Association of Genotypes With Lung Cancer Risk in Taiwan.

Background/aim: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression is upregulated in various diseases, including lung cancer. However, the role of MMP-9 genotype in lung cancer susceptibility remains uncertain. This study aimed to clarify the contribution of MMP-9 promoter rs3918242 genotypes to the risk of lung cancer in Taiwan.

The Contribution of Double-strand Break Repair Radiation Sensitive Protein 51 Genotypes to Lung Cancer in Taiwan.

Background/aim: Numerous studies have reported the over-expression of the radiation-sensitive protein 51 (RAD51) in various types of cancer. However, the role of RAD51 genotypes in lung cancer remains largely unknown. This study aimed to assess the impact of the common variant RAD51 rs1801320 (G-135C) genotypes on the risk of lung cancer in Taiwan.

Association of Promoter Polymorphisms With Asthma Risk.

Background/aim: Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression has been documented as an influential contributor to the intricate milieu of allergic airway inflammation, tissue remodeling, and the exacerbation of asthma's severity. However, the genetic role underlying MMP-1 in the context of asthma has remained enigmatic, with its full implications yet to be unveiled. Considering this, our research was designed to investigate the association of MMP-1 -1607 rs1799750 and the propensity for asthma severity.

The Contribution of DNA Ligase 4 Genetic Variations to Taiwanese Lung Cancer.

Background/aim: Impaired non-homologous end-joining DNA repair capacity may have a significant role in maintaining genome integrity and triggering carcinogenesis. However, the specific impact of DNA ligase 4 (Lig4) genotypes remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the contribution of Lig4 genotypes to the risk of developing lung cancer.

Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease in Pneumoconiosis: Results from a Retrospective Cohort Study (2008-2019).

Background: Pneumoconiosis has considerable comorbidities, most notably pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. However, the relationship between pneumoconiosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is largely unknown. The present study aimed to use a retrospective cohort study design to further clarify the association between pneumoconiosis and subsequent CKD risk.

Efficacy of Prophylactic Traditional Chinese Medicine on Skin Toxicity of Afatinib in Mutation-Positive Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Single-Center, Prospective, Double-Blinded, Randomized-Controlled Pilot Trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on skin toxicities in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma treated with first-line epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in a randomized-controlled trial (RCT).

Materials And Methods: This pilot study was a prospective, single-center, double-blinded RCT. The study enrolled patients with a new diagnosis of locally advanced and metastatic lung adenocarcinoma harboring mutations who were treated with first-line afatinib from July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017.

Association of Promoter Genotypes With Taiwan Lung Cancer Risk.

Background/aim: Chronic inflammation is believed to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is an inflammatory cytokine and plays an important role in cancer development. Few studies have investigated the association between interleukin-8 - 251T/A (rs4073) genotype and lung cancer risk in various populations.

Doping limitation due to self-compensation by native defects in In-doped rocksalt CdZnO.

Cadmium oxide (CdO)-ZnO alloys (CdZnO) exhibit a transformation from the wurtzite to the rocksalt (RS) phase at a CdO composition of ∼70% with a drastic change in the band gap and electrical properties. RS-CdZnO alloys (> 0.7) are particularly interesting for transparent conductor applications due to their wide band gap and high electron mobility.

Atractylodin Suppresses TGF-β-Mediated Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Alveolar Epithelial Cells and Attenuates Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by fibrotic change in alveolar epithelial cells and leads to the irreversible deterioration of pulmonary function. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in type 2 lung epithelial cells contributes to excessive collagen deposition and plays an important role in IPF. Atractylodin (ATL) is a kind of herbal medicine that has been proven to protect intestinal inflammation and attenuate acute lung injury.

The Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in Non-dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease Patients.

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) receiving maintenance renal replacement therapy are at higher risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection. The risk of TB infection in CKD patients not receiving dialysis is unknown. We conduct this study to test the hypothesis that TB infection is negatively correlated to renal function.

Significant Association of Cyclin D1 Promoter Genotypes With Asthma Susceptibility in Taiwan.

Background/aim: The molecular mechanisms underlying the association between cell cycle and asthma are poorly understood, and cyclin D1 (CCND1) is found to be upregulated in asthma airway smooth muscle. We investigated whether the most frequently examined functional variants in CCND1 determine asthma susceptibility.

Materials And Methods: We genotyped 651 participants for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at rs9344 and rs678653 on CCND1 and assessed the association of these SNPs with asthma risk.

Significant Association of MMP2 Promoter Genotypes to Asthma Susceptibility in Taiwan.

Background/aim: Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) is reported to be overexpressed in asthma; however, its genotypic contribution to asthma is not well studied. Therefore, we examined the association of MMP2 genotypes with asthma risk among Taiwanese.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and ninety-eight asthma patients and 453 non-asthmatic subjects were determined with respect to their MMP2 -1306 (rs243845) and -735 (rs2285053) genotypes.

Prognostic Significance of Oligometastatic Disease Classification by the ESTRO/EORTC of Cancer for Patients With Lung Cancer Treated With Definitive Radical Radiotherapy.

