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.

Objective To screen the targets related to the metabolic enzymes involved in the cholesterol synthesis pathway that inhibits the polarization of macrophages towards M1 phenotype,and verify the intervention effects and underlying mechanisms in colorectal cancer cells.Methods Mouse colorectal cancer MC38 cells were divided into control group(si-NC)and experimental groups(the expression of enzymes in cholesterol synthesis pathway was interfered with siRNA for corresponding targets).RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of corresponding targets in MC38 cells after transfection.After peritoneal macrophages were extracted from male C57BL/6 mice(6 weeks old,weighing 13～18 g),the macrophages were then treated with the conditioned media of MC38 cells transfected with different siRNAs for 48 h.RT-qPCR was employed to detect the mRNA levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in the macrophages so as to evaluate the effect of the culture media on the M1 polarization.MC38 cells were divided into control groups(OE-NC and sh-NC),farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1(FDFT1)overexpression group(OE-FDFT1)and FDFT1 knockdown group(sh-FDFT1).RT-qPCR was applied to detect the mRNA expression of FDFT1,and Western blotting was conducted to measure the protein level of FDFT1.C57BL/6 mice were subjected randomly to construct a subcutaneous tumor-bearing model and a model of intraperitoneal metastatic tumor(n=5)respectively.The growth of tumor mass was then measured.Flow cytometry was used to observe the proliferation and apoptosis of MC38 cells,and Trans well assay to detect migration ability of MC38 cells.Five C57BL/6 macrophage-depleted mice(established with injection of clodronate liposome suspension through tail vein)received intraperitoneal implantation to construct a metastasis model,and then the obtained tumor masses were then weighted.Results Compared with MC38 cells after si-NC transfection,the mRNA levels of corresponding targets in MC38 cells in the experimental groups were significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Significant increases were found in the mRNA levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α of the macrophages with FDFT1 interference than the control cells(P＜0.05).There were no statistical differences in the proliferation,apoptosis and migration of MC38 cells in the control group(OE-NC and sh-NC)and the cells of the FDFT1 overexpression group and FDFT1 knockdown group(P＞0.05).In both the subcutaneous tumor-bearing model and the model of intraperitoneal metastatic tumor,the mass weight was significantly heavier in the OE-FDFT1 group than the OE-NC group(P＜0.01),and was notably smaller in the sh-FDFT1 group than the sh-NC group(P＜0.01).For the macrophage-depleted mouse tumor model,no remarkable change was observed in the tumor weight between the OE-FDFT1 group and the OE-NC group as well as the sh-FDFT1 group and the sh-NC group.Conclusion FDFT1,the metabolic enzyme in the cholesterol synthesis pathway of colorectal cancer tumor cells,is a potential target for tumor immunotherapy targeting macrophages,which promotes tumor progression by regulating macrophages.

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.

