Objective To investigate the feasibility, safety, and clinical value of endoscopic-assisted skin-sparing mastectomy combined with immediate implant-based breast reconstruction performed as day surgery for breast cancer, aiming to provide a reference for major hospitals seeking to implement a day surgery model for breast cancer treatment. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the patients who underwent endoscopic-assisted skin-sparing mastectomy combined with immediate implant-based breast reconstruction for breast cancer at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from June 2021 to December 2022, and they were divided into a day surgery group and a conventional inpatient group based on their admission model. The operative indicators, Breast-Q scores, preoperative waiting time, length of hospital stay, hospitalization costs and complications of the two groups were analyzed. Results Except for intraoperative bleeding (P=0.007), the difference between the two groups in comparison of the rest of the operative indicators was not statistically significant (all P>0.05); there was no significant difference between the two groups in preoperative and postoperative Breast-Q scores (all P>0.05); the preoperative waiting time and length of stay in hospital of the day surgery group were 4.0 (3.0, 11.0) days and 1.0 (1.0, 1.0) days, respectively, which were significantly shorter than that of the conventional inpatient group; the postoperative pain score in the day surgery group [1.0 (1.0, 1.0) points] was lower than that in the conventional inpatient group [3.0 (3.0, 3.0) points], with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.001). Additionally, the total hospitalization costs for the day surgery group and conventional inpatient group were 50 656.5 (48 145.3, 62 597.3) RMB and 53 689.3 (50 469.1, 64 826.5) RMB, respectively.The total hospitalization cost in the day surgery group was significantly lower than that in the conventional inpatient group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in complications between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion Endoscopic-assisted skin-sparing mastectomy combined with immediate implant-based breast reconstruction in day surgery is feasible and safe. Without increasing postoperative complications, it effectively reduces hospitalization costs and shortens medical care time, demonstrating significant clinical value.

Pathological diagnosis is the gold standard for confirming breast cancer. Traditional manual pathological diagnosis methods for breast cancer are time-consuming, labor-intensive, highly subjective, and exhibit poor diagnostic consistency. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has rapidly advanced and is progressively being applied clinically as a promising early diagnostic tool. However, many existing AI models lack interpretability, which limits the trustworthiness of their clinical application. Khater et al, by combining a high-precision machine learning model with an explainable AI model, achieved highly accurate breast tumor diagnosis and provided explanations for key biological and pathological features influencing the diagnostic results. This points the way for the future application and development of AI in medical diagnosis and treatment. The article interprets the main content of that study, and analyzes the advantages and limitations of AI in medical diagnosis and treatment, with the aim of promoting its better application in clinical practice.

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, and its treatment and management strategies are crucial for improving patients’ prognosis and quality of life. Early breast cancer refers to lesions confined to the breast and regional lymph nodes (N1 stage) without distant metastasis. Thanks to the improvement of screening techniques, the detection rate of early breast cancer has increased. The “early diagnosis and early treatment” model has led to a decrease in breast cancer mortality, especially among young women. The 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of early breast cancer aims to provide comprehensive and standardized recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of early breast cancer, helping clinicians make optimal decisions. This article interprets the main content of the guideline in order to provide references and assistance for the current clinical diagnosis and treatment of early breast cancer in China.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the time characteristics of the Ethos online adaptive radiotherapy (OART) process in clinical practice and provide guidance for the comprehensive optimization of each stage of adaptive radiotherapy. METHODS: The study involved 61 patients with cervical, rectal, gastric, lung, esophageal, and breast cancers who underwent Ethos OART. The mean ± standard deviation of segmental time, total time, and target volume for these patients were tracked. The time characteristics for different cancer types were evaluated, and the average time for target and organ at risk (OAR) modifications was compared with the average target volume for each cancer type. RESULTS: Cervical cancer born the longest total treatment time, while breast cancer had the shortest. For all cancer types except breast cancer, the modification time for target and OAR was the most time-consuming segment. The average time for target and OAR modifications aligned with the trend of the average target volume. CONCLUSION The total treatment time for various cancers ranges from 15 to 35 minutes, indicating room for improvement.
Humans ; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Female

