Objective:To investigate the impact of receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), as well as the predictive performance of RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors.Methods:This study was a single-center prospective cohort study. It included patients with AMI who underwent PCI at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between September 2017 and November 2017. Baseline clinical data were collected, and plasma samples were obtained 6 hours after PCI to measure RIPK3 levels. Follow-up was conducted via outpatient visits or phone calls to record the occurrence of MACE, including cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and vascular events (recurrent AMI or stroke). The predictive performance of RIPK3, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and their combination for MACE was compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Patients were divided into low- and high-RIPK3 level groups based on the optimal cutoff value of RIPK3. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the impact of RIPK3 levels on MACE after PCI in AMI patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted, and the log-rank test was used to compare MACE incidence between the low-and high-RIPK3 groups.Results:A total of 103 AMI patients who underwent PCI were included, aged 63.0 (56.0, 69.0) years, and 83 (80.6%) were male. The follow-up time was 5.17 (2.81, 5.17) years, during which 44 patients (42.7%) experienced MACE. The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve ( AUC) for traditional cardiovascular risk factors was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.58-0.78), while the AUC for plasma RIPK3 was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.62-0.82). The combined AUC for traditional risk factors and RIPK3 was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.65-0.85). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that plasma RIPK3 level is greater than or equal to the optimal cutoff value of 440.9 μg/L ( HR=3.31, 95% CI: 1.53-8.30, P=0.005) was an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the high-RIPK3 group had a significantly higher risk of MACE after PCI compared to the low-RIPK3 group (log-rank P=0.006). Conclusions:Elevated plasma RIPK3 level is an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Plasma RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors can more effectively predict the occurrence of MACE in AMI patients after PCI. AMI patients with RIPK3≥440.9 μg/L have a higher risk of MACE after PCI.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of a predictive model for differentiating benign and malignant renal tumors based on CT radiomic features and clinical features.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 1 395 patients with renal tumors admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2011 to December 2021, including 842 males and 553 females. The median age was 55 (44, 59) years, and the median tumor diameter was 3.6 (2.7, 4.6) cm. All patients underwent contrast-enhanced CT scaning before surgery, and radiomic features were extracted from non-contrast, arterial, and venous phase images. Prediction models for distinguishing benign and malignant renal tumors were constructed using five machine learning algorithms (logistic regression, support vector machine, neural network, random forest, and extreme gradient boosting), and these models were then ensembled to construct a stacking classifier. All patients underwent partial nephrectomy, and they were divided into a training group (941 cases, December 2011 to June 2020) and a validation group (454 cases, July 2020 to December 2021) based on the date of surgery. A clinical-radiomic model was developed by combining the result of stacking classifier, clinical features and CT report results, and its predictive performance was evaluated in the validation group.Results:The radiomic signature based on the combined features and five machine learning algorithms(AUC 0.835-0.844) showed higher accuracy in predicting benign and malignant renal tumors compared to single phases (AUC 0.744-0.831). After integrating the five machine learning algorithms, the AUC of the three-phase combined radiomic model in the validation group improved to 0.847(95% CI 0.802-0.892). The clinical-radiomic model, incorporating radiomic features, clinical features, and CT report results, achieved a significantly higher AUC in the validation group compared to radiologists [0.919(95% CI 0.889-0.950)vs. 0.835(95% CI 0.786-0.883), P<0.01]. Conclusions:The predictive model integrating CT radiomics features, clinical characteristics, and CT report results demonstrates excellent discriminative ability in distinguishing benign and malignant renal tumors.

