Quantification of cancer biomarkers in urine using volatilomic approach.

Urine analysis is an attractive approach for non-invasive cancer diagnostics. In this study, a procedure for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in human urine (acetone, acetonitrile, dimethylsulfide, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, hexane, benzene, toluene, 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, pentanal) has been described including sample preparation using preconcentration of analytes in sorbent tubes followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Fractional factorial design and constrained surfaces design were used to optimize preconcentration of VOCs in sorbent tubes.

Impact of baseline steroids on the efficacy of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Immunochemotherapy involving the combination of programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 inhibitors with chemotherapy has advanced the treatment of locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The use of corticosteroids as pretreatment might reduce immunotherapy efficacy.

Aim: To investigate the impact of baseline corticosteroid use on neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nIC) outcomes in locally advanced ESCC patients.

Comparing the prognosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma with bone and liver metastases: A competing risk analysis.

Background: About half of the patients with esophageal cancer are presenting with metastasis at initial diagnosis. However, few studies have concerned on the prognostic factors of metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma (mEAC). This research aimed to investigate the effects of single bone metastasis (BM) and single liver metastasis (LM) on prognosis of mEAC patients.

Predictive Value of Changes in Basal Myocardial F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake for Cardiotoxicity in Patients With Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer Receiving Definitive Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: To investigate the predictive value of changes in segmental myocardial F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer undergoing definitive radiation therapy (RT).

Methods And Materials: Between August 2012 and January 2019, 482 patients with stages II and III esophageal cancer from 2 institutions were enrolled and divided into the training (n = 285) and external validation (n = 197) cohorts. All patients underwent F-FDG positron emission tomography within 1 week before treatment and within 3 months of treatment.

Concordance between four PD-L1 immunohistochemical assays and 22C3 pharmDx assay in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in a multicenter study.

Background: The prediction of response to immunotherapy mostly depends on the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry (IHC) status, and the 22C3 pharmDx assay has been approved in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the widespread use of the 22C3 pharmDx assay is limited due to its availability. Thus, alternative PD-L1 assays are needed.

Casticin suppresses self-renewal related stemness via miR-342-3p-mediated FoxM1 downregulation in cervical cancer cells.

Background: Casticin (CAS), a natural flavonoid found in Viticis Fructus, Viticis Cannabifoliae Fructus, and Semen Euphorbiae, shows anti-inflammatory activity and efficacy against various cancers. However, its effect on stemness associated with self-renewal in cervical cancer (CC) cells remains unclear, as well as the underlying mechanism.

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to examine the effect of CAS on CC stemness and to explore the underpinning regulatory mechanism.

Tumor-Resident Microbiota-Based Risk Model Predicts Neoadjuvant Therapy Response of Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients.

Few predictive biomarkers exist for identifying patients who may benefit from neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). The intratumoral microbial composition is comprehensively profiled to predict the efficacy and prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who underwent NAT and curative esophagectomy. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis is conducted to screen for the most closely related microbiota and develop a microbiota-based risk prediction (MRP) model on the genera of TM7x, Sphingobacterium, and Prevotella.

Effect of immunochemotherapy infusion timing, sequence, and interval on prognosis of advanced esophageal cancer: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The present study aims to explore the roles of infusion time, administration sequence and interval of immunochemotherapy (IO) in predicting overall survival (OS) in patients with locally advanced ESCC.

Methods: This multi-center retrospective study enrolled advanced ESCC who received IO between Nov 2019 and Nov 2021. Patients were divided into groups according to the three classifiers (IO infusion time, administration sequence, and infusion interval), and were further analyzed for the roles of these classifiers in predicting the prognosis of the ESCC patients.

mA modification enhances the stability of promotes tumorigenicity of esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma via cell cycle.

