Publications by authors named "Yu-Feng Wei"

Background/purpose: This multi-institutional study was aimed to analyze prognostic factors of completely resected early stage thymoma.

Methods: Patients with surgically treated early stage thymoma between 1988 and 2019 were enrolled. Statistical associations were evaluated using the χ test, Fisher's exact test, and Student's t-test.

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  • Dual bronchodilator therapy (LABA/LAMA) is effective for treating COPD, but the study investigates its differing effectiveness in current versus former smokers.
  • The TOReTO trial involved 967 patients and used statistical methods like propensity score matching to analyze lung function, symptoms, and exacerbation occurrences between the two groups.
  • Results showed significant differences in exacerbation rates for current smokers with specific LABA/LAMA therapies, while no significant differences were found among former smokers, indicating a need for further research.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by widespread inflammation and multi-organ damage. Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR-7) and autophagy have been implicated in SLE pathogenesis. Rice husk silica liquid (RHSL) has shown potential for modulating inflammatory responses, but its effects on SLE have not been thoroughly investigated.

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  • This study aimed to validate a simplified radiological scoring system for evaluating clinical symptoms and outcomes in Taiwanese patients with noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB).
  • It involved analyzing data from 2,753 patients, assessing their bronchiectasis type and severity using a modified Reiff score derived from high-resolution CT scans, and correlating these with clinical features such as lung function and hospitalization rates.
  • The findings indicated that as the severity of bronchiectasis increased, patients experienced worse symptoms and lung function, and identified factors like age and pneumonia as independent predictors of mortality, suggesting the scoring system's utility in clinical assessments.
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The immune system plays a key role in detecting and fighting cancerous tumors. T cells are a crucial component in both natural and therapeutic cancer immunoediting responses, but it is unclear if they are the primary agents of these processes. In this study, patients with lung lesions detected by CT scan were selected, and their peripheral blood samples were analyzed for T cell population and serum cytokines/chemokines.

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  • * Conducted between 2011 and 2015, the research involved 365 asthma patients and 235 healthy controls, analyzing their urine for DEHP metabolites and assessing various health markers.
  • * Findings showed that specific asthma groups had higher exposure to DEHP metabolites and that those without additional health conditions were at an even greater risk, pointing to a complex relationship that needs more research, especially regarding cytokines.
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Introduction: Our objective is to determine whether prolonged infusion (PI) of beta-lactam antibiotics yields superior outcomes compared to intermittent infusion (II) in patients with Gram-Negative Bacterial (GNB) infections.

Methods: We systematically searched papers from PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and Clinicaltrials.gov, targeting mortality as the primary outcome and looking at the clinical cure rate, hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stay lengths, antibiotic treatment duration, and mechanical ventilation (MV) duration as secondary outcomes.

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The influence of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on COVID-19 outcomes remains uncertain. To address this, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, analyzing 30 studies, to investigate the impact of ICS on patients with COVID-19. Our study focused on various outcomes, including mortality risk, hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), mechanical ventilation (MV) utilization, and length of hospital stay.

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Objective: Reports of tuberculosis (TB) during anticancer treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasing. However, it is not clear whether the use of ICIs is a significant risk factor for TB, including reactivation or latent TB infection (LTBI).

Methods: To determine the risk of TB reactivation in patients with lung cancer who use ICIs or tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), we conducted a retrospective study using a hospital-based cancer registry.

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  • The study investigated the effects of rifamycin, a key drug in tuberculosis treatment, on the survival of patients with both lung cancer and tuberculosis.
  • Using data from over 1,900 patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2014, researchers compared those who received rifamycin-based therapies to those who did not, evaluating their mortality risk over two years.
  • Results showed no significant difference in two-year survival rates between the two groups, suggesting that rifamycin does not negatively impact the survival of patients with concurrent lung cancer and tuberculosis.
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Purpose: The treatment advantage of guideline-based therapy (GBT) in Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD) is well-known. However, GBT is not always feasible. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship of treatment regimens and duration with outcomes.

