Humans ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/pathology* ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/pathology* ; Genetic Markers ; Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics* ; Urothelium/pathology*

BACKGROUND: The KangDuo-Surgical Robot-01 (KD-SR-01) system is a new surgical robot recently developed in China. The aim of this study was to present our single-center experience and mid-term outcomes of urological procedures using the KD-SR-01 system. METHODS: From August 2020 to April 2023, consecutive urologic procedures were performed at Peking University First Hospital using the KD-SR-01 system. The clinical features, perioperative data, and follow-up outcomes were prospectively collected and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 110 consecutive patients were recruited. Among these patients, 28 underwent partial nephrectomy (PN), 41 underwent urinary tract reconstruction (26 underwent pyeloplasty, 3 underwent ureteral reconstruction and 12 underwent ureterovesical reimplantation [UR]), and 41 underwent radical prostatectomy (RP). The median operative time for PN was 112.5 min, 157.0 min for pyeloplasty, 151.0 min for ureteral reconstruction, 142.5 min for UR, and 138.0 min for RP. The median intraoperative blood loss was 10 mL for PN, 10 mL for pyeloplasty, 30 mL for ureteral reconstruction, 20 mL for UR, and 50 mL for RP. All procedures were successfully completed without conversion, and there were no major complications in any patient. The median warm ischemia time of PN was 17.3 min, and positive surgical margin was not noted in any patient. The overall positive surgical margin rate of RP was 39% (16/41), and no biochemical recurrence was observed in any RP patient during the median follow-up of 11.0 months. The surgical success rates of pyeloplasty and UR were 96% (25/26) and 92% (11/12) during the median follow-up of 29.5 months and 11.5 months, respectively. CONCLUSION The KD-SR-01 system appears feasible, safe, and effective for most urological procedures, based on our single-center experience.
Male ; Humans ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Robotics ; Treatment Outcome ; Retrospective Studies ; Ureter/surgery* ; Urologic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Laparoscopy/methods*

