OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of three aromatase inhibitors （exemestane， anastrozole， letrozole） for postmenopausal hormone receptor （HR）-positive early breast cancer. METHODS PubMed， the Cochrane Library， Embase， CNKI， Wanfang Data， VIP and SinoMed were searched to collect randomized controlled trials （RCTs） of the above three drugs in the treatment of postmenopausal HR-positive early breast cancer patients. The retrieval time limit was from the establishment of the database to October 25， 2024. After literature screening， data extraction and literature quality evaluation， network meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 18.0 software. RESULTS A total of 15 RCTs involving 44 055 patients were included. The results of network meta-analysis showed that the objective response rate of letrozole group was significantly higher than anastrozole group （P＜0.05）， and the order of surface under the cumulative ranking curve （SUCRA） from high to low was letrozole （85.6%）＞anastrozole （61.5%）＞exemestane （2.8%）. The disease-free survival rate of anastrozole group was significantly higher than exemestane and placebo groups （P＜0.05）， and the order of SUCRA from high to low was letrozole （85.8%）＞ anastrozole （67.3%）＞exemestane （41.4%）＞placebo （5.5%）. The total incidence of adverse reactions in anastrozole group was significantly higher than letrozole and placebo groups （P＜0.05）， and the order of SUCRA from high to low was exemestane （87.4%）＞letrozole （63.9%）＞anastrozole （47.0%）＞placebo （1.7%）. The results of subgroup analysis according to the course of treatment≥104 weeks were consistent with them. CONCLUSIONS Compared with anastrozole， letrozole has better efficacy and safety in the treatment of postmenopausal HR-positive early breast cancer， and the efficacy of exemestane is limited.

Purpose: Approximately 50%-74% of patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive breast cancer do not respond to trastuzumab, with 75% of treated patients experiencing disease progression within a year. The combination of pyrotinib and capecitabine has showed efficacy in these patients. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib combined with metronomic vinorelbine for trastuzumab-pretreated HER2-positive advanced breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this phase 2 trial, patients aged 18-75 years with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who had previously failed trastuzumab treatment were enrolled to receive pyrotinib 400 mg daily in combination with vinorelbine 40mg thrice weekly. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), while secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: From October 21, 2019, to January 21, 2022, 36 patients were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment. At the cutoff date, 20 experienced disease progression or death. With a median follow-up duration of 35 months, the median PFS was 13.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.3 to 18.5). With all patients evaluated, an ORR of 38.9% (95% CI, 23.1 to 56.5) and a DCR of 83.3% (95% CI, 67.2 to 93.6) were achieved. The median OS was not reached. Grade 3 adverse events (AEs) were observed in 17 patients, with diarrhea being the most common (27.8%), followed by vomiting (8.3%) and stomachache (5.6%). There were no grade 4/5 AEs. Conclusion Pyrotinib combined with metronomic vinorelbine showed promising efficacy and an acceptable safety profile in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer patients after trastuzumab failure.

Purpose: Approximately 50%-74% of patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive breast cancer do not respond to trastuzumab, with 75% of treated patients experiencing disease progression within a year. The combination of pyrotinib and capecitabine has showed efficacy in these patients. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib combined with metronomic vinorelbine for trastuzumab-pretreated HER2-positive advanced breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this phase 2 trial, patients aged 18-75 years with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who had previously failed trastuzumab treatment were enrolled to receive pyrotinib 400 mg daily in combination with vinorelbine 40mg thrice weekly. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), while secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: From October 21, 2019, to January 21, 2022, 36 patients were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment. At the cutoff date, 20 experienced disease progression or death. With a median follow-up duration of 35 months, the median PFS was 13.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.3 to 18.5). With all patients evaluated, an ORR of 38.9% (95% CI, 23.1 to 56.5) and a DCR of 83.3% (95% CI, 67.2 to 93.6) were achieved. The median OS was not reached. Grade 3 adverse events (AEs) were observed in 17 patients, with diarrhea being the most common (27.8%), followed by vomiting (8.3%) and stomachache (5.6%). There were no grade 4/5 AEs. Conclusion Pyrotinib combined with metronomic vinorelbine showed promising efficacy and an acceptable safety profile in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer patients after trastuzumab failure.

