BACKGROUND:Currently,different methods of model establishment have been derived from different injury modes of spinal cord injury.Traditional physical injury modeling methods have their own advantages and disadvantages,and there is a lack of more effective and stable animal models of spinal cord injury. OBJECTIVE:To establish a reproducible,controllable,trauma-free,low-mortality,more stable,widely applicable,and short-term postoperative care rat model of spinal cord injury. METHODS:Forty Sprague-Dawley rats with similar body mass and ages were randomly divided into a control group and an improved group,with 20 rats in each group.Animal models of spinal cord injury in the control group were constructed using a clip model method,while the improved group used a modified ligation method based on the compression method to make the spinal cord injury models using suture ligation based on fenestration.Postoperative comparisons were made between the two groups,assessing urination behavior,hematuria,pyuria(infection rate),mortality,scoliosis rate and Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan locomotor rating scale scores at 1,3,5,and 7 days after modeling. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the conventional modeling method,the modified ligation method based on the compression method resulted in faster recovery of urination behavior,lower hematuria rate,lower infection rate,lower mortality rate,lower scoliosis rate,and more concentrated and stable Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan scores(all below 2 points within 1 week).This proves that the modified ligation method based on compression is more suitable for the establishment of spinal cord injury models in rats.

Objective:To investigate the long-term efficacy, safety and prognostic factors of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for narrow-margin (resection margin < 1 cm) hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during radical surgery.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The data of primary HCC patients undergoing radical surgery and narrow-margin hepatectomy IORT in the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from November 2009 to February 2019 were collected. IORT applied 6 MeV or 9 MeV electron beams and a single irradiation was given to the margin. Kaplan-Meier method was used for the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) analysis; log-rank test was used for survival comparison among subgroups. The recurrence patterns and adverse reactions were recorded. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the factors influencing the OS and DFS.Results:A total of 64 patients were enrolled, with the median age [ M ( Q1, Q3)] of 57 years (49, 63) years. All patients included 55 males (85.9%) and 9 females (14.1%). The median dose of IORT was 15 Gy (range: 12-17 Gy). The median follow-up time was 83.3 (64.4, 91.9) months. The 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 7-year, 10-year OS rates were 90.4%, 80.6%, 75.5%, 71.4% and 47.6%, respectively; the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 7-year,10-year DFS rates were 77.8%, 68.1%, 59.6%, 57.6% and 38.4%, respectively. Univariate Cox regression analysis indicated that preoperative serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) > 400 ng/ml was an independent risk factor for poor OS (> 400 ng/ml vs. ≤ 400 ng/ml: HR = 6.57, 95% CI: 2.16-19.96, P < 0.001), while not the independent influencing factor of poor DFS ( HR = 1.71, 95% CI: 0.65-4.52, P = 0.277). The age ≤ 60 years or not, gender, viral hepatitis or not, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, tumor diameter (> 5 cm or not), tumor number, degree of tumor differentiation, microvascular invasion or not, microsatellite nodules or not, anatomical liver resection or not, and the dose of IORT ≤15 Gy or not were not the independent influencing factors of poor OS and DFS (all P > 0.05). Kaplan-Meier method analysis showed that patients with preoperative serum AFP ≤ 400 ng/ml (48 cases) had better OS compared with those with preoperative serum AFP>400 ng/ml (16 cases) (5-year OS rate: 84.8% vs. 44.9%; 7-year OS rate: 79.9% vs.37.4%), and the difference was statistically significant ( P = 0.002). There was no statistically significant difference in the DFS between the 2 groups ( P = 0.134). During the follow-up, 28 patients (43.8%) relapsed, including 17 cases (26.6%) of early recurrence and 11 cases (17.2%) of late recurrence. No marginal recurrence was observed. There were 22 cases (34.4%) of intrahepatic recurrence alone, 2 cases (3.1%) of extrahepatic recurrence and 4 cases (6.3%) of stimutaneous recurrence inside and outside the liver. The 1-, 3-, 5- and 7-year cumulative recurrence rates inside the liver were 19.0%, 27.2%, 37.4% and 39.3% respectively, and the cumulative recurrence rates outside the liver were 6.4%, 8.0%, 9.6% and 9.6% respectively. There were no adverse reactions above grade 3 in the entire group. There were no surgery-related deaths within 30 d after the operation, and no radiation-induced liver disease occurred. Conclusions:Narrow-margin IORT helps HCC patients receiving hepatectomy to achieve favorable long-term survival and adverse reactions are tolerable. It can be used as a safe and effective adjuvant therapy alternative.

