Using a novel scoring system for paronychia related to oncologic treatments (SPOT) for assessing paronychia severity and its correlation with pain index and quality of life.

Background: Oncologic treatments may lead to the development of paronychia, which may cause severe pain and disability. However, a detailed objective scoring system is lacking.

Objective: To develop an objective scoring system to quantify the severity of paronychia and also examine the correlation of this score with a pain index and patients' quality of life.

Ribociclib plus endocrine therapy for premenopausal women with hormone-receptor-positive, advanced breast cancer (MONALEESA-7): a randomised phase 3 trial.

Background: In MONALEESA-2, ribociclib plus letrozole showed improved progression-free survival compared with letrozole alone as first-line treatment for postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative, advanced breast cancer. MONALEESA-7 aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of ribociclib plus endocrine therapy in premenopausal women with advanced, HR-positive breast cancer.

Methods: This phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was done at 188 centres in 30 countries.

Gene expression profiling in prognosis of distant recurrence in HR-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer patients.

There had been several studies using gene-expression profiling in predicting distant recurrence in breast cancer. In this study, we developed an 18-gene classifier (18-GC) to predict distant recurrence of breast cancer and compared it with the 21-gene panel (Oncotype DX, ODx) in performance. Included were 224 breast cancer patients with positive hormonal receptor (HR+) and negative human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2-).

Survival without adjuvant chemotherapy for selected patients with stage II and III nasopharyngeal carcinoma after concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone.

Background: The role of adjuvant chemotherapy after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is controversial. We report our phase II prospective study of withholding adjuvant chemotherapy in a subgroup of patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage II and III NPC with low risk for metastasis.

Methods: Between April 1998 and December 2008, 263 patients with stage II (AJCC 1997 T2aN0, T1-T2aN1; AJCC 2010 T1N1) NPC or stage III (AJCC 1997 T1-T2aN2; AJCC 2010 T1N2) NPC were enrolled.

Essential role of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced myofibroblast transdifferentiation from Graves' orbital fibroblasts.

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) associated with transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of many fibrotic disorders. However, it is not clear whether this interaction also takes place in GO. In this study, we investigated the role of CTGF in TGF-β-induced extracellular matrix production and myofibroblast transdifferentiation in Graves' orbital fibroblasts.

Timing and risk of mood disorders requiring psychotropics in long-term survivors of adult cancers: A nationwide cohort study.

Background: The increasing number of long-term cancer survivors over the past few decades poses the challenge of mental health care needs. However, little is known about risks of mood disorders in long-term cancer survivors.

Methods: Long-term survivors (≥5 years) of adult cancers (LSAC) (n = 190,748) newly diagnosed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2007 were matched with one control.

New Drug Reimbursement and Pricing Policy in Taiwan.

Background: Taiwan has implemented a national health insurance system for more than 20 years now. The benefits of pharmaceutical products and new drug reimbursement scheme are determined by the Expert Advisory Meeting and the Pharmaceutical Benefit and Reimbursement Scheme (PBRS) Joint Committee in Taiwan.

Objectives: To depict the pharmaceutical benefits and reimbursement scheme for new drugs and the role of health technology assessment (HTA) in drug policy in Taiwan.

The Role of Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein in Steatosis-Associated Hepatic Tumors Related to Chronic Hepatitis B virus Infection.

The persistence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is a risk factor for the development of steatosis-associated tumors in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, yet little is known about the metabolic link with this factor. We correlated HBV-related pathogenesis in genetically engineered mice and human carriers with metabolic proteomics and lipogenic gene expression profiles. The immunohistochemistry showed that the promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML, a tumor suppressor involved in genome maintenance and fatty acid oxidation), being inversely influenced by the dynamic HBsAg levels from acute phase to seroclearance, appeared as a lipo-metabolic switch linking HBsAg-induced steatosis (lipogenesis) to HBsAg-lost fat-burning hepatocarcinogenesis (lipolysis).

Conjunctival papilloma: Clinical features, outcome, and factors related to recurrence.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical features, treatment, and outcome of patients with conjunctival papilloma.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two patients (22 eyes) with biopsy-proven conjunctival papilloma between January 2005 and January 2015 in a tertiary medical center were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical profiles, treatment, outcome, and factors related to recurrence were evaluated.

Germline breast cancer susceptibility gene mutations and breast cancer outcomes.

Background: It is unclear whether germline breast cancer susceptibility gene mutations affect breast cancer related outcomes. We wanted to evaluate mutation patterns in 20 breast cancer susceptibility genes and correlate the mutations with clinical characteristics to determine the effects of these germline mutations on breast cancer prognosis.

Methods: The study cohort included 480 ethnic Chinese individuals in Taiwan with at least one of the six clinical risk factors for hereditary breast cancer: family history of breast or ovarian cancer, young age of onset for breast cancer, bilateral breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer, both breast and ovarian cancer, and male breast cancer.

