Multiple myeloma(MM)is a malignant plasma cell clonal disease and the second most common malignant tumor of the blood system,accounting for approximately 1%of all tumor diseases and 13%of hematologic cancers.In recent years,its incidence has shown an upward trend.The development of proteasome inhibitors(PIs),immunomodulatory drugs(IMiDs),and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(auto-HSCT)has greatly improved the efficacy and prognosis of patients with myeloma.Among these,the development and clinical application of PIs represents a major milestone.However,long-term clinical experiencehas revealed that patients with MM who used PIs may develop new heart diseases,such as hypertension,cardiac insufficiency,arrhythmia,and ischemic heart disease,especially those who used cafilzomib.The use of PIs increases the probability of adverse cardiovascular events(CVAEs).Owing to the significant heterogen-eity in the definition of cardiotoxic endpoints,the exclusion of high-risk patients in clinical trials and the detection and treatment of PI-re-lated CVAEs vary.Therefore,the lack of sufficient evidence-based medical data hinders the standardized diagnosis and treatment of PI-re-lated CVAEs.This review summarizes the relevant mechanisms and response measures of cardiovascular diseases induced by PIs.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics, treatment response, and prognosis of patients newly diagnosed with immunoglobulin A multiple myeloma (IgA MM), and to ascertain whether the IgA isotype remains a poor prognostic factor in the bortezomib era.Methods:This study retrospectively enrolled 155 patients newly diagnosed with IgA MM and 420 with non-IgA MM admitted to the Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from March 2014 to December 2021. We compared the two groups in terms of their clinical characteristics, prognoses, and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) following different treatment regimens.Results:Compared with the non-IgA group, the IgA group presented with more aggressive clinical features, including a higher proportion of patients with hemoglobin<85 g/L (61.3% vs 51.4%, P=0.035), extramedullary manifestations (20.0% vs 11.4%, P=0.008), and gain/amp (1q21) (48.6% vs 36.7%, P=0.032). Efficacy analysis revealed a lower overall response rate (ORR) in the IgA group than in the non-IgA group (83.2% vs 92.4%, P=0.001). Among patients treated with bortezomib-based regimens, the ORR was 91.2% in the IgA group and 94.8% in the non-IgA group, but the difference was nonsignificant ( P=0.146). Survival analysis showed that the median PFS and OS were significantly shorter in the IgA group compared with the non-IgA group[23.5 (95% CI: 17.4-29.5) months and 48.8 (95% CI: 30.1-67.5) months vs 40.7 (95% CI: 33.8 - 47.6) months and not reached, respectively; P<0.001 and P=0.002]. In the subgroup of patients who received bortezomib-based therapy without subsequent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT), the PFS and OS were significantly shorter in the IgA group compared with the non-IgA group[25.4 (95% CI: 18.7-32.1) months and 53.5 (95% CI: 35.4-71.6) months vs 41.0 (95% CI: 33.7-48.3) months and not reached; P=0.001 and P=0.011]. In patients who underwent bortezomib-based induction therapy followed by auto-HSCT, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates for the IgA group were 96%, 81%, and 81%, respectively, compared with 93%, 89%, and 79% for the non-IgA group, but the difference was nonsignificant ( P=0.758) . Conclusion:In the bortezomib era, IgA MM is still associated with a poorer overall prognosis than non-IgA MM, likely due to its inherent high-risk biological characteristics. Although bortezomib-based regimens effectively improve the treatment response, they fail to completely bridge the survival gap between the two disease isotypes. Therefore, bortezomib-based therapy followed by auto-HSCT may be a key strategy to overcome the poor prognosis of IgA MM, potentially enabling these patients to achieve long-term survival comparable to that of their non-IgA counterparts.