Background: Randomized controlled trials had demonstrated local therapy, such as radiotherapy, can improve outcomes of patients with lung cancer with oligometastatic disease (OMD). However, the definition of OMD is not uniform and the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) proposed a new classification in 2020 comprising nine subtypes. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of this European classification for patients with lung OMD treated with definitive radical radiotherapy.

Contribution of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 rs3918242 Genotypes to Childhood Leukemia Risk.

Background/aim: A single study has shown positive association and genotype-phenotype correlation between metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) promoter genotypes and adult acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). However, there is no report about childhood ALL. Thus, this study aimed at examining the role of MMP-9 rs3918242 genotypes in childhood ALL risk.

The Significant Interaction of Excision Repair Cross-complementing Group 1 Genotypes and Smoking to Lung Cancer Risk.

Background: The study aims to evaluate the contribution of excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1), which plays an important role in genome integrity maintenance, to lung cancer risk.

Materials And Methods: ERCC1 rs11615 and rs3212986 genotypes were identified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and their association with lung cancer risk was examined among 358 lung cancer patients and 716 controls.

Results: The proportions of CC, CT and TT for the rs11615 genotype were 43.

Association of Murine Double Minute 2 Genotypes and Lung Cancer Risk.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of human mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) gene polymorphisms to the risk of Taiwan lung cancer.

Materials And Methods: In this case-control study, the association of MDM2 rs2279744 genotypes with lung cancer risk was investigated among 358 lung cancer patients and 716 age-, gender- and smoking status-matched controls in Taiwan.

Results: The percentages of MDM2 rs2279744 GT and GG genotypes were 50.

Adjunctive Traditional Chinese Medicine Improves Survival in Patients With Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma Treated With First-Line Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs): A Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objectives: The clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on survival in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma treated with first-line epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is a major concern and requires more evidence from large-scale clinical studies.

Materials And Methods: This population-based cohort study used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to enroll patients between 2006 and 2012 who had newly diagnosed locally advanced and metastatic lung adenocarcinoma treated with first-line gefitinib or erlotinib. Survival was tracked until 2013.

Comparing the effects of afatinib with gefitinib or Erlotinib in patients with advanced-stage lung adenocarcinoma harboring non-classical epidermal growth factor receptor mutations.

Objective: Approximately 10%-15% patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations harbor non-classical mutations. However, the effects of EGFR-tyrosine kinases (TKIs), particularly second-generation EGFR-TKI (afatinib) compared to first-generation EGFR-TKIs (gefitinib/erlotinib), in patients with non-classical EGFR mutations remain unknown.

Methods: We conducted this retrospective study at the China Medical University Hospital (Taichung, Taiwan) from June 2011 to July 2016.

The modified SAVE score: predicting survival using urgent veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation within 24 hours of arrival at the emergency department.

Background: Although many risk models have been tested in patients who undergo extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, few have been assessed for patients who received veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) support in the emergency department (ED). This study aimed to successfully predict outcomes of patients with cardiac or noncardiac failure who received VA-ECMO in the ED within 24 hours of arrival at the ED.

Method: This retrospective, observational cohort study included 154 patients, who were classified as cardiac (n = 127) and noncardiac (n = 27) patients and received VA-ECMO within 24 hours after arrival at the China Medical University Hospital ED in Taiwan between January 2009 and September 2014.

Long-term statin use in patients with lung cancer and dyslipidemia reduces the risk of death.

Background: Clinical studies have obtained inconsistent results of statin use on cancer outcomes. This study investigated the association between statin use and lung cancer mortality.

Results: The use of statin decreased mortality (hazard ratio = 0.

Sleep disorders in individuals without sleep apnea increase the risk of peripheral arterial disorder: a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study.

Study Objectives: Previous literature lacks the analysis of non-apnea sleep disorder (NASD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between NASD and risk of developing PAD using retrospective data from a national database in Taiwan.

Design, Setting, And Participants: We identified 46,064 patients with NASD using the catastrophic illness registry of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from 1996 to 2010.

Amiodarone use is associated with increased risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained arrhythmia requiring treatment worldwide, is one of the major causes of ischemic stroke. Although amiodarone is commonly used for rhythm control in AF, its relationship with stroke has rarely been addressed.We evaluated 16,091 patients who were diagnosed with AF (Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] 427.

Increased risk of tuberculosis in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: results from a population-based cohort study in Taiwan.

The studies on the risk of tuberculosis (TB) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) alone are limited. We examined this relationship using a population-based retrospective cohort study. From claims data of the National Health Insurance system of Taiwan, we identified 5195 patients with T1DM newly diagnosed from 2002 to 2011 and 20,780 randomly selected controls without T1DM, frequency matched by age, sex, and year of diagnosis.

Diagnostic impact of color Doppler ultrasound-guided core biopsy on fine-needle aspiration of anterior mediastinal masses.

Although lymphoma and thymoma are common etiologies of anterior mediastinal masses (AMMs), smaller percentages and numbers of patients with these diseases have been enrolled in previous ultrasound-guided biopsy studies. To date, there has been no study of color Doppler sonographic features to support the differentiation of AMMs. For this retrospective cohort study, a search of the database of the China Medical University Hospital using the clinical coding "ultrasound-guided biopsy" was conducted for the period December 2003 to February 2013.