ObjectiveTo explore the expression of alpha B-crystallin (CRYAB) in human gastric cancer tissue and the influence of chemotherapeutics on expression of CRYAB mRNA.Methods① The gastric cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues of 76 patients underwent radical resection from April 2018 to March 2020 in The First Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University and the Sichuan Mianyang 404 Hospital were collected, the expression of CRYAB protein in the gastric cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues of 76 patients with gastric cancer were detected by immunohistochemistry SP technique. The relation between the expression of CRYAB protein and clinicopathologic features was analyzed. ② Twenty-one gastric tissues of patients accepted neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 26 gastric tissues of patients with no neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the The First Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University were collected from November 2018 to March 2020, the expression of CRYAB mRNA was detected by real time-PCR.ResultsThe expression of CRYAB protein in gastric cancer tissues was positive in 51 cases (67.1%) and in the corresponding adjacent tissues was positive in 32 cases (42.1%), the positive rate was higher in gastric cancer tissues (χ2=9.581, P=0.002). The over-expression of CRYAB protein in the gastric cancer tissues was correlated with the TNM stage, Borrmann typing, degree of differentiation, lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion of the patients, and Lauren classification (P<0.05), but not correlated with the age, gender, tumor sitation, and diameter (P>0.05). The expression of CRYAB mRNA in the gastric cancer tissues with neoadjuvant chemotherapy was significantly higher than that in the gastric cancer tissues without neoadjuvant chemotherapy (t=8.37, P<0.001).ConclusionsThe over-expression of CRYAB protein is closely related to the invasion and progression of gastric cancer, they may be involved in the progression of gastric cancer and play a crucial role. Moreover, the expression of CRYAB mRNA increases after chemotherapy, it suggests that chemotherapy drugs can activate the self-protection mechanism of tumor cells to some extent, and influence the effect of chemotherapy by increasing expression of CRYAB protein.
ObjectiveTo investigate the influencing factors of flap-related complications and the economic benefits of intraoperative indocyanine green (ICG) angiography in the patients undergoing autologous breast reconstruction.MethodsBetween July 2013 and June 2018, the clinical data of 150 patients (152 breasts) who met the selection criteria after autologous breast reconstruction were analyzed retrospectively. Ten factors including age, body mass index, preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC), chest radiation history, diabetes, abdominal operation history, chest wall reconstruction, reconstruction timing, flap type, intraoperative ICG angiography were analyzed by univariate analysis. Significant variables found in univariate analysis were used to perform backward multivariate logistic regression of flap related complications and local necrosis. According to the above multi factor analysis results, the patients were divided into 4 groups: ICG+NC group (group A), ICG+non-NC group (group B), non-ICG+NC group (group C), non-ICG+non-NC group (group D). The average extra costs of surgical treatment (including ICG imaging cost+cost of handling flap related complications) of each group was calculated.ResultsAll the 152 flaps survived. There were 33 flap-related complications, including 22 regional necrosis, 9 regional infection, 5 hematoma, 5 simple fat liquefaction, and 2 anasto-motic thrombosis. Univariate analysis showed that preoperative NC, flap type, and intraoperative ICG angiography had significant influence on the incidence of flap-related complications (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that preoperative NC and non-ICG angiography were the risk factors of flap-related complications (P<0.05), and also the risk factors of regional flap necrosis (P<0.05). For patients who had NC, intraoperative ICG angiography could greatly save the average extra costs. The average extra costs in group A was 1 378 yuan less than that in group C. For the patients without NC, intraoperative ICG angiography would increase the average extra costs, which was 747 yuan in group B more than that in group D.ConclusionIn autologous breast reconstruction, ICG angiography can reduce the incidence of flap-related complications, especially the incidence of regional flap necrosis, while NC is the opposite. For patients without NC, ICG angiography is not cost-effective but still can be used if conditions permit. However, for those with NC, ICG angiography is cost-effective and recommended.
ObjectiveTo understand the progress of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) in patients with T1–2N1M0 breast cancer. MethodThe studies and the treatment guidelines relevant to PMRT in the patients with T1–2N1M0 breast cancer in recent years were analyzed and summarized. ResultsThe ability of PMRT to improve the prognosis of patients with T1–2N1M0 breast cancer remained controversial. Owing to the patients with T1–2N1M0 breast cancer were heterogeneous, and the indications for PMRT had not been standardized. With the increasing use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, some studies had attempted to formulate decisions about PMRT based on changes in tumor characteristics before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, but the findings were currently controversial. ConclusionsWhether PMRT can improve prognosis and decision-making for patients with T1–2N1M0 breast cancer is still controversial. Some ongoing clinical trials may provide some references for the optimal decision-making of PMRT for patients with T1–2N1M0 breast cancer.
