Objective To investigate the setup error in patients with spinal bone metastasis who underwent radiotherapy under the guidance of kilovoltage cone-beam CT (KV-CBCT). Methods A total of 118 patients with spinal metastasis who underwent radiotherapy, including 17 cases of cervical spine, 62 cases of thoracic spine, and 39 cases of lumbar spine, were collected. KV-CBCT scans were performed using the linear accelerators from Elekta and Varian’s EDGE system. CBCT images were registered with reference CT images in the bone window mode. A total of 973 data were collected, and 3D linear errors were recorded. Results The patients with spinal bone metastasis were grouped by site, height, weight, and BMI. The P value of the patients grouped only by site was P<0.05, which was statistically significant. Conclusion When grouped by site in the 3D direction, the positioning effect of cervical spine is better than that of thoracic and lumbar spine. The positioning effect of the thoracic spine is better in the head and foot direction but worse in the left and right direction compared with that of the lumbar spine. Instead of extending or narrowing the margin according to the BMI of patients with spinal metastasis, the margin must be changed according to the site of spinal bone metastasis.

Objective:To evaluate the incidence of arrhythmias and electrocardiographic (ECG) characteristics in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).Methods:This was a cohort study conducted in the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University. Cancer patients initiating ICIs treatments from November 2020 to September 2022 were included in this study. Baseline 12-leads ECG before ICIs initiation and post-treatment ECG were analyzed. An abnormal ECG was defined as the presence of any of the following changes: sinus arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, premature contractions, conduction disorder, and ST-T changes.Results:A total of 87 patients were enrolled, aged 63 (57, 68) years, with 66 (75.9%) males. And 44.8% (39/87) of patients presented with at least one confirmed cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factor at baseline. The incidence of abnormal ECG increased from 31.0% (27/87) at baseline to 65.5% (57/87) after receiving (5.0±2.7) cycles of ICIs treatment ( P<0.001). The incidence of sinus arrhythmias was significantly increased after ICIs treatment (23.0% (20/87) vs. 9.2% (8/87), P=0.023), of which only the incidence of sinus tachycardia was significantly increased (11.5% (10/87) vs. 2.3% (2/87), P=0.039). There was also a significantly increased incidence of ST-T changes after ICIs treatment (31.0% (27/87) vs. 17.2% (15/87), P=0.012), which mainly attributed to the T wave changes (29.9% (26/87) vs. 13.8% (12/87), P=0.001). The incidence of premature contractions was also significantly increased after ICIs treatment (9.2% (8/87) vs. 0, P=0.008). Additionally, compared with baseline, the P wave axis was significantly increased after ICIs treatment ((56.94±21.01)° vs. (52.00±22.69)°, P=0.043). After ICIs treatment, the heart rate was significantly increased ((79.07±15.37) beats/min vs. (75.64±13.37) beats/min, P=0.029). Sokolow-Lyon index ((2.21±0.81)mV vs. (2.33±0.75)mV, P=0.138), QTc interval ((431.44±36.04)ms vs. (428.00±30.05)ms, P=0.415) all showed signs of change after treatment, but did not reach the traditional significant level. Conclusions:The incidence of abnormal ECG is significantly increased after ICIs treatment, especially for sinus tachycardia, premature contractions and T wave changes; the P wave axis and heart rate is also significantly increased after treatment. It is important to perform regular ECG monitoring in patients receiving ICIs treatment.

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab monoclonal antibody combined with molecular-targeted therapy in elderly patients with unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the patients with unresectable/advanced HCC who attended six hospitals from January 1,2019 to March 31,2021,and all patients received camrelizumab monoclonal antibody treatment,among whom 84.8%also received targeted therapy.According to the age of the patients,they were divided into elderly group(≥65 years)and non-elderly group(＜65 years).The two groups were assessed in terms of overall survival(OS),progression-free survival(PFS),objective response rate(ORR),disease control rate(DCR),and immune-related adverse events(irAE).The chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups;the independent samples t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data,and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups.The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis,and the log-rank test was used for comparison of survival curves.Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to determine the independent influencing factors for PFS and DCR at 6 months.Results A total of 99 HCC patients were enrolled,with 27 in the elderly group and 72 in the non-elderly group.The elderly group had an OS rate of 67.8%,an ORR of 44.4%,and a DCR of 74.1%at 12 months and a median PFS of 6.4(95%confidence interval[CI]:3.0-12.4)months,with no significant differences compared with the non-elderly group(all P＞0.05).The median OS was unavailable for the elderly group,while the non-elderly group had an OS of 18.9(95%CI:13.0-24.8)months;there was no significant difference between the two groups(P=0.485).The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that major vascular invasion(MVI)was an independent risk factor for PFS(hazard ratio[HR]=2.603,95%CI:1.136-5.964,P=0.024)and DCR(HR=3.963,95%CI:1.671-9.397,P=0.002)at 6 months,while age,sex,etiology of HBV infection,presence of extrahepatic metastasis,Child-Pugh class B,and alpha-fetoprotein＞400 ng/mL were not associated with PFS or DCR at 6 months.For the elderly group,the incidence rates of any irAE and grade 3/4 irAE were 51.9%and 25.9%,respectively,with no significant differences compared with the non-elderly group(P＞0.05),and skin disease was the most common irAE in both groups(39.4%).Conclusion Camrelizumab monoclonal antibody combined with molecular-targeted therapy has similar efficacy and safety in patients with unresectable/advanced HCC aged≥65 years and those aged＜65 years.MVI is associated with suboptimal response to immunotherapy and poor prognosis.