Spatiotemporal homogeneity and distinctness of the T-cell receptor β-chain repertoires in Epstein-Barr virus-associated primary and metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinomas.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoepithelioma. The aim of this study was to characterize the homogeneity and distinctness of the T-cell repertoires within and between primary and metastatic NPCs. We used ultra-deep sequencing of the hypervariably rearranged antigen-binding CDR3 regions of T-cell receptor beta (TCR ) to comprehensively profile the T-cell repertoires in NPC patients receiving definitive chemoradiotherapy with long-term follow-up.

Stem cell transplantation for T-cell lymphomas in Taiwan.

T-cell lymphomas are generally aggressive malignancies with poor prognosis. There are no standard treatment guidelines for T-cell lymphomas, and the timing of stem cell transplantation (SCT) is not well known. In this study, we investigated the outcomes of Taiwanese patients with T-cell lymphomas after SCT.

Application of the Eighth AJCC TNM Staging System in Patients With Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: The eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Tumor-Node-Metastasis staging system separates classifications for the clinical (c), pathologic (p), and postneoadjuvant pathologic (yp) stages. We aimed to evaluate its application in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods: Patient data were obtained from the Taiwan Cancer Registry database.

Upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation strategy in locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Adjuvant chemoradiation is reported to have a survival benefit for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We evaluated the "upfront surgery and pathological stage-based adjuvant chemoradiation" strategy, in which adjuvant therapy is guided by pathological stage, in locally advanced ESCC. Data from 2976 clinical stage II/III ESCC patients, including 1735 in neoadjuvant chemoradiation and 1241 in upfront surgery groups, were obtained from a nationwide database.

Cost-Effectiveness of Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Introduction: The cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) versus open esophagectomy (OE) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has not been established. Recent cost studies have shown that MIE is associated with a higher surgical expense, which is not consistently offset by savings through expedited post-operative recovery, therefore suggesting a questionable benefit of MIE over OE from an economic point of view. In the current study, we compared the cost-effectiveness of MIE versus OE for ESCC.

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version neuropathic pain symptom inventory in patients with colorectal cancer.

Background/purpose: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a common consequence of chemotherapeutic treatments in patients with cancer. This study evaluated the validity and reliability of a Chinese version of the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (C-NPSI) in patients with colorectal cancer and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 106 patients from a cancer center in Northern Taiwan.

Clinical Factors Predicting Better Survival Outcome for Pulmonary Metastasectomy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: In patients with lung metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it remains uncertain how a better survival outcome can be predicted after metastasectomy. This study aims to identify clinical factors that may be used to guide patient selection for such a therapeutic modality. A total of 28 patients who received pulmonary metastasectomy for HCC between 1993 and 2012 were identified.

Prognostic role of initial pan-endoscopic tumor length at diagnosis in operable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma undergoing esophagectomy with or without neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Background: The objective of this study was to appraise the prognostic role of initial pan-endoscopic tumor length at diagnosis within or between operable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) undergoing upfront esophagectomy or neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (nCCRT) followed by esophagectomy.

Methods: Between Jan 2001 and Dec 2013 in Koo-Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center in Taiwan, 101 ESCC patients who underwent upfront esophagectomy (surgery group) and 128 nCCRT followed by esophagectomy (nCCRT-surgery group) were retrospectively collected. Prognostic variables, including initial pan-endoscopic tumor length at diagnosis (sub-grouped ≤3, 3-5 and >5 cm), status of circumferential resection margin (CRM), and pathological T/N/M-status and cancer stage, were appraised within or between surgery and nCCRT-surgery groups.

Vertical-to-Horizontal Rotational Myocutaneous Flap for Repairing Cicatricial Lower Lid Ectropion: A Novel Surgical Technique.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and complications of a novel surgical technique for cicatricial lower lid ectropion that uses a vertical-to-horizontal (V-to-H) rotational myocutaneous flap procedure (Tsai procedure).

Methods: We performed the V-to-H rotational myocutaneous flap procedure on 20 eyelids in 20 patients with mild to moderate cicatricial lower lid ectropion. A vertical myocutaneous flap was created from the anterior lamella of the vertical pedicle in the lateral third of the lower eyelid.

The lived experiences of patients with post-operative rectal cancer who suffer from altered bowel function: A phenomenological study.

Purpose: Altered bowel function is a common consequence of anal sphincter-saving surgery in rectal cancer patients, and bowel symptoms influence patients' daily life and psychosocial status. Patients have inadequate professional support because care specialists fail do fully appreciate the impact of the patients' symptoms. In-depth exploration of the individual's experience is essential to improve the quality of patient care.

A comparative proteomic study of secretomes in kaempferitrin-treated CTX TNA2 astrocytic cells.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Kaempferitrin is extracted in significantly high quantities from the leaves of Cinnamomum osmophloeum (C.O) and Bauhinia forficata, and are used as an antidiabetic herbal remedy in China and Brazil. Commercial product using dry Cinnamomum osmophloeum leaves has been sold locally in Taiwan.