BACKGROUND: Preventing the progression of chronic oral graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is essential for maintaining oral health, improving quality of life, minimizing functional impairment, reducing systemic complications, and addressing treatment challenges.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of early intervention with oral mucosal barrier protective agents in preventing the progression of cGVHD and its impact on oral health, quality of life, and treatment response.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 75 participants, with 34 in the non-oral mucosal barrier protective agent group and 41 in the oral mucosal barrier protective agent group. Baseline characteristics, oral mucosal health parameters, quality of life assessments, and curative effect data were collected and compared between the two study groups.
RESULTS: The group receiving oral mucosal barrier protectants (n = 41) exhibited significantly lower severity of oral mucositis compared to the group without such protectants (n = 34) (2.12 ± 0.48 vs. 2.56 ± 0.63, P = 0.001) and the incidence of complications was significantly lower in the group receiving oral mucosal barrier protectants (P < 0.05). Additionally, the quality of life assessment showed marked improvements in somatization, emotional management, and social reintegration in the oral mucosal barrier protectant group compared to the group without these protectants (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the assessment of treatment efficacy revealed significantly higher rates of both complete and partial responses in the oral mucosal barrier protectant group, along with a notable reduction in disease progression compared to the group without these protectants (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Early intervention with oral mucosal barrier protective agents was associated with improved oral health parameters, enhanced quality of life, and a more favorable treatment response in the context of cGVHD.

BACKGROUND: Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a very rare pediatric renal tumor. Robust evidence to guide treatment is lacking and knowledge on targeted therapies and immunotherapy is mainly based on adult studies. Currently, the International Society of Pediatric Oncology-Renal Tumor Study Group (SIOP-RTSG) 2016 UMBRELLA protocol recommends sunitinib for metastatic or unresectable RCC.
METHODS: This retrospective study describes the effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-(L)1) monoclonal antibodies, and immunotherapeutic regimens in advanced-stage and relapsed pediatric RCC.
RESULTS: Of the 31 identified patients (0-18 years) with histologically proven RCC, 3/31 presented with TNM stage I/II, 8/31 with TNM stage III, and 20/31 with TNM stage IV at diagnosis. The majority were diagnosed with translocation type RCC (MiT-RCC) (21/31) and the remaining patients mainly presented with papillary or clear-cell RCC. Treatment in a neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting, or upon relapse or progression, included mono- or combination therapy with a large variety of drugs, illustrating center specific choices in most patients. Sunitinib was often administered as first choice and predominantly resulted in stable disease (53%). Other frequently used drugs included axitinib, cabozantinib, sorafenib, and nivolumab; however, no treatment seemed more promising than sunitinib. Overall, 15/31 patients died of disease, 12/31 are alive with active disease, and only four patients had a complete response. The sample size and heterogeneity of this cohort only allowed descriptive statistical analysis.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an overview of a unique series of clinical and treatment characteristics of pediatric patients with RCC treated with targeted therapies.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) is commonly present in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and serves as a marker of humoral immunity. Herein, we aim to investigate the correlation between anti-HBc and antiviral immune response and its putative role in HBV control.
METHODS: Quantitative anti-HBc and levels of anti-HBc subtypes were measured in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. The effects of anti-HBc on immune cells and HBV replication were evaluated using the HBV mouse models and human hepatoma cell lines.
RESULTS: Baseline levels of IgG1 and IgG3 anti-HBc were elevated in CHB patients with favorable treatment response, and correlated with the virological response observed at week 52. Additionally, increased levels of IgM and IgG1 anti-HBc were observed exclusively in CHB patients with liver inflammation. Notably, significant correlations were identified between quantitative levels of anti-HBc and the frequencies of HBcAg-specific CD8+ T cells. Intriguingly, HBcAg efficiently activates T cells aided by B cells in vitro experiments. Moreover, anti-HBc inhibits HBV replication either by a direct effect or through complement-mediated cytotoxicity in HBV-producing cell lines.
CONCLUSIONS: Anti-HBc reflects the activation of an HBV-specific CD8+ T cell immune response and may have anti-HBV activity.