Background and objective Both of lung cancer incidence and mortality rank first among all cancers in China.Previous lung cancer screening trials were mostly selective screening for high-risk groups such as smokers.Non-smoking women accounted for a considerable proportion of lung cancer cases in Asia.This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of community-based mass screening in Guangzhou and identify the high-risk factors for lung cancer.Methods Residents aged 40-74 years in Guangzhou were screened with low-dose computed tomography(LDCT)for lung cancer and the pulmonary nodules were classified and managed according to China National Lung Cancer Screening Guideline with Low-dose Computed Tomography(2018 version).The detection rate of positive nodules was calculated.Before the LDCT examination,residents were required to complete a"lung cancer risk factors questionnaire".The risk factors of the questionnaire were analyzed by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)penalized Logistic regression analysis.Results A total of 6256 residents were included in this study.1228 positive nodules(19.63％)and 117 lung cancers were confirmed,including 6 cases of Tis,103 cases of stage Ⅰ(accounting for 88.03％of lung cancer).The results of LASSO penalized Logistic regression analysis indicated that age ≥50 yr(OR=1.07,95％CI:1.06-1.07),history of cancer(OR=3.29,95％CI:3.22-3.37),textile industry(OR=1.10,95％CI:1.08-1.13),use coal for cooking in childhood(OR=1.14,95％CI:1.13-1.16)and food al-lergy(OR=1.10,95％CI:1.07-1.13)were risk factors of lung cancer for female in this district.Conclusion This study highlighted that numerous early stages of lung cancer cases were detected by LDCT,which could be applied to screen-ing of lung cancer in women.Besides,age ≥50 yr,personal history of cancer,textile industry and use coal for cooking in childhood are risk factors for women in this district,which suggested that it's high time to raise the awareness of early lung cancer screening in this group.

Objective To explore the value of 3D amide proton transfer weighted imaging(APTWI),diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and the combination for differentiating benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors.Methods Non-contrast MRI,APTWI and DWI of pelvis or lower extremity were prospectively acquired in 96 patients with bone and soft tissue tumors.MTRasym and ADC maps were obtained based on APTWI and DWI calculation with an offset of 3.5 ppm,respectively,and the maximum asymmetric magnetization transfer rate(MTRasym)(MTRasymmax),the mean MTRasym(MTRasymmean)and the minimum MTRasym(MTRasymmin),as well as the maximum apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)(ADCmax),the mean ADC(ADCmean)and the minimum ADC(ADCmin)values were measured.The above parameters were compared between benign and malignant tumors.Then receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn,and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to evaluate the efficacy of APTWI,DWI and the combination.Results Among 96 patients,there were 41 benign and 55 malignant pelvic or lower limb bone and soft tissue tumors.In benign tumors,MTRasym(3.5 ppm)values,including MTRasymmax.MTRasymmean and MTRasymmin were significantly higher,whereas ADC values including ADCmax,ADCmeanand ADCmin were significantly lower than those in malignant tumors(all P＜0.05).AUC of MTRasymmax and ADCmin for differentiating benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors was 0.791 and 0.873,respectively,being not statistically different(P=0.122),but both lower than that of their combination(AUC=0.944,P＜0.001,P=0.041).Conclusion APTWI combined with DWI had high efficacy for differentiating benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors.

