Integration of virtual screening and proteomics reveals potential targets and pathways for ginsenoside Rg against myocardial ischemia.

Background: Ginsenoside Rg (Rg) is one of the main active components in Chinese medicines, and . Research has shown that Rg has a protective effect on the cardiovascular system, including anti-myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, anti-apoptosis, and promotion of myocardial angiogenesis, suggesting it a potential cardiovascular agent. However, the protective mechanism involved is still not fully understood.

Machine learning-based risk model incorporating tumor immune and stromal contexture predicts cancer prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy.

The immune and stromal contexture within the tumor microenvironment (TME) interact with cancer cells and jointly determine disease process and therapeutic response. We aimed at developing a risk scoring model based on TME-related genes of squamous cell lung cancer to predict patient prognosis and immunotherapeutic response. TME-related genes were identified through exploring genes that correlated with immune scores and stromal scores.

PD-1 inhibition plus platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) or PBC alone in the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma.

Background: Pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (PLELC) is a distinctive subtype of non-small cell lung carcinoma that was not well presented in clinical studies. The management of advanced PLELC remains an important, unmet need due to the paucity of high-grade evidence. Herein, we carried out a multicenter, retrospective study to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for patients with advanced PLELC in the first-line setting.

Deciphering the potential anti-COVID-19 active ingredients in (Burm. F.) Nees by combination of network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics.

Currently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 has posed an enormous threat to public health worldwide. An andrographolide sulfonates preparation, named Xiyanping injection in Chinese, which was prepared from the aqueous extract of (Burm. F.

A CT-based radiomics model to predict subsequent brain metastasis in patients with ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer undergoing crizotinib treatment.

Background: Brain metastasis (BM) comprises the most common reason for crizotinib failure in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We hypothesize that its occurrence could be predicted by a computed tomography (CT)-based radiomics model, therefore, allowing for selection of enriched patient populations for prevention therapies.

Methods: A total of 75 eligible patients were enrolled from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between June 2014 and September 2019.

Optimizing the tumor shrinkage threshold for evaluating immunotherapy efficacy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: The rise of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in recent years has coincided with unusual clinical response patterns. Modification of the sum of longest diameters (SLD)-based threshold that reflecting dynamic change of the tumor burden and predicting response to ICIs, may markedly improve current treatment regimens.

Methods: The baseline and post-treatment SLD of target lesion was recorded and the maximum percent change of the SLD from baseline was designated as SLD-change score.

Recent progress (2015-2020) in the investigation of the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of ginsenoside Rb, a main active ingredient in Meyer.

Ginsenoside Rb (Rb), one of the most important ingredients in Meyer, has been confirmed to have favorable activities, including reducing antioxidative stress, inhibiting inflammation, regulating cell autophagy and apoptosis, affecting sugar and lipid metabolism, and regulating various cytokines. This study reviewed the recent progress on the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of Rb against cardiovascular and nervous system diseases, diabetes, and their complications, especially those related to neurodegenerative diseases, myocardial ischemia, hypoxia injury, and traumatic brain injury. This review retrieved articles from PubMed and Web of Science that were published from 2015 to 2020.

Reducing number of target lesions for RECIST1.1 to predict survivals in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer undergoing anti-PD1/PD-L1 monotherapy.

Objectives: The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 provides conventional and standardized response assessment for multiple solid tumors. We investigated the smallest number of target lesions that can be measured without compromising response categorization and survival prediction in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) undergoing anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy.

Recent Research Progress (2015-2021) and Perspectives on the Pharmacological Effects and Mechanisms of Tanshinone IIA.

Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is an important characteristic component and active ingredient in , and its various aspects of research are constantly being updated to explore its potential application. In this paper, we review the recent progress on pharmacological activities and the therapeutic mechanisms of Tan IIA according to literature during the years 2015-2021. Tan IIA shows multiple pharmacological effects, including anticarcinogenic, cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory, urinary, digestive, and motor systems activities.

Unsatisfied Reporting Quality of Clinical Trials Evaluating Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Cancer.

Background: More and more immune-oncology trials have been conducted for treating various cancers, yet it is unclear what the reporting quality of immune-oncology trials is,and characteristics associated with higher reporting quality.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the reporting quality of immune-oncology trials.

Methods: The PubMed and Cochrane library were searched to identify all English publications of clinical trials assessing immunotherapy for cancer.

Hepatotoxicity associated with PD-1 blockade antibodies in cancer patients co-infected with hepatitis B virus.

The use of anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibodies in treating malignancies is increasing; however, most registered clinical trials on anti-PD-1 antibodies exclude patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). This retrospective study aimed to assess hepatotoxicity in cancer patients infected with HBV undergoing anti-PD1 antibody therapy and identify the associated risk factors. A total of 301 cancer patients positive for hepatitis B core antibodies (HbcAb) (negative or positive hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg]) who received PD-1 inhibitors were enrolled.

Association of hepatitis B virus infection status with outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and survival outcomes of anti-programmed cell death (PD)-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) monotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and different hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection status.

