Risk factors and specific cancer types of second primary malignancies in patients with breast cancer receiving adjuvant radiotherapy: a case-control cohort study based on the SEER database.

Patients with breast cancer can survive and live a long, cancer-free life; however, late complications of treatment, such as second primary malignancies (SPMs), have emerged as a competing cause of death and morbidity. We conducted a long-term population-based cohort study to identify the risk factors for SPMs and specific secondary cancer types after various latency periods of irradiated breast cancer. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for independent risk factors for SPM.

Effect of Pre-Existing Sarcopenia on Oncological Outcomes for Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma Undergoing Curative Surgery: A Propensity Score-Matched, Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study.

Purpose: The effect of pre-existing sarcopenia on patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) remains unknown. Therefore, we designed a propensity score-matched population-based cohort study to compare the oncological outcomes of patients with OCSCC undergoing curative surgery with and without sarcopenia. Patients and Methods: We included patients with OCSCC undergoing curative surgery and categorized them into two groups according to the presence or absence of pre-existing sarcopenia.

The Latest Data Specifically Focused on Long-Term Oncologic Prognostication for Very Old Adults with Acute Vulnerable Localized Prostate Cancer: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Purpose: Few studies have evaluated the prime treatment choice for men older than 80 years with acute vulnerable localized prostate cancer (AV-LPC). Clinicians have been deeply troubled by this near end-of-life medical choice for a very specific group of patients. We compared the oncological prognostication of very old patients with AV-LPC after they underwent either radical prostatectomy (RP) or massive-dose intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) coupled with long-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) over a long-term investigation.

Use of Preoperative FDG PET/CT and Survival of Patients with Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background The added value of preoperative PET/CT for the overall survival of patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unknown. Purpose To investigate the association of the use of preoperative PET/CT on survival of patients with resectable stage I-IIIB NSCLC. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, patients with resectable stage I-IIIB NSCLC who underwent thoracic surgery from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2018, from the Taiwan Cancer Registry were included.

Environmental risks and sphingolipid signatures in adult asthma and its phenotypic clusters: a multicentre study.

Background: Adult asthma is phenotypically heterogeneous with unclear aetiology. We aimed to evaluate the potential contribution of environmental exposure and its ensuing response to asthma and its heterogeneity.

Methods: Environmental risk was evaluated by assessing the records of National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) and residence-based air pollution (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.

Association of Diabetes Severity and Mortality with Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: The survival impact of diabetes severity on lung cancer remains unclear. We performed head-to-head propensity score matching to estimate the survival impact of various adapted diabetes complications severity index (aDCSI) scores in patients with both diabetes and lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCLC).

Patients And Methods: We enrolled patients with both diabetes and lung SqCLC and categorized them into the mild (aDCSI = 0-1) and moderate-to-severe (aDCSI ≥ 2) diabetes groups.

Alerts in Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS): A Bibliometric Review and Content Analysis.

A clinical decision support system (CDSS) informs or generates medical recommendations for healthcare practitioners. An alert is the most common way for a CDSS to interact with practitioners. Research about alerts in CDSS has proliferated over the past ten years.

Association of air pollution exposure with exercise-induced oxygen desaturation in COPD.

Background: There is a link between exposure to air pollution and the increased prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and declining pulmonary function, but the association with O desaturation during exercise in COPD patients with emphysema is unclear. Our aims were to estimate the prevalence of O desaturation during exercise in patients with COPD, and determine the association of exposure to air pollution with exercise-induced desaturation (EID), the degree of emphysema, and dynamic hyperinflation (DH).

Methods: We assessed the effects of 10-year prior to the HRCT assessment and 7 days prior to the six-minute walking test exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of < 10 µm (PM) or of < 2.

Does ultrasound education improve anatomy learning? Effects of the Parallel Ultrasound Hands-on (PUSH) undergraduate medicine course.

Background: As ultrasound has become increasingly prominent in medicine, portable ultrasound is perceived as the visual stethoscope of the twenty-first century. Many studies have shown that exposing preclinical students to ultrasound training can increase their motivation and ultrasound competency. However, few studies have discussed the effect of ultrasound training on anatomy learning.

A Novel Predictive Scoring System for 90-Day Mortality among Patients with Hepatocellular Cell Carcinoma Receiving Major Hepatectomy.

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major malignancy and the common cause of cancer-related deaths. Surgical intervention provides superior long-term survival outcomes; however, perioperative mortality is a major concern for clinicians while making treatment decisions, especially for major hepatectomy. Scoring systems for predicting 90-day mortality in patients with HCC undergoing major hepatectomy are not available.

Current-Smoking-Related COPD or COPD With Acute Exacerbation is Associated With Poorer Survival Following Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma Surgery.