Objective To investigate the effect of Xuebijing injection on the inflammatory and coagulation response of complicated intra-abdominal infection by sepsis.Methods A retrospective study was conducted.A total of 274 patients with complicated intra-abdominal infection by sepsis admitted to Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang from June 2020 to July 2023 were enrolled.According to whether Xuebijing was used or not,the patients were divided into an observation group(141 cases)and a control group(133 cases).The patients in both groups were treated with conventional western medicine,and those in the observation group were additionally given Xuebijing(Xuebijing injection 100 mL in 0.9%NaCl solution 100 mL via intravenous infusion,twice per day for a continuous application of 5 days).The differences of clinical prognosis and the serum levels of inflammatory indicators[interleukin-6(IL-6),procalcitonin(PCT),C-reactive protein(CRP)and endotoxin]and coagulation indexes[D-dimer,fibrinogen(FIB),prothrombin time(PT)and activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT)before treatment and on the 2nd,3rd,5th day respectively after treatment were compared,and the clinical prognosis was observed.Results There were no significant differences in the indexes of inflammation and coagulation function between the two groups before treatment.With the extension of therapy duration,following treatment in two groups,the serum levels of inflammatory indicators and coagulation indexes(D-dimer,FIB)decreased,as did coagulation indexes(PT,APTT),reaching the lowest levels on the 5th day.The inflammatory markers and coagulation indexes of observation group were significantly lower than those of control group[IL-6(ng/L):18.89±8.22 vs.24.59±10.39,PCT(μg/L):0.30±0.16 vs.0.52±0.20,CRP(mg/L):13.13±6.54 vs.28.87±8.66,endotoxin(kEU/L):0.17±0.06 vs.0.22±0.08,D-dimer(mg/L):1.75±0.61 vs.1.96±0.77,FIB(g/L):2.50±0.78 vs.3.10±0.94,PT(s):14.16±1.90 vs.15.05±1.46,APTT(s):34.52±5.40 vs.36.21±4.72,both P<0.05].The intensive care unit(ICU)stay time and total hospitalization time were shortened in the observation group than those in the control group[ICU stay time(days):5.71±2.22 vs.6.86±2.99,hospitalization time(days):15.50±6.39 vs.17.02±5.70,both P<0.05];the mortality was significantly lower in the observation group than that in the control group[21.27%(30/141)vs.32.33%(43/133),P<0.05].Conclusion The treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infection by sepsis with Xuebijing injection while receiving conventional western medicine treatment can effectively decrease inflammatory and coagulation response,have high efficacy of inflammatory and coagulation co-treatment,and have some important clinical values.

Objective:To compare the efficacy of amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) imaging with time-dependent diffusion MRI (td-dMRI) in the diagnosis of malignant breast lesions.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. The clinical, pathological and imaging data of patients with breast lesions admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from March to August 2023 were prospectively analyzed. All patients firstly underwent T 2WI, diffusion-weighted imaging, followed by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), and finally APTw imaging and td-dMRI were performed for breast lesions using DCE-MRI as reference. Reconstructed images from APTw imaging measured lesions with a frequency shift of 3.5 ppm asymmetric magnetic susceptibility MTR asym(+3.5 ppm). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values at different oscillating frequency gradients (ADC PGSE, ADC 17 Hz, ADC 33 Hz values) were measured using reconstructed td-dMRI images. Independent sample t-test was used to compare APTw imaging, td-dMRI parameter differences between benign and malignant breast tumors, breast malignant tumors with different molecular types [estrogen receptor (ER) negative and positive, progesterone receptor (PR) negative and positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER-2) negative and positive, proliferation index (Ki-67) low and high expression] and different histological grades (grade Ⅱ and Ⅲ). Receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the efficacy of APTw imaging and td-dMRI parameters in differentiating benign and malignant breast tumors, molecular classification and histological grading of malignant breast lesions. Results:There were 171 lesions in 171 patients, including 103 malignant lesions and 68 benign lesions. Histological grades were grade Ⅱ in 51 cases and grade Ⅲ in 38 cases of 89 cases of invasive carcinoma. Totally 98 cases of malignant lesions were included in molecular typing analysis, 36 cases were ER negative and 62 cases were ER positive. PR was negative in 51 cases and positive in 47 cases. There were 33 negative HER-2 patients, 65 positive HER-2 patients. There were 50 cases of low Ki-67 expression and 48 cases of high Ki-67 expression. The MTR asym(+3.5 ppm) value of malignant breast lesions was higher than that of benign lesions ( t=5.76, P<0.001), and the ADC PGSE, ADC 17 Hz and ADC 33 Hz values were lower than those of benign breast lesions ( t was 4.84, 4.62, 4.01, respectively, all P<0.001). MTR asym(+3.5 ppm) had the highest AUC value (0.83) and the highest specificity (90.38%), and ADC PGSE had the highest sensitivity (85.86%). There were no significant differences in MTR asym(+3.5 ppm), ADC PGSE, ADC 17 Hz and ADC 33 Hz between grade Ⅱ and grade Ⅲ histological grades of malignant breast lesions (all P>0.05). The ADC PGSE value of ER negative was higher than that of ER positive ( t=2.34, P=0.018), and the AUC for distinguishing ER positive from negative was 0.64. The ADC PGSE and ADC 17 Hz values of PR negative were higher than those of PR positive ( t=2.87, 2.81, P=0.004, 0.006, respectively), and their AUCs for identifying PR positive versus negative breast malignant lesions were 0.68 and 0.67, respectively. The ADC 33 Hz value of negative HER-2 was lower than that of positive HER-2 ( t=3.00, P=0.003), and the AUC for distinguishing positive and negative HER-2 was 0.67. There were no significant differences in other parameters among different subtypes of breast malignant lesions (all P>0.05). Conclusion:Compared with td-dMRI, APTw imaging is more effective in differentiating benign and malignant lesions of breast tumors, and ADC values at different gradient oscillation frequencies obtained by td-dMRI show better diagnostic efficacy in differentiating different molecular types of breast malignant lesions.

