Combining lymph node ratio to develop prognostic models for postoperative gastric neuroendocrine neoplasm patients.

Background: Lymph node ratio (LNR) was demonstrated to play a crucial role in the prognosis of many tumors. However, research concerning the prognostic value of LNR in postoperative gastric neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN) patients was limited.

Aim: To explore the prognostic value of LNR in postoperative gastric NEN patients and to combine LNR to develop prognostic models.

Downregulation of miR-221-3p promotes the ferroptosis in gastric cancer cells via upregulation of ATF3 to mediate the transcription inhibition of GPX4 and HRD1.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is an aggressive gastrointestinal tumor. MiRNAs participate in the tumorigenesis of GC. Nevertheless, the function of miR-221-3p in GC remains largely unknown.

Immunopotentiation effects of apigenin on NK cell proliferation and killing pancreatic cancer cells.

Apigenin is a kind of flavonoid with many beneficial biological effects. It not only has direct cytotoxicity to tumor cells, but also can boost the antitumor effect of immune cells by modulating immune system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the proliferation of NK cells treated with apigenin and its cytotoxicity to pancreatic cancer cells in vitro, and explore its potential molecular mechanism.

Pancreatic cancer incidence and mortality patterns in 2006-2015 and prediction of the epidemiological trend to 2025 in China.

Background: Due to dietary patterns, the aging population, and other high-risk factors, the occurrence of pancreatic cancer (PC) has been rapidly increasing in China.

Aim: To present the epidemiological trends of PC in China over the past decade and the estimated trend in 2025 and to compare the international differences in PC morbidity and mortality.

Methods: This study used a series of nationally representative data from the National Central Cancer Registry of China (NCCR), the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation databases.

Network Pharmacology-Based Analysis on the Curative Effect of Kunxian Capsules against Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Kunxian capsules (KCs), a Chinese patent medicine, have been clinically proven to be effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the chemical profile of KC remains to be characterized, and the mechanism underlying the protective effect against RA is yet to be elucidated. Here, a network pharmacology-based approach was adopted, integrated with the chemical profiling of KC by UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS.

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis in an AMA-M2 positive patient: A case report.

Background: Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is hard to diagnose because of nonspecific symptoms and signs. It is a general consensus that EPS is classified as primary and secondary. There have been several studies discovering some high-risk factors such as liver cirrhosis, of which AMA-M2 is a biomarker, and intra-abdominal surgery such as laparoscopic surgery.

Relationships are between metformin use and survival in pancreatic cancer patients concurrent with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Increased risk and cancer-related mortality is observed in pancreatic cancer (PC) patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Whether using metformin as glucose-lowering therapy can result in survival benefit in this group of patients is still unclear.

Methods: A meta-analysis of 21 studies that including 38,772 patients was performed to investigate the association between metformin and overall survival in patients with PC and concurrent DM.

Endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation with minor sphincterotomy for periampullary diverticular papilla.

Background To observe the outcome of endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation (EPLBD) with minor sphincterotomy (mEST) for periampullary diverticular papilla related to stone removal. Methods Patients with confirmed periampullary diverticulum (PAD) during stone removal from May 2016 to April 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. The Chi-square test with Yates correction or Fisher's exact test was used for the analysis of categorical data and a normality test was applied for continuous data.

Survey of nocturnal reflux in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease in China.

Unlabelled: To evaluate current diagnosis and treatment of patients with nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux (nGER).

Methods: This multicenter observational study was conducted in 44 hospitals in China from May 2017 to February 2018. Outpatients with nGER were recruited and their relevant data were collected using a questionnaire, including age, gender, body mass index, history of smoking and alcohol consumption, comorbid diseases, lifestyle, self-reported health status, medical history, nGER symptoms and severity, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, diagnosis and treatment choices.

A preventive injection of endothelial progenitor cells prolongs lifespan in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

There is a pressing need for new approaches to prevent stroke. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) promote vascular repair and revascularization in the ischemic brain. The present study sought to evaluate whether preventive delivery of EPCs could prevent or protect against stroke.

Tanshinone IIA Sodium Sulfonate Attenuates LPS-Induced Intestinal Injury in Mice.

Background: Tanshinone IIA sodium sulfonate (TSS) is known to possess anti-inflammatory effects and has exhibited protective effects in various inflammatory conditions; however, its role in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced intestinal injury is still unknown.

Objective: The present study is designed to explore the role and possible mechanism of TSS in LPS-induced intestinal injury.

Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice, challenged with intraperitoneal LPS injection, were treated with or without TSS 0.

Preventive Cold Acclimation Augments the Reparative Function of Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Mice.

Background/aims: Chronic cold exposure may increase energy expenditure and contribute to counteracting obesity, an important risk factor for cerebrocardiovascular diseases. This study sought to evaluate whether preventive cold acclimation before ischemia onset might be a promising option for preventing cerebral ischemic injury.

Methods: After a 14-day cold acclimation period, young and aged mice were subjected to permanent cerebral ischemia, and histological analyses and behavioral tests were performed.

Minor endoscopic sphincterotomy followed by large balloon dilation for large choledocholith treatment.

Aim: To evaluate early and late outcomes of endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation (EPLBD) with minor endoscopic sphincterotomy (mEST) for stone removal.

