Comment on “Outcomes of curative liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis”

The present letter to the editor is in response to the research “Outcomes of curative liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis” by Elshaarawy et al in World J Gastroenterol 2021; 13(5): 424–439. The preoperative assessment of the liver reserve function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with cirrhosis is crucial, and there is no universal consensus on how to assess it. Based on a retrospective study, Elshaarawy et al investigated the impact of various classical clinical indicators on liver failure and the prognosis after hepatectomy in HCC patients with cirrhosis. We recommend that we should strive to explore new appraisal indicators, such as the indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min.     

hsacirc0006867在结直肠癌组织中的表达及其临床意义北大核心

目的:探讨环状RNA hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中的表达及其与临床病理因素的关系。方法:全转录组测序筛选结直肠癌中特异circRNAs表达谱,挑选出差异表达显著的hsa_circ_0006867,qRT-PCR检测54例结直肠癌组织及癌旁组织中hsa_circ_0006867表达情况,分析其表达水平与结直肠癌临床病理特征的相关性,ROC曲线分析hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中的诊断价值。结果:测序获得circRNAs在结直肠癌中的差异表达谱,qRT-PCR验证hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中表达下调(P<0.05)。其表达水平与肿瘤分化程度和远处转移有关(P<0.05)。ROC曲线显示hsa_circ_0006867诊断结直肠癌AUC为0.851(95%CI:0.775~0.927),当截断值为0.0146时,敏感度为88.46%(95%CI:0.770~0.946),特异度为73.08%(95%CI:0.598~0.832),差异具有统计学意义(P<0.001)。结论:hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中表达下调,与相关临床病理特征密切联系,可作为潜在结直肠癌临床诊断指标。     

Evaluating Atherosclerosis of the Abdominal Aorta in Rabbits Using 2-D Strain Imaging

After establishment of an animal model of atherosclerosis, speckle tracking imaging was performed to analyze the correlation between ultrasound characteristics and pathological manifestations. Rabbits were divided into the normal control (NC) and atherosclerosis (AS) groups. Rabbits in the AS group were subjected to ultrasound-guided balloon injury of the abdominal aorta and fed a high-fat diet for 16 wk. Rabbits in the NC group were fed a normal diet for the same period. After 16 wk, all animals underwent serological tests, ultrasound and speckle tracking circumferential strain analysis. In the AS group, 28 hypo-echoic plaques had formed. The circumferential strain of six segments at the short axis of plaques in the AS group was lower than that in the NC group (p < 0.001), and global circumferential strain (GCS) in the AS group was significantly reduced compared with the NC group (p < 0.001). In the AS group, the area ratio of type I to type III collagen fibers was smaller than that in the NC group. The GCS of atherosclerotic plaques was positively correlated with the area ratio of type I to type III collagen fibers in plaques (r = 0.7181, p < 0.001). In conclusion, there is a significant positive correlation between the decreased circumferential strain and the decreased area ratio of type I to type III collagen fibers in hypo-echoic plaques.     

Trifluridine/Tipiracil in Combination with Bevacizumab in First-Line for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Way Forward. A Point of View Based on Cost-Effectiveness

Introduction: The aim of this analysis is to assess the pharmacological costs of trifluridine/tipiracil as first-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients who were not candidates for combination with cytotoxic chemotherapies.Discussion: TASCO1 Trial was considered (153 patients). Differences in costs between the 2 arms (trifluridine/tipiracil plus bevacizumab vs. capecitabine plus bevacizumab) was 9113 € (10 264 USD), with a cost savings of 1982 € (2232 USD) per month of overall survival (OS)-gain.Conclusion: Trifluridine/tipiracil could be consider a cost-effective treatment also in first-line for mCRC patients who were not candidates for combination with cytotoxic chemotherapies.     

Identification of differentially expressed miRNAs and key genes involved in the progression of alcoholic fatty liver disease using rat models

BackgroundAlcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) is a liver disease caused by prolonged heavy drinking and has a poor prognosis in the clinic. This study aimed to explore the differential miRNAs expression profiles in the AFLD rat model.MethodsThe rat model of AFLD was established by ethanol intragastric administration and was used to explore the differential miRNAs expression profiles. We further analyzed the potential target mRNAs using the bioinformatics technique. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were carried out to better understand the biological function of differential expression genes (DEGs). We used the human Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset GSE28619 to further screen the key differentially expressed genes. The integration between the differentially expressed genes from the AFLD model and GEO was conducted and the key genes were identified.ResultsThe serum ALT, AST, TG, and TC levels in the AFLD model group were significantly higher than those in the normal control group. There are 45 miRNAs with significant changes including 26 upregulated and 19 down-regulated miRNAs. GO and KEGG enrichment showed various metabolic processes and signaling pathways were enriched in the progression of AFLD. After integrating the results of GSE28619 and DEGs, we observed that there are 12 genes with significant changes in two data sets, including PSAT1, TKFC, PTTG1, LCN2, CXCL1, NR4A1, RGS1, VCAN, FOS, CXCL10, ATF3, and CYP1A1.ConclusionAFLD showed differentially expressed miRNAs, which may be involved in the occurrence and progression of AFLD. Meanwhile, some signal metabolic pathways may be related to the pathogenesis of AFLD.