Objective:To explore the expression of PICK1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its clinical significance.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted. Cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues (1cm from the edge of cancer tissues) were collected from 30 HCC patients undergoing surgical resection in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital from August 2020 to April 2023. The relative expression level of PICK1 mRNA in 30 fresh HCC samples was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The clinicopathological data from 132 HCC patients undergoing surgical resection in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital from January 2015 to November 2018 were collected. Meanwhile, paraffin specimens were collected from cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues, and relative expression level of PICK1 protein was detected by using immunohistochemistry method. According to the PICK1 protein expression, 132 HCC patients were divided into the low expression group (immunohistochemistry scores < 3 points) and the high expression group (immunohistochemistry scores ≥ 3 points). Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of the 2 groups, and log-rank test was also performed.Results:The result of qRT-PCR showed that the relative expression level of PICK1 mRNA in fresh cancer tissues of 30 HCC patients was lower than that in corresponding paracancerous tissues (0.43±0.38 vs. 1.10±0.12), and the difference was statistically significant ( t = -13.66, P < 0.001). Among 132 HCC patients, 86 (65.2%) cases had PICK1 protein low expression and 46 (34.8%) cases had PICK1 protein high expression; among the corresponding paracancerous tissues, 37 (28.0%) tissues had PICK1 protein low expression and 95 (72.0%) tissues had PICK1 protein low expression. The high expression rate of PICK1 protein in HCC tissues was lower than that in paracancerous tissues, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 35.07, P < 0.001). There were statistically significant differences in PICK1 protein expression level of HCC patients with different tumor diameter, tumor number, tumor type, TNM staging, encapsulation or not and vascular invasion (all P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the median OS time was 54.9 months (95% CI: 41.0 months-not reached) and 17.8 months (95% CI: 13.1-25.0 months), respectively in the PICK1 high expression group and the PICK1 low expression group after surgery; and the OS in the PICK1 high expression group was better than that in the the PICK1 low expression group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.001). The median DFS time was 43.0 months (95% CI: 31.0 months-not reached), 15.0 months (95% CI: 11.1 months-20.1months), respectively in the PICK1 high expression group and the PICK1 low expression group; and the DFS in the PICK1 high expression group was better than that in the PICK1 low expression group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.001). Conclusions:PICK1 is lowly expressed in HCC tissues, and HCC patients with PICK1 low expression have poor prognosis.

Humans ; Neoplasms, Second Primary/epidemiology* ; Neoplasms/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Prognosis

Objective:To report the sampling study design and radiography protocol of a large-sample investigation on skeletal maturation of 3 to 18-year-old children in China.Methods:Multi-stage stratified random sampling was employed in this study. Two provinces, municipalities, or autonomous regions were randomly selected from each of the seven regions of China, including Northeast China, Northwest China, North China, Central China, East China, Southwest China, and South China. Then one rural and one urban investigation site were randomly selected from each province, municipality, or autonomous region. In total 28 sites were included. Among those sites, four residential districts were randomly selected from each urban site, and four townships from each rural site. For each residential district or township, 1-4 kindergartens, primary schools, and middle schools were chosen. Random cluster sampling was used to extract 3-<6-year-old children in kindergartens, and 6-18-year-old children in primary schools and middle schools. The investigation on skeletal maturation was sampled proportionate to the sampling of the whole study. The estimated simple size was 780 for each site, and 21 840 for all 28 sites in total. There were six groups of 3-<6-year-old children classified at 0.5-year intervals, and 12 groups of 6-18-year-old children classified at 1-year intervals. Posteroanterior position radiography of the left hand and wrist was achieved for all subjects.Results:The study was performed from August 26, 2019 to October 16, 2021. In total, 20 444 children received posteroanterior position radiography of the left hand and wrist, including 10 196 males and 10 248 females, 9 711 urban and 10 733 rural, respectively. The 3-<6-year-old group included 1 611 (male 819, female 792) subjects, and the 6 to 18-year-old group included 18 833 (male 9 377, female 9 456) subjects.Conclusion:This nationwide investigation on skeletal maturation of 3 to 18-year-old children in seven regions of China was successfully preformed. The results of this study can provide an important reference for establishing the current evaluation criteria of bone age in Chinese children and adolescents.