Background The prevalence of hyperuricemia (HUA) among Chinese residents has been increasing annually, with occupational populations facing a higher risk of HUA due to shift work or obesity. Objective To investigate the impact of shift work and obesity on HUA among coal miners, and to provide scientific data for the prevention of HUA in this occupational group. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 25619 workers from a coal mining group in 2023 as the study population, using a questionnaire survey and occupational health check-ups. Workers who were retired or on medical leave, as well as those who provided incomplete responses to the questionnaire or did not complete anthropometric measurements or blood tests, were excluded. A total of 23173 participants were included in the study. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between HUA and selected factors such as shift work status, years of shift work, daily shift work hours, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and visceral adiposity index (VAI), as well as the interaction between obesity and shift work on HUA. Restricted cubic spline functions were used to analyze the dose-response relationship between years of shift work, daily shift work hours, and HUA. Results The average age of the included workers was (42.38 ± 9.82) years. A total of 6735 workers reported positive HUA, with a positive rate of 29.1%, and the prevalence was higher in men compared to women (31.8% vs. 13.9%). After adjusting for confounding factors, the restricted cubic spline model revealed a nonlinear dose-response relationship between years of shift work, daily shift work duration, and HUA: ① When the years of shift work exceeded 3.25 years, the risk of HUA in workers gradually increased with longer work duration. At 20 years of shift work, the risk increase showed a "saturation effect," meaning that the risk of HUA no longer increased with additional years of shift work. ② When daily shift work duration was below 10 h, the risk of HUA increased with the length of shift work, but after exceeding 10 h, the risk stabilized. After adjusting for confounding factors, the logistic regression model showed that, compared to non-shift workers, shift workers, those with 10-20 years and over 20 years of shift work experience, as well as those working less than 8 h and more than 8 h per day, had a higher risk of HUA, with odds ratios (OR) of 1.14 (95%CI: 1.06, 1.22), 2.42 (95%CI: 2.20, 2.67), 2.23 (95%CI: 2.00, 2.48), 1.41 (95%CI: 1.29, 1.54), and 1.90 (95%CI: 1.75, 2.06), respectively. Additionally, compared to individuals with normal obesity indices, those with overweight and obesity based on BMI, high and very high VAI and excessive WHtR had a higher risk of HUA, with ORs of 2.01 (95%CI: 1.85, 2.17), 3.51 (95%CI: 3.20, 3.84), 1.42 (95%CI: 1.32, 1.54), 2.10 (95%CI: 1.91, 2.30), and 1.82 (95%CI: 1.69, 1.97), respectively. The interaction analysis showed no interaction between shift work and obesity index (both P_s < 0.001). Conclusion Shift work, longer shift work years, and longer daily shift work hours increase the risk of HUA among coal miners. Additionally, the role of obesity in the development of HUA cannot be ignored.

Breast cancer is recognized as the most common cancer in women globally, posing a serious threat to women′s health. The treatment of breast cancer proves diverse and complex, with radiotherapy serving as a crucial treatment modality. Notably, preoperative radiotherapy holds considerable potential for improving the prognosis of patients. With the advancement in radiotherapy technology, there is a need to re-examine the clinical significance of preoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer and to further explore its applications in clinical treatment. This review provides the current status of research on preoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer, aiming to provide a reference for the radiotherapy of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is recognized as the most common cancer in women globally, posing a serious threat to women′s health. The treatment of breast cancer proves diverse and complex, with radiotherapy serving as a crucial treatment modality. Notably, preoperative radiotherapy holds considerable potential for improving the prognosis of patients. With the advancement in radiotherapy technology, there is a need to re-examine the clinical significance of preoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer and to further explore its applications in clinical treatment. This review provides the current status of research on preoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer, aiming to provide a reference for the radiotherapy of breast cancer.

Objectives:This study aimed to analyze the clinical and molecular characteristics of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bloodstream infection (BSI) in patients with hematological diseases and to explore prognostic risk factors.Methods:This retrospective study included patients with hematologic diseases with CRE BSI at the Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital from January 2015 to December 2022. The clinical features, carbapenemase test results, antimicrobial treatments, and outcomes were analyzed.Results:A total of 120 patients developed CRE BSI. Escherichia coli (58/120, 48.3%) was the most prevalent Enterobacteriaceae, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (52/120, 43.3%). A total of 93 CRE strains were tested for carbapenemase, of which 75 strains produced carbapenemase (metalloenzyme: 51 strains; serine enzyme: 24 strains). The 30-day mortality rate after BSI was 24.2% (29/120). Univariate analysis revealed significantly lower mortality in patients treated with the ceftazidime-avibactam-containing regimen than in those treated with other antibiotics (7.8% vs 36.2%, P<0.001). Moreover, initiating active therapy within 24 h of BSI onset significantly reduced mortality (15.0% vs 33.3%, P=0.019). The proportion of patients with CRE colonization receiving active therapy within 12 and 24 h was significantly higher compared with patients without colonization (12 h: 14.5% vs 34.1%, P=0.012; 24 h: 40.8% vs 65.9%, P=0.008). Multivariate analysis revealed that septic shock ( HR=24.436, 95% CI 4.148 - 143.966, P<0.001) and pulmonary infection ( HR=9.346, 95% CI 2.718-32.140, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for death within 30 days. Appropriate therapy was initiated within 24 h ( HR=0.225, 95% CI 0.059 - 0.851, P=0.028), and treatment with the ceftazidime-avibactam-containing regimen ( HR=0.082, 95% CI 0.018-0.362, P=0.001) significantly reduced mortality. Conclusion:The prognosis of CRE BSI in patients with hematological diseases is poor. Timely, appropriate therapy and receipt of a ceftazidime-avibactam-containing regimen can improve survival and prognosis.