Objectives:To explore whether short-course radiotherapy (SCRT)-based total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) combined with PD-1 inhibitors could further promote tumor regression and improve the prognosis.Methods:This is a prospective, multicenter, two-arm randomized controlled, seamless phase Ⅱ/Ⅲ trial for proficient mismatch repair or microsatellite stable (pMMR/MSS) locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Eligible patients were randomly assigned to the iTNT (TNT+PD-1) group or the TNT group. Patients in the TNT group received SCRT (5 Gy×5) followed by 4 cycles of CAPOX or 6 cycles of mFOLFOX chemotherapy, with the iTNT group receiving SCRT followed by the same regime in combination with 4 cycles of Sintilimab. Total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery or watch and wait (W&W) was performed after neoadjuvant therapy and then 2 cycles of same regimen as before were recommended. The primary endpoints are the complete response (CR) rate for phase Ⅱ trial and 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) for phase Ⅲ trial. A total of 588 patients will be enrolled for the phase Ⅱ/Ⅲ trial. Short-term efficacy and safety data from the initial 100 treated patients were analyzed as planned.Results:From 2022-8-31 to 2023-5-24 the initial 100 patients were enrolled from 10 hospitals in China, 76.0%(76/100) patients were male, and the median age was 61 years (21-74 years). More patients had tumors located in the lower rectum (78.0%, 78/100), staged T3-4 (97.0%, 97/100) and N1-2 (93.0%, 93/100), and about half of the tumors invaded the mesorectal fascia (52.0%, 52/100) and with extramural vascular invasion (51.0%, 51/100). Analyses were performed according to the per-protocal (PP) set. All patients in the iTNT group ( n=52) and the TNT group ( n=48) completed SCRT; The 4-cycle chemotherapy±Sintilimab completion rates were 86.5% and 100.0% in the iTNT and TNT groups, respectively. In the iTNT group, 82.7% (43/52), 11.5% (6/52), and 5.8% (3/52) of the patients received 4, 3, and 2 cycles of PD-1 inhibitor. After TNT, 68 patients underwent radical surgery and 15 patients achieved cCR and adopted W&W. The pathological complete response (pCR) rates were 48.5% (16/33) and 17.1% (6/35) in the iTNT and TNT groups, with CR rates of 50.0% (25/50) and 26.1% (12/46), respectively. The incidence of treatment-related grade 3-4 adverse events was 26.9% (14/52, iTNT group) and 18.8% (9/48, TNT group), with thrombocytopenia and leukopenia being the most common. Among patients receiving immunotherapy, grade 3 immunotherapy-related adverse events occurred in 2 (3.8%, 2/52) patients: one case was pancreatitis, another case was hepatitis combined with myositis and myocarditis. Conclusion:The preliminary results show that SCRT-based TNT combined with PD-1 inhibitors could further improve the CR rate for LARC without unexpected serious adverse events.

Objectives:To explore whether short-course radiotherapy (SCRT)-based total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) combined with PD-1 inhibitors could further promote tumor regression and improve the prognosis.Methods:This is a prospective, multicenter, two-arm randomized controlled, seamless phase Ⅱ/Ⅲ trial for proficient mismatch repair or microsatellite stable (pMMR/MSS) locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Eligible patients were randomly assigned to the iTNT (TNT+PD-1) group or the TNT group. Patients in the TNT group received SCRT (5 Gy×5) followed by 4 cycles of CAPOX or 6 cycles of mFOLFOX chemotherapy, with the iTNT group receiving SCRT followed by the same regime in combination with 4 cycles of Sintilimab. Total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery or watch and wait (W&W) was performed after neoadjuvant therapy and then 2 cycles of same regimen as before were recommended. The primary endpoints are the complete response (CR) rate for phase Ⅱ trial and 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) for phase Ⅲ trial. A total of 588 patients will be enrolled for the phase Ⅱ/Ⅲ trial. Short-term efficacy and safety data from the initial 100 treated patients were analyzed as planned.Results:From 2022-8-31 to 2023-5-24 the initial 100 patients were enrolled from 10 hospitals in China, 76.0%(76/100) patients were male, and the median age was 61 years (21-74 years). More patients had tumors located in the lower rectum (78.0%, 78/100), staged T3-4 (97.0%, 97/100) and N1-2 (93.0%, 93/100), and about half of the tumors invaded the mesorectal fascia (52.0%, 52/100) and with extramural vascular invasion (51.0%, 51/100). Analyses were performed according to the per-protocal (PP) set. All patients in the iTNT group ( n=52) and the