Patient-Reported Quality of Life Before and After Chemoradiation for Intact Pancreas Cancer: A Prospective Registry Study

PurposeOur purpose was to determine the effect of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on patient-reported quality of life (QOL) for patients with intact pancreas cancer.Methods and MaterialsWe reviewed a prospective QOL registry for patients with intact, clinically localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treated with CRT between June 2015 and November 2018. QOL was assessed pre-CRT (immediately before CRT, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy) and at the completion of CRT with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep) and its component parts: FACT-General (FACT-G) and hepatobiliary cancer subscore (HCS). A minimally important difference from pre-CRT was defined as ≥ 6, 5, and 8 points for FACT-G, HCS, and FACT-Hep, respectively.ResultsOf 157 patients who underwent CRT, 100 completed both pre- and post-CRT surveys and were included in the primary analysis. Median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range, 23-90). National Comprehensive Cancer Network resectability status was resectable (3%), borderline resectable (40%), or locally advanced (57%). Folinic acid, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) (75%) or gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (42%) were given for a median of 6 cycles (range, 0-42) before CRT. Radiation therapy techniques included 3-dimensional conformal (22%), intensity modulated photon (55%), and intensity modulated proton (23%) radiation therapy to a median dose of 50 Gy (range, 36-62.5). Concurrent chemotherapy was most commonly capecitabine (82%). Sixty-three patients (63%) had surgery after CRT. The mean decline in FACT-G, HCS subscale, and FACT-Hep from pre- to post-CRT was 3.5 (standard deviation [SD], 13.7), 1.7 (SD 7.8), and 5.2 (SD 19.4), respectively. Each of these changes were statistically significant, but did not meet the minimally important difference threshold. Pancreatic head tumor location was associated with decline in FACT-Hep. Nausea was the toxicity with the greatest increase from pre- to post-CRT by both physician-assessment and patient-reported QOL.ConclusionsFor patients with intact pancreatic adenocarcinoma, modern CRT is well tolerated with minimal decline in QOL during treatment.     

HIV Protease: Historical Perspective and Current Research

The retroviral protease of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an excellent target for antiviral inhibitors for treating HIV/AIDS. Despite the efficacy of therapy, current efforts to control the disease are undermined by the growing threat posed by drug resistance. This review covers the historical background of studies on the structure and function of HIV protease, the subsequent development of antiviral inhibitors, and recent studies on drug-resistant protease variants. We highlight the important contributions of Dr. Stephen Oroszlan to fundamental knowledge about the function of the HIV protease and other retroviral proteases. These studies, along with those of his colleagues, laid the foundations for the design of clinical inhibitors of HIV protease. The drug-resistant protease variants also provide an excellent model for investigating the molecular mechanisms and evolution of resistance.     

我国日间手术开展现状与前景展望

日间手术在国外已有上百年的发展历史，现已成为欧美国家重要手术模式。我国于20世纪初开始开展日间手术，但目前尚未普及，发展不平衡问题比较突出，存在认识不清、开展不规范、与医保支付对接不畅等问题。日间手术是一种使国家、医院和病人三方均受益的新型手术模式。近年来，国家相关管理部门积极引导，开展日间手术的医院明显增多，可以预见，我国日间手术即将进入快速发展的新阶段。因此，有条件的医院可以从简单、易操作的病种开始，落实临床路径，积累经验，再逐步稳妥展开。在保证质量的前提下，不断拓展日间手术范围，提高三、四级手术比例。同时，积极与医保支付政策对接，采取灵活的方式，获得医保的支持，更好地促进我国日间手术的快速发展。     

The potential mechanism of Bupleurum against anxiety was predicted by network pharmacology study and molecular docking

Metabolic Brain Disease - Bupleurum chinense DC. (Chaihu) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used in the treatment of anxiety. But the anxiolytic mechanisms of bupleurum are still unclear....