Objective:To investigate the influencing factors of pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and to compare the clinical prognosis of ESCC patients with and without pCR after NCRT (40 Gy/ 20F).Methods:Among patients enrolled in a prospective clinical study, 87 ESCC patients treated with NCRT followed by surgery in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital between June 2015 and October 2019 were selected. They were divided into the pCR ( n=35) and non-pCR groups ( n=52). Clinicopathological characteristics were retrospectively analyzed and subsequent follow-up was performed. Clinical prognosis and influencing factors were compared between two groups by using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results:After NCRT, 40% of the ESCC patients could achieve pCR. Univariate analysis showed that patients in the pCR group had a disease-free survival (DFS) of 39.3 months and an overall survival (OS) of 64.0 months. In comparison, patients in the non-pCR group had a DFS of only 14.1 months and an OS of only 25.2 months. The differences were statistically significant (DFS: P<0.01, OS: P<0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that whether pCR or not after NCRT, age, number of primary lesions, evaluation results after NCRT and postoperative pathological outcomes were important prognostic factors. The differences were statistically significant between two groups (all P<0.05). Conclusion:pCR after NCRT is significantly correlated with long-time survival of patients with ESCC, and pCR after NCRT has an important value in predicting clinical prognosis for long-term survival of ESCC patients.

Objectives:This study aimed to analyze the clinical and molecular characteristics of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bloodstream infection (BSI) in patients with hematological diseases and to explore prognostic risk factors.Methods:This retrospective study included patients with hematologic diseases with CRE BSI at the Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital from January 2015 to December 2022. The clinical features, carbapenemase test results, antimicrobial treatments, and outcomes were analyzed.Results:A total of 120 patients developed CRE BSI. Escherichia coli (58/120, 48.3%) was the most prevalent Enterobacteriaceae, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (52/120, 43.3%). A total of 93 CRE strains were tested for carbapenemase, of which 75 strains produced carbapenemase (metalloenzyme: 51 strains; serine enzyme: 24 strains). The 30-day mortality rate after BSI was 24.2% (29/120). Univariate analysis revealed significantly lower mortality in patients treated with the ceftazidime-avibactam-containing regimen than in those treated with other antibiotics (7.8% vs 36.2%, P<0.001). Moreover, initiating active therapy within 24 h of BSI onset significantly reduced mortality (15.0% vs 33.3%, P=0.019). The proportion of patients with CRE colonization receiving active therapy within 12 and 24 h was significantly higher compared with patients without colonization (12 h: 14.5% vs 34.1%, P=0.012; 24 h: 40.8% vs 65.9%, P=0.008). Multivariate analysis revealed that septic shock ( HR=24.436, 95% CI 4.148 - 143.966, P<0.001) and pulmonary infection ( HR=9.346, 95% CI 2.718-32.140, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for death within 30 days. Appropriate therapy was initiated within 24 h ( HR=0.225, 95% CI 0.059 - 0.851, P=0.028), and treatment with the ceftazidime-avibactam-containing regimen ( HR=0.082, 95% CI 0.018-0.362, P=0.001) significantly reduced mortality. Conclusion:The prognosis of CRE BSI in patients with hematological diseases is poor. Timely, appropriate therapy and receipt of a ceftazidime-avibactam-containing regimen can improve survival and prognosis.

Objective:To analyze the survival benefits and treatment related toxic effects of simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIB-RT) for non-operative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.Methods:The data of 2 132 ESCC patients who were not suitable for surgery or rejected operation, and underwent radical radiotherapy from 2002 to 2016 in 10 hospitals of Jing-Jin-Ji Esophageal and Esophagogastric Cancer Radiotherapy Oncology Group (3JECROG) were analyzed. Among them, 518 (24.3%) cases underwent SIB (SIB group) and 1 614 (75.7%) cases did not receive SIB (No-SIB group). The two groups were matched with 1∶2 according to propensity score matching (PSM) method (caliper value=0.02). After PSM, 515 patients in SIB group and 977 patients in No-SIB group were enrolled. Prognosis and treatment related adverse effects of these two groups were compared and the independent prognostic factor were analyzed.Results:The median follow-up time was 61.7 months. Prior to PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years overall survival (OS) rates of SIB group were 72.2%, 42.8%, 35.5%, while of No-SIB group were 74.3%, 41.4%, 31.9%, respectively ( P=0.549). After PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years OS rates of the two groups were 72.5%, 43.4%, 36.4% and 75.3%, 41.7%, 31.6%, respectively ( P=0.690). The univariate survival analysis of samples after PSM showed that the lesion location, length, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, gross tumor volume (GTV) and underwent SIB-RT or not were significantly associated with the prognosis of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Cox model multivariate regression analysis showed lesion location, TNM stage, GTV and simultaneous chemoradiotherapy were independent prognostic factors of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Stratified analysis showed that, in the patients whose GTV volume≤50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 34.7 and 30.3 months ( P=0.155), respectively. In the patients whose GTV volume>50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 16.1 and 20.1 months ( P=0.218). The incidence of radiation esophagitis and radiation pneumonitis above Grade 3 in SIB group were 4.3% and 2.5%, significantly lower than 13.1% and 11% of No-SIB group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The survival benefit of SIB-RT in patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma is not inferior to non-SIB-RT, but without more adverse reactions, and shortens the treatment time. SIB-RT can be used as one option of the radical radiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