Objective:The aims of this study were to compare the clinical effectiveness of an immunosuppressant(sintilimab)combined with different chemotherapy regimens(two-and three-drug regimens)in the neoadjuvant treatment of advanced gastric cancer and to explore the efficacy-associated clinical features.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with advanced gastric cancer who re-ceived treatment at Lanzhou University Second Hospital between August 2020 and February 2024.Overall,133 patients were included in the study and assigned into groups A(three-drug regimens)and B(two-drug regimens),according to the treatment regimen received.Recent ef-ficacy outcomes,including the pathological complete response rate(pCR),major pathological response rate(MPR),objective response rate(ORR),and disease control rate(DCR),as well as long-term efficacy outcomes,including overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS),were compared.Subgroup analyses were performed to identify clinical features associated with treatment efficacy.Results:The recent effic-acy outcomes were similar between groups A(two-drug regimen)and B(three-drug regimen),with pCRs of 18.46%and 27.94%,MPRs of 52.31%and 58.82%,ORRs of 76.92%and 76.47%,and DCRs of 87.69%and 95.59%,respectively.However,the three-drug regimen led to significantly improved OS and DFS,compared with the two-drug regimen(P<0.05).Subgroup analysis revealed that male patients and those with gastric antrum cancer,an ECOG score of 0,a T4 stage tumor,and no vascular or nerve invasion benefited more from the three-drug re-gimen.Conclusions:Sintilimab combined with the three-drug chemotherapy regimen demonstrated superior long-term efficacy in the neo-adjuvant treatment of advanced gastric cancer,compared with the combination with the two-drug regimen.Certain clinical features may predict greater benefit from the three-drug regimen.

Objective To investigate the early clinical efficacy of minimally invasive cardiac surgery coronary artery bypass grafting (MICS CABG) via left intercostal small incision for multivessel coronary artery disease. Methods The patients who received off-pump CABG in the Central China Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2021 to June 2023 were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups according to the operative technique used, including a traditional midline sternotomy group and a left intercostal small incision group. The clinical data of the two groups were compared. Results A total of 143 patients were enrolled, including 70 patients in the traditional midline sternotomy group and 73 patients in the left intercostal small incision group. The age of the patients in the left intercostal small incision group and the traditional midline sternotomy group was (63.8±8.0) years and (63.0±7.8) years, respectively; the proportions of males were 69.9% and 74.3%, respectively. The differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05). All patients in the two groups successfully completed the operation, and no patients in the left intercostal small incision group were converted to thoracotomy. The patients in the left intercostal small incision group showed less postoperative drainage within postoperative 24 hours [(239.4±177.7) mL vs. (338.0±151.9) mL, P<0.001], lower perioperative blood transfusion rate [32.9% (24/73) vs. 51.4% (36/70), P=0.028], higher postoperative myoglobin level within postoperative 24 hours [366.1 (247.9, 513.0) ng/mL vs. 220.8 (147.2, 314.9) ng/mL, P<0.001], shorter intensive care unit stay [45.5 (31.5, 67.5) h vs. 68.0 (46.0, 78.5) h, P=0.001] and postoperative hospital stay [(10.8±4.0) d vs. (13.1±5.3) d, P=0.028] compared to the traditional midline sternotomy group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event between the two groups [2.7% (2/73) vs. 2.9% (2/70), P=1.000]. Conclusion Compared to the full median sternotomy, MICS CABG leads to a good clinical result with smaller trauma, faster overall recovery, and less perioperative blood transfusion.

Objective To compare and analyze the early- to mid-term outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) combined with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) combined with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for the treatment of significant aortic stenosis (AS) and coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods The data of patients with significant AS and CAD who underwent surgical treatment at Central China Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2018 to July 2023 were collected. These patients were divided into a TAVR+PCI group and a SAVR+CABG group according to the operation method. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to select patients with close clinical baseline characteristics, and the early- to mid-term outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results A total of 272 patients were enrolled, including 208 males and 64 females, with a mean age of (64.16±8.24) years. There were 47 patients in the TAVR+PCI group and 225 patients in the SAVR+CABG group. After 1 : 1 PSM, 32 pairs were selected. There was no statistical difference in baseline data between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the SAVR+CABG group, the TAVR+PCI group had significantly shorter operative time, mechanical ventilation time, ICU stay, postoperative hospital stay, and less intraoperative bleeding, and significantly lower postoperative transfusion and complete revascularization rates (P<0.05). The differences in the rates of postoperative in-hospital death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or other complications between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05), and the differences in the rates of moderate-to-severe perivalvular leakage, death, or readmission in the mid-term follow-up were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion In patients with significant AS and CAD, the early- and mid-term rates of death and complications are similar between those treated with TAVR+PCI and SAVR+CABG, and TAVR+PCI is a safe alternative to SAVR+CABG.