This paper aims to investigate the value of diffusiion weighted imaging (DWI) and different apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) methods to predict the curative effects of neoadjuvant chempotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer. From March 2010 to December 2012, seventy-one patients were pathologically confirmed invasive breast cancer by needle puncture biopsy received before surgery, and underwent magnetic resonance before and after NAC, the ADC were measured by mean ADC method and lower ADC method. The pathologic response after NAC was divided to major histological response (MHR) group and non-major histological response (NMHR) group according to Miller & Payne system. Results displayed that ADC values obtained before NAC, at the end of the second cycle of NAC, and after whole course of treatment, had good correlations between mean and lower ADC methods (the Pearson's correlation=0.699, 0.749 and 0.895, respectively). Significant difference in ADC obtained both with mean and lower ADC methods could be found between MHR and NMHR groups after the second cycle of NAC (P<0.05). After the second cycle of NAC, significant difference in the change rate of ADC could be found between MHR and NMHR groups by using lower ADC method (P<0.05), but not be found by using mean ADC method (P＞0.05). In conclusion, DWI could monitor the pathologic changes of breast cancer after NAC, and the lower ADC method might be used to evaluate the curative effect of NAC with the change rate of ADC.
ObjectiveTo investigate whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone may affect recent anal function in patients with rectal cancer.MethodsThe structured data from the December 3, 2018 version of Database from Colorectal Cancer (DACCA) of West China Hospital were extracted . The follow-up investigation was performed within 2 weeks from December 3, 2018 to December 16, 2018 by the telephone. The postoperative anal function of patients with rectal cancer was evaluated by the lower anterior resection symptom (LARS) score questionnaire.ResultsA total of 209 patients with rectal cancer treated by the total mesolectal excision in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of West China Hospital were included. One hundred and thirty-six patients of them were only treated with TME, while the other 73 patients were treated by the TME and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. As for the baseline data of the 2 groups, there was no difference in the age, body mass index, gender, surgical procedure, differentiation degree or anastomotic position (P>0.050), while the pathological staging (P=0.022) and postoperative recovery time (P<0.001) had the significant differences between these 2 groups. The postoperative 1-year LARS score was not associated with the gender, age, body mass index, pathological stage, physical comorbidity, neoadjuvant chemotherapy or time of postoperative recovery (P>0.050), but which was associated with the heart disease (P=0.019) or position of anastomosis (P=0.005). Moreover, the multivariate analysis showed that the higher anastomosis position was a protective factor for the LARS after 1 year (OR=0.706, P=0.003).ConclusionsThere is no significant difference in postoperative anal function between patients with rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy or not . It suggests that neoadjuvant chemotherapy has no more additional adverse effects on postoperative anal function in patients either.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of multicycle neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with apatinib in the treatment of advanced rectal cancer through the Database from Colorectal Cancer (DACCA).MethodsA total of 173 patients with advanced rectal cancer who underwent surgery after 2–4 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with apatinib were selected from the DACCA (Version January 20, 2019). The patients were grouped by treated cycle and clinical TNM (cTNM) stage, and the overall variation of clinical and pathological indicators before and after treatment were compared.ResultsAmong 173 cases, 63 cases (36.42%), 45 cases (26.01%), and 65 cases (37.57%) were respectively in the 2, 3, and 4-cycle group; 54 cases (31.21%), 91 cases (52.60%), and 28 cases (16.18%) in stage Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ-group. Clinical response degree: complete pathologic response (cPR) was observed in 23 cases (13.29%), and the rate of conversion resection was 100% (173/173). Clinical response grade: complete response (CR) in 58 cases (33.53%), partial response (PR) in 93 cases (53.76%), stable disease (SD) in 21 cases (12.14%), progressive disease (PD) in 1 cases (0.58%). Tumor regression grade: TRG0 in 21 cases (12.57%), TRG1 in 22 cases (13.17%), TRG2 in 84 cases (50.30%), TRG3 in 40 cases (23.95%). There was a statistical difference in CEA before and after the treatment (P<0.001). All cases underwent radical resection, and the successful rate of transformed resection was 100%. There was significant difference on the clinical response grade among the cases of different treatment cycle (H=18.513, P<0.001), and the longer treatment cycle was correlated with better clinical response (G=–0.474, P<0.001). In addition, there was significant difference on the cPR rate among the cases of different cTNM stage (χ2=6.450, P=0.040).ConclusionsMulticycle neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with apatinib in treating patients with advanced rectal cancer is efficient. More treatment cycles lead to better efficacy. The lower cTNM stage maybe means more chance of achieving cPR and a satisfactory rate of conversion resection.