Immunotherapy has become a pivotal modality in clinical cancer treatment. However, its effectiveness is limited to a small subset of patients due to the low antigenicity, impaired innate response, and various adaptive immune resistance mechanisms of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Accumulating evidence reveals the critical roles of metal elements in shaping immunity against tumor progression and metastasis. The marriage of metalloimmunotherapy and nanotechnology further presents new opportunities to optimize the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of metal ions in a precise spatiotemporal control manner. Several metallodrugs have demonstrated encouraging immunotherapeutic potential in preliminary studies and are currently undergoing clinical trials at different stages, yet challenges persist in scaling up production and addressing long-term biosafety concerns. This review delineates how metal materials modulate biological activities across diverse cell types to orchestrate antitumor immunity. Moreover, it summarizes recent progress in smart drug delivery-release systems integrating metal elements, either as cargo or vehicles, to enhance antitumor immune responses. Finally, the review introduces current clinical applications of nanomedicines in metalloimmunotherapy and discusses potential challenges that impede its widespread translation into clinical practice.

This study aims to explore whether Guzheng playing training has a positive impact on the brain functional state of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) based on power spectral and sample entropy analyses. Eight ASD participants were selected to undergo four months of Guzheng playing training, with one month as a training cycle. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and behavioral data were collected for comparative analysis. The results showed that after Guzheng playing training, the relative power of the alpha band in the occipital lobe of ASD children increased, and the relative power of the theta band in the parietal lobe decreased. The differences compared with typically developing (TD) children were narrowed. Moreover, some channels exhibited a gradual increase or decrease in power with the extended training period. Meanwhile, the sample entropy parameter also showed a similar upward trend, which was consistent with the behavioral data representation. The study shows that Guzheng training can enhance the brain function of ASD patients, with better effects from longer training. Guzheng playing training could be used as a daily intervention for autism.
Humans ; Electroencephalography ; Entropy ; Music Therapy ; Child ; Brain/physiopathology* ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/therapy* ; Male ; Female ; Autistic Disorder/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical phenotype and genetic characteristics of a child with Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 8 (PFIC8). METHODS A child with PFIC diagnosed at Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University in September 2025 was selected as the study subject. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected from the child and her parents. Following extraction of genomic DNA, whole-exome sequencing (WES) was carried out. Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing. The pathogenicity of the candidate variants was classified based on the guidelines from American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University (Ethics No.: 2023-E-126-Y). RESULTS: The proband, a 2-month-old female infant, had manifested jaundice of the skin and sclera, and slightly distended abdomen. She had no visible abdominal wall varicose veins, soft abdomen, and no palpable masses. Biliary atresia was ruled out by intraoperative cholangiography. WES revealed that she has harbored compound heterozygous variants of KIF12 gene, namely c.809C>T (p.Ala270Val) and c.1313G>A (p.Arg438Lys), which were verified by Sanger sequencing to have derived from her mother and father, respectively. According to the ACMG guidelines, both variants were classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUS). Based on the pre-defined search strategy, 10 articles were retrieved, which involved 25 PFIC cases, including 5 from China. Together with the proband of this study, the 26 PFIC patients have primarily presented with high GGT cholestasis, with the genetic cause in all cases attributed to variants of the KIF12 gene. CONCLUSION The c.809C>T and c.1313G>A compound heterozygous variants of the KIF12 gene probably underlay the pathogenesis of cholestatic liver disease in this child. Above findings have enriched the mutational and phenotypic spectra of PFIC8.
