Objective To observe the value of multimodal models established combined 18F-FDG PET/CT radiomics with clinical data for evaluating response of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(LA-HNSCC)to neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy.Methods Totally 213 LA-HNSCC patients were retrospectively enrolled and randomized into training set(n=170)and test set(n=43)at the ratio of 8∶2.Radiomics features of tumors on 18F-FDG PET/CT were extracted and selected from training set,and the independent clinical predictors were screened with sequential univariate and multivariate logistic regressions.Radiomics models,clinical models and combined multimodal models were constructed using different algorithms,including adaptive boosting(AdaBoost),decision tree,naive Bayes,random forest(RF),support vector machine(SVM)and extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost),respectively.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were drawn,and the area under the curves(AUC)were calculated to assess the efficacy of each model for predicting the response of LA-HNSCC to neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy,and the decision curve analysis(DCA)was performed to explore the net benefit of each model.Results Totally 110 radiomics features were selected,and CD4/CD8 ratio was the independent clinical predictor of the response of LA-HNSCC to neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy.Models based on AdaBoost and XGBoost algorithms had high and stable efficacy for predicting tumor response to neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy,among which the multimodal models had better performance(AUC=0.943,0.930)than radiomics models(AUC=0.939,0.925)and clinical models(AUC=0.903,0.910)in test set(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Multimodal models established combined 18F-FDG PET/CT radiomics with CD4/CD8 ratio were more effective for predicting response of LA-HNSCC to neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy than any single model.

Objective:To investigate the dosimetric factors associated with acute nausea and vomiting (RINV) during intensity modulated radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Methods:General clinical data and organs at risk (OAR) doses from 130 newly diagnosed early nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients who received radiation therapy alone in Henan Cancer Hospital from February 2018 to February 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Dosimetric parameters were recorded, and the correlation between the parameters and the degree of nausea and vomiting was statistically analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.Results:All 130 patients had symptoms of ≥ grade 1 nausea and vomiting. In the comparison of dosimetric parameters between patients with < grade 2 and ≥ grade 2 nausea, except the brainstem V 20 Gy, all parameters showed statistically significant differences (all P<0.05). The inner ear D max, and D max, D mean, V 10 Gy, V 20 Gy, V 30 Gy of the throat, oral cavity, pharyngeal constrictor, dorsal vagal complex (DVC) showed statistically significant differences between patients with grade 1 and grade 2 nausea (all P<0.05). The results of multivariate regression analysis showed that DVC V 30 Gy was a significant influencing factor in predicting the severity of nausea ( OR=73.95, 95% CI: 4.66-1172.60, P<0.001), and there was a significant correlation between oral V 30 Gy and the severity of vomiting ( OR=37.69, 95% CI: 1.26-1125.42, P=0.04). Conclusions:Even if OAR are exposed to lower doses of radiation, nausea or vomiting symptoms can still occur. The occurrence of RINV is significantly associated with DVC and oral radiation doses.

Objective: To investigate the changes of microorganisms and metabolites in joint effusion of patients with Rheumatoid arthritis(RA), Osteoarthritis(OA) and Urarthritis(UA). To provide new ideas for the study of the effect of microbiota on the pathogenesis of arthritis. Methods: Joint effusion samples were collected from 20 patients with RA, 20 patients with OA, and 20 patients with UA. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and untargeted ultra-high performance Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) were used to explore the differences in microorganisms and metabolites among the three groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to detect the correlation between effusion microbiota and metabolites. Results: There were differences in microbial diversity and microbiota composition among the three groups. Combined with VIP>1 from OPLS-DA andP<0.05 from two-tailed Students t-test, 45 differential metabolites(Between RA and OA groups), 38 differential metabolites(Between UA and OA groups) and 16 differential metabolites(Between RA and UA groups), were identified. GO analysis and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differential metabolic pathways among the three groups were mainly concentrated in citric acid cycle(TCA cycle), nucleotide metabolism, amino acid metabolism and glycolysis pathway. Correlation analysis of joint effusion microbiota and metabolites suggested that bacteria enriched in the three groups of joint effusion, such asPrevotella,Clostridium ruminosus,Prevotellaceae＿UCG-001, were related to many key metabolites such as lysozyme, uric acid, glucose, and L-glutamine. Conclusion This study shows that there are a variety of bacterial flora in joint cavity effusion of RA, OA, and UA patients, and the differential metabolites produced by them are involved in the pathogenesis of the three types of arthritis by affecting a variety of metabolic pathways.

