Radiotherapy is one of the main treatment methods for malignant tumors, which can cause the radiation damage to normal tissues. Radiation-induced skin injury (RISI) is one of the main adverse reactions caused by radiotherapy. The main clinical manifestations of RISI are dermatitis, ulcer, erosion and necrosis, which seriously affect the quality of life and treatment effect of tumor radiotherapy patients, and even affect the overall survival of patients. The pathological mechanism of RISI is still unclear. Some studies have shown that inflammation and oxidative stress are the main causes of RISI. RISI can be divided into acute and chronic RISI according to the different onset time, and different treatment strategies can be formulated according to the severity of the injury. In this article, clinical manifestations, classification, pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of RISI are comprehensively summarized.

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the chronological changes in postoperative complications in surgical ulcerative colitis patients over the past decade in China and to investigate the potential parameters that contributed to the changes. Methods: Ulcerative colitis patients who underwent surgery during 2008–2017 were retrospectively enrolled from 13 hospitals in China. Postoperative complications were compared among different operation years. Risk factors for complications were identified by logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 446 surgical ulcerative colitis patients were analyzed. Fewer short-term complications (24.8% vs. 41.0%, P=0.001) and more laparoscopic surgeries (66.4% vs. 25.0%, P<0.001) were found among patients who received surgery during 2014–2017 than 2008–2013. Logistic regression suggested that independent protective factors against short-term complications were a higher preoperative body mass index (odds ratio [OR], 0.870; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.785–0.964; P=0.008), laparoscopic surgery (OR, 0.391; 95% CI, 0.217–0.705; P=0.002) and elective surgery (OR, 0.213; 95% CI, 0.067–0.675; P=0.009). The chronological decrease in short-term complications was associated with an increase in laparoscopic surgery. Conclusions Our data revealed a downward trend of short-term postoperative complications among surgical ulcerative colitis patients in China during the past decade, which may be due to the promotion of minimally invasive techniques among Chinese surgeons.

Objective    To establish the gene-based esophageal cancer (ESCA) risk score prediction models via whole transcriptome analysis to provide ideas and basis for improving ESCA treatment strategies and patient prognosis. Methods    RNA sequencing data of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and adjacent tissues were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The edgeR method was used to screen out the differential genes between ESCA tissue and normal tissue, and the key genes affecting the survival status of ESCC and EAC patients were initially identified through univariate Cox regression analysis. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to further screen genes and establish ESCC and EAC risk score prediction models. Results    The risk score prediction models were the independent prognostic factors for ESCA, and the risk score was significantly related to the survival status of patients. In ESCC, the risk score was related to T stage. In EAC, the risk score was related to lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and clinical stage. The constructed nomogram based on risk score showed good predictive ability. In ESCC, the risk score was related to tumor immune cell infiltration and the expression of immune checkpoint genes. However, this feature was not obvious in EAC. Conclusion 聽 聽The ESCC and EAC risk score prediction models have shown good predictive capabilities, which provide certain inspiration and basis for optimizing the management of ESCA and improving the prognosis of patients.

Interface dermatitis refers to a group of skin diseases in which inflammation mainly involves the dermo-epidermal junction, including lichen planus, lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, lichen sclerosus, lichen nitidus, lichen striatus, erythema multiforme, bullous pemphigoid, Riehl melanosis, poikiloderma, large-plaque parapsoriasis/mycosis fungoides, etc. Interface dermatitis shows characteristic reflectance confocal microscopic features. This review summarizes reflectance confocal microscopic characteristics of interface dermatitis and recent progress in the application of reflectance confocal microscopy in auxiliary diagnosis of interface dermatitis.

Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has attracted more and more attention in the field of environmental pollution and public health. Previous studies have found that PM_2.5 can be inhaled and deposit in the airway and alveoli, and even spread to the whole-body tissues and organs through blood, resulting in various toxic effects. The malignant transformation of lung epithelial cells associated with long-term exposure to PM_2.5 may play an important role in the occurrence and development of lung cancer. This paper reviewed recent studies on the mechanisms of malignant transformation of lung epithelial cells associated with PM_2.5 exposure, and discussed the main biological mechanisms, including epigenetics, tumor microenvironment, and other biological pathways. Besides, the potential research directions of malignant transformation of lung epithelial cells associated with PM_2.5 exposure were proposed. This work aims to provide a scientific basis and reference for public health management and air quality assessment.

Liposomes have made remarkable achievements as drug delivery vehicles in the clinic. Liposomal products mostly benefited from remote drug loading techniques that succeeded in amphipathic and/or ionizable drugs, but seemed impracticable for nonionizable and poorly water-soluble therapeutic agents, thereby impeding extensive promising drugs to hitchhike liposomal vehicles for disease therapy. In this study, a series of weak acid drug derivatives were designed by a simplistic one step synthesis, which could be remotely loaded into liposomes by pH gradient method. Cabazitaxel (CTX) weak acid derivatives were selected to evaluate regarding its safety profiles, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics. CTX weak acid derivative liposomes were superior to Jevtana® in terms of safety profiles, including systemic toxicity, hematological toxicity, and potential central nerve toxicity. Specifically, it was demonstrated that liposomes had capacity to weaken potential toxicity of CTX on cortex and hippocampus neurons. Significant advantages of CTX weak acid derivative-loaded liposomes were achieved in prostate cancer and metastatic cancer therapy resulting from higher safety and elevated tolerated doses.

