Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common head and neck malignancy. Approximately 50% to 60% of patients with OSCC are diagnosed at a locally advanced stage (clinical staging III-IVa). Even with comprehensive and sequential treatment primarily based on surgery, the 5-year overall survival rate remains below 50%, and patients often suffer from postoperative functional impairments such as difficulties with speaking and swallowing. Programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitors are increasingly used in the neoadjuvant treatment of locally advanced OSCC and have shown encouraging efficacy. However, clinical practice still faces key challenges, including the definition of indications, optimization of combination regimens, and standards for efficacy evaluation. Based on the latest research advances worldwide and the clinical experience of the expert group, this expert consensus systematically evaluates the application of PD-1 inhibitors in the neoadjuvant treatment of locally advanced OSCC, covering combination strategies, treatment cycles and surgical timing, efficacy assessment, use of biomarkers, management of special populations and immune related adverse events, principles for immunotherapy rechallenge, and function preservation strategies. After multiple rounds of panel discussion and through anonymous voting using the Delphi method, the following consensus statements have been formulated: 1) Neoadjuvant therapy with PD-1 inhibitors can be used preoperatively in patients with locally advanced OSCC. The preferred regimen is a PD-1 inhibitor combined with platinum based chemotherapy, administered for 2-3 cycles. 2) During the efficacy evaluation of neoadjuvant therapy, radiographic assessment should follow the dual criteria of Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 and immune RECIST (iRECIST). After surgery, systematic pathological evaluation of both the primary lesion and regional lymph nodes is required. For combination chemotherapy regimens, PD-L1 expression and combined positive score need not be used as mandatory inclusion or exclusion criteria. 3) For special populations such as the elderly (≥ 70 years), individuals with stable HIV viral load, and carriers of chronic HBV/HCV, PD-1 inhibitors may be used cautiously under the guidance of a multidisciplinary team (MDT), with close monitoring for adverse events. 4) For patients with a poor response to neoadjuvant therapy, continuation of the original treatment regimen is not recommended; the subsequent treatment plan should be adjusted promptly after MDT assessment. Organ transplant recipients and patients with active autoimmune diseases are not recommended to receive neoadjuvant PD-1 inhibitor therapy due to the high risk of immune related activation. Rechallenge is generally not advised for patients who have experienced high risk immune related adverse events such as immune mediated myocarditis, neurotoxicity, or pneumonitis. 5) For patients with a good pathological response, individualized de escalation surgery and function preservation strategies can be explored. This consensus aims to promote the standardized, safe, and precise application of neoadjuvant PD-1 inhibitor strategies in the management of locally advanced OSCC patients.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the efficacy of DSA-guided intrathecal drug delivery system combined with Zi Wu Liu Zhu Acupoint Therapy for management of cancer pain and provide reference for its standardized clinical application. Methods and. RESULTS: Recommendations were formulated based on literature review and expert group discussion, and consensus was reached following expert consultation. The consensus recommendations are comprehensive, covering the entire treatment procedures from preoperative assessment and preparation, surgical operation process, postoperative management and traditional Chinese medicine treatment to individualized treatment planning. The study results showed that the treatment plans combining traditional Chinese with Western medicine effectively alleviated cancer pain, reduced the use of opioid drugs, and significantly improved the quality of life and enhanced immune function of the patients. Postoperative follow-up suggested good treatment tolerance among the patients without serious complications. CONCLUSIONS The formulated consensus is comprehensive and can provide reference for clinicians to use DSA-guided intrathecal drug delivery system combined with Zi Wu Liu Zhu Acupoint Therapy. The combined treatment has a high clinical value with a good safety profile for management of cancer pain.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Cancer Pain/therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Pain Management/methods* ; China