Objective:To investigate the prognosis and influencing factors of different treatment strategies in T 3-T 4 nasal sinus adenocarcinoma. Methods:The data of 93 cases of T 3-T 4 stage nasal sinus adenocarcinoma diagnosed from 2006 to 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into combined operation group and non-operation group. The survival status and failure mode after corresponding treatment were analyzed. The enumeration data were analyzed by Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analysis was conducted by log-rank test. Multivariate prognostic analysis was performed by Cox model. Results:The average follow-up time in the whole cohort was 81.3 months (18-156 months). By the end of follow-up, a total of 38.7% (36/93) of patients had local recurrence, 14.0% (13/93) had distant metastasis, 17.2% (16/93) had local recurrence complicated with distant metastasis, and 28.0% (26/93) were stable. The overall 2-, 5-, and 10-year overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) rates were 83.5%, 59.3%, 31.8% and 73.6%, 40.7% and 25.3%, respectively. In univariate analysis, the PFS and OS of patients aged 46-64 years old (all P<0.001), male ( P=0.022, P=0.001), patients with lesions located in the maxillary sinus ( P=0.001, P<0.001), adenoid cystic carcinoma ( P=0.001, P<0.001), non-invasion of orbital / clivus ( P=0.041, P<0.001), GTV P dose>64 Gy ( P=0.003, P=0.006) and N 1 stage ( P=0.014, P=0.014) were statistically different among different treatment modes. Multivariate analysis showed that age ≥65 years old ( P=0.012, P=0.005), orbital / clival invasion ( P<0.001, P=0.005), and GTV p dose ≤64 Gy ( P<0.001, P=0.011) were the independent adverse prognostic factors affecting PFS and OS in T 3-T 4 stage nasal sinus adenocarcinoma. Conclusions:The local failure rate of T 3-T 4 stage nasal sinus adenocarcinoma is high after treatment. Age, orbital / clival invasion, and GTV p dosage are the independent adverse prognostic factors. Surgery based intervention is superior to other treatment strategies.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of changes in peripheral NKT cells and tumor abnormal proteins (TAPs) in stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ B head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) before and after radiotherapy. Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed using the data of 101 HNSCC patients, who were confirmed from January 2019 to December 2021 and treated with radical and postoperative radiotherapy. Flow cytometry and the agglutination method were used to determine the proportion of NKT cells in peripheral blood and the TAP coagulation area, respectively before and after radiotherapy. The relationships of clinical features and the cellular features such as changes in NKT cells and ATPs with local recurrence and long-term survival were analyzed. The χ2 test or Fisher′s exact test was employed for intergroup comparison. The Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox model were utilized for univariate and multivariate survival prognosis analyses, respectively. The bivariate Pearson linear correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the relationship between NKT and TAP. Results:The median follow-up time of the whole group was 25 months. Regarding the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates, the local-regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) rates were 76.2%, 67.3%, and 64.4%, respectively, the distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rates 91.1%, 90.1%, and 89.1%, respectively, and the progression-free survival (PFS) rates 69.3%, 59.4%, and 55.4%, respectively. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was influenced by age, surgery, N stage, TNM stage, NKT cell ratio, and TAP, while the 3-year PFS rate was affected by TAP, sex, N stage, and TNM stage. Multivariate analysis suggests that independent adverse prognostic factors for HNSCC included sex, age, N stage, NKT cells, and TAP ( HR=3.00, 2.35, 2.27, 2.02, 2.56, P<0.05). The correlation analysis indicates a positive correlation between NKT cells and TAP ( r=0.26, P=0.009). Conclusions:Stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ B HNSCC treated with radical and postoperative radiotherapy is subjected to a high recurrence rate. Further research is required for the expression levels of NKT cells and TAP in peripheral blood, as well as the influence of their changes during radiotherapy on the 3-year OS, PFS, and LRRFS rates of locally advanced HNSCC.