Objective To calculate the absorbed doses and conversion coefficients of various organs in humans after oral administration of urea-¹⁴C, and to provide a convenient method for evaluating the internal radiation dose caused by ingestion of urea-¹⁴C in Chinese population. Methods The Chinese reference human voxel model was imported into the FLUKA software to simulate the absorbed doses to organs under internal exposure to ¹⁴C, and to obtain the dose conversion coefficients for oral administration of urea-¹⁴C. Results The absorbed dose conversion coefficients for the stomach, colon, bladder, heart, and muscles were 0.029, 0.029, 0.32 (0.24), 0.028, and 0.029 mGy/MBq in negative cases, and 0.079, 0.078, 0.18 (0.15), 0.076, and 0.080 mGy/MBq in positive cases. The committed effective dose coefficients were 0.041 (0.037) mSv/MBq in negative cases and 0.082 (0.081) mSv/MBq in positive cases. Conclusion The dose conversion coefficients obtained in this study can provide important parameters for evaluating the absorbed dose to Chinese population after oral administration of urea-¹⁴C.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of composite surgery in the treatment of chronic common carotid artery occlusion(CCAO).Methods:A retrospective descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 7 patients with CCAO admitted to Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2020 to December 2023 were collected retrospectively. There were 6 males and 1 female. The age was (66.7±10.9) years, ranging from 52 to 83 years. Outpatient or telephone follow-up were conducted after surgery, carotid artery ultrasound or computed tomography angiography were performed at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively to determine vascular patency. The selection of surgical methods and clinical effect were analyzed. Normally distributed measurement data were expressed as mean±standard deviation ( ± s). The measurement data of skewed distribution were expressed by M ( Q1, Q3). Count data were expressed as frequency. Results:All 7 patients were diagnosed with chronic CCAO before operation, 6 on the left and 1 on the right. 3 cases affected the middle and distal segments of the common carotid artery, 1 case affected the proximal segment, and 1 case each affected the middle and distal segments, the remaining case involves the entire common carotid artery. All the procedures were successfully performed, among which 4 cases underwent carotid endarterectomy combined with stent placement, and 3 cases did not receive stent placement after carotid endarterectomy. 1 patient developed neck hematoma after surgery and the remaining patients recovered well after surgery without any complications or deaths. The follow-up time was 13.5(4.0, 20.5) months; 1 patient was lost to follow-up, and 6 patients received effective follow-up. the common carotid artery remained unobstructed in all 6 patients, and there were no transient ischemic attacks or strokes during the follow-up period.Conclusion:Composite surgery is a safe and feasible method that can be used to treat chronic CCAO lesions, and has satisfactory short-term results.

Melanoma is the most aggressive skin malignant tumor, which is prone to early metastasis and relapse after treatment. Therapeutic tumor vaccines are new immunotherapies, which have the advantages of low toxicity and inhibiting tumor metastasis. Melanoma has a high mutation load and a large number of specific antigens. Currently, various types of tumor vaccines have been developed for melanoma, especially those based on dendritic cells (DC). Although the efficacy of therapeutic DC vaccines in melanoma has been confirmed by a number of studies, these vaccines still have problems such as insufficient immune effect and poor efficacy when used alone, and there is still a large room for improvement. In this paper, the current research status of therapeutic DC vaccines for melanoma was reviewed, and the research key points and optimization strategy of therapeutic DC tumor were prospected.

Drug-induced hyperglycemia/diabetes is a global issue. Some drugs induce hyperglycemia by activating the pregnane X receptor (PXR), but the mechanism is unclear. Here, we report that PXR activation induces hyperglycemia by impairing hepatic glucose metabolism due to inhibition of the hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-alpha (HNF4α)‒glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) pathway. The PXR agonists atorvastatin and rifampicin significantly downregulated GLUT2 and HNF4α expression, and impaired glucose uptake and utilization in HepG2 cells. Overexpression of PXR downregulated GLUT2 and HNF4α expression, while silencing PXR upregulated HNF4α and GLUT2 expression. Silencing HNF4α decreased GLUT2 expression, while overexpressing HNF4α increased GLUT2 expression and glucose uptake. Silencing PXR or overexpressing HNF4α reversed the atorvastatin-induced decrease in GLUT2 expression and glucose uptake. In human primary hepatocytes, atorvastatin downregulated GLUT2 and HNF4α mRNA expression, which could be attenuated by silencing PXR. Silencing HNF4α downregulated GLUT2 mRNA expression. These findings were reproduced with mouse primary hepatocytes. Hnf4α plasmid increased Slc2a2 promoter activity. Hnf4α silencing or pregnenolone-16α-carbonitrile (PCN) suppressed the Slc2a2 promoter activity by decreasing HNF4α recruitment to the Slc2a2 promoter. Liver-specific Hnf4α deletion and PCN impaired glucose tolerance and hepatic glucose uptake, and decreased the expression of hepatic HNF4α and GLUT2. In conclusion, PXR activation impaired hepatic glucose metabolism partly by inhibiting the HNF4α‒GLUT2 pathway. These results highlight the molecular mechanisms by which PXR activators induce hyperglycemia/diabetes.

Proteins and peptides (PPs) have gradually become more attractive therapeutic molecules than small molecular drugs due to their high selectivity and efficacy, but fewer side effects. Owing to the poor stability and limited permeability through gastrointestinal (GI) tract and epithelia, the therapeutic PPs are usually administered by parenteral route. Given the big demand for oral administration in clinical use, a variety of researches focused on developing new technologies to overcome GI barriers of PPs, such as enteric coating, enzyme inhibitors, permeation enhancers, nanoparticles, as well as intestinal microdevices. Some new technologies have been developed under clinical trials and even on the market. This review summarizes the history, the physiological barriers and the overcoming approaches, current clinical and preclinical technologies, and future prospects of oral delivery of PPs.

Self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDSs) have recently returned to the limelight of academia and industry due to their enormous potential in oral delivery of biomacromolecules. However, information on gastrointestinal lipolysis and trans-epithelial transport of SMEDDS is rare. Aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) fluorescent probes are utilized to visualize the