Objective: To evaluate the effect of postoperative radiotherapy and high-risk pathological factors on the prognosis of early-stage neuroendocrine carcinoma of cervix (NECC). Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study of early-stage NECC in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2011 to April 2022 were enrolled. The patients were treated with radical hysterectomy±adjuvant treatment. They were divided into postoperative non-radiation group and postoperative radiation group. The possible postoperative recurrence risk factors identified by univariate analysis were assessed using multivariate logistic regression. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), recurrence rate, and mortality rate. Results: (1) Sixty-two cases were included in the study, including 33 cases in postoperative non-radiation group and 29 cases in postoperative radiation group. (2) The median follow-up time was 37 months (ranged 12-116 months), with 23 cases (37%) experienced recurrences. There were 7 cases (11%) pelvic recurrences and 20 cases (32%) distant recurrences, in which including 4 cases (6%) both pelvic and distant recurrences. Compared with postoperative non-radiation group, the postoperative radiation group had a lower pelvic recurrence rate (18% vs 3%; P=0.074) but without statistic difference, a slightly elevated distant recurrence rate (24% vs 41%; P=0.150) and overall recurrence rate (33% vs 41%; P=0.513) without statistically significances. Univariate analysis showed that lymph-vascular space invasion and the depth of cervical stromal invasion≥1/2 were risk factors for postoperative recurrence (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed lymph-vascular space invasion was an independent predictor for postoperative recurrence (OR=23.03, 95%CI: 3.55-149.39, P=0.001). (3) During the follow-up period, 18 cases (29%, 18/62) died with tumor, with 10 cases (30%, 10/33) in postoperative non-radiation group and 8 cases (28%, 8/29) in postoperative radiation group, without significant difference (P=0.814). The postoperative 3-year and 5-year survival rate was 79.2%, 60.8%. The depth of cervical stromal invasion≥1/2 was more common in postoperative radiation group (27% vs 64%; P=0.011), and postoperative radiation in such patients showed an extended trend in PFS (32.3 vs 53.9 months) and OS (39.4 vs 73.4 months) but without statistic differences (P=0.704, P=0.371). Compared with postoperative non-radiation group, the postoperative radiation did not improve PFS (54.5 vs 37.3 months; P=0.860) and OS (56.2 vs 62.4 months; P=0.550) in patients with lymph-vascular space invasion. Conclusions: Postoperative radiation in early-stage NECC patients has a trend to reduce pelvic recurrence but not appear to decrease distant recurrence and overall recurrence, and has not improved mortality. For patients with the depth of cervical stromal invasion≥1/2, postoperative radiation has a trend of prolonging OS and PFS but without statistic difference. Lymph-vascular space invasion is an independent predictor for postoperative recurrence, but postoperative radiation in such patients does not seem to have any survival benefits.
Female ; Humans ; Cervix Uteri/surgery* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/surgery* ; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine/surgery* ; Recurrence

This study investigated the effects of Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction on myocardial metabolites in a rat model of coronary heart disease with heart blood stasis syndrome and explored the therapeutic mechanism of blood circulation-promoting and blood stasis-removing therapy. SD rats were randomly divided into a sham operation group, a model group, a Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction group(14.04 g·kg~(-1)), and a trimetazidine group(5.4 mg·kg~(-1)). The sham operation group underwent thread insertion without ligation, while the other groups underwent coronary artery left anterior descending branch ligation to induce a model of coronary heart disease with heart blood stasis syndrome. Three days after modeling, drug intervention was performed, and samples were taken after 14 days of intervention. General conditions were observed, and electrocardiogram and cardiac ultrasound indices were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and Masson staining were used to observe tissue pathological morphology. The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure the levels of triglyceride(TG) and total cholesterol(TC) in the serum. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quantitative exactive-mass spectrometry(UHPLC-QE-MS) technology was used to screen differential metabolites in myocardial tissue and conduct metabolic pathway enrichment analysis. The results showed that Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction significantly improved the general condition of the model rats, reduced heart rate and ST segment elevation in the electrocardiogram, increased left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening(LVFS), and decreased left ventricular internal diameter in diastole(LVIDd) and left ventricular internal diameter in systole(LVIDs). HE staining and Masson staining showed that Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction effectively alleviated myocardial tissue structural disorders, inflammatory cell infiltration, and collagen fiber deposition in the model rats. ELISA results showed that Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction effectively regulated serum TG and TC levels in the model rats. There were significant differences in the metabolic phenotypes of myocardial samples in each group. Fourteen differential metabolites were identified in the Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction group, involving five metabolic pathways, including arginine and proline metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, ether lipid metabolism, and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism. Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction improved cardiac function and myocardial structural damage in the rat model of coronary heart disease with heart blood stasis syndrome, and its biological mechanism involved the regulation of lipid metabolism, choline metabolism, amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, and protein synthesis pathways.
Rats ; Animals ; Stroke Volume ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Coronary Disease/drug therapy* ; Metabolomics