Objective To investigate the potential of immune-inflammatory markers and the characteristics of magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy in distinguishing gastric adenocarcinoma from precancerous lesions,as well as to develop and validate a risk prediction model.Methods Retrospective analysis was conducted on medical records of 578 patients who underwent magnetic controlled capsule endoscopy at our hospital between January 2021 and December 2023.Following the principle of Pareto's law(80/20 rule),they were randomly divided into a training set(462 cases)and a validation set(116 cases).Magnetic controlled capsule endoscopy and blood cell tests were performed,with pathological diagnosis results serving as the"gold standard",to classify patients into groups of gastric adenocarcinoma and precancerous lesions.The magnetic controlled capsule endoscopic features,neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),platelet-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and precancerous lesions were compared to develop and validate a risk diagnostic model for gastric adenocarcinoma.Results Among the 462 patients who underwent magnetic controlled capsule endoscopy,gastric adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in 76 cases through pathological examination,accounting for 16.45%(76/462),while precancerous lesions were observed in 386 cases,accounting for 83.55%(386/462).In the validation set of 116 patients who underwent gastric endoscopy,there were 22 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma,representing an incidence rate of 18.97%(22/116),and a total of 94 cases with precancerous lesions,accounting for an incidence rate of 81.03%(94/116).No statistically significant differences(P＞0.05)were found between the two groups regarding lesion size,border appearance,mucus presence or lesion morphology.However,compared to the precancerous lesion group,the proportion of whitish coloration as well as irregular surface microstructure and grid-like microvessels was significantly higher in the gastric adenocarcinoma group(P＜0.05).Moreover,both NLR and PLR values were significantly higher in the gastric adenocarcinoma group compared to those in the precancerous lesion group(P＜0.05).Irregular surface microstructure(OR=2.213,95%CI:1.288～3.801),irregular grid-like microvessels(OR=2.489,95%CI:1.458～4.249),NLR(OR=2.369,95%CI:1.389～4.046),and PLR(OR=3.016,95%CI:1.767～5.148)were identified as risk factors for gastric adenocarcinoma(P＜0.05).The sensitivity of the risk model for diagnosing gastric adenocarci-noma in the training set was 0.800(95%CI:0.716～0.891),with a specificity of 0.783(95%CI:0.694～0.851)and an area under the curve of 0.858(95%CI:0.787～0.931).In the validation set,the sensitivity for diagnosing gastric adenocarcinoma was 0.861(95%CI:0.771～0.945),with a specificity of 0.769(95%CI:0.683～0.841)and an area under the curve of 0.844(95%CI:0.765～0.923).Conclusion The surface microstructure,microvas-cular morphology,NLR,and PLR of gastric lesions are correlated with the occurrence of gastric adenocarcinoma.Developing a risk diagnostic model facilitates early identification and diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma.

Objective:To investigate the value of serum vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF), pepsinogen ratio (PGR) combined with magnifying chromoendoscopy in the diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC).Methods:A retrospective case control study was conducted. The clinical data of 314 patients with gastric cancer who were confirmed by pathological examination in Baoji Central Hospital from January 2018 to January 2023 were retrospectively collected. All patients were divided into EBVaGC group (34 cases) and EB virus negative gastric cancer (EBVnGC) group (280 cases) according to the result of EB virus quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction in serum before treatment, while 50 healthy volunteers who underwent the physical examination in the same period were selected as the control group. The level of VEGF was detected by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and serum levels of pepsinogen (PG) Ⅰ and PGⅡ were detected by using fluorescence immunochromatography. PGR was calculated by PGⅠ-to-PGⅡ ratio. Electronic magnification gastroscopy was performed, suspicious lesions were stained and the pathological state of gastric tissues was observed. Taking the pathological results of living tissues as the gold standard, the diagnostic efficacy of each index alone and the combination detection for EBVaGC was calculated. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the independent risk factors of the incidence of EBVaGC.Results:The age of patients in EBVaGC group, EBVnGC group and the healthy control group was (61±10) years, (63±12) years and (61±12) years, respectively; and there were 28 males (82.4%), 228 males (81.4%) and 41 males (82.0%), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in age and gender among the 3 groups (all P>0.05). The serum VEGF level and the proportion of positive patients detected by endochromatography in EBVaGC group were higher than those in the EBVnGC group and the healthy control group [VEGF: (253±48) pg/ml vs. (183±38) pg/ml, (92±25) pg/ml; positive proportion: 94.1% (32/34) vs. 77.9% (218/280), 2.0% (1/50)], and the PGR in EBVaGC group was lower than that in EBVnGC group and the healthy control group (2.1±1.0 vs. 3.1±1.1, 14.1±1.9), and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The sensitivity of serum VEGF in the diagnosis of EBVaGC was higher than that of PGR [73.5% (25/34) vs. 66.9% (22/34)]. The diagnostic specificity of PGR [78.2% (219/280) vs. 69.3% (194/280)] and accuracy [76.8% (241/314) vs. 69.8% (219/314)] were higher than those of VEGF. The sensitivity [85.3% (29/34)], specificity [82.9% (232/280)] and accuracy [83.1% (261/314)] of magnifying chromoendoscopy in the diagnosis of EBVaGC were higher than those of VEGF and PGR. The sensitivity [94.1% (32/34)], specificity [95.7% (268/280)] and accuracy [95.5% (300/314)] of the 3 combined detection were higher than those of single and pairwise detection. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the independent risk factors for the incidence of EBVaGC included alcoholism ( OR = 2.310, 95% CI: 1.243-3.581, P = 0.007), spicy food preference ( OR = 1.516, 95% CI: 1.084-2.142, P = 0.026), irregular diet ( OR = 1.448, 95% CI: 1.013-2.104, P = 0.043), family history of gastric cancer ( OR = 2.732, 95% CI: 1.312-4.894, P = 0.001). Conclusions:Serum VEGF and PGR combined with magnifying chromoendoscopy can improve the diagnostic efficiency of EBVaGC, and developing good eating will be helpful to prevent or slow down the progression of stomach diseases.