Methods: Patients with advanced NSCLC and both chronic and/or resolved HBV infection who were treated with anti-PD-(L)1 monotherapy were retrospectively enrolled. The primary endpoint was the safety of PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy, while the secondary endpoints included the survival outcomes.

Baseline and early changes in circulating Serum Amyloid A (SAA) predict survival outcomes in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy.

Background: Systemic inflammation plays an important role in carcinogenesis and is associated with overall survival in patients with different cancer types, including those treated with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Serum Amyloid A (SAA) is an acute-phase protein and a marker of persistent inflammation. We hypothesized that circulating SAA may predict outcomes in advanced non-small cell lung (aNSCLC) patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 ICB.

Pre-Treatment Tumor Growth Rate Predicts Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Undergoing Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Therapy.

Tumor growth rate (TGR; percent size change per month [%/m]) is postulated as an early radio-graphic predictor of response to anti-cancer treatment to overcome limitations of RECIST. We aimed to evaluate the predictive value of pre-treatment TGR (TGR) for outcomes of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy. We retrospectively screened all aNSCLC patients who received PD-1 axis inhibitors in Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center between August 2016 and June 2018.

Treatment of Recurrent or Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by Targeting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Combined with Gemcitabine Plus Platinum.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-tumor activity and safety of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody combined with gemcitabine plus platinum (GP) as a first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (RM-NPC).

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study analyzed RM-NPC patients at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center who received anti-EGFR antibody plus GP as a first-line treatment between July 2007 and November 2018. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with Log rank test.

Potential mechanism of action of extract injection against cardiovascular diseases revealed by combination of HPLC-Q-TOF-MS, virtual screening and systems pharmacology approach.

extract injection, a Chinese medicine preparation named as Kudiezi injection (KDZI) in China, has been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in recent years. Owing to the component complexity of the preparation, the study on the effect mechanism of the herbal medicine against CVDs is a big challenge. In this research, HPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze the constituents of the preparation, disclosing that the KDZI mainly consists of 10 ingredients, namely 3-caffeoylquinic acid (KDZI-1), 4-caffeoylquinic acid (KDZI-2), 5-caffeoylquinic acid (KDZI-3), apigenin-7--β-d-glucuronide (KDZI-4), caffeic acid (KDZI-5), chicoric acid (KDZI-6), caftaric acid (KDZI-7), luteolin-7--β-d-gentiobioside (KDZI-8), luteolin-7--β-d-glucopyranoside (KDZI-9) and luteolin-7--β-d-glucuronide (KDZI-10).

An Integrated Pharmacokinetic Study of an Extract Preparation by Combination of Virtual Screening, Systems Pharmacology, and Multi-Component Pharmacokinetics in Rats.

In this paper, the integrated pharmacokinetics (PK) of an extract preparation (ASEP, named as Ciwujia injection in clinic in China) was explored by combining with multi-component PK in rats, virtual screening, systems pharmacology and molecular docking. Firstly, the ingredients in ASEP with high contents and detectable property in rat plasma were selected. Next, the PK study of the resulted ingredients was performed in rats (1.

A simple fluorescence assay for trypsin through a protamine-induced carbon quantum dot-quenching aggregation platform.

The development of a simple detection strategy for trypsin (Try) is urgent, and is ascribed to the diagnostic value of Try in several diseases. Herein, a facile but effective fluorescence strategy for Try was developed based on the protamine (Pro)-induced aggregation of carbon quantum dots (CQDs). The fluorescence of negatively charged CQDs was quenched with Pro due to the assembly of CQDs and Pro (CQDs/Pro) through electrostatic interaction.

Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody plus palliative chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard of care as first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (RM-NPC); however, the prognosis of patients with RM-NPC remains poor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) antibody plus chemotherapy for RM-NPC.

Methods: RM-NPC patients who received first-line chemotherapy plus an anti-EGFR antibody were recruited from Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center between July 2007 and November 2017.

Hepatitis B virus reactivation in cancer patients with positive Hepatitis B surface antigen undergoing PD-1 inhibition.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is a serious complication in patients with cancers and HBV infection undergoing immunosuppressant treatment or chemotherapy. However, the safety of anti-programmed cell death (PD) -1 and anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy in these patients is unknown because they were excluded from clinical trials of immunotherapy.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved consecutive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) -positive cancer patients who were referred to Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and received an anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody between January 1, 2015 and July 31, 2018.

First-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma and high PD-L1 expression: pembrolizumab or pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy.

Pembrolizumab monotherapy has become the preferred treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and a programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor proportion score (TPS) of at least 50%. However, little is known about the value of adding chemotherapy to pembrolizumab in this setting. Therefore, we performed an indirect comparison for pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus pembrolizumab, using the frequentist methods.

High molecular weight chitosan derivative polymeric micelles encapsulating superparamagnetic iron oxide for tumor-targeted magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents based on chitosan derivatives have great potential for diagnosing diseases. However, stable tumor-targeted MRI contrast agents using micelles prepared from high molecular weight chitosan derivatives are seldom reported. In this study, we developed a novel tumor-targeted MRI vehicle via superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) encapsulated in self-aggregating polymeric folate-conjugated N-palmitoyl chitosan (FAPLCS) micelles.