Background: The survival effect of smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and COPD with acute exacerbation (COPDAE) before surgery on patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) is unclear.

Methods: Using the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database, we enrolled patients with OCSCC (pathologic stages I-IVB) receiving surgery. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze all-cause mortality.

Correlation between drug sensitivity profiles of circulating tumour cell-derived organoids and clinical treatment response in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly aggressive and has poor prognosis. There are few biomarkers to inform treatment decisions, and collecting tumour samples for testing is challenging.

Methods: Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from patients with PDAC liquid biopsies were expanded ex vivo to form CTC-derived organoid cultures, using a laboratory-developed biomimetic cell culture system.

Tolvaptan reduces angiotensin II-induced experimental abdominal aortic aneurysm and dissection.

Tolvaptan has been approved for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and heart failure. However, the role of tolvaptan in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has not been examined. Human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) were used as the in vitro model.

Adjuvant Radiotherapy Is Associated with an Increase in the Survival of Old (Aged over 80 Years) and Very Old (Aged over 90 Years) Women with Breast Cancer Receiving Breast-Conserving Surgery.

This study is the first to examine the effect of adjuvant whole-breast radiotherapy (WBRT) on oncologic outcomes such as all-cause death, locoregional recurrence (LRR), and distant metastasis (DM) in old (aged ≥80 years) and very old (aged ≥90 years) women with breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) receiving breast-conserving surgery. After propensity score matching, adjuvant WBRT was associated with decreases in all-cause death, LRR, and DM in old and very old women with IDC compared with no use of adjuvant WBRT. : To date, no data on the effect of adjuvant whole-breast radiotherapy (WBRT) on oncologic outcomes, such as all-cause death, locoregional recurrence (LRR), and distant metastasis (DM), are available for old (aged ≥80 years) and very old (≥90 years) women with breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) receiving breast-conserving conservative surgery (BCS).

The Effects of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on COVID-19 Epidemic Growth Rate during Pre- and Post-Vaccination Period in Asian Countries.

There is little knowledge about how the influence of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) reduces the COVID-19 infection rate during the period of vaccine rollout. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of NPIs on decreasing the epidemic growth of COVID-19 between before and after the vaccine rollout period among Asian countries. Our ecological study included observations from 30 Asian countries over the 20 weeks of the pre- and post-vaccination period.

Association between Pre-Existing Sleep Disorders and Survival Rates of Patients with Breast Cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of pre-existing sleep disorders on the survival outcomes of women receiving standard treatments for breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC).

Methods: We recruited patients from the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database who had received surgery for clinical stage I-III breast IDC. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze all-cause mortality.

Adjuvant postmastectomy radiotherapy might be associated with better survival in women with heart failure receiving total mastectomy.

Background: To date, no data on the effect of adjuvant postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) on oncologic outcomes, such as all-cause death, locoregional recurrence (LRR), and distant metastasis (DM), are available in women with left-side breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).

Patients And Methods: We enrolled 646 women with left-breast IDC at clinical stages I-IIIC and HFrEF receiving radical total mastectomy (TM) followed by adjuvant PMRT or non-adjuvant PMRT. We categorized them into two groups based on their adjuvant PMRT status and compared their overall survival (OS), LRR, and DM outcomes.

Postvaccinal Encephalopathy Presenting with Amnesia and Seizure After ChAdOx1 nCov-19 Vaccination: A Case Report.

Purpose: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting widespread vaccination, many related neurological disorders, including autoimmune encephalopathy, have emerged. The pathophysiological mechanism underlying the COVID-19 vaccination and autoimmune encephalopathy remains unclear; more case reports and further investigation are required.

Case Report: We report a clinical case of a 38-year-old woman who presented with acute-onset amnesia, language disturbance, and seizure.

Insufficient pain control for patients with cancer and dementia during terminal cancer stages.

Purpose: To estimate differences in pain control between patients with cancer and with or without dementia during terminal cancer stages 3 months or 1 month before cancer death.

Patients And Methods: We conducted frequency matching cohort for age, sex, and year of death for both groups at a 1:4 ratio. The prescription prevalence, total cumulative dose, and average daily dose of opioids during the terminal cancer stages 3 months and 1 month before cancer death were estimated.

Efficacy of Scalp Acupuncture in Patients With Post-stroke Hemiparesis: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

To conduct a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of scalp acupuncture (SA) in patients with stroke and consequent hemiparesis regardless of brain infarction or intracerebral hemorrhage. A literature search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on SA for stroke was performed in five databases up to May 10, 2021. We investigated three types of outcome: motor function, sequelae of poststroke hemiparesis, and adverse effects.