Comparing Immunotherapy Versus Chemotherapy Alone as Second-Line Therapy for Malignant Tumors of the Biliary Tract: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Bile duct carcinoma (BTC) is an uncommon malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. Management is limited after the progress of first-line treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been proven popular in solid tumors.

Comparative efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors versus chemotherapy alone in diffuse pleural mesothelioma.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) versus chemotherapy on the prognosis of real-world diffuse pleural mesothelioma patients in China.

Methods: Clinical data of 90 patients with diffuse pleural mesothelioma from 2019 to 2022 were collected from Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital. Patients were divided into two groups: the ICIs-treated group (n = 46) and the chemotherapy-only group (n = 44).

Clinicopathological Characteristics, Survival and Prognostic Factors in Gastrointestinal Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: Gastrointestinal large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (GILCNEC) has a low incidence but high malignancy and poor prognosis. The main purpose of this study was to thoroughly investigate its clinicopathological features, survival and prognostic factors.

Methods: Information on patients with GILCNEC was extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result program, and prognostic factors were analyzed by analyzing clinicopathological data and survival functions.

Safety and efficacy of apatinib in combination with chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy versus chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer.

The specific first-line regimen for advanced gastric cancer (GC) is still controversial. The benefit of apatinib for first-line treatment of advanced GC remains unknown and needs to be further explored. Eighty-two patients with advanced GC treated in our institution from October 2017 to March 2023 were retrospectively reviewed.

The prognostic value of the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in predicting outcomes of esophageal cancer patients receiving radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.

Background: Controlling nutritional status (CONUT) scores and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) values are associated with the prognosis of several common malignancies. The current study aimed to explore the prognostic value of CONUT scores and SII values in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) receiving radical radiotherapy (RT) or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).

Methods: We calculated the pre-RT CONUT scores and SII values of 62 patients with EC receiving RT or CCRT.

Dynamic analysis of predictive biomarkers for radiation therapy efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer patients by next-generation sequencing based on blood specimens.

Purpose: Radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, and the aim of this study was to explore the potential association of single gene mutation or pathway mutations with radiotherapy response using targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) testing of peripheral blood specimens.

Material And Methods: We performed NGS containing 425 genes on peripheral blood specimens from 13 NSCLC patients pre- and post-radiotherapy or post-radiotherapy. Patients whose tumors were in complete response or partial response within 1 month after radiotherapy were classified as a radiotherapy-sensitive group; otherwise, they were categorized as a radiotherapy-resistant group.

Association Between Online Health Information-Seeking Behaviors by Caregivers and Delays in Pediatric Cancer: Mixed Methods Study in China.

Background: Pediatric cancer patients in China often present at an advanced stage of disease resulting in lower survival and poorer health outcomes. One factor hypothesized to contribute to delays in pediatric cancer has been the online health information-seeking (OHIS) behaviors by caregivers.

Objective: This study aims to examine the association between OHIS behaviors by caregivers and delays for Chinese pediatric cancer patients using a mixed methods approach.

A Smart DNA-Based Nanosystem Containing Ribosome-Regulating siRNA for Enhanced mRNA Transfection.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) transfection is the prerequisite for the application of mRNA-based therapeutics. In hard-to-transfect cells, such as macrophages, the effective transfection of mRNA remains a long-standing challenge. Herein, a smart DNA-based nanosystem is reported containing ribosome biogenesis-promoting siRNA, realizing efficient mRNA transfection in macrophages.

Prognostic Value of ctDNA Detection in Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is increasingly used as a biomarker for metastatic rectal cancer and has recently shown promising results in the early detection of recurrence risk.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the prognostic value of ctDNA detection in LARC patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). We systematically searched electronic databases for observational or interventional studies that included LARC patients undergoing nCRT.

Establishment and validation of nomograms to predict survival probability of advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma based on the SEER database and a Chinese medical institution.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to build nomograms for predicting the survival of individual advanced pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Methods: The 1251 patients enrolled from the SEER database were randomized (in a 7:3 ratio) to a training cohort and an internal validation cohort. Eighty patients were enrolled from the Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital as the external validation cohort.

Prognostic Effect of the Controlling Nutritional Status Score in Patients With Esophageal Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor.

In recent years, a growing number of clinical studies have shown that immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) can increase the remission rate and improve the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer. The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is a novel nutritional indicator that can predict the prognosis of certain malignancies. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 69 patients with advanced esophageal cancer treated with ICI and assessed the relationship between clinicopathological factors including CONUT score, systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and the prognosis.