Health-related quality of life after isolated limb perfusion compared to extended resection,or amputation for locally advanced extremity sarcoma: Is a limb salvage strategy worth the effort?

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to compare long-term patient reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with locally advanced extremity soft tissue sarcoma (eSTS) after isolated limb perfusion followed by resection (IR), compared to extended resection (ER), primary amputation (A) or secondary amputation after IR (IR-A).MethodsPatients were selected from the respondents of a multi-institutional cross-sectional cohort survivorship study (SURVSARC) conducted among sarcoma survivors registered in the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR), 2–10 years after diagnosis. Used PROs were the EORTC QLQ-C30, the Cancer worry scale (CWS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS).ResultsWe identified 97 eSTS survivors: IR = 20, ER = 49, A = 20, IR-A = 8. While there were no differences in PROs between IR and ER, results showed better functioning and functionality in both groups versus the amputation groups. The amputation groups scored significantly lower on physical functioning (A = 62.7, IR-A = 65.7 versus IR = 78.0, ER = 82.7, p = 0.001) and role functioning (A = 67.5, IR-A = 52.8 versus IR = 79.2, ER = 80.6, p = 0.039), both EORTC QLQ-C30 scales. Also for the TESS, the scores were significantly lower for the amputation groups compared to the limb sparing groups (upper extremity p = 0.007 with A = 68.9, IR-A = 71.6 versus IR = 93.3, ER = 91.1; lower extremity p < 0.001 with A = 72.2, IR-A50.9 versus IR = 84.5 and ER = 85.5). There were no significant differences between the groups on cancer worry, anxiety and depression.ConclusionHRQoL in eSTS survivors treated with IR or ER is equal; for maintenance of physical functioning and functionality IR and ER outperform an amputation.     

Phase 0 Study of Vandetanib-Eluting Radiopaque Embolics as a Preoperative Embolization Treatment in Patients with Resectable Liver Malignancies

PurposeTo assess the safety and tolerability of a vandetanib-eluting radiopaque embolic (BTG-002814) for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with resectable liver malignancies.Materials and MethodsThe VEROnA clinical trial was a first-in-human, phase 0, single-arm, window-of-opportunity study. Eligible patients were aged ≥18 years and had resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (Child-Pugh A) or metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Patients received 1 mL of BTG-002814 transarterially (containing 100 mg of vandetanib) 7–21 days prior to surgery. The primary objectives were to establish the safety and tolerability of BTG-002814 and determine the concentrations of vandetanib and the N-desmethyl vandetanib metabolite in the plasma and resected liver after treatment. Biomarker studies included circulating proangiogenic factors, perfusion computed tomography, and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.ResultsEight patients were enrolled: 2 with HCC and 6 with mCRC. There was 1 grade 3 adverse event (AE) before surgery and 18 after surgery; 6 AEs were deemed to be related to BTG-002814. Surgical resection was not delayed. Vandetanib was present in the plasma of all patients 12 days after treatment, with a mean maximum concentration of 24.3 ng/mL (standard deviation ± 13.94 ng/mL), and in resected liver tissue up to 32 days after treatment (441–404,000 ng/g). The median percentage of tumor necrosis was 92.5% (range, 5%–100%). There were no significant changes in perfusion imaging parameters after TACE.ConclusionsBTG-002814 has an acceptable safety profile in patients before surgery. The presence of vandetanib in the tumor specimens up to 32 days after treatment suggests sustained anticancer activity, while the low vandetanib levels in the plasma suggest minimal release into the systemic circulation. Further evaluation of this TACE combination is warranted in dose-finding and efficacy studies.     

Arterial spin labeling MR image denoising and reconstruction using unsupervised deep learning

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) imaging is a powerful magnetic resonance imaging technique that allows to quantitatively measure blood perfusion non-invasively, which has great potential for assessing tissue viability in various clinical settings. However, the clinical applications of ASL are currently limited by its low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), limited spatial resolution, and long imaging time. In this work, we propose an unsupervised deep learning-based image denoising and reconstruction framework to improve the SNR and accelerate the imaging speed of high resolution ASL imaging. The unique feature of the proposed framework is that it does not require any prior training pairs but only the subject's own anatomical prior, such as T1-weighted images, as network input. The neural network was trained from scratch in the denoising or reconstruction process, with noisy images or sparely sampled k-space data as training labels. Performance of the proposed method was evaluated using in vivo experiment data obtained from 3 healthy subjects on a 3T MR scanner, using ASL images acquired with 44-min acquisition time as the ground truth. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed txtc framework over the reference methods. In summary, our proposed unsupervised deep learning-based denoising and reconstruction framework can improve the image quality and accelerate the imaging speed of ASL imaging.     

