Xiao Chaihutang， originating from the Treatise on Typhoid and Miscellaneous Diseases， is a classic formula for harmonizing the Shaoyang. It excels in regulating the pivotal mechanism and unblocking the triple energizer， corresponding to the pathogenesis of digestive system tumors characterized by the interlocking of deficiency， stasis， phlegm， and toxicity， as well as disharmony between Yin and Yang. This paper systematically reviews research findings from China and abroad over the past decade， exploring the anti-tumor effects of Xiao Chaihutang on digestive system tumors from three dimensions： theoretical rationale， clinical efficacy， and molecular mechanisms. At the level of principle and method， Xiao Chaihutang takes "harmonization" as its core therapeutic guideline. By reconciling the exterior and interior to restore the Shaoyang pivot， harmonizing Yin and Yang to improve the tumor microenvironment， and regulating the liver and spleen to consolidate and protect the foundation of postnatal essence， it promotes the restoration of the body's dynamic balance of Yin and Yang. Clinical studies have demonstrated that Xiao Chaihutang， used alone or in combination with modern medical therapies， shows definite efficacy against digestive system tumors such as hepatocellular carcinoma， pancreatic carcinoma， and gastrointestinal carcinoma. It can significantly improve patients' quality of life， inhibit tumor progression， effectively relieve concomitant symptoms such a s cancer-related fever， anxiety， depression， and insomnia， and alleviate postoperative embolic syndromes as well as adverse reactions to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Experimental studies have revealed that Xiao Chaihutang can inhibit tumor cell proliferation， induce apoptosis， arrest the cell cycle， suppress tumor cell invasion and metastasis， and improve the tumor microenvironment. Through the above analysis， this study elucidates the current clinical and experimental research status of Xiao Chaihutang in the treatment of digestive system tumors， aiming to provide theoretical support for its precise clinical application. On this basis， it further explores key issues in the identification of pharmacodynamic substances and the accumulation of evidence in evidence-based medicine， thereby offering a new perspective for the innovative development of integrative Chinese and Western medicine in synergistic cancer therapy.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer in women and a proportion of patients experiences brain metastases with poor prognosis. The study aimed to construct a novel predictive clinical model to evaluate the overall survival (OS) of patients with postoperative brain metastasis of breast cancer (BCBM) and validate its effectiveness. METHODS: From 2010 to 2020, a total of 310 female patients with BCBM were diagnosed in The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, and they were randomly assigned to the training cohort and the validation cohort. Data of another 173 BCBM patients were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database as an external validation cohort. In the training cohort, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression model was used to determine the fundamental clinical predictive indicators and the nomogram was constructed to predict OS. The model capability was assessed using receiver operating characteristic, C-index, and calibration curves. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to evaluate clinical effectiveness of the risk stratification system in the model. The accuracy and prediction capability of the model were verified using the validation and SEER cohorts. RESULTS: LASSO Cox regression analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis, molecular subtype, tumor size, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and lung metastasis were statistically significantly correlated with BCBM. The C-indexes of the survival nomogram in the training, validation, and SEER cohorts were 0.714, 0.710, and 0.670, respectively, which showed good prediction capability. The calibration curves demonstrated that the nomogram had great forecast precision, and a dynamic diagram was drawn to increase the maneuverability of the results. The Risk Stratification System showed that the OS of low-risk patients was considerably better than that of high-risk patients ( P < 0.001). CONCLUSION The nomogram prediction model constructed in this study has a good predictive value, which can effectively evaluate the survival rate of patients with postoperative BCBM.
Female ; Humans ; Breast Neoplasms/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Prognosis ; Brain Neoplasms/surgery* ; Nomograms

OBJECTIVE To discuss the efficacy and safety of Onyx embolization for the treatment of maxillofacial arteriovenous malformation(mAVMs). METHODS Between February 2013 to May 2014, 16 patients with mAVMs received embolotherapy in our department. Eight cases' mAVMs located in mandibular region, 5 cases located in the maxillary region and the other 3 cases located near the orbital region. Embolotherapy with Onyx was carried out in all patients and all the patients were followed-up. The effect of embolization was evaluated according to the deformity arteriolar blood flow. RESULTS After the embolization, angiograpy showed that complete occlusion of mAVMs was achieved in 3 cases, 50%-90%occlusion in 10 cases, <50% occlusion in 3 cases, and the overall response rate was 81.25% (13/16). After operation, temporary decreased vision was obtained in one patient and recovered after 20 days, no permanent visual abnormality was found in all of the cases. Complications as distending pain, fever disappeared in 13 patients, improved in 2 patients and became worse in one patient. There was no case of skin necrosis occurred. Follow-up for 6 months after treatment, the deformity arteriolar blood flow larger than before was found in 2 cases and the others were stable. CONCLUSION Onyx embolization for the treatment of maxillofacial arteriovenous malformation is a safe and effective method, the short term curative effect has been confirmed while the long term curative effect should be further evaluated.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy of detachable balloon for splenic artery trunk embolization in patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension and hypersplenism.

METHODSEight patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension received splenic artery trunk disconnection using detachable balloons under the guidance of digital subtraction angiography. The diameter and blood flow of the portal vein, the superior mesenteric vein, the splenic vein and the hepatic artery were measured by color Doppler ultrasound. Markers of liver function and blood coagulation, and routine blood parameters were assessed. Gastroscopy was used to evaluate to the degree of gastroesophageal varices. All complications experienced during the perioperative period were recorded.