Humans ; Kinesins/genetics* ; Female ; Cholestasis, Intrahepatic/genetics* ; Infant ; Heterozygote ; Mutation ; Exome Sequencing ; Male

Multiple myeloma(MM)is a malignant plasma cell clonal disease and the second most common malignant tumor of the blood system,accounting for approximately 1%of all tumor diseases and 13%of hematologic cancers.In recent years,its incidence has shown an upward trend.The development of proteasome inhibitors(PIs),immunomodulatory drugs(IMiDs),and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(auto-HSCT)has greatly improved the efficacy and prognosis of patients with myeloma.Among these,the development and clinical application of PIs represents a major milestone.However,long-term clinical experiencehas revealed that patients with MM who used PIs may develop new heart diseases,such as hypertension,cardiac insufficiency,arrhythmia,and ischemic heart disease,especially those who used cafilzomib.The use of PIs increases the probability of adverse cardiovascular events(CVAEs).Owing to the significant heterogen-eity in the definition of cardiotoxic endpoints,the exclusion of high-risk patients in clinical trials and the detection and treatment of PI-re-lated CVAEs vary.Therefore,the lack of sufficient evidence-based medical data hinders the standardized diagnosis and treatment of PI-re-lated CVAEs.This review summarizes the relevant mechanisms and response measures of cardiovascular diseases induced by PIs.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics, treatment response, and prognosis of patients newly diagnosed with immunoglobulin A multiple myeloma (IgA MM), and to ascertain whether the IgA isotype remains a poor prognostic factor in the bortezomib era.Methods:This study retrospectively enrolled 155 patients newly diagnosed with IgA MM and 420 with non-IgA MM admitted to the Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from March 2014 to December 2021. We compared the two groups in terms of their clinical characteristics, prognoses, and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) following different treatment regimens.Results:Compared with the non-IgA group, the IgA group presented with more aggressive clinical features, including a higher proportion of patients with hemoglobin<85 g/L (61.3% vs 51.4%, P=0.035), extramedullary manifestations (20.0% vs 11.4%, P=0.008), and gain/amp (1q21) (48.6% vs 36.7%, P=0.032). Efficacy analysis revealed a lower overall response rate (ORR) in the IgA group than in the non-IgA group (83.2% vs 92.4%, P=0.001). Among patients treated with bortezomib-based regimens, the ORR was 91.2% in the IgA group and 94.8% in the non-IgA group, but the difference was nonsignificant ( P=0.146). Survival analysis showed that the median PFS and OS were significantly shorter in the IgA group compared with the non-IgA group[23.5 (95% CI: 17.4-29.5) months and 48.8 (95% CI: 30.1-67.5) months vs 40.7 (95% CI: 33.8 - 47.6) months and not reached, respectively; P<0.001 and P=0.002]. In the subgroup of patients who received bortezomib-based therapy without subsequent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT), the PFS and OS were significantly shorter in the IgA group compared with the non-IgA group[25.4 (95% CI: 18.7-32.1) months and 53.5 (95% CI: 35.4-71.6) months vs 41.0 (95% CI: 33.7-48.3) months and not reached; P=0.001 and P=0.011]. In patients who underwent bortezomib-based induction therapy followed by auto-HSCT, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates for the IgA group were 96%, 81%, and 81%, respectively, compared with 93%, 89%, and 79% for the non-IgA group, but the difference was nonsignificant ( P=0.758) . Conclusion:In the bortezomib era, IgA MM is still associated with a poorer overall prognosis than non-IgA MM, likely due to its inherent high-risk biological characteristics. Although bortezomib-based regimens effectively improve the treatment response, they fail to completely bridge the survival gap between the two disease isotypes. Therefore, bortezomib-based therapy followed by auto-HSCT may be a key strategy to overcome the poor prognosis of IgA MM, potentially enabling these patients to achieve long-term survival comparable to that of their non-IgA counterparts.

Lung cancer is the leading type of cancer death, and most patients with lung cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage and have a very poor prognosis. Although low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has entered the clinic as a screening tool for lung cancer, its false-positive rate is more than 90%. As one of the epigenetic modifications of research hotspots, DNA methylation plays a key role in a variety of diseases, including cancer.Hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes and hypomethylation of proto-oncogenes are important events in tumorigenesis and development. Therefore, DNA methylation analysis can provide some useful information for the early screening, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of lung cancer. Although invasive methods such as tissue biopsy remain the gold standard for tumor diagnosis and monitoring, they also have limitations such as inconvenience in sampling. In recent years, there has been a rapid development of liquid biopsy, which can detect primary or metastatic malignancies and reflect the heterogeneity of tumors. In addition, the blood sample can be collected in a minimally invasive or non-invasive format and is well tolerated in older and frail patients. This article explores some of the emerging technologies for DNA methylation analysis and provides an overview of the application of DNA methylation in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

