Berlin became the focal point for innovation in breast cancer treatment at the European Society for Medical Oncology Breast Cancer(ESMO BC)Annual Meeting held in May 2024.The conference showcased the latest advancements in breast cancer treatment,in-cluding innovative therapies and strategies.Notably,research on cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6(CDK4/6)inhibitors combined with endo-crine therapy(ET)in the neoadjuvant treatment of early breast cancer,though not yet reaching its primary endpoint,suggests further re-search is needed in this area.The combination of CDK4/6 inhibitors with ET continues to be the standard adjuvant therapy for high-risk pa-tients,with abemaciclib showing consistent preliminary benefits in a subgroup of patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutations.Although ri-bociclib's adverse reactions can be managed,its use requires close monitoring.New selective CDK4 inhibitors,AKT inhibitors,antibody-drug conjugates,and immunotherapies offer additional treatment alternatives for patients with advanced breast cancer.This year's meeting showcased advancements in breast cancer treatment and provides new perspectives for future research directions and patient treatment strategies.This article overviews the critical research developments presented at the meeting.

【Objective】 To study the annual financial expenditure in blood stations with different scales, and to establish the regression equation between blood collection units and total expenditure. 【Methods】 The annual total expenditure, the per capita cost of serving population, as well as the collection units of whole blood and apheresis platelet of 24 blood stations were collected. The financial expenditure required for collecting 10 000U blood was calculated.The statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS statistical software. 【Results】 From 2017 to 2020, the total annual financial expenditure of 24 blood stations showed an upward trend. The total expenditure among blood stations was different. The per capita cost of servicing population in the areas where the 24 blood stations were located had been increasing year by year. The 24 blood stations were divided into two grades according to the blood collection volume as 50 000 U, and the relationship equation between the blood collection volume and the annual total expenditure had been established. After testing, each equation was effective(P<0.05); There was no difference in the financial expenditure required for collecting 10 000U blood among blood stations with different scales. 【Conclusion】 From 2017 to 2020, the blood stations with an annual collection volume more than 50 000 U demonstrated a higher financial expenditure and the per capita cost of serving population than those <50 000 U. The blood collection volume of blood stations is significantly correlated with the annual total expenditure and the per capita cost of serving population.

Activation of inflammatory responses regulates the transmission of pain pathways through an integrated network in the peripheral and central nervous systems. The immunopotentiator thymosin alpha-1 (Tα1) has recently been reported to have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective functions in rodents. However, how Tα1 affects inflammatory pain remains unclear. In the present study, intraperitoneal injection of Tα1 attenuated complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced pain hypersensitivity, and decreased the up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in inflamed skin and the spinal cord. We found that CFA-induced peripheral inflammation evoked strong microglial activation, but the effect was reversed by Tα1. Notably, Tα1 reversed the CFA-induced up-regulation of vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT) and down-regulated the vesicular γ-aminobutyric acid transporter (VGAT) in the spinal cord. Taken together, these results suggest that Tα1 plays a therapeutic role in inflammatory pain and in the modulation of microglia-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production in addition to mediation of VGLUT and VGAT expression in the spinal cord.

Objective To analyze the bone metabolism in hospitalized patients with Graves disease and the changes after 131I therapy.Methods The differences of bone metabolism were analyzed between 315 patients with Graves disease and 300 normal controls in a case-control study.The changes in bone turnover markers and BMD levels before and one year after 131I therapy were observed in 60 patients.Results Compared to normal control,bone turnover markers were markly higher and BMD levels were lower in patients with Graves disease.The level of thyroid hormones were positively related to bone turnover markers,while negatively related to total hip BMD (Z-score).But there was no linear relationship with lumbarand femoral neck BMD (Z-score).After one year of 131I therapy,bone turnover markers were markly lower than that before treatment,while BMD levels were partly higher than that before treatment.Conclusions In Graves disease patients,bone turnover markers were generally increased,while BMD levels decreased compared with normal people.After 131I therapy,along with the improvement of thyrotoxicosis,the high bone turnover rate can be suppressed,and BMD can partly recover.

BACKGROUND: Continuous blood purification can remove cytokines and inflammatory mediators, maintain homeostasis and prevent the occurrence of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in patients with severe pancreatitis, which has become the main therapy for severe pancreatitis. Since the hemodialysis technology began to be applied clinical y, the biological and physicochemical properties of hemodialysis membrane materials have been studied. A variety of hemodialysis membranes have been developed in order to improve the biocompatibility and anticoagulant effect in vitro. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application effect of hemodialysis membranes on severe pancreatitis. METHODS: Ten Wistar rats were selected to make rat models of severe pancreatitis and then were randomized into two groups (n=5 per group): homophone membrane group and polysulfone membrane group. Hemodialysis- related biochemical parameters were detected in the two groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the homophone membrane, ultrafiltration coefficient, creatinine clearance, blood urea nitrogen clearance, phosphorus clearance, number of circulating endothelial cel s, and levels of plasma nitric oxide and asymmetric dimethylarginine were significantly lower in the polysulfone membrane group (P < 0.05). Vitamin B12 clearance and amount of pre-congestion increased significantly in the polysulfone membrane group as compared with the homophone membrane (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that the polysulfone membrane for hemodialysis has good biocompatibility, and keeps a stable environment in vivo for severe pancreatitis patients.