TNT group ( n=48) completed SCRT; The 4-cycle chemotherapy±Sintilimab completion rates were 86.5% and 100.0% in the iTNT and TNT groups, respectively. In the iTNT group, 82.7% (43/52), 11.5% (6/52), and 5.8% (3/52) of the patients received 4, 3, and 2 cycles of PD-1 inhibitor. After TNT, 68 patients underwent radical surgery and 15 patients achieved cCR and adopted W&W. The pathological complete response (pCR) rates were 48.5% (16/33) and 17.1% (6/35) in the iTNT and TNT groups, with CR rates of 50.0% (25/50) and 26.1% (12/46), respectively. The incidence of treatment-related grade 3-4 adverse events was 26.9% (14/52, iTNT group) and 18.8% (9/48, TNT group), with thrombocytopenia and leukopenia being the most common. Among patients receiving immunotherapy, grade 3 immunotherapy-related adverse events occurred in 2 (3.8%, 2/52) patients: one case was pancreatitis, another case was hepatitis combined with myositis and myocarditis. Conclusion:The preliminary results show that SCRT-based TNT combined with PD-1 inhibitors could further improve the CR rate for LARC without unexpected serious adverse events.

Objective:To investigate the long-term efficacy, safety and prognostic factors of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for narrow-margin (resection margin < 1 cm) hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during radical surgery.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The data of primary HCC patients undergoing radical surgery and narrow-margin hepatectomy IORT in the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from November 2009 to February 2019 were collected. IORT applied 6 MeV or 9 MeV electron beams and a single irradiation was given to the margin. Kaplan-Meier method was used for the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) analysis; log-rank test was used for survival comparison among subgroups. The recurrence patterns and adverse reactions were recorded. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the factors influencing the OS and DFS.Results:A total of 64 patients were enrolled, with the median age [ M ( Q1, Q3)] of 57 years (49, 63) years. All patients included 55 males (85.9%) and 9 females (14.1%). The median dose of IORT was 15 Gy (range: 12-17 Gy). The median follow-up time was 83.3 (64.4, 91.9) months. The 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 7-year, 10-year OS rates were 90.4%, 80.6%, 75.5%, 71.4% and 47.6%, respectively; the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 7-year,10-year DFS rates were 77.8%, 68.1%, 59.6%, 57.6% and 38.4%, respectively. Univariate Cox regression analysis indicated that preoperative serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) > 400 ng/ml was an independent risk factor for poor OS (> 400 ng/ml vs. ≤ 400 ng/ml: HR = 6.57, 95% CI: 2.16-19.96, P < 0.001), while not the independent influencing factor of poor DFS ( HR = 1.71, 95% CI: 0.65-4.52, P = 0.277). The age ≤ 60 years or not, gender, viral hepatitis or not, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, tumor diameter (> 5 cm or not), tumor number, degree of tumor differentiation, microvascular invasion or not, microsatellite nodules or not, anatomical liver resection or not, and the dose of IORT ≤15 Gy or not were not the independent influencing factors of poor OS and DFS (all P > 0.05). Kaplan-Meier method analysis showed that patients with preoperative serum AFP ≤ 400 ng/ml (48 cases) had better OS compared with those with preoperative serum AFP>400 ng/ml (16 cases) (5-year OS rate: 84.8% vs. 44.9%; 7-year OS rate: 79.9% vs.37.4%), and the difference was statistically significant ( P = 0.002). There was no statistically significant difference in the DFS between the 2 groups ( P = 0.134). During the follow-up, 28 patients (43.8%) relapsed, including 17 cases (26.6%) of early recurrence and 11 cases (17.2%) of late recurrence. No marginal recurrence was observed. There were 22 cases (34.4%) of intrahepatic recurrence alone, 2 cases (3.1%) of extrahepatic recurrence and 4 cases (6.3%) of stimutaneous recurrence inside and outside the liver. The 1-, 3-, 5- and 7-year cumulative recurrence rates inside the liver were 19.0%, 27.2%, 37.4% and 39.3% respectively, and the cumulative recurrence rates outside the liver were 6.4%, 8.0%, 9.6% and 9.6% respectively. There were no adverse reactions above grade 3 in the entire group. There were no surgery-related deaths within 30 d after the operation, and no radiation-induced liver disease occurred. Conclusions:Narrow-margin IORT helps HCC patients receiving hepatectomy to achieve favorable long-term survival and adverse reactions are tolerable. It can be used as a safe and effective adjuvant therapy alternative.