Purpose: Approximately 50%-74% of patients with metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive breast cancer do not respond to trastuzumab, with 75% of treated patients experiencing disease progression within a year. The combination of pyrotinib and capecitabine has showed efficacy in these patients. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib combined with metronomic vinorelbine for trastuzumab-pretreated HER2-positive advanced breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this phase 2 trial, patients aged 18-75 years with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who had previously failed trastuzumab treatment were enrolled to receive pyrotinib 400 mg daily in combination with vinorelbine 40mg thrice weekly. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), while secondary endpoints included objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: From October 21, 2019, to January 21, 2022, 36 patients were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment. At the cutoff date, 20 experienced disease progression or death. With a median follow-up duration of 35 months, the median PFS was 13.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.3 to 18.5). With all patients evaluated, an ORR of 38.9% (95% CI, 23.1 to 56.5) and a DCR of 83.3% (95% CI, 67.2 to 93.6) were achieved. The median OS was not reached. Grade 3 adverse events (AEs) were observed in 17 patients, with diarrhea being the most common (27.8%), followed by vomiting (8.3%) and stomachache (5.6%). There were no grade 4/5 AEs. Conclusion Pyrotinib combined with metronomic vinorelbine showed promising efficacy and an acceptable safety profile in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer patients after trastuzumab failure.

Background Quartz dust cannot be degraded in the lungs, and inhalation of a large amount of quartz dust in the occupational production process will lead to the occurrence of pulmonary fibrosis, and then develop into silicosis. In recent years, studies have found that exosomes may be involved in the pathogenesis of fibrotic diseases by carrying microribonucleic acid (miRNA), but the mechanism of their actions in silicosis still needs to be studied. Objective To investigate the role of exosome-derived miRNA-21-5p/mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 7 (Smad7) in quartz dust-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Methods Twenty-four healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups (six rats in each group): control 4-week group, control 16-week group, quartz 4-week group, and quartz 16-week group. At the beginning of the experiment, 1 mL of quartz suspension (50 mg·mL⁻¹) and 1 mL of normal saline were injected into the trachea of rats in the quartz group and the control group, respectively, by means of one-time non-exposure intratracheal dust staining. Alveolar lavage was performed at the 4th and 16th weeks after dust staining, the exosomes in lavage solution were extracted by polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation, morphological identification was conducted by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), particle size of exosomes was detected by nano-tracking analysis (NTA), and the marker proteins CD9 and CD63 of exosomes were detected by Western blotting (WB). The expression of miRNA-21-5p in exosomes was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The degree of lung tissue injury and fibrosis was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) and Masson staining. The collagen content of lung tissue was detected by hydroxyproline (HYP) method. The expression of Smad7 protein in lung tissue was detected by WB. Results The results of pathological staining showed that compared with the control group, lung inflammatory cell infiltration, alveolar wall thickening, and collagen increase were observed after 4 weeks of dusting, and collagen deposition and silicon nodules appeared after 16 weeks of dusting. Compared with the control group, the expression level of HYP in the lung tissue of the quartz group was increased after 4 weeks and 16 weeks of dust staining (P<0.05). Transmission electron microscopy showed that exosomes were saucer-shaped, and the average particle size of exosomes was 95.8 nm by NTA. Positive expression of exosome marker proteins CD9 and CD81 was found by WB. Compared with the control group, the expression of exosome-derived miRNA-21-5p in alveolar lavage fluid in the quartz group increased in the 4th week and the 16th week (P<0.05), and the expression of Smad7 protein in lung tissue decreased (P<0.05). Conclusion Exosome-derived miRNA-21-5p and Smad7 may be involved in the mechanism of quartz dust-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