Methods: A total of 149 consecutive patients with difficult common bile duct (CBD) stones (diameter ≥ 10 mm or ≥ 3 stones) underwent conventional endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) or mEST plus EPLBD from May 2012 to April 2016. Their demographic, laboratory and procedural data were collected, and pancreaticobiliary complications were recorded.

Deceleration capacity-a novel measure for autonomic nervous system in patients with vasovagal syncope on tilt-table testing.

This study was to investigate the changes of autonomic nerve function and hemodynamics in patients with vasovagal syncope (VVS) during head-up tilt-table testing (HUT). HUT was performed in 68 patients with unexplained syncope and 18 healthy subjects served as control group. According to whether bradycardia, hypotension or both took place during the onset of syncope, the patients were divided during the test into three subgroups: vasodepressor syncope (VD), cardioinhibitory syncope (CI) and mixed syncope (MX) subgroups.

Can mean platelet volume play a role in evaluating the severity of acute pancreatitis?

Aim: To investigate serum mean platelet volume (MPV) levels in acute pancreatitis (AP) patients and assess whether MPV effectively predicts the disease severity of AP.

Methods: We included 117 consecutive patients with AP as the AP group and 34 consecutive patients with colorectal polyps (before endoscopic treatment) as the control group. Complete blood counts, liver function, platelet indices (MPV), coagulation parameters, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured on days 1, 2, 3 and 7 after admission.

miR-203a is involved in HBx-induced inflammation by targeting Rap1a.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes acute and chronic hepatitis, and is one of the major causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammation is the key factor for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. MicroRNAs play important roles in many biological processes.

Communicating BRCA research results to patients enrolled in international clinical trials: lessons learnt from the AGO-OVAR 16 study.

Background: The focus on translational research in clinical trials has the potential to generate clinically relevant genetic data that could have importance to patients. This raises challenging questions about communicating relevant genetic research results to individual patients.

Methods: An exploratory pharmacogenetic analysis was conducted in the international ovarian cancer phase III trial, AGO-OVAR 16, which found that patients with clinically important germ-line BRCA1/2 mutations had improved progression-free survival prognosis.

Effect of Body Mass Index on Overall Survival of Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.

Although obesity has been identified as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer, the important question of whether obesity influences the prognosis of pancreatic cancer has not been explicated thoroughly. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and survival outcomes of patients with pancreatic cancer.Studies that described the relationship between BMI and overall survival (OS) of pancreatic cancer were searched in PubMed, Embase, Ovid, and Cochrane Library Databases from the earliest available date to May 12, 2015.

The genetics of drug efficacy: opportunities and challenges.

Lack of sufficient efficacy is the most common cause of attrition in late-phase drug development. It has long been envisioned that genetics could drive stratified drug development by identifying those patient subgroups that are most likely to respond. However, this vision has not been realized as only a small proportion of drugs have been found to have germline genetic predictors of efficacy with clinically meaningful effects, and so far all but one were found after drug approval.

Acquired double pylorus: Clinical and endoscopic characteristics and four-year follow-up observations.

Double pylorus (DP), or duplication of the pylorus, is an uncommon condition that can be either congenital or acquired. Acquired DP (ADP) occurs when a peptic ulcer erodes and creates a fistula between the duodenal bulb and the distal stomach. The clinical features and endoscopic characteristics of four patients with ADP were reviewed and compared with previously reported cases.

Ratio of platelet count/spleen diameter predicted the presence of esophageal varices in patients with schistosomiasis liver cirrhosis.

Aim: To examine the platelet count (PC)/spleen diameter (SD) ratio in predicting the presence of esophageal varices (EV) in patients with schistosomiasis liver cirrhosis.

Materials And Methods: A total of 95 consecutive patients with EV induced by schistosomiasis liver cirrhosis were enrolled in this trial. A total of 141 schistosomiasis liver cirrhosis patients without EV were enrolled as controls.

BRCA1/2 mutations associated with progression-free survival in ovarian cancer patients in the AGO-OVAR 16 study.

Objective: AGO-OVAR 16 demonstrated that pazopanib maintenance therapy significantly increased progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with ovarian cancer whose disease had not progressed after first-line therapy. In a sub-study, we evaluated the effect of clinically important germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations on PFS.

Methods: Of 940 AGO-OVAR 16 participants, 664 had BRCA1/2 exon sequencing data (pazopanib, n=335; placebo, n=329).

HLA-B*57:01 Confers Susceptibility to Pazopanib-Associated Liver Injury in Patients with Cancer.

Purpose: Pazopanib is an effective treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma and soft-tissue sarcoma. Transaminase elevations have been commonly observed in pazopanib-treated patients. We conducted pharmacogenetic analyses to explore mechanistic insight into pazopanib-induced liver injury.

A multicenter phase I study of pazopanib in combination with paclitaxel in first-line treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors.

This study was designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and clinical activity of pazopanib combined with paclitaxel to determine the recommended phase II dose in the first-line setting in patients with advanced solid tumors. Patients were enrolled in a 3+3 dose-escalation design to determine the maximum tolerated regimen (MTR) of once daily pazopanib plus paclitaxel administered every 3 weeks at four dose levels (DL1-4). Safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenetics, and disease assessments were performed.

Clinical evaluation of pazopanib eye drops versus ranibizumab intravitreal injections in subjects with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: To evaluate pazopanib eye drops in subjects with active subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: Multicountry, randomized, parallel-group, double-masked, active and placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study of eye drops.

Participants: A total of 510 subjects (93% white; 58% female; mean age, 75.