IRF4: A potential prognostic biomarker for immunotherapy in NSCLC.

Background: Immunotherapy is revolutionizing the management of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, sustained responses are observed in only a minority of patients. Reliable biomarkers are required to identify potential beneficiaries.

Clinical multi-dimensional prognostic nomogram for predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy in NSCLC.

The advent of immunotherapy has greatly improved the prognosis of non-small cell lung (NSCLC) patients. However, given its low response rate and high cost of treatment, the search for valuable predictive markers of treatment efficacy is necessary. Considering the complexity and heterogeneity of the tumour and tumour microenvironment, the construction of a multi-dimensional prediction model is necessary.

Development and Validation of Nomograms for Predicting Pneumonia in Patients with COVID-19 and Lung Cancer.

Background: COVID-19 has spread worldwide, becoming a global threat to public health and can lead to complications, especially pneumonia, which can be life-threatening. However, in lung cancer patients, the prediction of pneumonia and severe pneumonia has not been studied. We aimed to develop effective models to assess pneumonia after SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung cancer patients to guide COVID-19 management.

East Asian patients who received immunotherapy-based therapy associated with improved survival benefit in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: An updated meta-analysis.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with chemotherapy have been recommended as the standard treatment for advanced NSCLC patients without driver-gene mutations. However, there are different genetic characteristics and biological traits of tumors between non-East Asian (nEA) and East Asian (EA) patients with NSCLC, which may contribute to differences in the efficacy of ICIs in different ethnic populations. Previous findings regarding differences in the efficacy of ICIs among ethnic groups have been inconsistent.

Pneumonitis with combined immune checkpoint inhibitors and chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study systematically evaluated cases of pneumonitis following combined immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). Studies from Embase, PubMed and the Cochrane Library on patients with LA-NSCLC who received CRT and ICIs were reviewed. The primary outcomes were rates of all-grade, grade 3-5 and grade 5 pneumonitis.

Improving the efficacy of combined radiotherapy and immunotherapy: focusing on the effects of radiosensitivity.

Cancer treatment is gradually entering an era of precision, with multitude studies in gene testing and immunotherapy. Tumor cells can be recognized and eliminated by the immune system through the expression of tumor-associated antigens, but when the cancer escapes or otherwise suppresses immunity, the balance between cancer cell proliferation and immune-induced cancer cell killing may be interrupted, resulting in tumor proliferation and progression. There has been significant attention to combining conventional cancer therapies (i.

Development of a Novel Deep Learning-Based Prediction Model for the Prognosis of Operable Cervical Cancer.

Background: Cervical cancer ranks as the 4th most common female cancer worldwide. Early stage cervical cancer patients can be treated with operation, but clinical staging system is not a good predictor of patients' survival. We aimed to develop a novel prognostic model to predict the prognosis for operable cervical cancer patients with better accuracy than clinical staging system.

Genome-wide DNA methylation signature predict clinical benefit of bevacizumab in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The efficacy of bevacizumab in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is unsatisfactory, and the selection of suitable patients is still challenging. Given the epigenetic modifications can contribute to an aberrant regulation of angiogenesis and microenvironment, we investigated DNA methylation profiles to determine clinical benefit of bevacizumab in NSCLC patients.

Methods: Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling was performed in NSCLC patients treated with chemotherapy in combination with bevacizumab.

NcRNAs-mediated P2RX1 expression correlates with clinical outcomes and immune infiltration in patients with breast invasive carcinoma.

The development of novel treatments for breast invasive carcinoma (BC) has been stagnant. P2RX1, a member of the purinergic receptor family, has been found to have a prognostic impact in several tumors. Therefore, we analyzed the expression pattern of P2RX1 in pan-cancers including BC and its impact on survival and found that the expression level of P2RX1 was lower in BC compared with para-cancerous tissues, and higher P2RX1 expression indicated better prognoses.

A novel deep learning prognostic system improves survival predictions for stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Accurate prognostic prediction plays a crucial role in the clinical setting. However, the TNM staging system fails to provide satisfactory individual survival prediction for stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The performance of the deep learning network for survival prediction in stage III NSCLC has not been explored.

Integrating Clinical Data and Attentional CT Imaging Features for Esophageal Fistula Prediction in Esophageal Cancer.

Background And Purpose: This study aims to develop a risk model to predict esophageal fistula in esophageal cancer (EC) patients by learning from both clinical data and computerized tomography (CT) radiomic features.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, computerized tomography (CT) images and clinical data of 186 esophageal fistula patients and 372 controls (1:2 matched by the diagnosis time of EC, sex, marriage, and race) were collected. All patients had esophageal cancer and did not receive esophageal surgery.

Three models that predict the efficacy of immunotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Many tools have been developed to predict the efficacy of immunotherapy, such as lung immune prognostic index (LIPI), EPSILoN [Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), smoking, liver metastases, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR)], and modified lung immune predictive index (mLIPI) scores. The aim of this study was to determine the ability of three predictive scores to predict the outcomes in Chinese advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 429 patients with aNSCLC treated with ICIs at our institution.

Alterations of Gut Microbiome and Metabolite Profiling in Mice Infected by .