Objective To explore the accuracy of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in predicting pathological complete remission (pCR) in breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant therapy (NAC). Methods The clinicopathological data of 245 patients with invasive breast cancer who had completed the surgical resection after NAC in the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from March 2020 to April 2022 were collected retrospectively. According to the results of hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) detected by immunohistochemistry, all patients were divided into four subgroups: HR+/HER2–, HR+/HER2+, HR–/HER2+ and HR–/HER2–. The value of MRI in evaluating the efficacy of NAC was analyzed by comparing the postoperative pathological results as the gold standard with the residual tumor size assessed by preoperative MRI. Meanwhile, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) of pCR predicted by the evaluation results of enhanced MRI were analyzed, and further analyzed its predictive value for pCR of different subtypes of breast cancer. Results There were 88 cases (35.9%) achieved radiological complete response (rCR) and 106 cases (43.3%) achieved pCR in 245 patients. Enhanced MRI in assessing the size of residual tumors overestimated and underestimated 12.7% (31/245) and 9.8% (24/245) of patients, respectively. When setting rCR as the MRI assessment index the specificity, sensitivity and PPV were 84.2% (117/139), 62.3% (66/106) and 75.0% (66/88), respectively. When setting near-rCR as the MRI assessment index the specificity, sensitivity and PPV were 70.5% (98/139), 81.1% (86/106), and 67.7% (86/127), respectively. The positive predictive value of both MRI-rCR and MRI-near-rCR in evaluating pCR of each subtype subgroup of breast cancer was the highest in the HR–/HER2+ subgroup (91.7% and 83.3%, respectively). In each subgroup, compared with rCR, the specificity of near-rCR to predict pCR decreased to different degrees, while the sensitivity increased to different degrees. Conclusions Breast contrast-enhanced MRI can more accurately evaluate the efficacy of localized breast lesions after NAC, and can also more accurately predict the breast pCR after NAC. The HR–/HER2+ subgroup may be a potentially predictable population with pCR exemption from breast surgery. However, the accuracy of the evaluation of pCR by breast enhancement MRI in HR+/HER2– subgroup is low.
Objective To investigate the significance of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of limited-disease small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 55 LD-SCLC patients who underwent surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, China-Japan Friendship Hospital from May 2007 to August 2016. There were 42 males and 13 females with a mean age of 57 years. All patients underwent clinical staging before treatment. According to the different treatments, the patients were divided into two groups, a preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy group and a direct surgery group. The comparison of long-term survival rates was made between the two groups. Results Among the 55 patients, median survival time was 27 months. The 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rate was 89.1%, 45.0%, 33.8% respectively. Treatment methods and clinical N stage were significantly different in prognosis (P<0. 05). The results of Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that clinical N stage was prognostic factor of LD-SCLC patients (P<0. 05). Conclusion Patients with clinical stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ SCLC are better to receive direct surgery. For patients with clinical stage Ⅲ, it is recommended to reach partial response or complete response with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery. The status of lymph node metastasis is closely related to survival, thus identifying the accurate clinical stage is crucial before treatment.
ObjectiveTo summarize the current treatment status and progress of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer in order to improve the understanding of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to guide clinical work.MethodThe relevant literatures at home and abroad on neoadjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer were readed and reviewed.ResultsNeoadjuvant chemotherapy could reduce tumor lesions, increase R0 resection rate, decrease postoperative complication rate, and improve patients’ survival, however, there was currently no high quality evidence-based medicine proof. At present, there was no unified neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens for pancreatic cancer in the world. FOLFIRINOX, gemcitabine plus S-1, and gencitabine plus Nab-paclitaxel were the three common regimens we used. In addition, the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer had no uniform standard, and there were insufficient methods for evaluating therapeutic effects.ConclusionAlthough there are still some core problems need to be solved in neoadjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, however, it’s curative effect is gradually recognized and widely used by clinicians, which is beneficial to provide a better prognosis for pancreatic cancer patients.
ObjectiveTo investigate the differences between indocyanine green (ICG) plus methylene blue and radioactive nuclide plus methylene blue for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) after Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer patients. Methods A total of 77 breast cancer patients who accepted SLNB and axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) after NAC from June 2017 to February 2019 were involved, among them, 46 breast cancer patients accepted SLNB by ICG plus methylene blue and 31 breast cancer patients accepted SLNB by radioactive nuclide plus methylene blue, pathological and clinical data were collected and analyzed.ResultsThere were 43 patients in the ICG plus methylene blue group and 30 patients in radioactive nuclide plus methylene blue group, which totally 73 patients were detected at least one sentinel lymph node in all the 77 patients, and the detection rate was 94.80%. The SLN detected rate, SLN detected numbers, sensitivity, false negative rate, and accuracy of the ICG plus methylene blue group were 93.48% (43/46), 2.32 per case, 82.61% (19/23), 17.39% (4/23), and 90.70% (39/43) respectively, as well as 96.77% (30/31), 2.6 per case, 83.33% (10/12), 16.67% (2/10), and 93.33% (28/30) in the radioactive nuclide plus methylene blue group. There was no significant difference between the ICG plus methylene blue group and radioactive nuclide plus methylene blue group in terms of SLN detected rate, SLN detected numbers, sensitivity, false negative rate, and accuracy (P>0.05).ConclusionICG plus methylene blue showed similar SLN detection rate, SLN detected numbers, sensitivity, false negative rate, and accuracy as radioactive nuclide plus methylene blue for SLNB in breast cancer patients after NAC, and both of them can be performed easily and conveniently.