Objective    To evaluate the clinical outcomes of larynx-preserving limited resection with total thoracic esophagectomy and gastric pull-up reconstruction for the treatment of cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) without tumor involvement of the larynx and hypopharynx compared with the upper thoracic ESCC. Methods    Retrospective and comparative analysis of consecutive patients with cervical and upper thoracic ESCC who underwent R0 surgical resection from 2006 to 2011 in our center was performed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the patients’ survival. Results    In total, 44 pairs of patients, including 71 males and 17 females with an average age of 60.66±8.49 years were enrolled in the study after propensity score matching. The baseline characteristics of the two groups of patients were well balanced. There was no statistical difference in the operation time (P=0.100), blood loss (P=0.685), mortality rate in 30 days (P=1.000), total complication rate (P=0.829), cervical anastomosis leakage (P=0.816), mechanical ventilation (P=1.000), normal oral diet within 15 days (P=0.822) and anastomosis recurrence rate (P=0.676) between the two groups. Survival analysis showed that there was no statistical difference in survival time between the cervical group [31.83 (95%CI 8.65-55.02) months] and upper thoracic group [37.73 (95%CI 25.29-50.18) months, P=0.533]. The 5-year survival rates were 32.6% and 42.1%, respectively. Conclusion    Larynx-preserving limited resection  with total thoracic esophagectomy and gastric pull-up reconstruction for the treatment of cervical ESCC without involvement of the larynx and hypopharynx may result in a similar clinical outcome to upper thoracic ESCC.

The morbidity of scoliosis in adolescents in China is about 3%-5%, 80%-85% of the patients are adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), whose etiology is unknown. Scoliosis is a structural spine disease occurring during puberty or before skeletal maturation. Scoliosis has a greatly negative impacton not only the growth and development of adolescent spine, but also the mental health of adolescents. Ocular disease is a common clinical disease in which the eye ball and its accessory structures have structural abnormalitiesordys function. Ocular disease snotonly bring in convenience to patients's life, but also may induce diseases in other organs. Recent studies have shown that various ocular diseases may have a potential impact on scoliosis, and quite a fewof patients with certain ocular diseases have higher incidence rate of scoliosis. Therefore, in this article, the etiological relationship between eye diseases and scoliosis will be summarized, which provides guidance and direction for the etiological research of scoliosis and eye diseases. After sorting out, we found that the relationship between ophthalmic diseases and scoliosis mainly concentrated in the following four aspects: choroidal thickness and scoliosis, Goldenhar syndrome, gene level and strabismus. Among them, the genetic relationship is the most complex, about 40 kinds of gene or chromosome abnormalities have been found to cause ocular diseases and scoliosis; Goldenhar syndrome, also known as oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum, first revealed the relationship between ocular diseases and scoliosis, but the current statistical relationship is still very vague. There are few studies on choroidal thickness and strabismus at home and abroad, which are statistical studies, only revealing the relationship between choroidal thickness and scoliosis, and there are many defects in the study of choroidal thickness, which need further research.

Objective To investigate dermoscopic,reflectance confocal microscopic (RCM) and histopathological features of trichoepithelioma.Methods A total of 23 outpatients with histopathologically confirmed trichoepithelioma were enrolled from Department of Dermatology,Wuhan No.1 Hospital between January 2017 and December 2018.Dermoscopic and RCM images were collected,and the consistency was analyzed between dermoscopic or RCM features and histopathological features.Results Among the 23 patients,5 were male,and 18 were female.Their age was 39.5 ± 22.1 years.Histopathological examination showed that the tumor was well-circumscribed and surrounded by abundant fiber matrices,consisted of many basaloid cells forming clusters or interlacing cords with surrounding cells arranged in a fence-like pattern.Tumor cells differentiated into dermal papilla cells to different extents,and varying amounts of keratinous cysts were observed.RCM showed bud-like downward extension of cord-like cells at the dermoepidermal junction in 8 patients,which tended to be arranged in a fence-like pattern;seemingly lobulating nodular tumor masses were scattered in the dermis in 18 patients,which appeared as extended hypoechoic structures,with no constriction gap between tumor masses and surrounding tissues;tumor masses were surrounded by moderately to highly refractive amorphous substance in 16 patients;characteristic hair papilla structures suspected to be derived from primary differentiation were observed in 16 patients;keratinous cysts were clearly observed in 20 patients.Dermoscopy clearly showed that homogeneous pearlwhite structures in 20 patients,and linear telangiectasia in 10 patients.Conclusion RCM features of trichoepithelioma are highly consistent with its histopathological features,so reflectance confocal microscopy can serve as an efficient method for auxiliary and differential diagnosis.

A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that broke out at the end of 2019 is a newly discovered highly pathogenic human coronavirus and has some similarities with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor for infected cells by SARS-CoV. SARS-CoV can invade cells by binding to ACE2 through the spike protein and SARS-CoV-2 may also infect cells through ACE2. Meanwhile, ACE2 also plays an important role in the course of pneumonia. Therefore the possible role of ACE2 in SARS and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is worth discussing. This paper briefly summarized the role of ACE2 in SARS, and discussed the possible function of ACE2 in COVID-19 and potential risk of infection with other organs. At last, the function of ACE2 was explored for possible treatment strategies for SARS. It is hoped to provide ideas and theoretical support for clinical treatment of COVID-19.