Development and validation of the Taiwan Cancer Frailty Tool for older patients with cancer: A prospective longitudinal study.

Introduction: The increasing occurrence of cancer in Taiwan's older population highlights the need for a culturally attuned frailty assessment tool. This study aimed to develop and validate a frailty screening instrument specifically designed for older Taiwanese patients with cancer to predict survival outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Patients aged ≥65 years newly diagnosed with cancer before treatment initiation at three Hospitals in Taiwan were prospectively included from July 2018 to December 2020 to participate in the study.

Parecoxib Enhances Resveratrol against Human Colorectal Cancer Cells through Akt and TXNDC5 Inhibition and MAPK Regulation.

In this study, we discovered the mechanisms underlying parecoxib and resveratrol combination's anti-cancer characteristics against human colorectal cancer DLD-1 cells. We studied its anti-proliferation and apoptosis-provoking effect by utilizing cell viability 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, fluorescence microscope, gene overexpression, Western blot, and flow cytometry analyses. Parecoxib enhanced the ability of resveratrol to inhibit cell viability and increase apoptosis.

Meteorological factors and risk of ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage: A time-stratified case-crossover study.

Background: Stroke risks associated with rapid climate change remain controversial due to a paucity of evidence.

Aims: To examine the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and ischemic stroke (IS) associated with meteorological parameters.

Methods: In this time-stratified case-crossover study, adult patients hospitalized for their first stroke between 2011 and 2020 from the insurance claims data in Taiwan were identified.

Parecoxib and 5-Fluorouracil Synergistically Inhibit EMT and Subsequent Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer by Targeting PI3K/Akt/NF-κB Signaling.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality worldwide, and innovative drugs for the treatment of colorectal cancer are continually being developed. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a common clinical chemotherapeutic drug. Acquired resistance to 5-FU is a clinical challenge in colorectal cancer treatment.

Risk Factors for Unplanned Early Implantable Port Catheter Removal in Adult Hematology Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy: A Propensity Score Matching Study.

Purpose: Implantable port catheter is a reliable vascular access for chemotherapy infusion in cancer patients. However, patients with hematology malignancies usually present with a myriad of blood cell abnormalities that put them at risk of infection and mechanical problems requiring catheter removal. This study aims to determine the risk factors associated with unplanned (catheter removal other than completion of treatment plan) early (within 90 days of catheter implantation) implantable port catheter removal.

Refining risk stratification in paediatric B-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: Combining IKZF1 and Day 15 MRD positivity.

This study investigates the potential utility of IKZF1 deletion as an additional high-risk marker for paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The prognostic impact of IKZF1 status, in conjunction with minimal/measurable residual disease (MRD), was evaluated within the MRD-guided TPOG-ALL-2013 protocol using 412 newly diagnosed B-ALL patients aged 1-18. IKZF1 status was determined using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification.

Impact of pretreatment quality of life on tolerance and survival outcome in head and neck cancer patients undergoing definitive CCRT.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a predictor of treatment outcomes in cancer patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pretreatment HRQoL on treatment tolerance and survival outcomes in patients with HNC planned for concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in Taiwan.

Methods: This study included 461 patients with HNC planned for definitive CCRT at three medical centers in Taiwan between August 2017 and December 2018.

Frailty is an independent factor for health-related quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer receiving definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with treatment-related complications and poor survival in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). We investigated the effects of frailty on HRQoL in patients with HNC receiving definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).

Methods: A total of 461 consecutive patients with locally advanced HNC who received CCRT between 2017 and 2018 at three medical centers in Taiwan were included.

Association between vitamin D deficiency and post-acute outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and post-acute outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Methods: This retrospective study used the TriNetX research network to identify COVID-19 patients between January 1 and November 30, 2022. Patients were matched using propensity score matching (PSM) and divided into VDD (< 20 ng/mL) and control (≥ 20 ng/mL) groups.

Frailty assessment by two screening instruments in non-elderly patients with head and neck cancer.

Purpose: Frailty assessment is often overlooked in non-elderly patients with cancer, possibly due to the lack of an effective frailty screening tool. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two modern frailty screening tools, the Flemish version of the Triage Risk Screening Tool (fTRST) and the modified 5-Item Frailty Index (mFI-5), compared to the gold standard comprehensive geriatric assessment (GA) among non-elderly patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).