Objective To compare perioperative outcomes of minimally invasive aortic valve surgery by a right anterior minithoracotomy (RAMT) and conventional sternotomy. Methods A retrospective analysis of patients who underwent isolated aortic valve surgeries in Central China Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University between May 2021 and August 2023 with a minimal incision via the RAMT approach (a RAMT group) or conventional incision via the full sternotomy approach (a conventional group). A propensity score matching analysis was performed to balance preoperative data and compare perioperative data of the two groups. Results There were 58 patients in the RAMT group, including 46 males and 12 females with an average age of (52.0±14.1) years; 128 patients were enrolled in the conventional group, including 87 males and 41 females with an average age of (60.0±12.4) years. After propensity-score matching, there were 51 patients in each group. The RAMT group had a longer average operation time, cross-clamping time and cardiopulmonary bypass time compared to the conventional group (all P<0.05). However, ICU length of stay, ventilator-assisted time and postoperative hospital stay were significantly shorter in the RAMT group (all P<0.05). Patients in the RAMT group had lower 24 hour chest drain output (P<0.05). RAMT was associated with a trend towards a lower blood transfusion rate in comparison to the sternotomy group, although this was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The occurrence of all-cause death, and perioperative complications was also similar in both groups (P>0.05). Conclusion RAMT has less trauma, faster recovery, less postoperative drainage, and shorter hospital stay than conventional approach. RAMT in patients undergoing isolated aortic valve surgery is a safe approach.

Objective:The aims of this study were to compare the clinical effectiveness of an immunosuppressant(sintilimab)combined with different chemotherapy regimens(two-and three-drug regimens)in the neoadjuvant treatment of advanced gastric cancer and to explore the efficacy-associated clinical features.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with advanced gastric cancer who re-ceived treatment at Lanzhou University Second Hospital between August 2020 and February 2024.Overall,133 patients were included in the study and assigned into groups A(three-drug regimens)and B(two-drug regimens),according to the treatment regimen received.Recent ef-ficacy outcomes,including the pathological complete response rate(pCR),major pathological response rate(MPR),objective response rate(ORR),and disease control rate(DCR),as well as long-term efficacy outcomes,including overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS),were compared.Subgroup analyses were performed to identify clinical features associated with treatment efficacy.Results:The recent effic-acy outcomes were similar between groups A(two-drug regimen)and B(three-drug regimen),with pCRs of 18.46%and 27.94%,MPRs of 52.31%and 58.82%,ORRs of 76.92%and 76.47%,and DCRs of 87.69%and 95.59%,respectively.However,the three-drug regimen led to significantly improved OS and DFS,compared with the two-drug regimen(P<0.05).Subgroup analysis revealed that male patients and those with gastric antrum cancer,an ECOG score of 0,a T4 stage tumor,and no vascular or nerve invasion benefited more from the three-drug re-gimen.Conclusions:Sintilimab combined with the three-drug chemotherapy regimen demonstrated superior long-term efficacy in the neo-adjuvant treatment of advanced gastric cancer,compared with the combination with the two-drug regimen.Certain clinical features may predict greater benefit from the three-drug regimen.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of a predictive model for differentiating benign and malignant renal tumors based on CT radiomic features and clinical features.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 1 395 patients with renal tumors admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2011 to December 2021, including 842 males and 553 females. The median age was 55 (44, 59) years, and the median tumor diameter was 3.6 (2.7, 4.6) cm. All patients underwent contrast-enhanced CT scaning before surgery, and radiomic features were extracted from non-contrast, arterial, and venous phase images. Prediction models for distinguishing benign and malignant renal tumors were constructed using five machine learning algorithms (logistic regression, support vector machine, neural network, random forest, and extreme gradient boosting), and these models were then ensembled to construct a stacking classifier. All patients underwent partial nephrectomy, and they were divided into a training group (941 cases, December 2011 to June 2020) and a validation group (454 cases, July 2020 to December 2021) based on the date of surgery. A clinical-radiomic model was developed by combining the result of stacking classifier, clinical features and CT report results, and its predictive performance was evaluated in the validation group.Results:The radiomic signature based on the combined features and five machine learning algorithms(AUC 0.835-0.844) showed higher accuracy in predicting benign and malignant renal tumors compared to single phases (AUC 0.744-0.831). After integrating the five machine learning algorithms, the AUC of the three-phase combined radiomic model in the validation group improved to 0.847(95% CI 0.802-0.892). The clinical-radiomic model, incorporating radiomic features, clinical features, and CT report results, achieved a significantly higher AUC in the validation group compared to radiologists [0.919(95% CI 0.889-0.950)vs. 0.835(95% CI 0.786-0.883), P<0.01]. Conclusions:The predictive model integrating CT radiomics features, clinical characteristics, and CT report results demonstrates excellent discriminative ability in distinguishing benign and malignant renal tumors.