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  • In Taiwan, a study called TALENT is examining the effectiveness of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer in never-smokers who have other risk factors, as nearly 60% of such patients are diagnosed at advanced stages.
  • The study involved 17 medical centers and included individuals aged 55-75 who met specific eligibility criteria, like having never smoked or having a very limited smoking history, and certain risk factors for lung cancer.
  • Preliminary results from a 1-year follow-up after the initial LDCT screenings were analyzed, focusing on the detection rates of lung cancer and using various statistical methods to evaluate the outcomes.
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  • A study in Taiwan assessed the real-world effectiveness and safety of pirfenidone for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in 50 newly diagnosed patients over a 12-month period.
  • Results showed a minimal improvement in lung function and quality of life, with patients experiencing slight increases in forced vital capacity and better scores on respiratory health assessments.
  • The most common side effects were gastrointestinal issues and skin problems, but no new safety concerns were identified, highlighting pirfenidone's tolerable profile during treatment.
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Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are used as the standard first-line treatment for patients with advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the impact of comorbidities and treatment toxicities on quality of life (QoL) was seldom investigated.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the association of comorbidities, adverse events (AEs), and QoL in treatment-naïve advanced NSCLC patients receiving EGFR-TKI treatments.

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Real-world data regarding the T790M mutation rate after acquiring resistance to first-line combination therapy with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) and bevacizumab in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are limited. The present study was aimed at analyzing predictors of acquired T790M mutations in this patient group. A total of 107 patients who received first-line combination therapy with EGFR-TKIs and bevacizumab at 11 tertiary referral centers in Taiwan were enrolled in this multicenter retrospective study.

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  • - The study analyzed 242 advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with EGFR mutations who progressed after initial treatment with EGFR-TKIs to identify factors influencing overall survival and progression-free survival during second-line therapy.
  • - Results indicated that specific factors, such as being male, having more severe symptoms (ECOG ≥ 2), and certain treatment choices, negatively affected patient outcomes, while second-line treatment with osimertinib significantly improved overall survival compared to other options.
  • - The study concluded that conducting aggressive re-biopsies after the first-line treatment could lead to better-tailored second-line therapies, ultimately improving patient outcomes for those who experience disease progression.
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  • - The RELAY trial assessed the effectiveness and safety of ramucirumab combined with erlotinib (RAM+ERL) versus erlotinib and placebo (PBO+ERL) in Taiwanese patients with untreated stage IV EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, showing that RAM+ERL significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS).
  • - Out of 56 Taiwanese participants, RAM+ERL led to a median PFS of 22.05 months compared to 13.40 months for PBO+ERL, and the overall response rate (ORR) was 92% for RAM+ERL compared to 60% for PBO+ERL, indicating better treatment outcomes. *
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Purpose: To compare the diagnostic performance of radiomic analysis with machine learning (ML) model with a convolutional neural network (CNN) in differentiating thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) from other prevascular mediastinal tumors (PMTs).

Methods: A retrospective study was performed in patients with PMTs and undergoing surgical resection or biopsy in National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan between January 2010 and December 2019. Clinical data including age, sex, myasthenia gravis (MG) symptoms and pathologic diagnosis were collected.

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Background: The effect of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) on the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) infection is unclear.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies that assessed the association between the use of ICS and the risk of SARS-COV-2 infection. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar were searched to January 1st, 2023.

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Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are commonly used to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A rapid and reliable method for measuring plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of EGFR-TKIs is needed for therapeutic drug monitoring. By using UHPLC‒MS/MS with multiple reaction monitoring mode, we developed a method for rapidly determining the plasma and CSF concentrations of gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib, and osimertinib.

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Background: The imbalance of gut microbiota, dysbiosis, is associated with various malignant diseases. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of gut microbiota in age-matched treatment-naïve non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and healthy individuals to investigate possible gut-microbe-related pathways involved in the development of NSCLC. Methods: We enrolled 34 age-matched NSCLC patients and 268 healthy individuals.

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