Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common type of liver cancer and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.While early detection significantly improves prognosis,patients with alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma(ANHCC)often face diagnostic challenges due to the lack of reliable biomarkers.This review systematically explores the potential of various circulating biomarkers in the early diagnosis of ANHCC,including AFP-L3,PIVKA-Ⅱ,lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio,exosomes,circulating cell-free DNA(cfDNA),circulating tumor cells,osteopontin,paraoxonase 1,autoantibodies,and RNA-related biomarkers.The combined use of these markers,particularly AFP-L3 and PIVKA-Ⅱ,demonstrates enhanced diagnostic accuracy and specificity compared to single markers.Emerging evidence also highlights the diagnostic potential of exosomes,cfDNA,and RNA markers due to their non-invasive nature and high stability.Despite promising results,further large-scale,multicenter studies are needed to validate these findings,address challenges such as standardization of detection methods,and elucidate underlying mechanisms.These advances are anticipated to significantly improve early detection and personalized management of ANHCC.

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common type of liver cancer and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.While early detection significantly improves prognosis,patients with alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma(ANHCC)often face diagnostic challenges due to the lack of reliable biomarkers.This review systematically explores the potential of various circulating biomarkers in the early diagnosis of ANHCC,including AFP-L3,PIVKA-Ⅱ,lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio,exosomes,circulating cell-free DNA(cfDNA),circulating tumor cells,osteopontin,paraoxonase 1,autoantibodies,and RNA-related biomarkers.The combined use of these markers,particularly AFP-L3 and PIVKA-Ⅱ,demonstrates enhanced diagnostic accuracy and specificity compared to single markers.Emerging evidence also highlights the diagnostic potential of exosomes,cfDNA,and RNA markers due to their non-invasive nature and high stability.Despite promising results,further large-scale,multicenter studies are needed to validate these findings,address challenges such as standardization of detection methods,and elucidate underlying mechanisms.These advances are anticipated to significantly improve early detection and personalized management of ANHCC.

Objective:To explore the diagnosis and clinical characteristics of congenital meningocele combined with type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1).Methods:Clinical data of a child with congenital meningoencephalocele complicated with NF1 diagnosed and treated by the Hunan Provincial Brain Hospital on July 12, 2021 were collected, and relevant literature was reviewed.Results:Patient, female, 9 years old, with milk coffee stains on the skin of the trunk and limbs, mostly with a length greater than 1.5 cm; A three-dimensional CT scan of the skull showed a skull defect in the left temporal occipital region (approximately 7.5 cm×6.7 cm) and below the right posterior occipital tuberosity (approximately 3 cm×3 cm). The patient′s clinical whole exome sequencing detected one pathogenic mutation (NF1: p. Arg681Ter), and underwent lumbar cistern drainage, cyst resection, occipital cistern ostomy, and titanium mesh repair and shaping surgery. The pathological result showed proliferation of arachnoid and fibrous tissue, and good postoperative recovery.Conclusions:Congenital meningoencephalocele combined with NF1 is extremely rare, and early surgery has more advantages than disadvantages. The use of titanium mesh with sliding groove can alleviate the limitation on skull growth to a certain extent. NF1 has diverse clinical manifestations and different onset ages, and should be followed up by a multidisciplinary team for a long time.

