Assessing the Prognostic Value of 13 Inflammation-Based Scores in Patients with Unresectable or Advanced Biliary Tract Carcinoma After Immunotherapy.

Purpose: The response of patients with biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) to immunotherapy varies widely, and there is an urgent need for biological indicators. The predictive value of inflammation based score (IBS) for the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with BTC remains unclear, as the evidence is inconsistent. This study aimed to comprehensively examine the predictive value of IBS in peripheral blood on the survival of BTC patients receiving immunotherapy.

Response to programmed cell death protein 1 antibody in patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Aim: Epstein-Barr virus-associated intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EBVaICC) has a distinct genomic profile and increased CD3 and CD8 T cells infiltration. However, the efficacy of immunotherapy in EBVaICC remains largely unknown. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody therapy in EBVaICC.

Regorafenib with or without a programmed cell death protein 1 antibody as third-line treatment for microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: Although the use of regorafenib plus nivolumab demonstrates promising outcomes in patients with refractory microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), this effect has not been substantiated in other studies. Moreover, a comparison between the outcomes of regorafenib and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody combination therapy and regorafenib monotherapy remains unexplored. In this study, we aimed to assess whether regorafenib and PD-1 antibody combination therapy is superior to regorafenib monotherapy as a third-line treatment for MSS mCRC.

PD-1-mAb Plus Regimen in the First and Second Lines of Advanced and Unresectable Biliary Tract Carcinoma: A Real-World, Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.

Introduction: Advanced biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) has a poor prognosis and few treatment options. We compared the efficacy of the PD-1 monoclonal antibody (PD-1-mAb) combined regimens with the standard chemotherapy in the first-line and second-line treatment of advanced BTC.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed the patients with advanced BTC, who received treatment at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University and the Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center.

Association of body composition with survival and inflammatory responses in patients with non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer.

Objectives: It is unknown whether or not the body composition is correlated with the prognosis and inflammatory response in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC).

Materials And Methods: This cohort included 1767 patients with NPC. Visceral, subcutaneous and intra muscular adipose tissues (VAT, SAT and IMAT), and skeletal muscle index were quantified with computed tomography.

Clonal Mutations Activate the NF-κB Pathway to Promote Recurrence of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

The genetic events occurring in recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC) are poorly understood. Here, we performed whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing in 55 patients with rNPC and 44 primarily diagnosed NPC (pNPC), with 7 patients having paired rNPC and pNPC samples. Previously published pNPC exome data were integrated for analysis.

Polo-Like Kinase 1 phosphorylates and stabilizes KLF4 to promote tumorigenesis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an aggressive disease with no targeted therapies and poor outcomes. New innovative targets are urgently needed. KLF4 has been extensively studied in the context of tumors, and current data suggest that it can act as either a tissue-specific tumor-inhibiting or a tumor-promoting gene.

Predictive and prognostic implications of 4E-BP1, Beclin-1, and LC3 for cetuximab treatment combined with chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer with wild-type KRAS: Analysis from real-world data.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the main causes of cancer-related deaths in China and around the world. Advanced CRC (ACRC) patients suffer from a low cure rate though treated with targeted therapies. The response rate is about 50% to chemotherapy and cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and used for ACRC with wild-type KRAS.

Association of low skeletal muscle index with increased systematic inflammatory responses and interferon γ-induced protein 10 levels in patients with colon cancer.

Background: Skeletal muscle depletion is a prognostic factor in patients with cancer. Here, we evaluated the association between the skeletal muscle index (SMI) and local and systemic responses in patients with colon cancer.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed the relationships of the SMI with neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and platelet counts; the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; albumin levels; and C-reactive protein levels in a cohort of 561 patients, and with the circulating levels of 39 cytokines in a cohort of 125 patients.

Brief Electrical Stimulation Promotes Nerve Regeneration Following Experimental In-Continuity Nerve Injury.

Background: Brief electrical stimulation (ES) therapy to the nerve may improve outcome in lacerated, repaired nerves. However, most human nerve injuries leave the nerve in continuity with variable and often poor functional recovery from incomplete axon regeneration and reinnervation.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of brief ES in an experimental model for neuroma-in-continuity (NIC) injuries in rodents.

Testing the effectiveness and the contribution of experimental supercharge (reversed) end-to-side nerve transfer.

Objective: Supercharge end-to-side (SETS) transfer, also referred to as reverse end-to-side transfer, distal to severe nerve compression neuropathy or in-continuity nerve injury is gaining clinical popularity despite questions about its effectiveness. Here, the authors examined SETS distal to experimental neuroma in-continuity (NIC) injuries for efficacy in enhancing neuronal regeneration and functional outcome, and, for the first time, they definitively evaluated the degree of contribution of the native and donor motor neuron pools.

Methods: This study was conducted in 2 phases.

Loss of LKB1 Expression Decreases the Survival and Promotes Laryngeal Cancer Metastasis.

Given recent results indicating that diminished LKB1 expression in laryngeal cancer correlates with shorter survival. We aim to perform an analysis estimate the role of decreased liver kinase B1(LKB1) and in the prognostication of human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). We conducted a retrospective study and evaluate the expression of LKB1 and p16INK4a (p16) in 208 clinical advanced-stage LSCC tissue samples by using immunohistochemistry.

DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit functions in metastasis and influences survival in advanced-stage laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) is known to function in several types of cancer. In this study, we investigated the expression and clinicopathologic significance of DNA-PKcs in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). We conducted a retrospective study of 208 patients with advanced-stage LSCC treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.

