A prospective pilot study of kidney-specific biomarkers to detect acute kidney injury after cytoreduction and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical morbidity after cytoreduction and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC).

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the use of kidney-specific biomarkers to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of post-HIPEC AKI.

Methods: Patients who received CRS/HIPEC were prospectively enrolled in this study.

Improved functional oral intake and exercise training attenuate decline in aerobic capacity following chemoradiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of chemoradiotherapy on the physical fitness of patients with oesophageal cancer, and the clinical factors influencing it.

Method: A total of 67 participants successfully completed the study, with 18 of them engaging in supervised, in-hospital aerobic training at moderate intensity for a minimum of 20 sessions. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing, hand grip strength, body composition assessed via bioelectrical impedance analysis, patient-generated subjective global assessment, albumin, and the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) were evaluated before chemoradiotherapy and 6-8 weeks after its completion.

Endometrial cancer risk stratification using MRI radiomics: corroborating with choline metabolism.

Background And Purpose: Radiomics offers little explainability. This study aims to develop a radiomics model (Rad-Score) using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to predict high-risk patients for nodal metastasis or recurrence in endometrial cancer (EC) and corroborate with choline metabolism.

Materials And Methods: From August 2015 to July 2018, 356 EC patients were enrolled.

Inhibition of nucleophosmin/B23 sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to immune check-point blockade via PD-L1 in ovarian cancer.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) that against programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 have been approved as a promising treatment of many human cancers. However, the responses to these ICIs were limited in patients with ovarian cancer. Studies have indicated that the response to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade might be correlated with the PD-L1 expression level in cancer cells.

Noncontact optical device for measuring blood glucose in aqueous humor: a pilot clinical study investigating correlation with blood glucose levels.

Significance: Monitoring blood glucose levels is crucial for individuals with diabetes. Noninvasive methods for measuring serum glucose levels have been explored to aid in blood glucose control for diabetes management.

Aim: We introduced a noncontact optical glucometer (NCGM) for measuring glucose levels in the aqueous humor of the human eye.

Comparison of outcomes of laparotomic and minimally invasive radical hysterectomy in women with early-stage cervical cancer.

Objective: This study compared the outcomes of laparotomic radical hysterectomy (LRH) and minimally invasive radical hysterectomy (MISRH) in patients with early-stage cervical cancer.

Methods: The clinical data of patients with early-stage cervical cancer who underwent LRH or MISRH (laparoscopic/robotic) at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, from 2002 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The surgical safety (operation time, blood loss, blood transfusion rate, length of postoperative stay, and perioperative complications), overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and recurrence pattern were analyzed.

Consistency in human papillomavirus type detection between self-collected vaginal specimens and physician-sampled cervical specimens.

With the rising need for accessible cervical cancer screening, self-sampling methods offer a promising alternative to traditional physician-led sampling. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the HygeiaTouch Self Sampling Kit for Women in detecting human papillomavirus (HPV) types and predicting cervical lesions. We studied the concordance in identifying high-risk HPV (hrHPV) types between samples collected by physicians and those self-collected by women using a self-sampling kit for validation.

Clinical factor-based risk stratification for precision therapy in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the standard of care for locally advanced cervical cancer. In this study, we analyzed the pretreatment clinical and F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) characteristics of patients with locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) to develop a scoring prototype for risk stratification.

Methods: Two cohorts were constructed in this study.

Machine Learning Radiomics Signature for Differentiating Lymphoma versus Benign Splenomegaly on CT.

Background: We aimed to develop and validate a preoperative CT-based radiomics signature for differentiating lymphoma versus benign splenomegaly.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed CT studies from 139 patients (age range 26-93 years, 43% female) between 2011 and 2019 with histopathological diagnosis of the spleen (19 lymphoma, 120 benign) and divided them into developing ( = 79) and testing ( = 60) datasets. The volumetric radiomic features were extracted from manual segmentation of the whole spleen on venous-phase CT imaging using PyRadiomics package.

Quantitative Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Parameters Could Predict International Society of Urological Pathology Risk Groups of Prostate Cancers on Radical Prostatectomy.

Background: The International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade and positive surgical margins (PSMs) after radical prostatectomy (RP) may reflect the prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa) patients. This study aimed to investigate whether DCE-MRI parameters (i.e.

Comparison of immediate germline sequencing and multi-step screening for Lynch syndrome detection in high-risk endometrial and colorectal cancer patients.

Objective: Lynch syndrome (LS) is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome with a significantly increased risk of colorectal and endometrial cancers. Current standard practice involves universal screening for LS in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal or endometrial cancer using a multi-step screening protocol (MSP). However, MSP may not always accurately identify LS cases.

Comparison of active versus passive robotic-endoscope-holder-assisted unisurgeon uniportal thoracoscopic surgery in terms of surgical efficacy and patient safety.

Background: Few studies have compared robotic-arm-assisted unisurgeon uniportal surgeries with conventional human-assisted uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries (VATSs) in terms of surgical efficacy and patient safety. In the present study, we compared the aforementioned surgeries.

