T cell exhaustion plays an immunosuppressive role in malignant tumors. Continuous tumor antigen stimulation, the presence of suppressive immune cells and cytokines in the tumor microenvironment, the up regulation of inhibitory receptor expression on the surface of T cells, changes in T cell related transcription factors, and metabolites in the tumor microenvironment may lead to T cell exhaustion. Reversing the exhaustion of T cells in tumor patients is a promising strategy for tumor immunotherapy. This article will review the latest research progress on T cell exhaustion status, pathogenesis, reversal methods, and clinical applications in hematological tumors.
Humans ; Hematologic Neoplasms/immunology* ; T-Lymphocytes/immunology* ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Immunotherapy ; T-Cell Exhaustion

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

Cancer stem cell(CSC)are the"seed"cells in the occurrence,development,metastasis and recurrence of colorectal cancer.Targeted killing of CSC provides a new target for anti-colorectal cancer therapy.Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death mode due to the abnormal accumulation of intracellular i-ron ions,which results in the massive reactive oxygen species(ROS)and lipid peroxides,leading to cell death.Studies have shown that cancer stem cells are more enriched in iron ions than non-CSC,which provides a new perspective for targeting ferropto-sis in cancer stem cells against colorectal cancer.This article re-views the research progress of inducing CSC ferroptosis in the treatment of colorectal cancer,such as targeted regulation of SLC7A11 expression in CSC,chelating iron in CSC lysosomes,targeting CSC phenotypic plasticity,reversing CSC iron homeo-stasis,and targeting CSC lipid droplet metabolism induce CSC ferroptosis,which provides new ideas for anti-tumor therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the combination of chemotherapy with staged Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) therapy could enhance health-related quality of life (QoL) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and prolong the time before deterioration of lung cancer symptoms, in comparison to chemotherapy alone. METHODS: A prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted from December 14, 2017 to August 28, 2020. A total of 180 patients with stage I B-IIIA NSCLC from 5 hospitals in Shanghai were randomly divided into chemotherapy combined with CHM (chemo+CHM) group (120 cases) or chemotherapy combined with placebo (chemo+placebo) group (60 cases) using stratified blocking randomization. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life-Core 30 Scale (QLQ-C30) was used to evaluate the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) during postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early-stage NSCLC. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed in the safety analysis. RESULTS: Out of the total 180 patients, 173 patients (116 in the chemo+CHM group and 57 in the chemo+placebo group) were included in the PRO analyses. The initial mean QLQ-C30 Global Health Status (GHS)/QoL scores at baseline were 57.16 ± 1.64 and 57.67 ± 2.25 for the two respective groups (P>0.05). Compared with baseline, the chemo+CHM group had an improvement in EORTC QLQ-C30 GHS/QoL score at week 18 [least squares mean (LSM) change 17.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 14.29 to 21.38]. Conversely, the chemo+placebo group had a decrease in the score (LSM change -13.67, 95% CI -22.70 to -4.63). A significant between-group difference in the LSM GHS/QoL score was observed, amounting to 31.63 points (95% CI 25.61 to 37.64, P<0.001). The similar trends were observed in physical functioning, fatigue and appetite loss. At week 18, patients in the chemo+CHM group had a higher proportion of improvement or stabilization in GHS/QoL functional and symptom scores compared to chemo+placebo group (P<0.001). The median time to deterioration was longer in the chemo+CHM group for GHS/QoL score [hazard ratio (HR)=0.33, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.48, P<0.0010], physical functioning (HR=0.43, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.75, P=0.0005), fatigue (HR=0.47, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.72, P<0.0001) and appetite loss (HR=0.65, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.00, P=0.0215). The incidence of AEs was lower in the chemo+CHM group than in the chemo+placebo group (9.83% vs. 15.79%, P=0.52). CONCLUSION The staged CHM therapy could help improve the PROs of postoperative patients with early-stage NSCLC during adjuvant chemotherapy, which is worthy of further clinical research. (Registry No. NCT03372694).
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/surgery* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Patient Reported Outcome Measures ; Quality of Life ; Aged ; Postoperative Period ; Prospective Studies

The paper explores the evolution of "bone-approaching" acupuncture, its effect target and mechanism. The concrete operation procedure of "bone-approaching" method is recorded originally in Huangdi Neijing (Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor) as short needling and Shu needling (referring to the category of the five needling technique). The periosteum is the most effective stimulation target of "bone-approaching" acupuncture for analgesia, regaining consciousness and regulating spirit. The "bone-approaching" acupuncture is not only prominently effective on bone bi syndrome, but also has the unique effect on painful, encephalogenic and emotional diseases. The paper summarizes and improves "bone-approaching" acupuncture, i.e. "touching bone surface" with needle tip by slow insertion, "touching bone surface" without pain by swift insertion and "touching bone" with needle body by oblique insertion. It contributes to the inheritance, development and supplementation to the bone needling techniques in Huangdi Neijing and is significant for broadening the clinical application range of acupuncture.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Periosteum ; Analgesia ; Pain Management ; Consciousness ; Pain