Background and objective Transcription factor(TF)can bind specific sequences that either promotes or represses the transcription of target genes,and exerts important effects on tumorigenesis,migration,invasion.Staphylococcal nuclease-containing structural domain 1(SND1),which is a transcriptional co-activator,is considered as a promising target for tumor therapy.However,its role in lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD)remains unclear.This study aims to explore the role of SND1 in LUAD.Methods Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA),Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO),Clinical Pro-teomic Tumor Analysis Consortium(CPTAC),and Human Protein Atlas(HPA)database was obtained to explore the associa-tion between SND1 and the prognosis,as well as the immune cell infiltration,and subcellular localization in LUAD tissues.Furthermore,the functional role of SND1 in LUAD was verified in vitro.EdU assay,CCK-8 assay,flow cytometry,scratch assay,Transwell assay and Western blot were performed.Results SND1 was found to be upregulated and high expression of SND1 is correlated with poor prognosis of LUAD patients.In addition,SND1 was predominantly present in the cytoplasm of LUAD cells.Enrichment analysis showed that SND1 was closely associated with the cell cycle,as well as DNA replication,and chro-mosome segregation.Immune infiltration analysis showed that SND1 was closely associated with various immune cell popula-tions,including T cells,B cells,cytotoxic cells and dendritic cells.In vitro studies demonstrated that silencing of SND1 inhib-ited cell proliferation,invasion and migration of LUAD cells.Besides,cell cycle was blocked at G,phase by down-regulating SND1.Conclusion SND1 might be an important prognostic biomarker of LUAD and may promote LUAD cells proliferation and migration.

Objective: To investigate the prospective effects of intake of each food group on the development of lung function of pupils,so as to provide theoretical basis for promoting the healthy development of lung function and preventing chronic respiratory diseases in Chinese children. Methods: A cluster stratified sampling method was used to select a total of 893 pupils in grades 2-5 from Chengdu in November 2021. Dietary data of respondents were collected using a food frequency questionnaire within the past year,then the food group intake was categorized into T1, T2 and T3 from low to high by the trichotomous method, and anthropometric measurements including lung capacity were obtained in 2022. Logistic regression models and test for trend were used to analyze the prospective effects of intake of each food group on lung function development of pupils. Results: Among male students, consumption of vegetables [118.6(50.5, 188.2)g/d] and milk and dairy products [200.0(73.3, 250.0)g/d] were higher in the excellent lung capacity group than in the non excellent lung capacity group [90.0(37.1, 192.9), and 178.6(35.7, 250.0)g/d],with statistically significant differences ( Z =-1.98, -2.24); among girls, the group with excellent lung capacity consumed less staple food [391.1(273.6, 511.4)g/d] than the group with non excellent lung capacity [407.4(309.5, 594.3)g/d], and the group with excellent lung capacity consumed more aquatic products [31.2(14.6, 69.8)g/d] and milk and dairy products [215.0(107.1, 250.1) g/d ] than that of the non excellent lung capacity [19.4(10.7, 58.3), 114.3(35.7, 250.0)g/d] ( Z =-2.01, -3.33, -5.10)( P < 0.05 ). After adjusting for energy, body mass index Z score(BMI Z ), mother s education level, averge family income monthly, whether presence of smokers in the living environment, and whether participation in physical activities during the past week, among male students, T3 group of vegetable intake ( OR =0.48, 95% CI = 0.27-0.86), T2 group of bean and soy product intake ( OR = 0.52 , 95% CI =0.27-0.96)，T2 and T3 groups of milk and dairy products intake (T2： OR =0.54, 95% CI =0.31-0.93; T3： OR = 0.52 , 95% CI =0.30-0.90) were negatively associated with non excellent lung capacity ( P <0.05). Among girls, T3 group of aquatic product intake( OR =0.52, 95% CI =0.28-0.97), T2 and T3 groups of milk and dairy product (T2: OR =0.44, 95% CI =0.25- 0.76 ;T3: OR =0.33, 95% CI =0.19-0.59) were negatively associated with nonexcellent lung capacity, whereas the T2 group of red meat intake ( OR =2.51, 95% CI =1.37-4.67) was positively associated with non excellent lung capacity. Non excellent lung capacity was found to be negatively associated with vegetable and milk and dairy product intake in boys by test for trend; in girls, milk and dairy products intake was negatively associated with non excellent lung capacity, whereas red meat intake was positively associated with non excellent lung capacity ( t =-1.13，-0.44；-3.03，1.95, P trend <0.05). Conclusions Milk and dariy products intakes reduce the risk of non excellent lung capacity in pupils, vegetables intakes reduce the risk of non excellent lung capacity in boys, and the intake of red meat increases the risk of non excellent lung capacity in girls. Promoting rational food choices is necessary for children to improve healthy lung development.