Objectives: To explore the expression regulation of type 1 and type 2 (Th1 and Th2) cytokines from serum of coal miners and the evaluation in surveillance of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, 630 coal miners were studied. Methods: A total of 90 male patients diagnosed as coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) in a institute for occupational health and 19 male workers newly diagnosed as CWP patients was chosen as CWP group with simple random sampling method from a coal mine group from January 2013 to December in 2015. 180 male coal miners with abnormal but not diagnosed as CWP were selected as CWP suspected group with simple random sampling methods, meanwhile 180 male coal miners with normal chest X-ray photograph was as dust-exposed group by 1∶1 matched as age. And 161 healthy males accepted pre-employed examination were selected as control group, CWP suspected group, dust-exposed group and control group called as non-CWP group. According to screening test and diagnosis test, the basic information and occupational history of all subjects were collected, and cytokines including IL-1β, IL-8, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-10 of serum were detected. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal cutoff value of each cytokine. Area under curve (AUC), the validity and reliability were calculated and judged. Results: The average age of control group, dust-exposed group, CWP suspected group and CWP group were (27.4±5.0) , (43.4±10.7) , (48.2±6.2) , (64.7±7.0) years old, respectively. The median level of IL-1β, IL-8, IFN-γ and IL-6 in cases group (1 638.30, 2 099.49, 815.18,140.32 pg/ml) were higher than that of non-cases group (1 445.57, 1 402.26, 736.38, 95.73 pg/ml) (P<0.05) . The level of IL-8 (1 503.99 pg/ml) in CWP suspected group was higher than that of control group (1 295.67 pg/ml) and dust-exposed group (1 376.94 pg/ml) , but the level of IL-10 (654.08 pg/ml) was lower than that of control group (596.64 pg/ml) . The ratio of IFN-γ/IL-6 ranged from 5 to 8, and the ratio in CWP group (5.87) was lower than that of non-CWP group (7.61) . The IL-6 and IL-8 among the subjects of dust-exposed group in terms of the age distribution of among had reached statistical significance. According to ROC, the cutoff value of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and INF-γ reached 1 582.65, 116.53, 1 791.54, 581.08 and 792.69 pg/ml, respectively. The AUC was 0.668, 0.895, 0.859, 0.716 and 0.637, respectively. It was found that IL-6 and IL-8 could be used as biomarkers in detecting CWP, the sensitivity and specificity was 82.6% and 84.6%, 78.0% and 84.8%, respectively; Youden's index was 0.674 and 0.628 and the consistency rate was 84.3% and 83.7%, while Kappa value was 0.55 and 0.52. Conclusion There was Type 1 and type 2 cytokine dysregulation in CWP patients. IL-6 and IL-8 can be used as effective biomarkers to forecast lung injury before X-ray changes.

