Microwave Ablation as Bridging to Liver Transplant for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis

PurposeTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of microwave (MW) ablation as first-line locoregional therapy (LRT) for bridging patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to liver transplant.Materials and MethodsThis retrospective study evaluated 88 patients who received percutaneous MW ablation for 141 tumors as first-line LRT for HCC and who were listed for liver transplantation at a single medical center between 2011 and 2019. The overall survival (OS) rate statuses after liver transplant, waitlist retention, and disease progression were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier techniques.ResultsAmong the 88 patients (72 men and 16 women; mean age, 60 years; Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, 11.2) who were listed for transplant, the median waitlist time was 9.4 months (interquartile range, 5.5–18.9). Seventy-one (80.7%) patients received transplant after a median waitlist time of 8.5 months. Seventeen (19.3%) patients were removed from the waitlist; of these, 4 (4.5%) were removed because of tumors outside of the Milan criteria (HCC-specific dropout). No difference in tumor size or alpha-fetoprotein was observed in the transplanted versus nontransplanted patients at the time of ablation (2.1 vs 2.1 cm and 34.4 vs 34.7 ng/mL for transplanted vs nontransplanted, respectively; P > .05). Five (5.1%) of the 88 patients experienced adverse events after ablation; however, they all recovered. There were no cases of tract seeding. The local tumor progression (LTP) rate was 7.2%. The OS status after liver transplant at 5 years was 76.7%, and the disease-specific survival after LTP was 89.6%, with a median follow-up of 61 months for all patients.ConclusionsMW ablation appears to be safe and effective for bridging patients with HCC to liver transplant without waitlist removal from seeding, adverse events, or LTP.     

恐惧疾病进展在肺癌患者配偶希望水平与生活质量间的中介效应

目的探讨恐惧疾病进展在肺癌患者配偶希望水平与生活质量间的中介作用。方法采取方便抽样法,选取2019年11月—2021年1月新疆某三级甲等肿瘤专科医院165例肺癌患者配偶作为研究对象,采用Herth希望指数量表(Herth Hope Index,HHI)、癌症患者恐惧疾病进展简化量表(Fear ofProgression Questionnaire-Short Form,FoP-Q-SF)、生活质量核心量表(European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire,QLQ-C30)进行问卷调查,运用Pearson相关性分析肺癌患者配偶恐惧疾病进展、希望水平、生活质量之间的相关性;采用AMOS23.0软件建立结构方程模型,并用偏差校正的非参数百分位Bootstrap程序对模型进行检验。结果共有162例肺癌患者配偶完成研究,HHI总分为(26.28±2.90)分,FoP-Q-SF总分为(43.74±4.68)分,QLQ-C30总分为(55.29±14.26)分。相关分析显示,肺癌患者配偶生活质量与希望水平呈正相关(r=0.541,P<0.001)与恐惧疾病进展呈负相关(r=-0.469,P<0.001);希望水平与恐惧疾病进展呈负相关(r=-0.574,P<0.001)。希望水平对生活质量有显著正向效应(β=0.428,P<0.001),并通过恐惧疾病进展的部分中介作用间接影响其生活质量,中介效应占总效应的33.12%。结论希望水平对肺癌患者配偶生活质量有直接预测作用,恐惧疾病进展在希望水平与生活质量之间起到部分中介作用。     

Follow-Up of Women with Cervical Cytological Abnormalities: Progression and Regression Events

Abnormalities in the cervix, when identified early by Pap smear, can be treated in the early stages or in the precursorstages of the neoplasia, which may increase the chances of regression of the lesion. The aim to verify the rate of cervicalabnormalities and to evaluate the risk of progression or regression associated with age and cytological diagnosis.Methods: The study was conducted in a referral hospital in Southern Brazil, based on the results of pathology andcytopathology laboratory tests of uterine cervix. The historical cohort included patients with an abnormal cytologydiagnosis in the period from January 2010 to December 2014, followed until July 2016. Results: A total of 42,389cervical smears were analyzed, 4,427 of which were eligible for analysis of the evolution of cervical abnormalities. Inprogression and regression events analysis, we observed that patients with a cytological diagnosis of atypical glandularcells presented a higher risk of cervical abnormality progression (Hazard Ratio: 2.0 and 95% confidence intervals1.36–3.48). We also observed that patients younger than 25 years old were more likely to regress the cervical lesions(Hazard Ratio:1.4 and 95% confidence intervals 1.20–1.74). Conclusions: The associations found between the events(progression and regression), age and cytological diagnosis, highlights the importance of cytological screening inpopulations at risk of precursor of cervical cancer lesions, especially in women older than 25 years.     