Objective: To compare peritoneal indexes between transperitoneal approach and retroperitioneal approach of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) for dorsal renal tumors via transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approaches，thereby providing reference for clinical decision-making in managing such neoplasms. Methods: The clinical data of renal cancer patients undergoing RAPN performed by the same surgeon at our hospital during 2017 and 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.A total of 80 patients with complete data of dorsal renal tumors were screened and divided into two groups based on the surgical approaches：50 cases in the transperitoneal group and 30 in the retroperitoneal group.The general information，intraoperative data，positive rate of pathological margins，recovery time of gastrointestinal functions，and incidence of complications were compared between the two groups. Results: All operations were successfully completed, and the surgical margins were negative.There were no statistically significant differences in warm ischemia time [17 (15，18) min vs.16 (14，19) min，P=0.772]，operation time [120 (105，149) min vs.124 (108，152) min，P=0.584]，intraoperative blood loss [100 (50，100) mL vs.100 (50，100) mL，P=0.814]，and incidence of postoperative complications (17% vs.24%，P=0.504) between the two groups (P>0.05).The postoperative recovery time of gastrointestinal functions in the retroperitoneal group was significantly shorter than that in the transperitoneal group [2.0 (2.0，3.0) d vs.3.5 (3.0，4.0) d，P<0.001]. Conclusion: The perioperative outcomes of patients undergoing RAPN via the retroperitoneal approach are similar to those via the transperitoneal approach.However，the retroperitoneal approach has an advantage of faster recovery of gastrointestinal functions.

Objective:To investigate the impact of receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), as well as the predictive performance of RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors.Methods:This study was a single-center prospective cohort study. It included patients with AMI who underwent PCI at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between September 2017 and November 2017. Baseline clinical data were collected, and plasma samples were obtained 6 hours after PCI to measure RIPK3 levels. Follow-up was conducted via outpatient visits or phone calls to record the occurrence of MACE, including cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and vascular events (recurrent AMI or stroke). The predictive performance of RIPK3, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and their combination for MACE was compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Patients were divided into low- and high-RIPK3 level groups based on the optimal cutoff value of RIPK3. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the impact of RIPK3 levels on MACE after PCI in AMI patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted, and the log-rank test was used to compare MACE incidence between the low-and high-RIPK3 groups.Results:A total of 103 AMI patients who underwent PCI were included, aged 63.0 (56.0, 69.0) years, and 83 (80.6%) were male. The follow-up time was 5.17 (2.81, 5.17) years, during which 44 patients (42.7%) experienced MACE. The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve ( AUC) for traditional cardiovascular risk factors was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.58-0.78), while the AUC for plasma RIPK3 was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.62-0.82). The combined AUC for traditional risk factors and RIPK3 was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.65-0.85). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that plasma RIPK3 level is greater than or equal to the optimal cutoff value of 440.9 μg/L ( HR=3.31, 95% CI: 1.53-8.30, P=0.005) was an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the high-RIPK3 group had a significantly higher risk of MACE after PCI compared to the low-RIPK3 group (log-rank P=0.006). Conclusions:Elevated plasma RIPK3 level is an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Plasma RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors can more effectively predict the occurrence of MACE in AMI patients after PCI. AMI patients with RIPK3≥440.9 μg/L have a higher risk of MACE after PCI.