Objectives:To assess the prognostic impact of the neoadjuvant rectal (NAR) score following neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy and consolidation chemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), as well as its value in guiding decisions for adjuvant chemotherapy.Methods:Between August 2015 and August 2018, patients were eligible from the STELLAR phase III trial (NCT02533271) who received short-course radiotherapy plus consolidation chemotherapy and for whom the NAR score could be calculated. Based on the NAR score, patients were categorized into low (＜8), intermediate (8-16), and high (＞16) groups. The Kaplan-Meier method, log rank tests, and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate the impact of the NAR score on disease-free survival (DFS).Results:Out of the 232 patients, 24.1%, 48.7%, and 27.2% had low (56 cases), intermediate (113 cases), and high NAR scores (63 cases), respectively. The median follow-up period was 37 months, with 3-year DFS rates of 87.3%, 68.3%, and 53.4% ( P＜0.001) for the low, intermediate, and high NAR score groups. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the NAR score (intermediate NAR score: HR, 3.10, 95% CI, 1.30-7.37, P=0.011; high NAR scores: HR=5.44, 95% CI, 2.26-13.09, P＜0.001), resection status ( HR, 3.00, 95% CI, 1.64-5.52, P＜0.001), and adjuvant chemotherapy ( HR, 3.25, 95% CI, 2.01-5.27, P＜0.001) were independent prognostic factors for DFS. In patients with R0 resection, the 3-year DFS rates were 97.8% and 78.0% for those with low and intermediate NAR scores who received adjuvant chemotherapy, significantly higher than the 43.2% and 50.6% for those who did not ( P＜0.001, P=0.002). There was no significant difference in the 3-year DFS rate (54.2% vs 53.3%, P=0.214) among high NAR score patients, regardless of adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusions:The NAR score is a robust prognostic indicator in LARC following neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy and consolidation chemotherapy, with potential implications for subsequent decisions regarding adjuvant chemotherapy. These findings warrant further validation in studies with larger sample sizes.

Objective To analyze the expression of microRNA(miR)-200a and miR-4652-3p in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with tuberculous meningitis(TBM)and their predictive value for disease severity and prognosis.Methods A total of 187 patients with tuberculous meningitis who visited Qingdao Chest Hospital from January 2018 to December 2022 were regarded and separated into stage Ⅰ(n=62),stage Ⅱ(n=76)and stage Ⅲ(n=49)according to the severity of the condition.There were 131 cases in the good prognosis group and 56 cases in the poor prognosis group according to the prognosis.The qRT-PCR method was applied to detect the expression levels of miR-200a and miR-4652-3p in cerebrospinal fluid.Spearman method was used to analyze correlation among miR-200a,miR-4652-3p and clinical data.ROC curve was applied to analyze the predictive value of cerebrospinal fluid miR-200a and miR-4652-3p levels in evaluating the severity and prognosis of tuberculosis meningitis patients.Multivariate logistic regression was applied to analyze the influencing factors of poor prognosis in patients.Results The expression levels of miR-200a(1.05±0.14,0.91±0.14,0.76±0.13)and miR-4652-3p(0.92±0.11,0.78±0.11,0.65±0.10)in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,and Ⅲ tuberculous meningitis were decreased sequentially,and the differences were significant(F=61.079,87.203,all P＜0.05).The expression levels of miR-200a(0.95±0.14)and miR-4652-3p(0.82±0.11)in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with good prognosis tuberculous meningitis were higher than those of patients with poor rognosis(0.84±0.13,0.73±0.10),and the differences were statistically significant(t=5.025,5.262,all P＜0.05),while the levels of cerebrospinal fluid adenosine deaminase,TNF-α,IL-23,LTB4,CRP and mRS scores in patients with good prognosis were lower than those in patients with poor prognosis(t=5.649,7.721,11.150,9.455,11.314,14.407,all