Improved method to track and precisely count Schwann cells post-transplantation in a peripheral nerve injury model.

Background: To optimize survival evaluation of Schwann cells (SCs) in vivo, we tested fluorescent labeling of the nucleus as an improved method of tracking and counting the transplanted SCs at sciatic nerve injury sites in rodents. We also investigated if co-administering cells with the glial growth factor Neuregulin-1 β (NRG1β) improves in vivo survival.

New Method: We transduced SCs using a Lentiviral vector with a nuclear localization signal (NLS) fused with mCherry and transplanted them in the sciatic nerve of rat post-crush injury (bilateral) either in the presence or absence of NRG1β in the injectate media.

Palliative primary tumor resection provides survival benefits for the patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and low circulating levels of dehydrogenase and carcinoembryonic antigen.

Background: It remains controversial whether palliative primary tumor resection (PPTR) can provide survival benefits to the patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who have unresectable metastases. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether PPTR could improve the survival of patients with mCRC.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on consecutive mCRC patients with unresectable metastases who were diagnosed at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, between January 2005 and December 2012.

Research of Brucea javanica against cancer.

Brucea javanica, a Chinese herbal medicine, combined with conventional anticancer modalities, has been widely used for treatment of various cancers. Based on researches over the last decades, authors briefly summarized its active constituents, molecular mechanisms and clinical application for cancer treatment.

Elevated preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with poor prognosis in gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients.

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic relevance of preoperative peripheral neutrophil- to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 129 consecutive GIST patients who underwent initial curative surgical resection with or without adjuvant/palliative imatinib treatment in our study. Blood NLR was calculated as neutrophil count (number of neutrophils ×10(9)/L) divided by lymphocyte count (number of lymphocytes ×10(9)/L).

Intrinsic facilitation of adult peripheral nerve regeneration by the Sonic hedgehog morphogen.

Intrinsic molecular determinants of neurodevelopmental outcomes assume new, albeit related roles during adult neural regeneration. Here we studied and identified a facilitatory role for Sonic hedgehog protein (Shh), a morphogen that influences motor neuron floor plate architecture, during adult peripheral neuron regeneration. Shh and its receptors were expressed in adult dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, axons and glia and trended toward higher levels following axotomy injury.

The immunomodulatory properties of adult skin-derived precursor Schwann cells: implications for peripheral nerve injury therapy.

Skin-derived precursor Schwann cell (SKPSC) therapy has been identified as a potentially beneficial treatment for peripheral nerve injuries. One hypothesised mechanism by which SKPSCs enhance recovery is via the modulation of macrophages. In the present study, we investigated the immunomodulatory properties of adult rat SKPSCs, and demonstrated that these cells expressed a battery of cytokines, including interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-1β, and, most abundantly, IL-6.

Intraganglionic interactions between satellite cells and adult sensory neurons.

Perineuronal satellite cells have an intimate anatomical relationship with sensory neurons that suggests close functional collaboration and mutual support. We examined several facets of this relationship in adult sensory dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Collaboration included the support of process outgrowth by clustering of satellite cells, induction of distal branching behavior by soma signaling, the capacity of satellite cells to respond to distal axon injury of its neighboring neurons, and evidence of direct neuron-satellite cell exchange.

Involvement of autophagy inhibition in oil emulsion-induced colon cancer cell death.

oil emulsion (BJOE), the petroleum ether extract of emulsified by phospholipid, is widely used in China as an anticancer agent. The extracts from induce cancer cell death by various mechanisms; however, it is not known whether these mechanisms involve autophagy, which is an important process in cancer development and treatment. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate whether BJOE modulates autophagy in HCT116 human colon cancer cells and whether modulation of autophagy is an anticancer mechanism of BJOE.

Prognostic model built on blood-based biomarkers in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: We had previously showed that the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are prognostic factors for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. In this study we developed a prognostic model based on these three indices.

Materials And Methods: A total of 243 patients who were initially diagnosed as mCRC between 2005 and 2010 in the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were studied.

Growth and turning properties of adult glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor coreceptor α1 nonpeptidergic sensory neurons.

An overlapping population of adult primary sensory neurons that innervate the skin express the glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor coreceptor α1 (GFRα1), the lectin IB4, and the "regenerative brake" phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10. Using an adapted turning and growth assay, we analyzed the growth cone behavior of adult immunoselected GFRα1 sensory neurons. These neurons had less robust baseline growth and reluctant responsiveness to individual growth factors but responded to synergistic types of input from glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, hepatocyte growth factor, a phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 inhibitor, or a downstream Rho kinase inhibitor.

Efficacy of taxane-based regimens in a first-line setting for recurrent and/or metastatic Chinese patients with esophageal cancer.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of taxane-based regimens in the first line setting retrospectively in Chinese patients with recurrent and/or metastatic esophageal cancer.

Methods: We analyzed 102 recurrent and/or metastatic esophageal cancer patients who received taxanes-based regimens in a first-line setting from January 2009 to December 2013. Sixteen (15.

Isotetrandrine protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by suppression of mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-kappa B.

Background: Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways are pleiotropic regulator of many genes involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI). The present study aimed to reveal the protective effect of isotetrandrine (ITD), a small molecule inhibitor, on various aspects of LPS-induced inflammation in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: In vitro, RAW 264.