Depression syndromes(anxiety and depression), as typical psychological disorders, often coexist with and mutually influence coronary heart disease(CHD). They constitute a psycho-cardiology disease involving both the blood vessels of the heart and the spirit of the heart. Based on the theory of "coexistence of diseases and depression syndromes", it was proposed that CHD and depression syndromes coexisted independently and were causally related. The factors of depression syndromes go through the entire course of CHD and have different causal relationships at different stages, leading to a pathogenic process of "depression causing disease" or "disease causing depression". In the chronic latent period, phlegm predominates, with depression leading to the production of phlegm. Phlegm accumulation and Qi stagnation initiate a mutual damage process of psycho-cardiology, marking the onset of the disease. In the pathological development period, blood stasis becomes predominant. Depression leads to blood stasis, which further obstructs Qi circulation, accelerating disease progression. In the acute attack period, toxicity becomes crucial. Depression transforms into toxicity, damaging Qi and blood, disturbing the balance of the mind, and inducing a sudden and severe exacerbation of the disease. Based on this, the approach of treating phlegm and depression together, treating blood stasis and depression together, and treating toxicity and depression together by stages was established. Research has found that this approach can simultaneously improve organic damage and emotional disorders, and also has a regulating effect on micro-level syndrome indicators, achieving harmonization of psycho-cardiology in the treatment.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Depression/diagnosis* ; Coronary Disease/diagnosis* ; Mucus ; Syndrome ; Anxiety

Atherosclerosis(AS) is the key pathological basis of coronary heart disease(CHD), and lipid infiltration is a classical theory to explain the pathological mechanism of AS. The theory highlights that the occurrence and development of AS are closely related to abnormal lipid metabolism, with the essence of the pathological reaction caused by the invasion of lipids into arterial intima from plasma. Phlegm and blood stasis are physiologically homologous and subject to pathological co-existence. Phlegm-blood stasis correlation is the basic theory to explain the pathogenesis characteristics of CHD and has important guiding significance for revealing the mecha-nism of lipid infiltration of CHD. Phlegm is the pathological product of abnormal metabolism of Qi, blood, and body fluid, and a gene-ral summary of a series of abnormally expressed lipid substances. Among them, turbid phlegm invades the heart vessels, gradually accumulates, and condenses to achieve the qualitative change from "invisible pathogen" to "tangible pathogen", which corresponds to the mechanism of lipid migration and deposition in the intima of blood vessels, and is the starting factor of the disease. Blood stasis is the continuous development of phlegm, and it is a result of pathological states such as decreased blood fluidity, increased blood coagulation, and abnormal rheology. The fact that blood stasis caused by phlegm accords with the pathological process of "lipid abnormality-circulatory disturbance" and is the central link of the disease. Phlegm and blood stasis aggravate each other and lead to indissoluble cementation. The phlegm-blood stasis combination serves as common pathogen to trigger the disease, which is the inevitable outcome of the disease. Based on the phlegm-blood stasis correlation theory, the simultaneous treatment of phlegm and blood stasis is established. It is found that this therapy can simultaneously regulate blood lipid, reduce blood viscosity, and improve blood circulation, which can fundamentally cut off the biological material basis of the reciprocal transformation between phlegm and blood stasis, thus exerting a significant curative effect.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Coronary Disease ; Mucus ; Atherosclerosis ; Lipids

OBJECTIVE: To study effects of Shenmai Injection on hypertensive heart failure and its mechanism for inhibiting myocardial fibrosis. METHODS: Salt-sensitive (Dahl/SS) rats were fed with normal diet (0.3% NaCl) and the high-salt diet (8% NaCl) to observe the changes in blood pressure and heart function, as the control group and the model group. Salt-insensitive rats (SS-13BN) were fed with the high-salt diet (8% NaCl) as the negative control group. After modeling, the model rats were randomly divided into heart failure (HF) group, Shenmai Injection (SMI) group and pirfenidone (PFD) group by a random number table, with 6 rats in each group. They were given sterilized water, SMI and pirfenidone, respectively. Blood pressure, cardiac function, fibrosis and related molecular expression were detected by sphygmomanometer, echocardiogram, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), hematoxylin-eosin staining, Masson staining, immunofluorescence and qPCR analysis. RESULTS: After high-salt feeding, compared with the control and negative control group, in the model group the blood pressure increased significantly, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fraction shortening (LVFS) were significantly reduced, and the serum NT-proBNP concentration increased significantly (all P<0.05); furthermore, the arrangement of myocardial cells was disordered, the edema was severe, and the degree of myocardial fibrosis was also significantly increased (P<0.05); the protein and mRNA expressions of collagen type I (Col I) were up-regulated (P<0.05), and the mRNA expressions of transforming growth factor β 1 (TGF- β 1), Smad2 and Smad3 were significantly up-regulated (P<0.05). Compared with HF group, after intervention of Shenmai Injection, LVEF and LVFS increased, myocardial morphology was improved, collagen volume fraction decreased significantly (P<0.05), and the mRNA expressions of Col I, TGF- β 1, Smad2 and Smad3, as well as Col I protein expression, were all significantly down-regulated (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION Myocardial fibrosis is the main pathological manifestation of hypertensive heart failure, and Shenmai Injection could inhibit myocardial fibrosis and effectively improve heart failure by regulating TGF-β 1/Smad signaling pathway.
Rats ; Animals ; Stroke Volume ; Sodium Chloride ; Rats, Inbred Dahl ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Heart Failure ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/metabolism* ; Hypertension ; Fibrosis ; RNA, Messenger

Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) as a family member of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), have been defined as novel innate immune cells in the past decade. ILC3 include a variety of heterogenous subsets with different phenotypes and functions, which are mainly distributed in barrier organs such as the intestine, lung and skin. They play an important role in immune regulation, tissue repair and lymphoid tissue formation. However, in various inflammatory diseases, ILC3 become dysregulated and participate in the pathogenesis through secreting a series of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-17, IL-22, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to modulate other immune cells and induce the formation of ectopic lymphoid structures. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the phenotype and function of ILC3 in order to advance the understanding of inflammatory diseases and find new therapeutic targets. In this article, the phenotypic characteristics, biological functions and research progress of ILC3 in inflammatory diseases were reviewed.
Cytokines ; Immunity, Innate ; Interferon-gamma ; Intestines ; Lymphocytes

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) on ghrelin and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (PI3K/Akt/eNOS) signaling pathway in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). METHODS: Eight Wistar-Kyoto rats were used as the healthy blood pressure (BP) control (normal group), and 32 SHRs were randomized into model group, EA group, EA plus ghrelin group (EA + G group), and EA plus PF04628935 group (a potent ghrelin receptor blocker; EA + P group) using a random number table. Rats in the normal group and model group did not receive treatment, but were immobilized for 20 min per day, 5 times a week, for 4 continuous weeks. SHRs in the EA group, EA + G group and EA + P group were immobilized and given EA treatment in 20 min sessions, 5 times per week, for 4 weeks. Additionally, 1 h before EA, SHRs in the EA + G group and EA + P group were intraperitoneally injected with ghrelin or PF04628935, respectively, for 4 weeks. The tail-cuff method was used to measure BP. After the 4-week intervention, the rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, and pathological morphology of the abdominal aorta was observed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the levels of ghrelin, nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) in the serum. Isolated thoracic aortic ring experiment was performed to evaluate vasorelaxation. Western blot was used to measure the expression of PI3K, Akt, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) and eNOS proteins in the abdominal aorta. Further, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to measure the relative levels of mRNA expression for PI3K, Akt and eNOS in the abdominal aorta. RESULTS: EA significantly reduced the systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) (P < 0.05). HE staining showed that EA improved the morphology of the vascular endothelium to some extent. Results of ELISA indicated that higher concentrations of ghrelin and NO, and lower concentrations of ET-1 and TXA2 were presented in the EA group (P < 0.05). The isolated thoracic aortic ring experiment demonstrated that the vasodilation capacity of the thoracic aorta increased in the EA group. Results of Western blot and qRT-PCR showed that EA increased the abundance of PI3K, p-Akt/Akt and eNOS proteins, as well as expression levels of PI3K, Akt and eNOS mRNAs (P < 0.05). In the EA + G group, SBP and DBP decreased (P < 0.05), ghrelin concentrations increased (P < 0.05), and the concentrations of ET-1 and TXA2 decreased (P < 0.05), relative to the EA group. In addition, the levels of PI3K and eNOS proteins, the p-Akt/Akt ratio, and the expression of PI3K, Akt and eNOS mRNAs increased significantly in the EA + G group (P < 0.05), while PF04628935 reversed these effects. CONCLUSION EA effectively reduced BP and protected the vascular endothelium, and these effects may be linked to promoting the release of ghrelin and activation of the PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway.
Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Ghrelin/pharmacology* ; Nitric Oxide/metabolism* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III/pharmacology* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/pharmacology* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/pharmacology* ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Signal Transduction

Golgi protein 73 (GP73) is a transmembrane protein on the Golgi apparatus and can be cut and released into the blood. In recent years, an increasing number of clinical studies have shown that the elevated serum GP73 level is closely related to liver diseases. And thus GP73 is expected to be used as a new serum marker for assessing progress of chronic liver diseases. Herein, the clinical application of serum GP73 in chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma with different etiologies was reviewed based on available literatures; and a research outlook in this field is made.
Biomarkers ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Golgi Apparatus ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Neoplasms