Objective:To analyze the survival benefits and treatment related toxic effects of simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIB-RT) for non-operative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.Methods:The data of 2 132 ESCC patients who were not suitable for surgery or rejected operation, and underwent radical radiotherapy from 2002 to 2016 in 10 hospitals of Jing-Jin-Ji Esophageal and Esophagogastric Cancer Radiotherapy Oncology Group (3JECROG) were analyzed. Among them, 518 (24.3%) cases underwent SIB (SIB group) and 1 614 (75.7%) cases did not receive SIB (No-SIB group). The two groups were matched with 1∶2 according to propensity score matching (PSM) method (caliper value=0.02). After PSM, 515 patients in SIB group and 977 patients in No-SIB group were enrolled. Prognosis and treatment related adverse effects of these two groups were compared and the independent prognostic factor were analyzed.Results:The median follow-up time was 61.7 months. Prior to PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years overall survival (OS) rates of SIB group were 72.2%, 42.8%, 35.5%, while of No-SIB group were 74.3%, 41.4%, 31.9%, respectively ( P=0.549). After PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years OS rates of the two groups were 72.5%, 43.4%, 36.4% and 75.3%, 41.7%, 31.6%, respectively ( P=0.690). The univariate survival analysis of samples after PSM showed that the lesion location, length, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, gross tumor volume (GTV) and underwent SIB-RT or not were significantly associated with the prognosis of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Cox model multivariate regression analysis showed lesion location, TNM stage, GTV and simultaneous chemoradiotherapy were independent prognostic factors of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Stratified analysis showed that, in the patients whose GTV volume≤50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 34.7 and 30.3 months ( P=0.155), respectively. In the patients whose GTV volume>50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 16.1 and 20.1 months ( P=0.218). The incidence of radiation esophagitis and radiation pneumonitis above Grade 3 in SIB group were 4.3% and 2.5%, significantly lower than 13.1% and 11% of No-SIB group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The survival benefit of SIB-RT in patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma is not inferior to non-SIB-RT, but without more adverse reactions, and shortens the treatment time. SIB-RT can be used as one option of the radical radiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

Brachytherapy is an integral part of radiotherapy treatment for cervical cancer. With the rapid development of medical imaging technology, three-dimensional (3D) imaging modality has been applied in the brachytherapy for cervical cancer. After computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 3D ultrasound has been gradually applied to guide the brachytherapy for cervical cancer due to its superior soft tissue imaging characteristics, economy, high efficiency and convenience. In this article, the research progress on the application of ultrasonography in brachytherapy was summarized according to literature review, aiming to provide reference for subsequent research.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic factors of T1-2N0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with definitive radiotherapy. Methods: The clinical data of 196 patients with T1-2N0M0 ESCC who were treated with definitive radiotherapy in 10 hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. All sites were members of Jing-Jin-Ji Esophageal and Esophagogastric Cancer Radiotherapy Oncology Group (3JECROG). Radiochemotherapy were applied to 78 patients, while the other 118 patients received radiotherapy only. 96 patients were treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and 100 treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The median dose of plan target volume(PTV) and gross target volume(GTV) were both 60 Gy. The median follow-up time was 59.2 months. Log rank test and Cox regression analysis were used for univariat and multivariate analysis, respectively. Results: The percentage of normal lung receiving at least 20 Gy (V₂₀) was (18.65±7.20)%, with average dose of (10.81±42.05) Gy. The percentage of normal heart receiving at least 30 Gy (V₃₀) was (14.21±12.28)%. The maximum dose of exposure in spinal cord was (39.65±8.13) Gy. The incidence of radiation pneumonia and radiation esophagitis were 14.80%(29/196) and 65.82%(129/196), respectively. The adverse events were mostly grade 1-2, without grade 4 toxicity. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 70.1 months and 62.3 months, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates of all patients were 75.1%、57.4% and 53.2%, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year PFS rates were 75.1%、57.4% and 53.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that patients′age (HR=1.023, P=0.038) and tumor diameter (HR=1.243, P=0.028)were the independent prognostic factors for OS, while tumor volume were the independent prognostic factor for PFS. Conclusions Definitive radiotherapy is a promising therapeutic method in patients with T1-2N0M0 ESCC. Patients′ age, tumor diameter and tumor volume may impact patients′ prognosis.