Survival benefit of surgery in elderly patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Neoadjuvant therapy followed by radical surgery is standard for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). However, compared to younger patients, elderly patients often had multiple commodities and may refuse surgery due to being medically unfit or the high risk of operative mortality. This study aims to explore the effects of surgery on short- and long-term mortality in elderly LARC patients using a nationwide cancer registry.

Factors associated with osteoarthritis in menopausal women: A registry study of osteoporosis sarcopenia and osteoarthritis.

Background: Bone and muscle mass decline after menopause. The risk of osteoarthritis (OA), sarcopenia, and osteoporosis increases in later life. Our objective aimed to assess the possible factors affecting osteoarthritis in menopausal women.

Combination of treatments with transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA) for Graves' disease.

Although the success rates of non-surgical treatments for Graves' disease such as antithyroid medication and radioiodine ablation were good, there were still failure of treatments or intolerance for some patients. Traditional thyroid surgery could treat these patients but result in unaesthetic neck scars. Herein, we report the preliminary results of our combination of treatments with the transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach for Graves' disease.

Adjuvant chemotherapy and survival outcomes in rectal cancer patients with good response (ypT0-2N0) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery: A retrospective nationwide analysis.

Background: For rectal cancer, it remains unclear how to incorporate tumor response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) when deciding whether to give adjuvant chemotherapy. In this study, we aim to determinate the survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for rectal cancer patients with good response (ypT0-2N0) after nCRT and surgery.

Methods: The study cohort included 720 rectal cancer patients who had good response (ypT0-2N0) after nCRT and surgery, who did or did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy between January 2007 and December 2017, from the Taiwan Cancer Registry and National Health Insurance Research database.

Effects of 12-Week Progressive Sandbag Exercise Training on Glycemic Control and Muscle Strength in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Combined with Possible Sarcopenia.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at a three-fold increased risk of developing sarcopenia compared to those without diabetes. The objective of this study was to investigate whether an intervention involving progressive sandbag exercises is beneficial to patients with T2DM and possible sarcopenia in terms of enhancing muscle strength and controlling blood sugar levels. Forty patients with T2DM and possible sarcopenia (age > 50 years) were recruited and randomly divided into resistance training and control groups.

High Expression of Folate Receptor Alpha (FOLR1) is Associated With Aggressive Tumor Behavior, Poor Response to Chemoradiotherapy, and Worse Survival in Rectal Cancer.

Recently, molecular medicine targeting Folate Receptor Alpha (FOLR1), which mediates intracellular folate uptake and tumor cell proliferation, has been identified in several malignancies. However, the association between FOLR1 expression and rectal cancer remains unclear. Immunostaining of FOLR1 was performed on biopsy specimens from 172 rectal cancer patients undergoing preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

Comparison of Glucose Lowering Efficacy of Human GLP-1 Agonist in Taiwan Type 2 Diabetes Patients after Switching from DPP-4 Inhibitor Use or Non-Use.

To determine the efficacy of glucose control in type 2 diabetes patients who switch from dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors use or non-use to GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). We conducted a cohort study using data from the Chang Gung Research Database. Patients aged ≥18 years using newly initiated GLP-1 RAs between 1 January 2009, and 31 December 2016, were included.

The effect of adjuvant radiotherapy on clinical outcomes in early major salivary gland cancer.

Background: This study investigated the effects of adjuvant radiotherapy on outcomes in early-stage major salivary gland cancers.

Methods: A total of 655 patients were identified, including 355 (54.2%) received adjuvant radiotherapy and 300 (45.

Overexpression of MLPH in Rectal Cancer Patients Correlates with a Poorer Response to Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy and Reduced Patient Survival.

Data mining of a public transcriptomic rectal cancer dataset (GSE35452) from the Gene Expression Omnibus, National Center for Biotechnology Information identified the melanophilin () gene as the most significant intracellular protein transport-related gene (GO:0006886) associated with a poor response to preoperative chemoradiation. An MLPH immunostain was performed on biopsy specimens from 172 rectal cancer patients receiving preoperative chemoradiation; samples were divided into high- and low-expression groups by H-scores. Subsequently, the correlations between MLPH expression and clinicopathologic features, tumor regression grade, disease-specific survival (DSS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and metastasis-free survival (MeFS) were analyzed.

Optimal Lymph Node Yield for Survival Prediction in Rectal Cancer Patients After Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Purpose: A lymph node (LN) yield ≥12 is required to for accurate determination of nodal status for colorectal cancer but cannot always be achieved after neoadjuvant therapy. This study aims to determine the difference in LN yield from rectal cancer patients treated with and without neoadjuvant therapy and the effects of specific LN yields on survival.

Patients And Methods: The study cohort included a total of 4344 rectal cancer patients treated between January 2007 and December 2015, 2260 (52.

Adjuvant Radiotherapy Significantly Increases Neck Control and Survival in Early Oral Cancer Patients with Solitary Nodal Involvement: A National Cancer Registry Database Analysis.

We assessed the role of adjuvant radiotherapy on neck control and survival in patients with early oral cancer with solitary nodal involvement. We identified pT1-2N1 oral cancer patients with or without adjuvant radiotherapy from the 2007-2015 Taiwan Cancer Registry database. The effect of adjuvant radiotherapy on 5-year neck control, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank tests, and Cox regression analysis.

Long-term outcome and prognostic factors of single-dose Radioiodine Therapy in patients with Graves' disease.

Background/purpose: Few studies exist investigating the effectiveness of radioiodine (RAI) therapy for hyperthyroidism patients in Asia. We herein investigated the real-world efficacy of single-dose RAI therapy in Taiwanese patients with Graves' disease (GD).

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 243 patients with GD recorded between 1989 and 2016 in a tertiary referral hospital.

The Causal Role of Mitochondrial Dynamics in Regulating Insulin Resistance in Diabetes: Link through Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species.

Background: Mitochondrial dynamics (mtDYN) has been proposed as a bridge between mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance (IR), which is involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Our previous study has identified that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup B4 is a T2D-susceptible genotype. Using transmitochondrial cybrid model, we have confirmed that haplogroup B4 contributes to cellular IR as well as a profission mtDYN, which can be reversed by antioxidant treatment.

Tardive akathisia related to the anti-hypertensive agent Sevikar-a case report.

Background: Tardive akathisia (TA) is a subtype of tardive syndrome, and its etiology is still uncertain. Sevikar is an anti-hypertensive agent containing both amlodipine and olmesartan, and has never been reported to have an adverse reaction in patients with tardive syndrome.

Case Presentation: A 57-year-old woman who took Sevikar for hypertension for 10 years developed TA one and a half years before receiving any psychiatric treatment.

Impact of baseline body mass index status on glucose lowering and weight change during sitagliptin treatment for type 2 diabetics.

Aims: This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of sitagliptin in Taiwanese diabetic subjects with different baseline BMI status.

Methods: This was a single-center, hospital-based, retrospective chart review in subjects (n=1874) with type 2 diabetes who received sitagliptin. Subjects were classified into subgroups depending upon their baseline BMI by Taiwan national weight classification: normal (BMI<24kg/m(2)) (n=504), overweight (BMI: 24-27kg/m(2)) (n=615), and obese (BMI⩾27kg/m(2)) (n=755).

Acute blood glucose fluctuations can decrease blood glutathione and adiponectin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: Glutathione appears to have apparent antioxidant activity to counter regulate hyperglycemia induced oxidative stress. Adiponectin also plays a role in the suppression of the metabolic derangements in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to determine whether blood glucose fluctuations can alter blood levels of glutathione and adiponectin.