Purpose To investigate the cell components in different tumor lineages of multiple synchronous pituitary neuro-endocrine tumors(PitNETs)/neuroendocrine tumors(MSPs)and to carry out accurate histological typing,which provides an important basis for determining the follow-up plan and adjuvant therapy after surgery.Methods The clinical data of 855 pa-tients with PitNETs were collected and reclassified according to the new WHO standard.The clinicopathological features of 13 patients diagnosed as MSPs were analyzed retrospectively.The immunohistochemical EnVision two-step method was used to de-tect the expression of PIT-1,SF-1,T-PIT,GH,PRL,TSH,LH,FSH,ACTH,etc.,and related literatures were reviewed.Methods A total of 855 cases of pituitary neuroendocrine tumor from the second hospital of the Chinese Hebei Medical U-niversity were collected and reclassified according to the new WHO standard,and review the literature.Results(1)The age of patients were 39-68 years with median age of 55 years.7 cases were female and 6 were male;(2)Imaging findings:There was 1.2～3.8 cm(mean 2.5 cm)in maximum tumor di-ameter.13 patients were large adenomas,neither MSPs nor sin-gle lineage PitNETs could not assessed on imaging;(3)Clinical manifestations:3 cases had hyperprolactinemia which all contai-ning PitNETs components of PRL,one case was immature PIT-1 polyhormone cell tumor,one was dense granular prolactinoma,and one case was eosinophilic stem tumor.One patient had Cushing's disease and contained a Crook cell tumor component;two had elevated ACTH,and one had an adrenocorticotropic ad-enomatous component.In the two patients with no evidence of hormone excess,all contained gonadotropin cell tumor compo-nents;(4)Combination form:11 cases of the combination of the two cell lineages(5 cases of combination of SF-1 lineage and PIT-1 lineage;4 cases of combination of T-PIT lineage and PIT-1 lineage;1 case of null cell tumor and PIT-1 lineage;1 case of plurihormonal PitNETs and SF-1 lineage);Two cases of three cell combinations(null cell tumor,PIT-1 lineage,and T-PIT lineage);Among them,13 cases were PIT-1 lineage tumors,46.2％(6/13)were gonadotropin cell tumor,38.5％(5/13)were prolactinoma;(5)The presence of high-risk lineage tumors in the 10 patient combinations:3 immature PIT-1-lineage tumor,1 Crooke cell PitNETs,1 acidophil stem cells tumor,3 zero-cell PitNETs,and 4 silent-type sparse granular adrenocorti-cotropic hormone PitNETs;Two of them were combinations of two high-risk subtypes.Conclusion MSPs in our center are large adenomas,although their incidence is only 1.5％of Pit-NETs,2/3 cases have high-risk lineage tumor components,and the use of pituitary cell lineage transcription factors and adeno-hypophyseal hormones plays an important role in distinguishing and clarifying the different components of MSPs.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of acidophil stem cell pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET)/adenoma.Methods:Five cases of acidophil stem cell PitNET/adenoma were diagnosed between May 2022 and July 2023 at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China. The clinicopathological features of the tumor were analyzed by using histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. The relevant literature was reviewed.Results:There were 1 male and 4 females, aged from 23 to 69 years. Patient 3 was 55 years old at the time of diagnosis and first surgery, and relapsed 5 years later. The patients′ median age was 32 years. Patients 1 and 5 showed elevated blood prolactin, with various degrees of hormonal symptoms except Patient 3, who showed only tumor compression symptoms. Imaging studies showed that all cases involved the sellar floor. The tumors of Patients 1, 2 and 5 were closely related to the cavernous sinus segment of the internal carotid artery. The tumors exhibited a diffuse growth pattern with chromophobic to slightly acidophilic cytoplasm. A few of tumor cells showed chromophobic cytoplasm. The nucleoli were conspicuous. Intranuclear inclusion bodies and variably-sized clear vacuoles were observed occasionally. Under electron microscope, marked mitochondrial abnormalities were observed, including increased mitochondria number, expanded hypertrophy, and absence of mitochondrial ridge fracture. Some mitochondrial matrices were dense, while some were vacuolated.Conclusions:Acidophil stem cell PitNET/adenoma is a rare type of pituitary adenomas/PitNETs. It often has a more clinically aggressive manner with immature cells, diffuse expression of PIT1, prolactin, and varying degrees of growth hormone expression. Because of the obvious diversity of their clinical hormone status and hormone immune expression, the diagnosis of this type tumor is still a challenge.