P＜0.05).There was a positive correlation between the levels of miR-200a and miR-4652-3p in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with tuberculous meningitis(r=0.405,P＜0.001).The levels of miR-200a and miR-4652-3p in cerebrospinal fluid were negatively correlated with LTB4,TNF-ot,CRP,mRS scores,IL-23 and adenosine deaminase(r=-0.472,-0.466,-0.461,-0.435,-0.422,-0.419;-0.459,-0.531,-0.471,-0.417,-0.513,-0.408,all P＜0.05).The AUC(95％CI)of miR-200a and miR-4652-3p to assess disease severity were 0.881(0.825～0.923)and 0.878(0.822～0.921),respectively.The AUC(95％CI)of both combination in assessing the severity of patients was 0.945(0.902～0.973),which was higher than the single detection,and the differences were significant(Z=3.008,2.960,all P=0.003).The AUC(95％CI)of poor prognosis patients evaluated by cerebrospinal fluid miR-200a and miR-4652-3p levels were 0.749(0.681～0.809)and 0.756(0.688～0.816),and the AUC of poor prognosis patients evaluated by both combination was 0.839(0.778～0.889),which was higher than that measured separately,and the differences were significant(Z=2.994,2.697,P=0.003,0.007).Adenosine deaminase[OR(95％CI):1.106(1.033～1.185)],miR-200a[OR(95％CI):0.529(0.369～0.744)],miR-4652-3p[OR(95％CI):0.471(0.310～0.715)],C-reactive protein[OR(95％CI):4.423(1.459～13.412)],TNF-α[OR(95％CI):1.196(1.061～1.348)],IL-23[OR(95％CI):4.809(1.086～3.013)],and LTB4[OR(95％CI):1.327(1.064～1.655)]were influencing factors for poor prognosis in patients with tuberculous meningitis(all P＜0.05).Conclusion The expressions of miR-200a and miR-4652-3p in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with tuberculous meningitis were down-regulated,and they were closely related to the severity and prognosis of the disease.The combination of the miR-200a and miR-4652-3p could better predict the severity and prognosis of tuberculous meningitis,which may have a certain clinical value.

Objectives:To assess the prognostic impact of the neoadjuvant rectal (NAR) score following neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy and consolidation chemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), as well as its value in guiding decisions for adjuvant chemotherapy.Methods:Between August 2015 and August 2018, patients were eligible from the STELLAR phase III trial (NCT02533271) who received short-course radiotherapy plus consolidation chemotherapy and for whom the NAR score could be calculated. Based on the NAR score, patients were categorized into low (＜8), intermediate (8-16), and high (＞16) groups. The Kaplan-Meier method, log rank tests, and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate the impact of the NAR score on disease-free survival (DFS).Results:Out of the 232 patients, 24.1%, 48.7%, and 27.2% had low (56 cases), intermediate (113 cases), and high NAR scores (63 cases), respectively. The median follow-up period was 37 months, with 3-year DFS rates of 87.3%, 68.3%, and 53.4% ( P＜0.001) for the low, intermediate, and high NAR score groups. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the NAR score (intermediate NAR score: HR, 3.10, 95% CI, 1.30-7.37, P=0.011; high NAR scores: HR=5.44, 95% CI, 2.26-13.09, P＜0.001), resection status ( HR, 3.00, 95% CI, 1.64-5.52, P＜0.001), and adjuvant chemotherapy ( HR, 3.25, 95% CI, 2.01-5.27, P＜0.001) were independent prognostic factors for DFS. In patients with R0 resection, the 3-year DFS rates were 97.8% and 78.0% for those with low and intermediate NAR scores who received adjuvant chemotherapy, significantly higher than the 43.2% and 50.6% for those who did not ( P＜0.001, P=0.002). There was no significant difference in the 3-year DFS rate (54.2% vs 53.3%, P=0.214) among high NAR score patients, regardless of adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusions:The NAR score is a robust prognostic indicator in LARC following neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy and consolidation chemotherapy, with potential implications for subsequent decisions regarding adjuvant chemotherapy. These findings warrant further validation in studies with larger sample sizes.