UNASSIGNED: The therapeutic benefit of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in elderly nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and toxicity of lobaplatin-based CCRT in elderly patients with NPC.
UNASSIGNED: We included stage II-IVA NPC patients aged ≥65 years who received lobaplatin concomitant with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) between March 2019 and January 2023. Objective response rates and treatment-related toxicity were assessed. Kaplan-Meier\'s analysis was performed to calculate survival rates.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 29 patients were included with a median age of 67 years. There were 19 patients (65.5%) who had comorbidities. All patients had serum EBV-DNA detective before treatment; the median EBV-DNA load was 236 IU/mL. There were 25 (86.2%) patients treated with induction chemotherapy, and the overall response rate was 92.0%. All patients received IMRT and concurrent chemotherapy with lobaplatin. During the CCRT, the most common adverse effect was haematological toxicity. Three patients (10.3%) had grade 3 leucopenia, three patients (10.3%) had grade 3 neutropenia, and eight patients (27.6%) had grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia. The rate of grade 3 mucositis was 34.5%. No patients had liver and kidney dysfunction. The median weight loss was 4 kg during CCRT. After three months of CCRT, the total response rate was 100%. EBV-DNA was not detected in any patients. The median follow-up was 32.1 months. The 3-year locoregional recurrence-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival, progression-free survival and overall survival were 95.8%, 85.7%, 82.5% and 100%, respectively.
UNASSIGNED: Lobaplatin-based CCRT is safe and feasible for elderly NPC patients, with satisfactory short-term survival outcomes and acceptable toxicities. A phase 2 trial is ongoing to investigate the role of lobaplatin-based CCRT on long-term survival and treatment toxicities for this population.

BACKGROUND: The association between tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) levels and the response to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictive potential of TIL levels for the response to NAT in TNBC patients.
METHODS: A systematic search of the National Center for Biotechnology Information PubMed database was performed to collect relevant published literature prior to August 31, 2023. The correlation between TIL levels and the NAT pathologic complete response (pCR) in TNBC patients was assessed using a systematic review and meta-analysis. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias analysis were also conducted.
RESULTS: A total of 32 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The overall meta-analysis results indicated that the pCR rate after NAT treatment in TNBC patients in the high TIL subgroup was significantly greater than that in patients in the low TIL subgroup (48.0% vs 27.7%) (risk ratio 2.01; 95% confidence interval 1.77-2.29; P < 0.001, I 2 = 56%). Subgroup analysis revealed that the between-study heterogeneity originated from differences in study design, TIL level cutoffs, and study populations. Publication bias could have existed in the included studies. The meta-analysis based on different NAT protocols revealed that all TNBC patients with high levels of TILs had a greater rate of pCR after NAT treatment in all protocols (all P ≤ 0.01), and there was no significant between-protocol difference in the statistics among the different NAT protocols (P = 0.29). Additionally, sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the overall results of the meta-analysis remained consistent when the included studies were individually excluded.
CONCLUSIONS: TILs can serve as a predictor of the response to NAT treatment in TNBC patients. TNBC patients with high levels of TILs exhibit a greater NAT pCR rate than those with low levels of TILs, and this predictive capability is consistent across different NAT regimens.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common subtype of lung cancer with a generally poor prognosis. In recent years, advances in targeted therapy and sequencing technology have brought significant improvement in the therapeutic outcomes of patients with advanced NSCLC. Targeted inhibitors directed against specific mutated or rearranged oncogenes, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), and receptor tyrosine kinase ROS proto-oncogene 1(ROS1) among others, exhibit promising anti-tumor activity. Unfortunately, some patients develop acquired resistance and disease progression soon after initial remission. Despite the continuous development of new drugs and strategies to overcome drug resistance, it is still a major challenge in the treatment of NSCLC. The landscape of targeted therapy for NSCLC is evolving rapidly in response to the pace of scientific research. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive review of tumor target antigens and agents related to targeted therapy in NSCLC.