Objective    To explore the application value of machine learning models in predicting postoperative survival of patients with thoracic squamous esophageal cancer. Methods    The clinical data of 369 patients with thoracic esophageal squamous carcinoma who underwent radical esophageal cancer surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital from January 2014 to September 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 279 (75.6%) males and 90 (24.4%) females aged 41-78 years. The patients were randomly divided into a training set (259 patients) and a test set (110 patients) with a ratio of 7 : 3. Variable screening was performed by selecting the best subset of features. Six machine learning models were constructed on this basis and validated in an independent test set. The  performance of the models' predictions was evaluated by area under the curve (AUC), accuracy and logarithmic loss, and the fit of the models was reflected by calibration curves. The best model was selected as the final model. Risk stratification was performed using X-tile, and survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test. Results    The 5-year postoperative survival rate of the patients was 67.5%. All clinicopathological characteristics of patients between the two groups in the training and test sets were not statistically different (P>0.05). A total of seven variables, including hypertension, history of smoking, history of alcohol consumption, degree of tissue differentiation, pN stage, vascular invasion and nerve invasion, were included for modelling. The AUC values for each model in the independent test set were: decision tree (AUC=0.796), support vector machine (AUC=0.829), random forest (AUC=0.831), logistic regression (AUC=0.838), gradient boosting machine (AUC=0.846), and XGBoost (AUC=0.853). The XGBoost model was finally selected as the best model, and risk stratification was performed on the training and test sets. Patients in the training and test sets were divided into a low risk group, an intermediate risk group and a high risk group, respectively. In both data sets, the differences in surgical prognosis among three groups were statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion    Machine learning models have high value in predicting postoperative prognosis of thoracic squamous esophageal cancer. The XGBoost model outperforms common machine learning methods in predicting 5-year survival of patients with thoracic squamous esophageal cancer, and it has high utility and reliability.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Kangduo endoscopic surgical robot system for partial nephrectomy.Methods:Consecutive patients with stage T 1 renal tumor meeting the inclusion criteria from the Department of Urology, Peking University First Hospital from December 2020 to February 2021 were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent partial nephrectomy with the Kangduo endoscopic surgical robot system after signing the informed consent. Clinical data including preoperative, perioperative and postoperative pathology and follow-up were collected. Results:Among the 26 patients, there were 16 males and 10 females, with a median age of 53(33-74) years, and a median body mass index of 25.99(20.90-32.91) kg/m 2. There were 12 cases of left kidney tumor and 14 cases of right kidney tumor. The median tumor diameter was 2.2(1.0-3.5) cm. The median time of warm ischemia was 17.7(7.1-29.2) minutes, and all of them were less than 30 minutes. The median docking time was 4.7(2.3-9.9) minutes, and the median time of robotic arm operation was 65.0 (37.0-155.0) minutes. The median National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) score was 5.3 (2.0-28.0), and no instrument-related adverse events occurred intraoperatively. The median postoperative hospital stay was 4 (4-5) days. All tumor margins were negative on pathologic reports. No Clavien Ⅱ stage operative complications occurred in all patients during perioperative period and 1 month after the surgery. Conclusions:The partial nephrectomy using the kangduo endoscopic surgical robot system were completed successfully, and no instrument-related adverse events and complications occurred, showing that this surgical system used for partial nephrectomy is safe and effective.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to explore the effects of hsa-let-7g on cell proliferation and apoptosis, and elucidate its role in lung cancer development.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression levels of has-let-7g and HOXB1 in tissues and cells were measured by qRT-PCR. An inhibitor of hsa-let-7g or one targeting a control messenger RNA were transfected into A549 and H1944 lung cancer cells, and the effects of hsa-let-7g dysregulation on cell viability and apoptosis were analyzed using CCK-8 and apoptosis detection assays. HOXB1 was confirmed as the target gene of hsa-let-7g, based on luciferase reporter assay results. The relationship between hsa-let-7g and HOXB1 was confirmed by co-transfection of inhibitors of hsa-let-7g and HOXB1 followed by Western blot, CCK-8, and apoptosis detection assays.RESULTS: We observed high expression of hsa-let-7g in lung cancer tissues compared to the corresponding normal tissues, and generally higher expression of hsa-let-7g in patients with advanced tumor classification. The results of CCK-8 and apoptosis detection experiments showed that the inhibition of hsa-let-7g significantly inhibited proliferation of A549 and H1944 cells, but also promoted apoptosis. HOXB1 is a specific target of hsa-let-7g, and downregulation of HOXB1 in lung cancer cells reversed the suppressive effects caused by knocking down hsa-let-7g.CONCLUSION: These data collectively suggest that the expression of hsa-let-7g inhibits lung cancer cells apoptosis and promotes proliferation by down-regulating HOXB1. The results from this study demonstrate the potential of hsa-let-7g/HOXB1 axis as a therapeutic target for the treatment of lung cancer.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Survival ; Classification ; Down-Regulation ; Humans ; Luciferases ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung ; MicroRNAs ; RNA, Messenger ; Sincalide