老年癌症患者恐惧疾病进展与希望水平的相关性研究

目的了解老年癌症患者恐惧疾病进展及希望水平现状,并探讨两者相关性。方法采用一般资料调查表、中文版恐惧疾病进展简化量表和Herth希望量表对226例老年癌症患者进行调查。结果老年癌症患者恐惧疾病进展总分为(35. 04±6. 49)分,希望总分为(34. 93±5. 07)分。老年癌症患者恐惧疾病进展总分及各维度得分与希望总分及各维度得分呈负相关(均P 0. 01)。结论老年癌症患者恐惧疾病进展水平较高,且与希望水平有显著相关性,提高患者希望水平可改善其恐惧疾病进展水平。     

Rapid progression of type 2 diabetes and related complications in children and young people—A literature review

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is suggested to progress faster in children and young people vs type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the same age group and T2D in adults. We reviewed the evidence base for this. A literature search was performed of PubMed‐indexed publications between 2000 and 2018, for the terms “pediatric” and “T2D.” Results were combined and filtered for those relating to “progression.” Searches of abstract books from Latin American and Asian congresses were performed to include these populations. Pediatric populations were defined as <25 completed years of age. Of the articles and congress abstracts found, 30 were deemed relevant. Dividing the studies into categories based on how T2D progresses, we found the following: (a) yearly beta‐cell function deterioration was shown to be 20% to 35% in children with T2D compared with 7% to 11% in adults with T2D, despite similar disease durations; (b) retinopathy progression was likely dependent on diabetes duration rather than diabetes type; however, nephropathy, neuropathy and probably hypertension progressed faster in youth‐onset T2D vs T1D. Nephropathy progression was similar to adults with T2D, allowing for disease duration. Youth with T2D had a worse cardiovascular (CV) risk profile than youth with T1D, and a faster progression to CV death. (c) Progression to treatment failure was faster in youth‐onset T2D vs adult‐onset T2D. Substantial evidence exists for faster progression of T2D in pediatric patients vs T1D or adult‐onset T2D. New treatments targeting the pathology are needed urgently to address this issue.     

Longitudinal validity of PET‐based staging of regional amyloid deposition

Positron emission tomography (PET)‐based staging of regional amyloid deposition has recently emerged as a promising tool for sensitive detection and stratification of pathology progression in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Here we present an updated methodological framework for PET‐based amyloid staging using region–specific amyloid‐positivity thresholds and assess its longitudinal validity using serial PET acquisitions. We defined region‐specific thresholds of amyloid‐positivity based on Florbetapir‐PET data of 13 young healthy individuals (age ≤ 45y), applied these thresholds to Florbetapir‐PET data of 179 cognitively normal older individuals to estimate a regional amyloid staging model, and tested this model in a larger sample of patients with mild cognitive impairment (N = 403) and AD dementia (N = 85). 2‐year follow‐up Florbetapir‐PET scans from a subset of this sample (N = 436) were used to assess the longitudinal validity of the cross‐sectional model based on individual stage transitions and data‐driven longitudinal trajectory modeling. Results show a remarkable congruence between cross‐sectionally estimated and longitudinally modeled trajectories of amyloid accumulation, beginning in anterior temporal areas, followed by frontal and medial parietal areas, the remaining associative neocortex, and finally primary sensory‐motor areas and subcortical regions. Over 98% of individual amyloid deposition profiles and longitudinal stage transitions adhered to this staging scheme of regional pathology progression, which was further supported by corresponding changes in cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. In conclusion, we provide a methodological refinement and longitudinal validation of PET‐based staging of regional amyloid accumulation, which may help improving early detection and in‐vivo stratification of pathologic disease progression in AD.