Objective:To compare the clinical effects of ultrasound-guided intra-articular and coracohumeral ligament glucocorticoid injections versus ultrasound-guided intra-articular glucocorticoid injections alone on frozen shoulder in the elderly.Methods:A total of 44 patients with frozen shoulder admitted to the rehabilitation department of the Affiliated Hospital of Sichuan Nursing Vocational College from September 2019 to June 2020 were enrolled.They were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group, with 22 patients in each group.The experimental group received two consecutive ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections and two coracohumeral ligament injections, while the control group received two consecutive ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections.The shoulder's passive range-of-motion(PROM), the 11-point numeric rating scale(NRS)as well as the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index(SPADI)were conducted before treatment, 1 week after the first treatment(1 week), 1 week after the second treatment(2 weeks)and 10 weeks after the second treatment(12 weeks).Results:There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups(all P>0.05). Flexion, abduction, extension and external rotation increased whereas NRS and SPADI decreased after treatment, compared with pre-treatment in the experimental group( F=11.341, 20.965, 20.403, 32.470, 82.970 and 102.154, all P<0.05)and in the control group( F=7.012, 8.937, 23.265, 31.966, 52.500 and 41.356, all P<0.05). Compared with the control group, extension( t=0.365, 0.143 and 0.236, all P<0.05)and external rotation( t=0.205, 0.620 and 2.751, all P<0.05)increased at 1, 2 and 12 weeks after treatment.SPADI scores were lower in the experimental group than in the control group at 12 weeks after treatment( t=2.063, P=0.045). There was no significant difference in NRS, flexion or abduction between the two groups at any time point after treatment(all P>0.05). No serious adverse reactions occurred during treatment in either group. Conclusions:Both ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections plus coracohumeral ligament injections and ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections can effectively alleviate pain and improve function in elderly patients with frozen shoulder, but the former has better effects on extension.For patients with clear restricted extension and external rotation, ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections combined with coracohumeral ligament injections may achieve better clinical effects.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is an established risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, prediction models that specifically focus on the individual prognoses of HCC patients with MVI is lacking. METHODS: A total of 385 HCC patients with MVI were randomly assigned to training and validation cohorts in a 2:1 ratio. The outcomes were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Prognostic nomograms were established based on the results of multivariate analyses. The concordance index (C-index), calibration plots and Kaplan-Meier curves were employed to evaluate the accuracy, calibration and discriminatory ability of the models. RESULTS: The independent risk factors for both DFS and OS included age, tumor size, tumor number, the presence of gross vascular invasion, and the presence of Glisson's capsule invasion. The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio was another risk factor for OS. On the basis of these predictors, two nomograms for DFS and OS were constructed. The C-index values of the nomograms for DFS and OS were 0.712 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.679 to 0.745; p<0.001) and 0.698 (95% CI, 0.657 to 0.739; p<0.001), respectively, in the training cohort and 0.704 (95% CI, 0.650 to 0.708; p<0.001) and 0.673 (95% CI, 0.607 to 0.739; p<0.001), respectively, in the validation cohort. The calibration curves showed optimal agreement between the predicted and observed survival rates. The Kaplan-Meier curves suggested that these two nomograms had satisfactory discriminatory abilities. CONCLUSIONS: These novel predictive models have satisfactory accuracy and discriminatory abilities in predicting the prognosis of HCC patients with MVI after hepatectomy.
Calibration ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cohort Studies ; Disease-Free Survival ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nomograms ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate

Objective To study the effect of survivin anfisense oligonucleotides (ASODN)combined with quercetin on proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SSMC-7721 cells. Methods Human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SSMC-7721 was cultured in vitro,and cells on logarithmic growth phase were used for this experiment. Cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay. The apoptotic rate and cell cycle were examined by flow cytometer (FCM). Morphological change of apoptotic cells were observed by fluorescent microscope. The expression of survivin gene was detected by the method of immunohistochemistry staining and RT-PCR on the mRNA and protein level. Results After sealing survivin gene with ASODN, the proliferation of SSMC-7721 cells was inhibited markedly. FCM analysis showed that there appeared an obvious apoptosis peak after transfection. The inhibitory effect of combined administration of survivin ASODN and quercetin on cell proliferation was much stronger than that of the single way. The result of immunohistochemical and RT-PCR assays showed that survivin ASODN and quercetin inhibited the expression of survivin gene. Conclusion Combined survivin ASODN with quercetin significantly inhibit cell proliferation, down-regulate survivin gene expression and induce the apoptosis of SSMC-7721 cells.