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of three-dimensional arterial spin marker imaging(3D-ASL) for evaluating collateral circulation compensatory status in patients with cerebral infarction.Methods:A total of 24 patients with cerebral infarction who were treated at Wenzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Zhejiang University of Chinese Medicine from September 2017 to January 2019 were examined by 1.5-T high-field MR scanner.The changes of cerebral blood flow(CBF) between the infarcted area and the contralateral normal area were compared when the labeled delay time(PLD)=1.5s and PLD=2.5s, and the patients were divided into the group with strong collateral circulation compensation and the group with weak collateral circulation compensation according to the difference in lesion area measured by 3D-ASL(PLD=1.5s and 2.5s). The changes of national institutes of health stroke scale(NIHSS) score and Bathel index at admission and 15 days after admission were compared.Results:3D-ASL measurement of PLD=1.5s showed that the CBF value in the infarcted area was (33.70±20.83)mL/(100g×min), which was significantly lower than that in the contralateral normal area(PLD=1.5s)[(49.93±13.13)mL/(100g×min)]( t=3.229, P<0.05). When PLD=2.5s, ASL measurement results showed that the CBF value in the infarcted area increased significantly[(58.26±23.50)mL/(100g×min) vs.(33.70±20.83)mL/(100g×min)]( t=3.831, P<0.05), and the CBF value in the contralateral normal area also increased significantly[(68.29±14.03)mL/(100g×min) vs.(49.93±13.13)mL/(100g×min)]( t=4.681, P<0.05). At this time, the CBF value in the infarcted area was still significantly lower than that in the contralateral normal area[(58.26±23.50)mL/(100g×min) vs.(68.29±14.03)mL/(100g×min)]( t=1.795, P<0.05). On the day of admission, the BI index of patients in the weak collateral circulation compensation group(12 cases) was significantly higher than that in the strong collateral circulation compensation group(12 cases)[(90.42±10.50) vs.(67.92±27.57)]( t=2.642, P<0.05), and the NIHSS score was significantly lower than that in the strong collateral circulation compensation group[(1.25±1.01) vs.(3.83±3.62)]( t=2.378, P<0.05). After 15 d of admission, there were no significant differences in BI index and NIHSS score between the two groups(all P>0.05). Conclusion:3D-ASL with different delay time can effectively and intuitively reflect collateral circulation compensation of patients with cerebral infarction, and it has very important reference value for the evaluation of patients' disease and the formulation of clinical treatment plan.

China ; Humans ; Streptococcus pneumoniae

OBJECTIVETo investigate the dynamic features of angiogenesis in residual tumors after high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU),and to determine the temporal effect and mechanism of hypoxia inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2a) in the angiogenic process of residual tumors.

METHODSXenograft tumors of HepG2 cells were generated by subcutaneously inoculating athymic BALB/c nu/nu mice with the hepatoma cells.About 30 days after inoculation,all mice (except in the control group) were treated by HIFU and assigned randomly to the following 7 groups according to various time intervals post-treatment:1st,3rd,5th day and 1st,2nd,3rd,4th week when the residual tumor tissues were obtained from the experimental groups.Protein levels of HIF-2a and vascular growth factor A (VEGF-A) were quantified by immunohistochemistry and western blotting,and mRNA levels were measured by (real-time quantitative) qPCR. Microvascular density (MVD) was calculated by counting the CD31-positive vascular endothelial cells identified by means of an immunohistochemical staining method.

RESULTSCompared with results from the control group,the protein and mRNA levels of HIF-2a expression reached the highest level in the experimental mice at the 2nd week (P=0.000 and P < 0.01 respectively),and were decreased thereafter(3rd week and 4th week, P=0.000 and P < 0.05).VEGF-A expression in the residual tumor tissues group that received HIFU was significantly decreased,compared with the control group,at all time points uPto 1 week (all P=0.000 and P < 0.01),but the levels increased compared to controls in the 2nd through 4th week (all P=0.000, P < 0.05). Similar results were obtained for MVD.

CONCLUSIONHIFU treatment can inhibit angiogenesis in residual hepatoma tissues in the short-term (1 to 2 weeks post-treatment) in mice with hepatocellular carcinoma,but can promote angiogenesis overtime (2 to 4 weeks post-treatment); the angiogenic process may involve the HIF-2α/VEGFA pathway.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Hep G2 Cells ; High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

Objective To study the MRI of cervical spinal cord injury without fracture and dislocation and explore of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of injured site related to the severity of injury. Methods 46 patients with cervical spinal cord injury without fracture and dislocation and 20 healthy controls were scaned with routine MRI and diffusion weighted imaging. The ADC value of site of injury and grades of Frankel's classification were analyze with the correlation. Results There were 22 cases with spinal cord edema, 8 cases with intramedullary hemorrhage, 14 cases with edema and hemorrhage, 2 cases without abnormal finding. The ADC of controls and patients were (1.05±0.12)×10-3 mm2/s, (1.21±0.23)×10-3 mm2/s (t=0.704, P<0.05). The ADC values positively correlated with the grades of Frankel's classification (r=0.407, P<0.05). Conclusion MRI may help to find the cervical cord injury in those without fracture and dislocation, and the ADC may be resposible to the severity of injury.