() is one of the etiological agents of schistosomiasis, a widespread zoonotic parasitic disease. However, the mechanism of the balanced co-existence between the host immune system and as well as their complex interaction remains unclear. In this study, rRNA gene sequencing, combined with metagenomic sequencing approach as well as ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolic profiling, was applied to demonstrate changes in the gut microbiome community structure during schistosomiasis progression, the functional interactions between the gut bacteria and infection in BALB/c mice, and the dynamic metabolite changes of the host.

The soybean plasma membrane-localized cation/H exchanger GmCHX20a plays a negative role under salt stress.

Cation/H -exchanger (CHX) perform diverse functions in plants, including being a part of the protective mechanisms to cope with salt stress. GmCHX1 has been previously identified as the causal gene in a major salt-tolerance quantitative trait locus (QTL) in soybean, but little is known about another close paralog, GmCHX20a, found in the same QTL. In this study, GmCHX20a was characterized along with GmCHX1.

Development and validation of a risk prediction model for radiotherapy-related esophageal fistula in esophageal cancer.

Objectives: We aimed to identify the risk factors and provide a nomogram for the prediction of radiotherapy-related esophageal fistula in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) using a case-control study.

Patients And Methods: Patients with esophageal fistula who received radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy between 2003 and 2017 were retrospectively collected in two institutions. In the training cohort (TC), clinical, pathologic, and serum data of 136 patients (cases) who developed esophageal fistula during or after radiotherapy were enrolled and compared with 272 controls (1:2 matched with the diagnosis time of EC, sex, marriage, and race).

The Kinetic Changes of Systemic Inflammatory Factors during Bevacizumab Treatment and Its Prognostic Role in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

: Bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy is still one of the standard options for treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients without driver mutations. Serum inflammatory factors, representing the systemic immune status, are shown to have complicated relationships with tumor angiogenesis, and proved to be associated with survival of advanced NSCLC patients. However, the information from the baseline factors is relatively limited, which cannot reflect the dynamic changes of systemic immune status during bevacizumab treatment.

Delineating the pattern of treatment for elderly locally advanced NSCLC and predicting outcomes by a validated model: A SEER based analysis.

Introduction: Locally advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) represented a highly heterogeneous group, with more than half of the patients aged ≥65 years at the time of diagnosis. However, the optimal treatment for elderly LA-NSCLC patients was still not defined.

Methods: A total of 33530 elderly patients (≥65 years) diagnosed with LA-NSCLC from 2004 to 2014 were identified from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Flow Cytometric Detection of Newly-formed Breast Cancer Stem Cell-like Cells After Apoptosis Reversal.

Cancer recurrence has long been studied by oncologists while the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Recently, we and others found that a phenomenon named apoptosis reversal leads to increased tumorigenicity in various cell models under different stimuli. Previous studies have been focused on tracking this process in vitro and in vivo; however, the isolation of real reversed cells has yet to be achieved, which limits our understanding on the consequences of apoptosis reversal.

Local ablative therapy with or without chemotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer patients with postoperative oligometastases.

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with postoperative oligometastases is poorly defined. This two-institution analysis sought to retrospectively compare the efficacy and toxicity of local ablative treatment plus chemotherapy vs local treatment alone in patients with NSCLC who developed oligometastases after surgery.

Patients And Methods: Among patients who underwent surgery for stage I-III NSCLC, 163 patients with oligometastases were enrolled between 2005 and 2016 in this study.

Apoptosis Reversal Promotes Cancer Stem Cell-Like Cell Formation.

It has long been a puzzle in cancer treatment that despite the initial appearance of apoptosis, the process could be reversed in some cancer cells and often results in more aggressive tumors and metastasis. The mechanism for this recurrence is yet unknown. Here we report that human mammary carcinoma cells induced to undergo apoptosis could recover with increased tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo, and induced lymph node metastasis.

Apoptosis and necroptosis of mouse hippocampal and parenchymal astrocytes, microglia and neurons caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection.

Background: Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been the only parasite among Angiostrongylidae to cause human central nervous system infection characterized by eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis. The mechanism of the extensive neurological impairments of hosts caused by A. cantonensis larvae remains unclear.

Study on the tolerance and adaptation of rats to Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) is the most common infectious agent causing eosinophilic meningitis. As an important food-borne parasitic disease, angiostrongyliasis cantonensis is an emerging infectious disease which brings severe harm to central nerve system of human.

SjCa8, a calcium-binding protein from Schistosoma japonicum, inhibits cell migration and suppresses nitric oxide release of RAW264.7 macrophages.

Background: Schistosomiasis is considered second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease in tropical countries. Schistosome cercariae invade the host by penetrating the skin and migrate though the lungs and portal circulation to their final destination in the hepatic portal system and eventually the mesenteric veins. Previous studies have shown that the cytotoxic pathways that target schistosomulum in the lung-stage involve nitric oxide (NO) produced by macrophages.

Effects of UV irradiation and UV/chlorine co-exposure on natural organic matter in water.

The effects of co-exposure to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation (with either low- or medium-pressure UV lamps) and free chlorine (chloramine) at practical relevant conditions on changes in natural organic matter (NOM) properties were investigated using four waters. The changes were characterized using the specific disinfection by-product formation potential (SDBPFP), specific total organic halogen formation potential (STOXFP), differential UV absorbance (∆UVA), and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The results for exposure to UV irradiation alone and for samples with no exposure were also obtained.