Objective:To differentiate hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection from hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among different indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) subtypes. The correlation between indolent B-NHL and hepatitis viral infection was also investi-gated. Methods:A total of 733 indolent B-NHL patients from January 1994 to January 2014 with integrated clinical information were retrospectively investigated. We compared the hepatitis viral infection between the general population and indolent B-NHL patients. We analyzed the infection rate of hepatitis virus in the different indolent B-NHL subtypes and examined their correlations. Results:The HBs-Ag positive rate of the indolent B-NHL was 7.9%, which was not significantly different with that of the general population (7.9%vs. 7.2%, P=0.548). Among the different indolent B-NHL subtypes, the 48 splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) patients exhibited the highest HBs-Ag positive rate, which was significantly higher than those of the general population (18.8%vs. 7.2%, P=0.002), other indo-lent B-NHL subtypes (18.8%vs. 7.2%, P=0.004), and other marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZL) patients (18.8%vs. 7.1%, P=0.005). The HBs-Ag positive rates between other B-NHL subtypes and the general population were not significantly different. The coexpression of HBs-Ag, HBe-Ag, and anti-HBc-Ab exhibited no significant difference among the various B-NHL subtypes. However, the co-expres-sion of HBs-Ag, HBe-Ab, and anti-HBc-Ab was significantly higher in the SMZL group than the other B-NHL subtypes (16.7%vs. 4.7%, P<0.001).The positive rate of the anti-hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV-Ab) was 1.9%in 733 indolent B-NHL patients, which was significant-ly higher than in the general population (1.9%vs. 0.4%, P<0.001). The HCV-Ab positive rates in the chronic lymphocytic leukemia, lym-phoplasmacytic lymphoma/Waldenstr?m macroglobulinemia, SMZL, hairy cell leukemia, nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma group were 2.2%, 2.5%, 4.2%, 3%, and 3.7%, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those of the general population. Preva-lence rates of HCV in B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders, unclassified, extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associat-ed tissue lymphoma, B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, and follicular lymphoma groups were not significantly different compared with the general population. Conclusion:Prevalence rate of HBV was higher in the SMZL group than other indolent B-NHL groups, which suggests that HBV infection may play an etiologic role in SMZL.

PURPOSE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory joint disorder, the progression of which leads to the destruction of cartilage and bone. Chemokines are involved in RA pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated the chemokine signaling pathway associated with CCL2 in peripheral blood (PB) and synovial tissues (ST) of RA patients based on our previous work about chemokine signaling pathway involved in the activation of CCL2 production in collagen-induced arthritis rat ST. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total RNA was isolated from PB leukocytes and synovium of the knee joint in both RA patients and control populations. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine CCL4, CCR5, c-Jun, c-Fos, and CCL2 expressions. Serum level of CCL2 was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the production of CCL2 in ST was analyzed immunohistochemically. RESULTS: The expressions of CCL4, CCR5, c-Jun, c-Fos, and CCL2 messenger RNA in RA patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls, both in ST and on PB leukocyte. Serum CCL2 levels were elevated in RA patients. Histological examination of rheumatoid joints revealed extensive CCL2 expression in RA ST. CONCLUSION: CCL2, CCL4, c-Jun, c-Fos, and CCR5 may play an important role in the recruitment of PB leukocytes into the RA joints. These data provide evidence that the chemokine signaling pathway is involved in CCL2 expression in RA patient tissues, which may contribute to chronic inflammation associated with RA. Targeting this signaling pathway may provide a novel therapeutic avenue in RA.
Adult ; Animals ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/*blood/metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Chemokine CCL2/*blood/metabolism ; Chemokines/metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Rats ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Signal Transduction ; Synovial Membrane/*metabolism

Objective: To research the character of Chinese Medicine syndrome and syndrome factor on COPD by analyzing the neoteric literature of COPD,and to make the names of Chinese Medicine syndrome canonical.Methods: To search the neoteric literature of COPD,build up a literature data-base by epidata2.0 software and analyze the data.Results: The number of the names of Chinese Medicine syndrome changes from 322 to 178.In the acute stage,the highest frequency of Chinese Medicine syndrome is: blockage of the lung by phlegm-heat,heat phlegm,blockage of the lung by phlegm-heat and the stagnant blood.In the stable stage,the highest frequency of Chinese Medicine syndrome is: deficiency of vital energy of lung and kidney,deficiency of vital energy of lung,deficiency of vital energy and Yin, deficiency of lung and kidney,deficiency of vital energy of lung and spleen.The position of the illness is lung,kidney and spleen.The character of the illness is phlegm,deficiency of vital energy,heat,stagnant blood and deficiency.Conclusion: The names of Chinese Medicine syndrome are multiform and need to be canonical.The main character of COPD in the acute stage is affected by outside illness factors.The main character of COPD in the stable stage is weak inside.The syndromes are different when the illness in the different stages.