Stem/progenitor cells are important for salivary gland development, homeostasis maintenance, and regeneration following injury. Keratin-14⁺ (K14⁺) cells have been recognized as bona fide salivary gland stem/progenitor cells. However, K14 is also expressed in terminally differentiated myoepithelial cells; therefore, more accurate molecular markers for identifying salivary stem/progenitor cells are required. The intraflagellar transport (IFT) protein IFT140 is a core component of the IFT system that functions in signaling transduction through the primary cilia. It is reportedly expressed in mesenchymal stem cells and plays a role in bone formation. In this study, we demonstrated that IFT140 was intensively expressed in K14⁺ stem/progenitor cells during the developmental period and early regeneration stage following ligation-induced injuries in murine submandibular glands. In addition, we demonstrated that IFT140⁺/ K14⁺ could self-renew and differentiate into granular duct cells at the developmental stage in vivo. The conditional deletion of Ift140 from K14⁺ cells caused abnormal epithelial structure and function during salivary gland development and inhibited regeneration. IFT140 partly coordinated the function of K14⁺ stem/progenitor cells by modulating ciliary membrane trafficking. Our investigation identified a combined marker, IFT140⁺/K14⁺, for salivary gland stem/progenitor cells and elucidated the essential role of IFT140 and cilia in regulating salivary stem/progenitor cell differentiation and gland regeneration.
Animals ; Carrier Proteins/metabolism* ; Cell Differentiation ; Keratin-14/metabolism* ; Mice ; Osteogenesis ; Salivary Glands/metabolism* ; Stem Cells

Objective:To explore the clinical value of Ki-67 and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) in salivary duct carcinoma in stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ A. Methods:The data of 52 cases of locally advanced salivary duct carcinoma(SDC) diagnosed from January 2012 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent radical surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. Among them, 15.4% of patients had local recurrence, 28.8% had distant metastasis, 17.3% had regional recurrence with distant metastasis. The relationship between clinical features, pathological features such as Ki-67 and HER-2 and prognosis such as local recurrence and distant metastasis was analyzed.Results:The average follow-up time was 37.6 months. The 1- and 2-year local recurrence free survival, distant metastasis free survival, progression free survival were 86.5%, 73.1%, 65.4% and 67.3%, 55.8%, 46.2% respectively. The 3-year progression free survival rate was 33.3%. Comparison between groups showed that age ≥ 65 years old, T stage, TNM stage, vascular tumor thrombus, radiotherapy dose <60 Gy, Ki-67 positive index and HER-2 positive were related to the prognosis of different stages. In multivariate analysis, only age, Ki-67 positive index ≥ 60% and HER-2 protein (3+ ) were independent poor prognostic factors for locally advanced SDC ( t =5.16, 9.84, 8.23, P<0.05). Conclusions:In stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ A SDC, only radical surgery and postoperative radiotherapy have a high rate of distant metastasis. Ki-67 positive index and HER-2 positive are independent adverse prognostic factors.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of reducing clinical target volume (CTV) on local control and overall survival in postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and analyze the patterns of failure, aiming to provide clinical basis for postoperative IMRT delineation of CTV for parotid gland cancer in the era of precision radiotherapy.Methods:Clinical data of 126 patients who were pathologically diagnosed with parotid gland cancer and treated with parotidectomy as well as postoperative radiotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into two groups according to the prozone of CTV. It was delineated to the anterior border of parotid gland in group A, and delineated to the anterior border of masseter in group B. Actuarial estimates of local recurrence-free survival, regional recurrence-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival were obtained with the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate prognostic analysis was performed by log-rank test. Multivariate prognostic analysis was conducted by Cox regression model.Results:The 5-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) in groups A and B were 96.7% vs. 91.3%, 96.7% vs. 90.2%, 86.9% v s. 81.3% and 86.0% vs. 81.4%, respectively. There were no significant differences in these parameters between two groups. Of 126 patients with parotid carcinoma, 7 had local recurrence. There were 2 cases in group A which 1 recurred in-field and 1 recurred out- field. And there were 5 cases in group B which 4 recurred in-field and 1 recurred marginally. Univariate analysis showed that age was associated with LRFS. Age, N stage and pathological grading were associated with OS. Cox multivariate analysis revealed that age, N stage and pathological grading were the independent influencing factors of OS. Conclusions:Reducing the CTV would not increase the risk of local recurrence in patients with parotid gland carcinoma without tumor extravasation and negative surgical margins. There is no significant difference in survival benefit compared to those delineated to the anterior border of the masseter muscle. The delineation of CTV should be treated differently according to the risk factors.