Methods: We explored two robotic endoscope holders-a passive robotic platform (ENDOFIX, EA group) and a pedal-controlled active robotic platform (MTG-100, MA group)-for unisurgeon uniportal surgeries and compared the surgical outcomes with those of human-assisted uniportal surgeries (HA group) in 228 patients with a lung lesion (size, <5 cm).

Association of Open Reduction and Internal Fixation With Volar Locking Plate for Distal Radius Fractures With Patient-Reported Outcomes in Older Adults: A Network Meta-analysis.

Importance: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses have reported inconsistent conclusions regarding optimal distal radius fracture (DRF) treatment in older adults and are limited due to the inclusion of cohort studies with small sample sizes. A network meta-analysis (NMA) addresses these limitations by only synthesizing direct and indirect evidence from RCTs and may clarify optimal DRF treatment in older adults.

Objective: To examine DRF treatment results in optimal short-term and intermediate-term patient-reported outcomes.

Birth outcomes following pelvic ring injury: A retrospective study.

Objective: To report obstetric outcomes in pregnant women with previous pelvic ring injury (PRI) and investigate the correlation between residual pelvic deformity and the mode of delivery.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Single medical centre in Taiwan.

Management and Prognosis of Patients with Recurrent or Persistent/Progressive Uterine Carcinosarcoma.

Uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) is a highly aggressive gynecologic malignancy. Recurrent or persistent/progressive disease is usually fatal. We aimed to investigate the management and prognosis of these patients.

Mutations in circulating tumor DNA detected in the postoperative period predict poor survival in patients with ovarian cancer.

Background: We investigated whether mutations in plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can provide prognostic insight in patients with different histological types of ovarian carcinoma. We also examined the concordance of mutations detected in ctDNA samples with those identified in the corresponding formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor specimens.

Methods: Between July 2016 and December 2017, 29 patients with ovarian carcinoma were prospectively enrolled.

A randomized controlled trial of heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and recombinant subunit vaccine MVC-COV1901 against COVID-19.

Heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine strategy may facilitate mass COVID-19 immunization. We reported early immunogenicity and safety outcomes of heterologous immunization with a viral vector vaccine (ChAdOx1) and a spike-2P subunit vaccine (MVC-COV1901) in a participant-blinded, randomized, non-inferiority trial (NCT05054621). A total of 100 healthy adults aged 20-70 years having the first dose of ChAdOx1 were 1:1 randomly assigned to receive a booster dose either with ChAdOx1 (n = 50) or MVC-COV1901 (n = 50) at an interval of 4-6 or 8-10 weeks.

Clinical manifestations and antimicrobial susceptibility of Nocardia species at a tertiary hospital in Taiwan, 2011-2020.

Background: The study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics of patients with nocardiosis, to evaluate the in vitro susceptibility of antimicrobial agents against Nocardia species, and to explore changes in antimicrobial susceptibilities in this era of multidrug resistance.

Methods: Nocardia isolates were identified to the species level using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and 16S rRNA, hsp65, and secA1 gene sequencing, and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 15 antimicrobial agents were assessed with the broth microdilution method.

Results: Eighty-nine isolates from 68 patients were identified to species level.

Comparative Effectiveness of Physical Therapy and Electrophysiotherapy for the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis: A Network Meta-Analysis.

Background: Lateral epicondylitis is a common enthesopathy, possibly caused by overuse and repetitive activity. Although nonoperative management is the primary approach for treating lateral epicondylitis, clinical guidelines and the literature fail to identify the most effective nonoperative treatment. Therefore, the authors conducted a network meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness of physical therapy and electrophysiotherapy treatments for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis.

Verification of HPV16 as a good prognostic factor for cervical adeno-adenosquamous carcinoma via an international collaborative study.

Objective: This study (Asian Gynecologic Oncology Group [AGOG]13-001/Taiwanese Gynecologic Oncology Group [TGOG]1006) was to validate human papillomavirus (HPV)16 as an independent good prognostic factor and investigate the impact of treatment modalities to cervical adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma (AD/ASC).

Materials And Methods: Patients receiving primary treatment at AGOG and TGOG member hospitals for cervical AD/ASC were retrospectively (1993-2014) and prospectively (since 2014) enrolled. DNA extraction from paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE) specimens was used for HPV genotyping.

Impact of Three-Month Androgen Deprivation Therapy on [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT Indices in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer-Results from a Pilot Prospective Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot prospective study is to examine the gallium-68-prostate-specific membrane antigen-11 ([68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging response in patients with advanced or metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer (PC) after 3 months of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Methods: We prospectively included men with untreated, clinical stage III or IV PC scheduled to receive ADT for at least 6 months. [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT images were obtained before the start of ADT and 10−14 weeks thereafter.

MicroRNAs as Predictors of Future Uterine Malignancy in Endometrial Hyperplasia without Atypia.

The histological criteria for classifying endometrial hyperplasia (EH) are based on architectural crowding and nuclear atypia; however, diagnostic agreement among pathologists is poor. We investigated molecular biomarkers of endometrial cancer (EC) risk in women with simple hyperplasia or complex hyperplasia without atypia (SH/CH-nonA). Forty-nine patients with EC preceded by SH/CH-nonA were identified, of which 23 were excluded (15 with complex atypical hyperplasia (CAH), six not consenting, one with a diagnosis <6 months prior, and one lost to follow-up).