Objective: To investigate the clinical and molecular biological characteristics of patients with accelerated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (aCLL) . Methods: From January 2020 to October 2022, the data of 13 patients diagnosed with aCLL at The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed to explore the clinical and molecular biological characteristics of aCLL. Results: The median age of the patients was 54 (35-72) years. Prior to aCLL, five patients received no treatment for CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), while the other patients received treatment, predominantly with BTK inhibitors. The patients were diagnosed with aCLL through pathological confirmation upon disease progression. Six patients exhibited bulky disease (lesions with a maximum diameter ≥5 cm). Positron emission tomography (PET) -computed tomography (CT) images revealed metabolic heterogeneity, both between and within lesions, and the median maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the lesion with the most elevated metabolic activity was 6.96 (2.51-11.90). Patients with unmutated IGHV CLL accounted for 76.9% (10/13), and the most frequent genetic and molecular aberrations included +12 [3/7 (42.9% ) ], ATM mutation [6/12 (50% ) ], and NOTCH1 mutation [6/12 (50% ) ]. Twelve patients received subsequent treatment. The overall response rate was 91.7%, and the complete response rate was 58.3%. Five patients experienced disease progression, among which two patients developed Richter transformation. Patients with aCLL with KRAS mutation had worse progression-free survival (7.0 month vs 26.3 months, P=0.015) . Conclusion: Patients with aCLL exhibited a clinically aggressive course, often accompanied by unfavorable prognostic factors, including unmutated IGHV, +12, ATM mutation, and NOTCH1 mutation. Patients with CLL/SLL with clinical suspicion of disease progression, especially those with bulky disease and PET-CT SUVmax ≥5, should undergo biopsy at the site of highest metabolic uptake to establish a definitive pathological diagnosis.
Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/genetics* ; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography ; Retrospective Studies ; Biopsy ; Disease Progression

Objective: To analyze the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) . Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 68 patients with testicular DLBCL admitted to Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from October 2001 to April 2020. The gene mutation profile was evaluated by targeted sequencing (55 lymphoma-related genes) , and prognostic factors were analyzed. Results: A total of 68 patients were included, of whom 45 (66.2% ) had primary testicular DLBCL and 23 (33.8% ) had secondary testicular DLBCL. The proportion of secondary testicular DLBCL patients with Ann Arbor stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ (P<0.001) , elevated LDH (P<0.001) , ECOG score ≥ 2 points (P=0.005) , and IPI score 3-5 points (P<0.001) is higher than that of primary testicular DLBCL patients. Sixty-two (91% ) patients received rituximab in combination with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) -based first-line regimen, whereas 54 cases (79% ) underwent orchiectomy prior to chemotherapy. Patients with secondary testicular DLBCL had a lower estimated 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate (16.5% vs 68.1% , P<0.001) and 5-year overall survival (OS) rate (63.4% vs 74.9% , P=0.008) than those with primary testicular DLBCL, and their complete remission rate (57% vs 91% , P=0.003) was also lower than that of primary testicular DLBCL. The ECOG scores of ≥2 (PFS: P=0.018; OS: P<0.001) , Ann Arbor stages Ⅲ-Ⅳ (PFS: P<0.001; OS: P=0.018) , increased LDH levels (PFS: P=0.015; OS: P=0.006) , and multiple extra-nodal involvements (PFS: P<0.001; OS: P=0.013) were poor prognostic factors in testicular DLBCL. Targeted sequencing data in 20 patients with testicular DLBCL showed that the mutation frequencies of ≥20% were PIM1 (12 cases, 60% ) , MYD88 (11 cases, 55% ) , CD79B (9 cases, 45% ) , CREBBP (5 cases, 25% ) , KMT2D (5 cases, 25% ) , ATM (4 cases, 20% ) , and BTG2 (4 cases, 20% ) . The frequency of mutations in KMT2D in patients with secondary testicular DLBCL was higher than that in patients with primary testicular DLBCL (66.7% vs 7.1% , P=0.014) and was associated with a lower 5-year PFS rate in patients with testicular DLBCL (P=0.019) . Conclusion: Patients with secondary testicular DLBCL had worse PFS and OS than those with primary testicular DLBCL. The ECOG scores of ≥2, Ann Arbor stages Ⅲ-Ⅳ, increased LDH levels, and multiple extra-nodal involvements were poor prognostic factors in testicular DLBCL. PIM1, MYD88, CD79B, CREBBP, KMT2D, ATM, and BTG2 were commonly mutated genes in testicular DLBCL, and the prognosis of patients with KMT2D mutations was poor.
Male ; Adult ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88 ; China/epidemiology* ; Testicular Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Cyclophosphamide ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy* ; Prednisone/therapeutic use* ; Doxorubicin/therapeutic use* ; Vincristine/therapeutic use* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Immediate-Early Proteins/therapeutic use* ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a user-friendly risk score for older mitral regurgitation (MR) patients, referred to as the Elder-MR score. METHODS: The China Senile Valvular Heart Disease (China-DVD) Cohort Study functioned as the development cohort, while the China Valvular Heart Disease (China-VHD) Study was employed for external validation. We included patients aged 60 years and above receiving medical treatment for moderate or severe MR (2274 patients in the development cohort and 1929 patients in the validation cohort). Candidate predictors were chosen using Cox's proportional hazards model and stepwise selection with Akaike's information criterion. RESULTS: Eight predictors were identified: age ≥ 75 years, body mass index < 20 kg/m², NYHA class III/IV, secondary MR, anemia, estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min per 1.73 m², albumin < 35 g/L, and left ventricular ejection fraction < 60%. The model displayed satisfactory performance in predicting one-year mortality in both the development cohort (C-statistic = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.69-0.77, Brier score = 0.06) and the validation cohort (C-statistic = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.68-0.78, Brier score = 0.06). The Elder-MR score ranges from 0 to 15 points. At a one-year follow-up, each point increase in the Elder-MR score represents a 1.27-fold risk of death (HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.21-1.34, P < 0.001) in the development cohort and a 1.24-fold risk of death (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.17-1.30, P < 0.001) in the validation cohort. Compared to EuroSCORE II, the Elder-MR score demonstrated superior predictive accuracy for one-year mortality in the validation cohort (C-statistic = 0.71 vs. 0.70, net reclassification improvement = 0.320, P < 0.01; integrated discrimination improvement = 0.029, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The Elder-MR score may serve as an effective risk stratification tool to assist clinical decision-making in older MR patients.