Nucleus classification in histology images using message passing network

Identification of nuclear components in the histology landscape is an important step towards developing computational pathology tools for the profiling of tumor micro-environment. Most existing methods for the identification of such components are limited in scope due to heterogeneous nature of the nuclei. Graph-based methods offer a natural way to formulate the nucleus classification problem to incorporate both appearance and geometric locations of the nuclei. The main challenge is to define models that can handle such an unstructured domain. Current approaches focus on learning better features and then employ well-known classifiers for identifying distinct nuclear phenotypes. In contrast, we propose a message passing network that is a fully learnable framework build on classical network flow formulation. Based on physical interaction of the nuclei, a nearest neighbor graph is constructed such that the nodes represent the nuclei centroids. For each edge and node, appearance and geometric features are computed which are then used for the construction of messages utilized for diffusing contextual information to the neighboring nodes. Such an algorithm can infer global information over an entire network and predict biologically meaningful nuclear communities. We show that learning such communities improves the performance of nucleus classification task in histology images. The proposed algorithm can be used as a component in existing state-of-the-art methods resulting in improved nucleus classification performance across four different publicly available datasets.     

Risk-based,response-adapted therapy for early-stage extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma in the modern chemotherapy era: A China Lymphoma Collaborative Group study

We aimed to determine the survival benefits of chemotherapy (CT) added to radiotherapy (RT) in different risk groups of patients with early-stage extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL), and to investigate the risk of postponing RT based on induction CT responses. A total of 1360 patients who received RT with or without new-regimen CT from 20 institutions were retrospectively reviewed. The patients had received RT alone, RT followed by CT (RT + CT), or CT followed by RT (CT + RT). The patients were stratified into different risk groups using the nomogram-revised risk index (NRI). A comparative study was performed using propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis. Adding new-regimen CT to RT (vs RT alone) significantly improved overall survival (OS, 73.2% vs 60.9%, P < .001) and progression-free survival (PFS, 63.5% vs 54.2%, P < .001) for intermediate-risk/high-risk patients, but not for low-risk patients. For intermediate-risk/high-risk patients, RT + CT and CT + RT resulted in non-significantly different OS (77.7% vs 72.4%; P = .290) and PFS (67.1% vs 63.1%; P = .592). For patients with complete response (CR) after induction CT, initiation of RT within or beyond three cycles of CT resulted in similar OS (78.2% vs 81.7%, P = .915) and PFS (68.2% vs 69.9%, P = .519). For patients without CR, early RT resulted in better PFS (63.4% vs 47.6%, P = .019) than late RT. Risk-based, response-adapted therapy involving early RT combined with CT is a viable, effective strategy for intermediate-risk/high-risk early-stage patients with ENKTCL in the modern treatment era.     

HPV-specific antibodies at the oral cavity up to 30 months after the start of vaccination with the quadrivalent HPV vaccine among mid-adult aged men

BackgroundHPV-16 and HPV-18 cause most oropharyngeal cancers, which are increasing in incidence among males. Although HPV vaccines are highly effective against a number of HPV-associated cancers, efficacy for oropharyngeal cancers has not yet been demonstrated. In addition, the level of antibodies required for protection against oral HPV infection is unknown.Methods150 men ages 27–45 years from Tampa, FL, USA, and Cuernavaca, Mexico, received Gardasil at Day 1, Months 2, and 6. Then, sera and oral gargles were collected one month, 12 months, and 24 months after completion of the three doses (Month 7, 18 and 30 of the study) and tested for anti-HPV-16 and HPV-18 IgG antibody levels by a L1 VLP ELISA.ResultsAll participants developed detectable serum anti-HPV-16 and anti-HPV-18 antibodies and most had detectable antibodies in oral gargles at Month 7 (HPV-16: 93.2%; HPV-18: 72.1%). By months 18 and 30, oral antibodies were detectable in a lower number of participants (HPV-16, 39.8% and 29.6%; HPV-18, 10.7% and 4.6% of individuals, respectively). Overall, oral HPV-16- and 18-specific antibody levels, normalized to total IgG at months 7, 18, and 30, correlated with serum levels (HPV-16, R² = 0.93; HPV-18, R² = 0.91).ConclusionsReduced detectability of oral and serum HPV-16 and HPV-18 antibodies was observed at months 18 and 30 after initiation of the quadrivalent vaccination. However, when detectable, serum and oral HPV-16 and HPV-18 antibody levels were strongly correlated.     

胃癌外科治疗的热点问题与展望

我国胃癌患者约占全球胃癌患者总数的39.4%,以进展期为主,发病率与死亡率居我国恶性肿瘤前列,目前我国的胃癌诊治条件仍面临着严峻挑战。近年来,随着我国胃癌早期诊断率的升高以及部分高质量的临床研究结果的公布,我国胃癌外科治疗模式也发生一定改变,部分领域达到国际领先地位。全文就早期胃癌的外科治疗、进展期胃癌围手术期治疗、晚期胃癌转化外科治疗、胃癌微创手术等近年外科热点问题进行综述,以期为临床实践过程中制定胃癌患者个体化治疗方案提供参考。     

阿来替尼治疗晚期EML4-ALK融合基因阳性非小细胞肺癌110例

目的观察阿来替尼治疗晚期棘皮动物微管相关蛋白4间变性淋巴瘤激酶(EML4-ALK)融合基因阳性非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)的疗效及安全性。方法回顾性分析晚期EML4-ALK融合基因阳性NSCLC患者110例,接受阿来替尼600 mg po bid治疗,用药直至疾病进展或不能耐受的不良反应为止。观察治疗3个月后的疗效,采用卡方检验及logistics回归法进行单因素和多因素分析,评估多个临床因素与阿来替尼疗效的关系;并记录不良反应发生情况。结果所有患者客观缓解率(ORR)为73.6%,疾病控制率(DCR)为100.0%。体力状况(PS)评分0~1分者ORR显著高于PS评分2分及以上者(P<0.05),使用阿来替尼一线治疗者ORR较二线及以上治疗者显著升高(P<0.05),克唑替尼耐药患者ORR较未使用过克唑替尼者显著降低(P<0.05)。进一步多因素回归分析发现,PS评分(OR=0.28,95%CI:0.07~1.05,P=0.059)、阿来替尼治疗线数(OR=0.56,95%CI:0.09~3.45,P=0.529)及是否克唑替尼耐药(OR=0.46,95%CI:0.08~2.50,P=0.367)均不是ORR的独立影响因素。截至2020年9月30日,中位无进展生存期(mPFS)未达到。阿来替尼治疗总不良反应发生率为78.2%,其中Ⅲ~Ⅳ级不良反应包括胆红素升高和贫血各1例;未发生治疗相关死亡事件。结论阿来替尼治疗晚期EML4-ALK融合基因阳性NSCLC患者有较好的疗效,且不良反应可以耐受。