RESULTSThe portal vein diameter decreased from 1.55±0.38 cm to 1.55±0.38 cm, and the splenic artery diameter decreased from 1.45±0.10 cm to 1.41±0.09 cm (P < 0.05). The portal vein blood flow was reduced from 971.52±174.77 ml/min to 785.86±100.17 ml/min, and the splenic vein blood flow decreased from 938.01±208.86 ml/min to 644.02±188.15 ml/min, while the hepatic artery blood flow increased from 261.25±65.47 ml/min to 449.32±84.05 ml/min (P < 0.05). The symptoms of splenism were improved effectively, with platelet counts rising from 37.75±10.61*109/L to 138.63±28.22*109/L after the procedure (P < 0.05). There were no episodes of severe complications or death in the perioperative period, and all patients showed remarkable improvement in markers of liver function and coagulation function, and improvement of esophagogastric varices.

CONCLUSIONSThe interventional disconnection technique of the splenic artery trunk using detachable balloon for the treatment of portal hypertension and hypersplenism is safe and effective.

Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; Hemodynamics ; Hepatic Artery ; Humans ; Hypersplenism ; Hypertension, Portal ; Mesenteric Veins ; Platelet Count ; Portal Vein ; Splenic Artery

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of endovascular embolization in treating spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae, and to discuss its imaging manifestations. Methods A total of 7 patients with spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae were included in this study. Endovascular embolization was carried out in all the 7 patients. The clinical data, including epidemiology, spinal MRI and DSA manifestations, therapeutic method and follow-up findings, were retrospectively analyzed. Results Abnormal MRI manifestations of spinal cord were demonstrated in all 7 patients. After the diagnosis was confirmed by DSA, endovascular embolization was carried out. All patients were followed up for 6 months, and their clinical symptoms were improved in different degrees. N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) glue was used as embolization agent in 4 cases, and no recurrence was observed in them. Onyx liquid glue was used in 3 patients, and in one of them the arteriovenous fistula recurred. Conclusion For the treatment of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae, endovascular embolization is effective and safe although further investigation is still needed.

Aim To study the mechanisms of inotropic responses to doxazosin enantiomers in the isolated rat atrium.Methods We analyzed the positive inotropic response to (-)doxazosin and the negative inotropic response to (+)doxazosin in the left atrium of rat u-sing receptor-pharmacological technique.Results In the preparation treated with verapamil,the positive in-otropic responses to 3 μmol·L-1 (-)doxazosin were significantly inhibited from the control level (245.7 1 ± 44.29)mg to (172.50 ±43.34)mg,(P<0.05).In the preparation treated with methylene blue,the posi-tive inotropic responses to 3 μmol·L-1 (-)doxazosin were significantly potentiated from the control level (245.7 1 ±44.29 )mg to (303.33 ±45 .90 )mg,(P<0.05 ).In the preparation treated with H-89 ,the positive inotropic responses to 3,10 and 30 μmol · L-1 (-)doxazosin were (338.57 ±96.86 ) mg, (471.43 ±107.61)mg and (520.00 ±103.44)mg, which were significantly (P<0.05 ~0.01)larger than the control levels of (245.71 ±44.29)mg,(314.29 ±90.34)mg and (357.14 ±68.49 )mg.Treatment with phenoxybenzamine,atropine,propranolol or indo-methacin did not significantly affect the responses to doxazosin enantiomers.Conclusion The positive ino-tropic responses to (-)doxazosin in the isolated left a-trium of rat are partially involved in L-type Ca2+chan-nels and intracellular cGMP level.However,α-adre-noceptors,muscarinic receptors,β-adrenoceptors and cyclooxygenases are not related to the responses to doxazosin enantiomers.

OBJECTIVETo explore the inhibitory effect of alantolactone on the proliferation of adriamycin-resistant human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line K562/ADR cells and its mechanism.

METHODSK562/ADR cells were treated with various concentrations of alantolactone (0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 μmol/L) for different time points. Cell viability was analyzed with MTT assay. The effect of alantolactone on the apoptosis of K562/ADR cells was measured by flow cytometry. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins after treatment with alantolactone was analyzed using Western blot.

RESULTSAlantolactone could effectively inhibit the proliferation of K562/ADR cells in dose- and time- dependent manner, the IC50 value of alantolactone treatment of K562/ADR cells for 24 h was 4.7 μmol/L (P<0.05). Flow cytometric analysis displayed that the apoptotic rates were 1.35%, 16.91%, 29.61% and 46.26%, respectively, after treatment with alantolactone at 0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 μmol/L. Meanwhile, the expression of Bcl-2 and BCR-ABL proteins were significantly decreased and that of Bax, cytochrome C, cleaved-caspase-9, cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP increased by alantolactone treatment.

CONCLUSIONAlantolactone had obvious inhibitory effect on the proliferation of K562/ADR cells through the caspase dependent mitochondrial(or intrinsic)apoptotic pathway.

Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspase 9 ; metabolism ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl ; metabolism ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Lactones ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Sesquiterpenes, Eudesmane ; pharmacology ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

Aim To observe the antiviral function of Radix Notoginseng flavone on a virus infection model caused by COXB_3 virus in vitro and in vivo. Methods To establish an experimental in vitro model of viral myocarditics based on primary culture of myocardial cells of newborn Wistar rats and a Balb/c mouse model of viral myocarditics through intraperitoneal injection. Results In vitro Radix Notoginseng flavone obviously inhibited pathologic change of cultured cardiac cells; it reduced release of enzymes from myocardial cells, and increased the level of interferon in mouse spleen, and inhibited inflammatory cells infiltration among cardiac cells in Balb/c mice infected by COXB_3 virus; survival rate of mice in treated groups increased. Conclusion Radix Notoginseng flavonoe has therapeutic efficacy on viral myocarditis caused by COXB_3 virus.