Methods: We prospectively included 354 consecutive patients aged < 65 years with newly diagnosed HNC scheduled for definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) at three academic hospitals in Taiwan between January 2020 and December 2022.

Efficacy, safety and cost of emicizumab prophylaxis in haemophilia A patients with inhibitors: A nationwide observational study in Taiwan.

Introduction: Emicizumab mimicking the cofactor function of activated factor VIII (FVIII) restores haemostasis.

Methods: This nationwide observational study aimed to retrospectively investigate efficacy, safety, and cost in 1 year before and up to 3 years after emicizumab prophylaxis for haemophilia A (HA) patients with FVIII inhibitors.

Results And Discussion: A total of 39 severe HA patients with a median age of 23.

The effect of sequential combination of mirror therapy and robot-assisted therapy on motor function, daily function, and self-efficacy after stroke.

Robot-assisted therapy and mirror therapy are both effective in promoting upper limb function after stroke and combining these two interventions might yield greater therapeutic effects. We aimed to examine whether using mirror therapy as a priming strategy would augment therapeutic effects of robot-assisted therapy. Thirty-seven chronic stroke survivors (24 male/13 female; age = 49.

Substance use before or during pregnancy and the risk of child mortality, perinatal morbidities and congenital anomalies.

Aims: We aimed to investigate child mortality, perinatal morbidities and congenital anomalies born by women with substance misuse during or before pregnancy (DP or BP).

Methods: Taiwan Birth Registration from 2004 to 2014 linking Integrated Illicit Drug Databases used to include substance misuse participates. Children born by mothers convicted of substance misuse DP or BP were the substance-exposed cohort.

The relationship of nutritional status with anticancer immunity and its prognostic value for head and neck cancer.

Malnutrition has been reported to be associated with reduced survival and deficient anticancer immunity, and undernourishment is a frequent comorbidity in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between nutritional status and immunologic factors, and its prognostic value for HNC. We retrospectively reviewed 212 HNC patients who had undergone a nutrition evaluation based on the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and curative radiotherapy (RT).

Indirect causal path from motor function to quality of life through daily use of the affected arm poststroke after task-specific training: a longitudinal mediation analysis.

Purpose: Task-specific training generally targets motor function, with the ultimate goal of improving quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to determine whether motor function indirectly affects QoL through daily use of the affected arm and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with chronic stroke.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 155 patients who received training for 90-120 min/session, 3-5 sessions/week, for 4-6 weeks.

Thyroid hormone upregulates LAMP2 expression and lysosome activity.

Thyroid hormone (T)-induced autophagy and its biological significance have been extensively investigated in recent years. However, limited studies to date have focused on the important role of lysosomes in autophagy. In this study, we explored the effects of T on lysosomal protein expression and trafficking in detail.

Sinulariaone A: a novel diterpenoid with a 13-membered carbocyclic skeleton from an octocoral species.

Chemical composition screening of an octocoral identified as species led to the isolation of a novel diterpenoid, sinulariaone A (1), featuring a 13-membered carbocyclic skeleton. The structure of 1 was established by spectroscopic elucidation, computed calculation, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Moreover, a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of chlorofurancembranoid B (2), obtained in our previous study from the same octocoral species, was reported for the first time to demonstrate the absolute configuration.

Optimal Heart Rate Control Improves Long-Term Prognosis of Decompensated Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction.

An elevated heart rate is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, the relationship between heart rate control and the long-term outcomes of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) remains unclear. This study explored the long-term prognostic importance of heart rate control in patients hospitalized with HFrEF. : We retrieved the records of patients admitted for decompensated heart failure with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤40%, from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2019.

Effect of Proton Therapy on Tumor Cell Killing and Immune Microenvironment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Radiotherapy with proton therapy (PT) has dosimetric advantages over photon therapy, which helps to enlarge the therapeutic window of radiotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We evaluated the response of HCC to PT and examined the underlying mechanisms. The human liver cancer cell lines HepG2 and HuH7 and the murine liver cancer cell line Hepa1-6 were selected for cell and animal experiments to examine the response induced by PT irradiation.