Objective:To investigate the effect of apatinib on radiosensitivity of glioma cells U87MG and its potential mechanism.Methods:U87MG cells were divided into control group, apatinib group, radiation group and combination group treated with apatinib and radiation. The effect of different concentrations of apatinib (5, 10, 20, 40, 80 μmol/L) on cell proliferation was detected by CCK8 assay. The effect of apatinib on cell migration and invasion was detected by wound-healing assay and transwell assay, respectively. The effect of apatinib on cell radiosensitivity was detected by plate cloning assay, the cell apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry, and the protein expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 were detected by Western blot.Results:Apatinib significantly inhibited the proliferation of U87MG cells in a manner depended on the drug treatment time and radiation. Compared with the radiation group, the cell proliferation, migration and invasion in the combination group were inhibited much significantly ( t=9.857, 18.704, 4.197, P<0.05), so that the value of D0, Dq and SF2 of the combination group was lower, resulting in a radiosensitivity enhancement ratio (SER D0 ) of 1.3. Moreover, compared with the radiation group, the apoptosis rate of the combination group was increased, the expression of Bcl-2 protein was decreased, and the expression of Bax protein was increased ( t=16.187, 8.890, 5.222, P< 0.05). Conclusions:Apatinib inhibits cell proliferation, invasion and migration, induces apoptosis and increases radiosensitivity of glioma cells.

Objective:To evaluate effect of different induction chemotherapy on the clinical efficacy of concurrent intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and chemotherapy and identify the prognostic factors in non-endemic locally-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.Methods:Clinical data of 210 patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ B(excluding stage T 3-4N 0M 0) nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated in our hospital from 2012 to 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the efficacy of different induction chemotherapy, all patients were divided into the effective group (14 cases of complete remission and 165 cases of partial remission) and ineffective group (31 cases of stability and 0 case of progression). Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan- Meier method. Multivariate analysis was conducted by using Cox′s regression model. Results:Compared with the ineffective group, the 3-year overall survival (OS)(89.2% vs. 74.2%, P=0.005), recurrence-free survival (RFS)(93.0% vs. 81.9%, P=0.010) and progression-free survival (PFS)(80.2% vs. 58.1%, P=0.005) were significantly higher in the effective group, whereas the distant metastasis-free survival did not significantly differ between two groups (84.1% vs.69.7%, P=0.070). Multivariate analysis showed that the tumor response to induction chemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor for OS, RFS and PFS. Conclusions:Tumor response to induction chemotherapy might be a prognostic factor for non-endemic locally-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. Clinical prognosis of patients with poor response to induction chemotherapy is even worse. More intensive treatment and closer follow-up may be needed for these patients.