Objective:To observe the 95% effective dose (ED95) of Propofol mono-sedation for successfully inserting the gastroscope in healthy adults by biased coin design up-and-down sequential method.Methods:Using prospective study method, a total of 40 patients proposed for painless gastroscopy in Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University from April to May 2021 were selected. There were 15 males and 25 females. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification: grade I 26 cases, grade Ⅱ 14 cases. The mean age was (50.80±9.14) years, and the mean body mass index was (24.08±2.65) kg/m 2. Propofol mono-sedation was used in all patients. The initial dose of Propofol was set as 1.6 mg/kg, adjusted with 0.1 mg/kg as a step size. The biased coin design up-and-down sequential method was used in this study. The Propofol dose of subsequent patients was determined by the response to gastroscope insertion of the previous patient. If the gastroscopy insertion reaction of the previous patient was positive, the Propofol dose of the next patient was increased by one level (0.1 mg/kg); if the gastroscopy insertion reaction of the previous patient was negative, the biased coin random was performed, and the Propofol dose used by the next patient was reduced by one level (0.1 mg/kg) with 5% probability and remained unchanged with 95% probability. Changes of mean arterial pressure, heart rate and pulse oxygen saturation were recorded at different time points, and adverse reactions such as perioperative hypotension, bradycardia, tachycardia and hypoxemia were recorded. Measurement data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation ( ± s), and t-test was used for comparison between different time points. The ED95 and 95% CI of Propofol in inhibiting the response to gastroscope insertion was calculated by Probit regression analysis. Results:All 40 patients successfully completed the gastroscopy. The calculated ED95 of Propofol mono-sedation for successfully inserting the gastroscope was 2.58 mg/kg with 95% CI of 2.40-3.31 mg/kg. The mean arterial pressure before anesthesia, after propofol injection, at the time of gastroscopy going through throat and immediately after examination was (97.33±13.34) mmHg, (93.15±11.35) mmHg, (78.95±9.30) mmHg, (79.38±9.94) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), respectively. The mean arterial pressure at the time of gastroscopy going through throat and immediately after examination decreased significantly, the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in heart rate and pulse oxygen saturation compared with those before anesthesia ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The ED95 of Propofol mono-sedation for successfully inserting the gastroscope is determined as 2.58 mg/kg (95% CI: 2.40-3.31 mg/kg) by biased coin design up-and-down sequential method.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy,safety and economy of efgartigimod alfa in the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis by rapid health technology assessment,and to provide evidence-based evidence for clinical rational drug use.Methods PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,CNKI,VIP,WanFang Data,SinoMed database and relevant databases of health technology assessment institutions were electronically searched to collect health technology assessment reports,systematic reviews/Meta-analysis and pharmacoeconomic literatures of efgartigimod alfa for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis from the inception to June 21,2024.Two researchers screened the literature,extracted data,and evaluated the quality of the literature,summarised the finding and performed qualitative descriptive analysis.Results A total of 6 literature were included,involving 5 systematic reviews/Meta-analysis and one pharmacoeconomic study.In terms of efficacy,efgartigimod alfa demonstrated a significant reduction in MG-ADL,QMGs,and MG-QOLs 15R compared to placebo among generalized myasthenia gravis patients,these differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).However,findings from different studies regarding comparisons with other biologics like batoclimab,ronzanolixizumab,and eculizumab yielded inconsistent conclusions.In terms of safety,the incidence of adverse events in adults generalized myasthenia gravis patients treated with efgartigimod alfa compared with that of the placebo was not statistically significant(P＞0.05).However,compared with other biological agents,the conclusions drawn from each study were inconsistent.In terms of economics,efgartigimod alfa did not exhibit cost-effectiveness advantages over traditional therapies.Conclusion Efgartigimod alpha showed better efficacy than placebo in the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis,but there was no definitive conclusion compared with other biological agents.In terms of safety,the incidence of ADE in adult generalized myasthenia gravis patients treated with efgartigimod alpha was not statistically different from that of the placebo group,and no definite conclusion could be drawn when compared with other biological agents.According to U.S.drug economic data,efgartigimod alpha does not have economic advantages over traditional therapies.

