Conventional Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) using Lipiodol is a pivotal therapeutic modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The link between Lipiodol accumulation patterns and patient survival outcomes remains underexplored. This study assesses the impact of these patterns on the prognosis of HCC patients undergoing TACE. We evaluated HCC patients treated with selective TACE between July 2015 and March 2020, classifying post-procedure Lipiodol accumulation observed on CT scans into four distinct patterns: homogeneous, heterogeneous, defective, and deficient. We analyzed cumulative local tumor recurrence (LTR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) rates across these groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify potential prognostic factors influencing PFS and OS. Among 124 HCC nodules, the distribution of Lipiodol patterns was: 65 homogeneous, 24 heterogeneous, 10 defective, and 25 deficient. Median PFS was 33.2, 9.1, 1.1, and 1.0 months, respectively, while median OS spanned 54.8, 44.5, 25.0, and 29.1 months for these groups. A significant difference in survival was found only between the homogeneous and defective patterns (hazard ratio, 2.33; confidence interval 1.25-4.36). Multivariate analyses revealed nonhomogeneous patterns as significant predictors of shorter PFS (HR 6.45, p < 0.001) and OS (HR 1.73, p = 0.033). Nonhomogeneous Lipiodol patterns in HCC following TACE significantly correlate with higher recurrence and decreased survival rates, especially with defective patterns. Early detection of these patterns may guide timely intervention strategies, potentially enhancing survival outcomes for patients with HCC.

The conventional treatment strategies for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) are predominantly guided by the status of RAS and BRAF mutations. Although patients may exhibit analogous pathological characteristics and undergo similar treatment regimens, notable disparities in their prognostic outcomes can be observed. Therefore, tissue and plasma samples from 40 mCRC patients underwent next-generation sequencing targeting 425 cancer-relevant genes. Genomic variations and canonical oncogenic pathways were investigated for their prognostic effects in association with progression-free survival (PFS) of these patients. We found that patients with BRCA2 and KMT2A mutations exhibited worse prognostic outcomes after chemotherapy-based treatment (univariate, P < 0.01). Further pathway analysis indicated that alterations in the homologous recombination pathway and in the KMT2A signaling network were also significantly associated with shortened PFS (univariate, P < 0.01). Additionally, mutation signature analysis showed that patients with higher proportions of defective mismatch repair (dMMR)-related mutational signatures. Had a worse prognosis (univariate, P = 0.02). KMT2A mutations (hazard ratio [HR], 4.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1-19.93; P =0.050) and dMMR signature proportions (HR, 3.57; 95% CI, 1.42-8.96; P = 0.007) remained independently associated with PFS after multivariate analysis and the results were further externally validated. These findings may enhance our understanding of this disease and may potentially facilitate the optimization of its treatment approaches.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have highlighted the prognostic value of easily accessible inflammatory markers, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) for predicting severe outcomes in patients affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Our study validates NLR and PLR cut-off values from a prior cohort at IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo (OSM) of Pavia, Italy, across two new cohorts from different hospitals. This aims to enhance the generalizability of these prognostic indicators.
METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, conducted at Milan\'s Ospedale Luigi Sacco (OLS) and IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (OMP) hospitals, we assess the predictive capacity of NLR and PLR for three main outcomes-non-invasive ventilation (NIV) or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) usage, invasive ventilation (IV), and death-in patients with COVID-19 at admission. For each outcome, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were computed separately for male and female cohorts. Distinct NLR and PLR cut-off values were used for men (7.00, 7.29, 7.00 for NLR; 239.22, 248.00, 250.39 for PLR) and women (6.36, 7.00, 6.28 for NLR; 233.00, 246.45, 241.54 for PLR), retrieved from the first cohort at OSM.
RESULTS: A total of 3599 patients were included in our study, 1842 from OLS and 1757 from OMP. OLS and OMP sensitivity values for both NLR and PLR (NLR: 24-67%, PLR: 40-64%) were inferior to specificity values (NLR: 64-76%, PLR: 55-72%). Additionally, PPVs generally remained lower (< 63%), while NPVs consistently surpassed 68% for PLR and 72% for NLR. Finally, both PLR and NLR exhibited consistently higher NPVs for more severe outcomes (> 82%) compared to NPVs for CPAP/NIV.
CONCLUSIONS: Consistent findings across diverse patient populations validate the reliability and applicability of NLR and PLR cut-off values. High NPVs emphasize their role in identifying individuals less likely to experience severe outcomes. These markers not only aid in risk stratification but also guide resource allocation in emergencies or limited-resource situations.