Objective Because of statistical noise in Monte Carlo dose calculations,the effective point doses may not be accurately calculated.A user-defined sphere volume was adopted to substitute the effective point to take sphere sampling around the effective point,which minimize the random errors and improve the accuracy of statistical dose.Methods Direct dose measurements were performed at 0°and 90° using a 0.125 cm3 Semiflex ionization chamber (IC) 31010 isocentrically placed in the center of a homogeneous Cylindric sliced RW3 phantom (PTW,Germany).In the scanned CT phantom series,the sensitive volume length of the IC (6.5 mm) was delineated and the isocenter was defined as the simulated effective point.All beams were simulated in the treatment planning system (TPS) in accordance to the measured model.The grid spacing was calculated by 2 mm voxels and the relative standard deviation should be ≤ 0.5％.The statistical and measured doses were statistically compared among three IC models with different electron densities (ED;esophageal lumen ED =0.210 g/cm3 for model A,air ED =0.001 g/cm3 for model B and the default CT scanned ED for model C) at different sampling sphere radius (2.5,2.0,1.5 and 1.0 mm) to evaluate the effect of Monte Carlo.calculation uncertainty upon the dose accuracy.Results In the Monaco TPS,the statistical value was in the highest accordance with the measured value with an absolute average deviation of 0.49％ when the IC was set as esophageal lumen ED =0.210 g/cm3 and the sampling sphere radius was 1.5 mm.When the IC was set as air ED=0.001 g/cm3 and default CT scanned ED,and,the recommended statistical sampling sphere radius was 2.5 mm,the absolute average deviations were 0.61％ and 0.70％.Conclusion In the Monaco TPS,the calculation model with an ED of 0.210 g/cm3 and a sampling radius of 1.5 mm is recommended for the ionization chamber 31010 to substitute the effective point dose measurement to decrease the random stochastic errors of Monte Carlo.

Objective To explore the clinical,endoscopic,pathologic and prognostic characteristics of primary gastric lymphoma (PGL) and to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment.Methods Sixtythree patients who were confirmed as PGL with operation and endoscopic biopsy pathology during January 2001 to December 2010 were retrospectively analyzed with respects of clinical,endoscopic and pathologic features.Survival analysis and prognosis were evaluated by kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard model,respectively.Results In 63 PGL patients,the numbers of male and female were 40 and 23,respectively,and the average age was (59.8±13.3)years.The major symptoms were abdominal pain,abdominal distension,and gastrointestinal hemorrhage,accounting for 47.6 ％ (30/63),17.5 ％ (11/63),and 17.5 ％ (11/63),respectively.There were 39 (61.9 ％) PGL patients with endoscopic performance for ulcers,34 (54.0 ％) cases involved the gastric stomach antrum.The most immunohistochemistry analyses were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (71.4 ％,45/63),followed by mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (22.2％,14/63).The frequency of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) positivity was lower in patients with DLBCL than that in patients with MALT lymphoma (37.8％(17/45) vs 10/14,x2 =4.872,P=0.027).The accumulate survival rates of one,three and five years were 74.6％,63.5％,55.6％,respectively,and the average survival time was (41.5±3.0) months (95％ confidence interval (CI) 35.7 to 47.4 months) in PGL patients.There was no difference in the average survival time between DLBCL patients treated with surgery combined chemotherapy and those with surgery or chemotherapy alone (38.33±5.21) months vs (50.17±8.98) months vs (41.39±4.40) months,P＞0.05).The patients diagnosed as DLBCL with H.pylori positive had longer average survival time than those with H.pylori negative ((51.90±4.30) months vs (33.30±4.50) months,t=-4.004,P＜0.01).Conclusions Male patients with PGL are slightly more than female.Abdominal pain is the most frequent symptom.Ulcerative lesions are the most common endoscopic demonstrations mostly at stomach sinus.DLBCL is the most pathologic characteristic.There is no significant difference in the survival rate between patients treated with surgery combined with chemotherapy and those treated with surgery or chemotherapy alone.

Objective To study the clinical value of magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy in diseases screening. Method We retrospectively analyzed 61 cases which were evaluated by magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy from March 2015 to December 2016. The items include operating time, the divergence rate score and cleanliness score of stomach. The consistency was compared between magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy and gastric duodenal endoscopy. Results 61 upper gastrointestinal tract studies were included. The mean age was (49.4 ± 11.6) years. No capsule retention, perforation or bleeding occurred. There was 98.4% patients, which cleanliness of stomach was good. There was 68.9% patients, which filling degree of stomach was good. The concordance rate of the two tests of gastrduodenoscopy and magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy was 89.9% (80/89). The concordance rate of the two tests was 78.9% (15/19) in esophageal and cardia, 92.9% (52/56) in stomach, 92.9% (13/14) in duodenum. Conclusion Our experience shows that magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy is a safe and useful tool for the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal tract disease. The detection rate is similar to gastrduodenoscopy.