【Objective】 To investigate the association between genetic variations in the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) gene and BP responses to sodium and potassium intake. 【Methods】 A total of 514 subjects from 124 families were recruited in Meixian County, Shaanxi Province, in 2004, resulting in the establishment of a "salt-sensitive hypertension study cohort" . The subjects followed a dietary regimen which involved a normal diet for 3 days, a low-salt diet for 7 days, a high-salt diet for 7 days, and a high-salt potassium-supplemented diet for 7 days. BP measurement was conducted at different intervention periods, and peripheral blood samples were collected. Additionally, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the GLP-1R gene were genotyped using the MassARRAY detection platform. 【Results】 The GLP-1R gene SNP rs9462472 exhibited a significant association with systolic BP, diastolic BP, and mean arterial pressure response to high-salt intervention. Similarly, SNP rs2268637 showed a significant association with systolic BP response to high-salt intervention. Furthermore, SNP rs2268637 was significantly associated with systolic BP and mean arterial pressure responses to high-salt plus potassium supplementation intervention. 【Conclusion】 Our findings indicate a significant association of genetic variations in the GLP-1R gene with BP responses to sodium and potassium intake. This suggests that the GLP-1R gene plays a role in the regulation of BP salt sensitivity and potassium sensitivity.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of a three-dimensional no new U-Net (3D nnU-Net) deep learning (DL) network for the automatic segmentation of colorectal cancer (CRC) based on abdominal CT images.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. From January 2018 to May 2023, a total of 2180 primary CRC patients, confirmed by pathology at the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (center 1, n=777), Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University (center 2, n=732), and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (center 3, n=671), were enrolled in this retrospective study. The baseline abdominal CT examination of each patient was conducted using CT equipment from 7 different models across 4 vendors, at the 3 centers, encompassing both the arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP). Two radiologists manually delineated the volume of interest to circumscribe the entire tumors in dual-enhanced phase CT images. The CT data of CRC patients from center 1 and center 3 were merged and divided into a training set ( n=1 159) and a validation set ( n=289) using a weighted random method with a ratio of 4∶1. The patients from center 2 were used as an independent external test set ( n=732). The 3D nnU-Net segmentation model was trained and tested. Using manually annotated label data as the benchmark, segmentation performance of the model was evaluated based on different phases and tumor locations. The segmentation coverage rate (SCR), Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), recall (REC), precision (PRE), F1-score, and 95% Hausdorff distance (HD 95) were calculated. The mean manual segmentation time and the mean automatic time were compared using independent samples t-test. Results:In the independent external test set, the performance of the 3D nnU-Net model based on the AP CT images was superior to that based on the VP CT images. On the AP images, the SCR, DSC, REC, PRE, F1-score, and HD 95 were 0.865, 0.714, 0.716, 0.736, 0.714, and 27.228, respectively; on the VP images, they were 0.834, 0.679, 0.710, 0.675, 0.679, and 29.358, respectively. The model achieved the best performance on right-sided colon cancer, with SCR, DSC, REC, PRE, F1-score, and HD95 on the AP CT images at 0.901, 0.775, 0.780, 0.787, 0.775, and 21.793, respectively. Next were left-sided colon cancer and rectal cancer, while the segmentation performance for transverse colon cancer was the worst (SCR, DSC, REC, PRE, F1-score, and HD 95 were 0.731, 0.631, 0.641, 0.630, 0.631 and 38.721, respectively). The automatic segmentation time on a single phase was (1.0±0.3) min, while the manual segmentation time was (17.5±6.0) min ( t=128.24, P<0.001). Conclusions:After training and validating on a dataset from multiple centers with various CT scanner vendors, the 3D nnU-Net DL model demonstrates the capability to automatically segment CRC based on abdominal CT images, while also showcasing commendable robustness and generalization ability.

Objective:To explore the effect of different concentrations of Chinese herbal formula,Er-miao-san(EMS)immune regulatory gene on Gnαq expression in rats with collagen-induced arthritis(CIA).Methods:In the study,we established a CIA model,and randomly divided into model groups,EMS group with 1.5,3.0 and 4.5 g/kg(L-EMS,M-EMS,H-EMS)were adminis-tered to CIA rats by gavage,methotrexate was used as a positive control group(MTX).The rats in each group were given correspond-ing drugs for treatment,and the normal control group and model group were given the same amount of normal saline gavage.ELISA detects the expression of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in rats'serum.The mRNA and protein expression of Gnαq were analyzed using qRT-PCR and Western blot.The localization of Gnαq was performed by IHC.Results:The joint of rats in CIA group showed obvious damage,tissue hyperplasia and inflammatory infiltration;the joint tissue destruction and proliferation of MTX and EMS groups were reduced;the expressions of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in CIA group were extremely increased(P<0.01).The expressions of IL-1β(except H-EMS group),IL-6 and TNF-α in MTX and EMS groups were significantly lower than those in CIA group(P<0.05).The expressions of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in L-EMS group were lower than those in the M-EMS and H-EMS groups(P<0.05,P<0.01).The expression of Gnαq mRNA and protein in spleen and joints of CIA group were higher than those of Control group(P<0.01).The expression of Gnαq mRNA and protein in spleen and joints of EMS and MTX groups were lower than those of CIA group(P<0.05).The expression of Gnαq mRNA and protein in the dose of 1.5 g/kg of EMS group was lower than those of the other groups(P<0.01,P<0.05).Different degree of posi-tive signal was detected in spleen and joints in different groups.Conclusion:Gnαq is expressed in spleen and joints of CIA rats,may participate in the formation of inflammatory response in CIA rats,and then mediate the formation and development of RA by down-reg-ulating the expression of Gnαq.