BACKGROUND: Radiomics holds great potential in medical image analysis for various ophthalmic diseases. In recent times, there have been numerous endeavors in this area of research. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the strengths and limitations of radiomics in ophthalmology.
METHODS: Conforming to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a systematic review with a pre-registered protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42023446317). We explored the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases for original studies on this topic and made a comprehensive descriptive integration. Furthermore, the included studies underwent quality assessment by the radiomics quality score (RQS).
RESULTS: A total of 41 articles from an initial search of 227 studies were finally selected for further analysis. These articles included research across five disease categories and covered seven imaging modalities. The radiomics models demonstrated robust performance, with area under the curve (AUC) values mostly falling within 0.7-1.0. The moderate RQS (mean score: 11.17/36) indicated that most studies were retrospectively, single-center analyses without external validation.
CONCLUSIONS: Radiomics holds promising utility in the field of ophthalmology, assisting diagnosis, early-stage screening, and prognostication of treatment response. Artificial intelligence algorithms significantly contribute to the construction of radiomics models in ophthalmology. This study highlights the strengths and challenges of radiomics in ophthalmology and suggests potential avenues for future improvement.
CONCLUSIONS: Radiomics represents a valuable approach for generating innovative imaging markers, enhancing efficiency in clinical diagnosis and treatment, and aiding decision-making in clinical contexts of many ophthalmic diseases, thereby improving overall patient prognosis.
CONCLUSIONS: Radiomics has attracted extensive attention in the field of ophthalmology. Articles included five disease categories over seven imaging modalities, consistently yielding AUCs mostly above 0.7. Current research has few prospective and multi-center studies, underlining the necessity for future high-quality studies.

OBJECTIVE: Cancer is a predominant cause of death globally. PHD-finger domain protein 5 A (PHF5A) has been reported to participate in various cancers; however, there has been no pan-cancer analysis of PHF5A. This study aims to present a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for cancer treatment.
METHODS: This study explored PHF5A expression and its impact on prognosis, tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), functional status and tumor immunity across cancers using various public databases, and validated PHF5A expression and its correlation with survival, immune evasion, angiogenesis, and treatment response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using bioinformatics tools, qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC).
RESULTS: PHF5A was differentially expressed between tumor and corresponding normal tissues and was correlated with prognosis in diverse cancers. Its expression was also associated with TMB, MSI, functional status, tumor microenvironment, immune infiltration, immune checkpoint genes and tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score in diverse malignancies. In HCC, PHF5A was confirmed to be upregulated by qRT-PCR and IHC, and elevated PHF5A expression may promote immune evasion and angiogenesis in HCC. Additionally, multiple canonical pathways were revealed to be involved in the biological activity of PHF5A in HCC. Moreover, immunotherapy and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) worked better in the low PHF5A expression group, while sorafenib, chemotherapy and AKT inhibitor were more effective in the high expression group.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the biological function of PHF5A in the carcinogenesis and progression of various cancers. PHF5A could serve as a tumor biomarker related to prognosis across cancers, especially HCC, and shed new light on the development of novel therapeutic targets.

The role of the gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of depression has been explored in numerous studies, which have confirmed that the baseline gut microbial profiles of patients with depression differ from those of healthy individuals. The gut microbiome affects metabolic activity in the immune and central nervous systems and regulates intestinal ecology through the neuroendocrine system. Additionally, baseline changes in the gut microbiota differed among patients with depression who demonstrated varying treatment response. Currently, probiotics are an emerging treatment for depression; however, the efficacy of modulating the gut microbiota in the treatment of depression remains uncertain. Additionally, the mechanisms by which changes in the gut microbiota affect treatment response in patients with depression remain unclear. In this review, we aimed to summarize the differences in the baseline gut microbiota between the remission and non-remission groups after antidepressant therapy. Additionally, we summarized the possible mechanisms that may contribute to antidepressant resistance through the effects of the gut microbiome on the immune and nervous systems, various enzymes, bioaccumulation, and blood-brain barrier, and provide a basis for treating depression by targeting the gut microbiota.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on survival rates, adverse events, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including patients with firstly histologically confirmed non-metastatic stage III-IVB NPC between February 2018 and February 2020, and with continuous follow-up data available, were chosen from the medical records of the affiliated hospital of Qingdao University and Zibo Central Hospital. There were 395 patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with adjuvant chemotherapy (adjuvant chemotherapy group) and 428 patients receiving CCRT alone (control group). The two groups were compared for treatment response, adverse events, and QOL scores. Besides, Kaplan-Meier plots, and multivariate COX analysis were conducted. The adjuvant chemotherapy group demonstrated a significantly higher overall survival and disease-free survival compared to the control group. The use of adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly correlated with improved overall survival and disease-free survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with reduced local recurrence and distant metastasis rates. However, higher rates of adverse events were observed in the adjuvant chemotherapy group. QOL scores for physical functioning, emotional functioning, and overall quality of life were higher in the adjuvant chemotherapy group. The findings of this study indicate that adjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced NPC is associated with improved treatment response, extended overall and disease-free survivals, and better QOL, despite higher rates of adverse events.