6-Methyladenosine (mA) modification and its regulators play critical roles in human cancers, but their functions and regulatory mechanisms in adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) remain unclear. Here, we identified that IGF2BP3 is the most significantly up-regulated mA regulator in AEG tumors versus paired normal adjacent tissues from the expression profile of mA regulators in a large cohort of AEG patients. Silencing IGF2BP3 inhibits AEG progression and .

Impaired TGF-β signaling via AHNAK family mutations elicits an esophageal cancer subtype with sensitivities to genotoxic therapy and immunotherapy.

Background: Genome instability (GI) is a hallmark of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) while factors affecting GI remain unclear.

Methods: Here, we aimed to characterize genomic events representing specific mechanisms of GI based on 201 ESCC samples and validated our findings at the patient, single-cell and cancer cell-line levels, including a newly generated multi-omics dataset of the trial NCT04006041.

Results: A two-gene (AHNAK and AHNAK2) mutation signature was identified to define the "AHNAK1/2-mutant" cancer subtype.

Neoadjuvant radiation target volume definition in esophageal squamous cell cancer: a multicenter recommendations from Chinese experts.

Background: This study aimed to establish a consensus on the delineation of target volumes for neoadjuvant radiation therapy (nRT) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) within China.

Methods: From February 2020 to June 2021, nine ESCC patients who received nRT were retrospectively selected from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and Shandong Cancer Hospital. A panel from eight cancer radiotherapy centers performed two rounds of nRT target volume delineation for these patients: the first round for cases 1-6 and the second for cases 7-9.

Associations of genetically predicted iron status with 24 gastrointestinal diseases and gut microbiota: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Iron status has been implicated in gastrointestinal diseases and gut microbiota, however, confounding factors may influence these associations.

Objective: We performed Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the associations of iron status, including blood iron content, visceral iron content, and iron deficiency anemia with the incidence of 24 gastrointestinal diseases and alterations in gut microbiota.

Methods: Independent genetic instruments linked with iron status were selected using a genome-wide threshold of = 5 × 10-6 from corresponding genome-wide association studies.

Targeting PDHK1 by DCA to Restore NK Cell Function in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is a crucial enzyme involved in the oxidation of glucose. It is regulated by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDHK) and pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase. Studies have demonstrated that PDHK1, a key enzyme in glucose metabolism, behaves like oncogenes.

Jejunostomy feeding plus oral feeding versus intravenous nutrition plus oral feeding after esophageal cancer resection: a comparative retrospective cohort study.

Background: There are multiple choices for the nutritional management mode after esophageal cancer surgery. Currently, there is still controversy regarding which nutritional management mode has an impact on the postoperative recovery and overall survival (OS) of patients. This study aims to compare the differences between two commonly used clinical nutritional management modes: jejunostomy feeding plus oral intake (JF plus OI) and intravenous nutrition plus oral intake (IN plus OI), in terms of short-term efficacy and 3-year OS, in order to further explore the optimal mode of enteral nutrition management after esophageal cancer surgery.

Prospective study of Tc-3PRGD SPECT/CT diagnosing metastatic lymph nodes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Lymph node (LN) metastasis is a significant prognostic factor for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and there are no satisfactory methods for accurately predicting metastatic LNs. The present study aimed to assess the efficacy of Tc-3PRGD single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) for diagnosing metastatic LNs in ESCC.

Methods: A total of 15 enrolled patients with ESCC underwent Tc-3PRGD SPECT/CT and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) examinations preoperatively.

Impact of the interval between neoadjuvant immunotherapy and surgery on prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): a real-world study.

Background: The time interval between neoadjuvant immunotherapy and surgery is 6 weeks for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but whether delayed surgery affects prognosis remains unclear.

Methods: Clinical data of locally advanced ESCC who underwent neoadjuvant immunotherapy followed by esophagectomy from November 2019 to December 2022 were collected. The surgery outcomes and prognosis were compared between short-interval (time to surgery ≤ 6 weeks) and long-interval groups (time to surgery > 6 weeks).