage. Methods: Consecutively confirmed novel coronavirus infection cases admitted to seven designated hospitals during January 23, 2020 to February 8, 2020 were included. Clinical classification (mild, moderate, severe, and critical) was carried out according to the diagnosis and treatment program of novel coronavirus pneumonia (Trial Fifth Edition) issued by the National Health Commission. The research data were analyzed using SPSS19.0 statistical software. Quantitative data were expressed as median (interquartile range), and qualitative data were expressed as frequency and rate. Results: 32 confirmed cases that met the inclusion criteria were included. 28 cases were of mild or moderate type (87.50%), and four cases (12.50%) of severe or critical type. Four cases (12.5%) were combined with one underlying disease (bronchial asthma, coronary heart disease, malignant tumor, chronic kidney disease), and one case (3.13%) was simultaneously combined with high blood pressure and malignant tumor. The results of laboratory examination showed that the alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin (ALB), and total bilirubin (TBil) for entire cohort were 26.98 (16.88 ~ 46.09) U/L and 24.75 (18.71 ~ 31.79) U/L, 39.00 (36.20 ~ 44.20) g/L and 16.40 (11.34- ~ 21.15) mmol/L, respectively. ALT, AST, ALB and TBil of the mild or moderate subgroups were 22.75 (16.31- ~ 37.25) U/L, 23.63 (18.71 ~ 26.50) U/L, 39.70 (36.50 ~ 46.10) g/L, and 15.95 (11.34 ~ 20.83) mmol/L, respectively. ALT, AST, ALB and TBil of the severe or critical subgroups were 60.25 (40.88 ~ 68.90) U/L, 37.00 (20.88 ~ 64.45) U/L, 35.75 (28.68 ~ 42.00) g/L, and 20.50 (11.28 ~ 25.00) mmol/L, respectively. Conclusion The results of this multicenter retrospective study suggests that novel coronavirus pneumonia combined with liver damage is more likely to be caused by adverse drug reactions and systemic inflammation in severe patients receiving medical treatment. Therefore, liver function monitoring and evaluation should be strengthened during the treatment of such patients.

Objective To analyze the prognosis of advanced esophageal carcinoma treated with paclitaxel and different platinum?based chemotherapy regimens plus intensity?modulated radiotherapy ( IMRT) , and to explore an optimal chemotherapy regimen. Methods A total of 242 patients with advanced esophageal carcinoma who were admitted to our hospital and treated with paclitaxel and cisplatin ( 68 patients), nedaplatin (85 patients), lobaplatin (58 patients), or oxaliplatin (31 patients) plus IMRT from 2008 to 2014 were enrolled as subjects. The prognosis of the four groups was analyzed after 2, 3, and ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy. The survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan?Meier method and analyzed by the log?rank test. The Cox model was used for the multivariate prognostic analysis. Results The sample number of 3 years was 168 cases. In all the 242 patients, the medium survival time was 31. 1 months and the 3?year overall survival ( OS) rate was 47. 4%. There was no significant difference in the 3?year OS rate between the cispaltin, nedaplatin, lobaplatin, and oxaliplatin groups ( 46. 2% vs. 56. 4% vs. 45. 7% vs. 29. 0%, P=0. 090) . The stratified analysis showed that the cisplatin, nedaplatin, and lobaplatin groups had a significantly higher OS rate than the oxaliplatin group ( 50. 1% vs. 29. 0%, P=0. 021 ) . There was no significant difference in the 3?year OS rate between patients receiving 2, 3, and≥4 cycles of chemotherapy ( 40. 1% vs. 49. 5% vs. 50. 8%, P=0. 264) . The multivariate analysis showed that esophageal tumor volume and the maximal size of metastatic lymph node were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions Combined with IMRT, paclitaxel plus cisplatin, nedaplatin, or lobaplatin?based chemotherapy achieves improved survival rates than paclitaxel plus oxaliplatin?based chemotherapy. Esophageal tumor volume and the maximal size of metastatic lymph node are independent prognostic factors.

Objective To investigate the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)in patients with valvular atrial fibrillation and study the relationship betweenα-SMA and atrial fibrosis in patients with valvular atrial fibrillation (AF).Methods For this study we enrolled 84 consecutive patients with rheumatic heart disease who were to receive cardiac surgery.The patients were divided into AF group (AF,n=39)and sinus rhythm group (SR, n=45).Their clinical data including baseline demographics,routine laboratory test and echocardiographics were collected before surgery.The right atrial tissue (0 .3-0 .5 cm3 )was disserted during the surgery.Right atrial fibrosis was observed by Masson staining.The mRNA expression ofα-SMA in atrial tissue were determined by Real-time quantitative PCR.Western blot was used to measure the protein expression ofα-SMA in atrial tissue.Results The two groups did not significantly differ in sex ratio,age,blood pressure,blood biochemical indicators or other aspects of medical history (P>0.05).However,left and right atrium diameters in AF group were significantly larger than those in SR group (P<0 .05 ).Masson staining suggested that collagen volume fraction and collagen content were significantly higher in AF group than in SR group (P<0 .05 ).The mRNA and protein expressions ofα-SMA in right atrial tissue were obviously higher in AF group than in SR group (coefficients P<0 .05 ).The mRNA and protein expressions ofα-SMA from right atrial tissue in the 84 patients were positively correlated with collagen content (coefficients of 0.587 and 0.607;P=0.029,0.014,respectively).Conclusion There is significant atrial fibrosis in patients with valvular atrial fibrillation,which is closely related to up-regulated expression ofα-SMA gene.