The role of the IFI6 gene has been described in several cancers, but its involvement in esophageal cancer (ESCA) remains unclear. This study aimed to identify novel prognostic indicators for ESCA-targeted therapy by investigating IFI6\'s expression, epigenetic mechanisms, and signaling activities. We utilized public data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to analyze IFI6\'s expression, clinical characteristics, gene function, pathways, and correlation with different immune cells in ESCA. The TIMER2.0 database was employed to assess the pan-cancer expression of IFI6, while UALCAN was used to examine its expression across tumor stages and histology subtypes. Additionally, the KEGG database helped identify related pathways. Our findings revealed 95 genes positively correlated and 15 genes negatively correlated with IFI6 in ESCA. IFI6 was over-expressed in ESCA and other cancers, impacting patient survival and showing higher expression in tumor tissues than normal tissues. IFI6 was also correlated with CD4+ T cells and B cell receptors (BCRs), both essential in immune response. GO Biological Process (GO BP) enrichment analysis indicated that IFI6 was primarily associated with the Type I interferon signaling pathway and the defense response to viruses. Intriguingly, KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that IFI6 and its positively correlated genes in ESCA were mostly linked to the Cytosolic DNA-sensing pathway, which plays a crucial role in innate immunity and viral defense, and the RIG-I-like receptor (RLR) signaling pathway, which detects viral infections and activates immune responses. Pathways related to various viral infections were also identified. It is important to note that our study relied on online databases. Given that ESCA consists of two distinct subgroups (ESCC and EAC), most databases combine them into a single category. Future research should focus on evaluating IFI6 expression and its impact on each subgroup to gain more specific insights. In conclusion, inhibiting IFI6 using targeted therapy could be an effective strategy for treating ESCA considering its potential as a biomarker and correlation with immune cell factors.

暂无摘要。

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer is a common cause of death worldwide. The search for novel biomarkers for oral cancer is an ongoing struggle. Prognostic biomarkers are of great importance in diagnosis, and prediction of the cancer outcome. There are several disagreements in oral cancer studies over the role of heat shock proteins as prognostic markers. The current study investigated HSP70 expression in diverse tissues ranging from normal oral mucosa to dysplastic oral epithelium and oral squamous cell carcinoma to determine its role in oral carcinogenesis. Moreover, HSP70 was evaluated concerning different prognostic parameters to determine its capability in predicting cancer progression. Recurrence of tumor was recorded, and patients` disease-free survival was calculated and analyzed considering HSP70 expression to determine the potential utility of HSP70 immuno-expression in predicting recurrence.
METHODS: A retrospective study was accomplished on 50 cases of OSCC. Biopsies from the cancerous tissue, the free surgical margin, and the normal oral mucosa were used. The grading of dysplastic epithelium and OSCCs followed the criteria of WHO classification (2017). The clinicopathological and follow-up records for each patient were retrieved. Pearson\'s Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, and post hoc tests were used to analyze the variance of HSP70 immuno-expression concerning different parameters. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compute and visualize disease-free survival, and the log-rank test was used to analyze the data. With Cox regression, univariate and multivariate survival analyses were run. A P-value of 0.05 or less was regarded as statistically significant.
RESULTS: A significant increased expression of HSP70 was observed as the tissue progressed from normal to dysplastic epithelium, and carcinoma (P = 0.000). HSP70 revealed a significant increased expression by progression from mild to severe dysplasia (P = 0.023), and also from well to moderately and poorly differentiated carcinoma (P = 0.000). High HSP70 immuno-expression was significantly associated with progression of OSCC; large-sized tumors (P = 0.002), advanced TNM clinical stages (P = 0.001), positive nodal involvement (P = 0.001), presence of recurrence (P = .008), and reduced DFS (P = 0.014).
CONCLUSIONS: HSP70 has a crucial contribution to oral carcinogenesis, and its immune-expression could potentially be used as predictor of progression and recurrence of OSCC patients.
BACKGROUND: Retrospectively registered.