社区严重精神障碍患者规律面访情况及其影响因素研究

背景严重精神障碍患者因自知力欠缺及高复发性、高致残性等特点，对社会稳定造成严重威胁。做好社区面访管理工作意义重大，通过定期面访患者本人，可以更好地综合评估患者病情，以便及时采取措施，提高管理服务质量。目的了解社区严重精神障碍患者规律面访情况及其影响因素，为提高社区患者的面访服务管理质量提供参考依据。方法2020年10—12月，利用2019年底江苏省严重精神障碍管理系统中建档管理的无锡市严重精神障碍患者基础档案及随访管理信息，分析当年度无锡市社区严重精神障碍患者规律面访情况，采用Logistic回归分析规律面访的影响因素。结果共纳入27 778例研究对象，其规律面访率为81.08%（22 523/27 778）。Logistic回归分析结果显示，非本地户籍〔OR（95%CI）=0.704（0.640，0.775）〕、年龄≤44岁〔OR（95%CI）=0.522（0.472，0.578）〕、学历为高中及以上〔高中/中专OR（95%CI）=0.493（0.446，0.545），大专及以上OR（95%CI）=0.470（0.415，0.532）〕、目前有正式工作〔OR（95%CI）=0.715（0.668，0.766）〕、未婚〔OR（95%CI）=0.746（0.665，0.838）〕、经济状况为非贫困〔OR（95%CI）=0.587（0.517，0.666）〕、没有进行抗精神病药物治疗〔OR（95%CI）=0.491（0.440，0.548）〕、服药时长0~10年〔OR（95%CI）=0.881（0.778，0.998）〕、不是"以奖代补"监护补助对象〔OR（95%CI）=0.807（0.704，0.926）〕、不参加社区康复服务〔OR（95%CI）=0.844（0.716，0.996）〕是患者规律面访的消极影响因素（P<0.05）。结论无锡市社区严重精神障碍患者规律面访率尚需进一步提高，应重点关注非本地户籍、年龄≤44岁、高中及以上学历、目前有正式工作、未婚、经济非贫困、没有进行抗精神病药物治疗、服药时长0~10年、不是监护补助对象和不参加社区康复服务的社区严重精神障碍患者。可通过制定倾斜性政策、开展宣传教育、降低患者病耻感、改善患者疾病认知、加强患者社会支持等措施提高患者规律面访率。     

广泛性焦虑障碍住院患者与健康对照者的认知功能比较研究

背景 广泛性焦虑障碍（GAD）是常见的慢性精神疾病，常伴有不同程度的认知功能损害，严重影响患者的生活质量及社会功能。 目的 比较GAD住院患者与健康对照者认知功能的差异。 方法 选取2018年8月至2020年1月在南方医科大学南方医院住院治疗的GAD患者为GAD组（n=30），同期通过广告在南方医科大学南方医院住院患者陪护人员中招募年龄、性别相匹配的健康志愿者为健康对照组（n=30）。使用汉密尔顿焦虑量表（HAMA）、汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD）和Beck自杀意念量表中文版（BSI-CV）进行心理测评，采用精神运动警觉性任务（PVT）、Go/No-go联想任务、N-back任务分别评估认知功能的注意、抑制及工作记忆功能。比较两组一般情况、量表测评总分及认知功能差异，进一步采用多因素Logistic回归分析探究GAD住院患者和健康对照者的认知功能差异。 结果 GAD组HAMA、HAMD总分和最严重情况时BSI-CV总分及最严重情况时存在自杀意念者所占比例高于健康对照组（P<0.05）。N-back任务：GAD组1-back击中目标率（NBACK1a）、2-back击中目标率（NBACK2a）低于健康对照组，1-back击中目标的平均反应时（NBACK1b）长于健康对照组（P<0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示，NBACK1a〔OR=0.946，95%CI（0.898，0.997），P=0.038〕、NBACK1b〔OR=1.007，95%CI（1.000，1.014），P=0.042〕是GAD的影响因素。 结论 与健康对照者相比，GAD住院患者的工作记忆较差，需要临床关注。     

超声引导下关节腔内注射重组人Ⅱ型肿瘤坏死因子受体-抗体融合蛋白(益赛普)治疗血友病性关节病

目的 观察超声引导下关节腔内注射重组人Ⅱ型肿瘤坏死因子受体-抗体融合蛋白（益赛普）治疗血友病性关节病（HA）的价值。方法 回顾性分析32例接受超声引导下穿刺关节腔注射益赛普的HA患者，对比观察治疗前及治疗后1个月血友病关节健康评分（HJHS）、视觉模拟评分（VAS），以及超声所示目标关节增生滑膜厚度、血流信号、Melchiorre及中国早期血友病性关节病超声检测（HEAD-US-C）评分，评估其治疗价值。结果 对32例均成功完成超声引导下穿刺关节腔及腔内注射益赛普，共对18例膝关节、7例肘关节及7例踝关节进行治疗。术后未出现感染、出血等并发症。治疗后1个月，目标关节HJHS、VAS、Melchiorre评分、HEAD-US-C评分及增生滑膜最大厚度、平均厚度、血流信号均低于治疗前（P均<0.01）。结论 超声引导下关节腔内注射益赛普治疗HA安全、有效。