暂无摘要。

UNASSIGNED: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is widely prevalent in the Indian subcontinent mainly due to habit-associated aetiologies. Immune regulation and angiogenesis are the part of tumourigenesis that play a crucial role in metastasis and survival. However, the concurrent expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and CD3 (immune regulator receptor on T-lymphocyte) in the same OSCC tissue samples has not been reported in the Indian population. The present study evaluated the expression of CD3+ T-cells and VEGF in OSCC tissue samples and studied the clinicopathological correlation and survival analysis in an Indian population.
UNASSIGNED: This was a retrospective study conducted on 30 formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded sections which were histologically diagnosed as OSCC cases comprising of 15 metastatic OSCC and 15 non-metastatic OSCC with available clinical data and survival status.
UNASSIGNED: Reduced expression of CD3+ T-cells and increased VEGF expression were observed in metastatic OSCC samples. The correlation of expression of CD3+ T-cells and VEGF with clinicopathological parameters showed a significant association between these markers with age, nodal status, site of the lesion and survival.
UNASSIGNED: Reduced expression of CD3+ T-cells in OSCC was found to be associated with a significantly poor survival. VEGF was found to be over expressed in metastatic OSCC as compared to that in non-metastatic OSCC. The study findings suggest that the evaluation of CD3 and VEGF in incisional OSCC biopsies can be considered for predicting the survival outcome and metastasis.

Craniofacial traumatic injuries contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality of domestic felines. Previous studies focused on feline craniofacial injuries have investigated the origin of injury, injuries sustained, and effectiveness of diagnostic tools. The aim of the study is to identify prognostic indicators for feline craniofacial trauma patients and determine their association with negative and positive outcomes. The Veterinary Committee on Trauma (VetCOT) Trauma Registry and Dentistry and Oral Surgery Case Logs were utilized to identify feline craniofacial trauma cases that were presented to Colorado State University\'s Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 2014 and 2020. Prognostic indicators evaluated included: etiology of injury, signalment (age and sex), the Modified Glascow Coma Scale (MGCS), Animal Trauma Triage (ATT) scores, craniofacial examination findings, diagnostic imaging technique, and injuries identified via imaging. Outcomes were determined via patient status upon discharge. Outcomes were grouped into the following categories: survival to discharge at initial presentation to CSU Urgent Care (SDIP), survival to discharge after injury treatment/repair by CSU DOSS or another specialty service (SDTX), euthanized due to grave prognosis at initial presentation (EUGP), euthanized due to financial limitations at initial presentation (EUF), and euthanized due to grave prognosis and financial limitations (EUGP + EUF). The continuous data was described using means and standard deviations. To determine the associations of various groupings of clinical signs and imaging findings with outcome a principal component analysis was performed. Patient sex, trauma etiology, cumulative MGCS and ATT scores on initial presentation and clinical signs on initial presentation were identified as prognostic indicators with intact males, vehicular and animal altercations, lower MGCS cumulative scores, higher ATT scores and the presence of altered mentation identified as negative prognostic indicators. Prognostic indicators for feline craniofacial trauma can be associated with outcomes and help guide clinical decision making.

UNASSIGNED: Despite advances in neonatal intensive care, surgical methods, and anesthesia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is still associated with significant mortality. Predicting which babies will have poorer outcomes is essential to identify the high-risk babies and to give targeted care and accurate prognosis to the parents, especially in a resource crunch set-up.
UNASSIGNED: The aim of this study is to evaluate the antenatal and postnatal prognostic factors in neonatal CDH that can be used to predict the outcome.
UNASSIGNED: This was a prospective observational study in a tertiary care center.
UNASSIGNED: Neonates presented with CDH within 28 days of life were included in the study. Bilateral disease, recurrent diseases, and babies operated outside were excluded from the study. The data were collected prospectively, and babies were followed until discharge or death.
UNASSIGNED: Data were expressed in mean with standard deviation or median with range based on normality. All the data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 25.
UNASSIGNED: Thirty babies with neonatal CDH were studied. There were three right-sided cases. The male-to-female ratio was 2.3:1, and 93% of babies were antenatally diagnosed. Seventeen out of the 30 babies underwent surgery. Nine (52.9%) underwent laparotomy, and 8 (47%) underwent thoracoscopic repair. Overall mortality was 53.3%, and operative mortality was 17.6%. Demographic characteristics were comparable between expired versus survived babies. The significant predictors of outcome identified were - Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN), mesh repair, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV), use of inotropes, 5-min APGAR, ventilator index (VI), and HCO3 levels.
UNASSIGNED: We conclude that the prognostic indicators associated with poor prognosis are low 5-min APGAR, high VI, low HCO3 levels in venous blood gas analysis, mesh repair, HFOV, inotropes usage, and PPHN. None of the antenatal factors studied showed any statistical significance. Further prospective studies with a larger sample size are recommended to confirm the findings.