Risk communication in a patient decision aid for radiotherapy in breast cancer: How to deal with uncertainty?

Background and aimPatient decision aids for oncological treatment options, provide information on the effect on recurrence rates and/or survival benefit, and on side-effects and/or burden of different treatment options. However, often uncertainty exists around the probability estimates for recurrence/survival and side-effects which is too relevant to be ignored. Evidence is lacking on the best way to communicate these uncertainties. The aim of this study is to develop a method to incorporate uncertainties in a patient decision aid for breast cancer patients to support their decision on radiotherapy.MethodsFirstly, qualitative interviews were held with patients and health care professionals. Secondly, in the development phase, thinking aloud sessions were organized with four patients and 12 health care professionals, individual and group-wise.ResultsConsensus was reached on a pictograph illustrating the whole range of uncertainty for local recurrence risks, in combination with textual explanation that a more exact personalized risk would be given by their own physician. The pictograph consisted of 100 female icons in a 10 x 10 array. Icons with a stepwise gradient color indicated the uncertainty margin. The prevalence and severity of possible side-effects were explained using verbal labels.ConclusionsWe developed a novel way of visualizing uncertainties in recurrence rates in a patient decision aid. The effect of this way of communicating risk uncertainty is currently being tested in the BRASA study (NCT03375801).     

营养风险与腹膜后肿瘤患者住院时间的相关性研究

目的 探讨营养风险与腹膜后肿瘤患者住院时间的相关性。方法 采用回顾性研究，选取2012年1月至2018年12月四川大学华西医院血管外科新入院腹膜后肿瘤患者60例，采用营养风险筛查表评估患者营养风险，收集患者体质指数、围术期血红蛋白和白蛋白水平、住院天数、术后恶心呕吐发生情况、术后排气、排便时间和首次进食时间。采用单因素分析比较不同患者住院时间，采用多重线性逐步回归分析患者住院时间的影响因素。结果 纳入的60例腹膜后肿瘤患者中，40例患者（66.7%）术前存在营养风险，52例患者（86.7%）术后存在营养风险；单因素分析显示，患者术前、术后营养风险 （术前P<0.001，术后P=0.043）、术前白蛋白 （P=0.019）、术后血红蛋白 （P=0.019）、术后白蛋白（P=0.025） 水平以及术后恶心呕吐 （P=0.001） 均会影响患者的住院时间；患者住院时间与围术期营养风险筛查工具评分、术后首次进食时间、术后排气时间和排便时间具有相关性，且相关性强（r=0.759~0.770； P<0.01）；多因素分析显示术前营养风险是腹膜后肿瘤患者住院时间的重要预测因素（β=0.399）。结论 术前营养风险是腹膜后肿瘤患者住院时间的预测因子。     

Use of biomimetic microtissue spheroids and specific growth factor supplementation to improve tenocyte differentiation and adaptation to a collagen-based scaffold in vitro

Tenocytes represent a valuable source of cells for the purposes of tendon tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and as such, should possess a high degree of tenogenic differentiation prior to their use in vivo in order to achieve maximal efficacy. In the current report, we identify an efficient means by which to maintain differentiated tenocytes in vitro by employing the hanging drop technique in combination with defined growth media supplements. Equine tenocytes retained a more differentiated state when cultured as scaffold-free microtissue spheroids in low serum-containing medium supplemented with l-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate, insulin and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. This was made evident by significant increases in the expression levels of pro-tenogenic markers collagen type I (COL1A2), collagen type III (COL3A1), scleraxis (SCX) and tenomodulin (TNMD), as well as by enhanced levels of collagen type I and tenomodulin protein. Furthermore, tenocytes cultured under these conditions demonstrated a typical spindle-like morphology and when embedded in collagen gels, became highly aligned with respect to the orientation of the collagen structure following their migration out from the microtissue spheroids. Our findings therefore provide evidence to support the use of a biomimetic microtissue approach to culturing tenocytes and that in combination with the defined growth media described, can improve their differentiation status and functional repopulation of collagen matrix.     

Patterns in metabolite profile are associated with risk of more aggressive prostate cancer: A prospective study of 3,057 matched case–control sets from EPIC

Metabolomics may reveal novel insights into the etiology of prostate cancer, for which few risk factors are established. We investigated the association between patterns in baseline plasma metabolite profile and subsequent prostate cancer risk, using data from 3,057 matched case–control sets from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We measured 119 metabolite concentrations in plasma samples, collected on average 9.4 years before diagnosis, by mass spectrometry (AbsoluteIDQ p180 Kit, Biocrates Life Sciences AG). Metabolite patterns were identified using treelet transform, a statistical method for identification of groups of correlated metabolites. Associations of metabolite patterns with prostate cancer risk (OR_1SD) were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Supplementary analyses were conducted for metabolite patterns derived using principal component analysis and for individual metabolites. Men with metabolite profiles characterized by higher concentrations of either phosphatidylcholines or hydroxysphingomyelins (OR_1SD = 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.89), acylcarnitines C18:1 and C18:2, glutamate, ornithine and taurine (OR_1SD = 0.72, 0.57–0.90), or lysophosphatidylcholines (OR_1SD = 0.81, 0.69–0.95) had lower risk of advanced stage prostate cancer at diagnosis, with no evidence of heterogeneity by follow-up time. Similar associations were observed for the two former patterns with aggressive disease risk (the more aggressive subset of advanced stage), while the latter pattern was inversely related to risk of prostate cancer death (OR_1SD = 0.77, 0.61–0.96). No associations were observed for prostate cancer overall or less aggressive tumor subtypes. In conclusion, metabolite patterns may be related to lower risk of more aggressive prostate tumors and prostate cancer death, and might be relevant to etiology of advanced stage prostate cancer.     

A case of Klebsiella pneumoniae spondylitis and bacteremia potentially due to inflammation around a fecalith

We herein report a case of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) spondylitis and bacteremia in a 90-year-old man with diabetes mellitus who had undergone sigmoidectomy and had a fecalith. Two months prior to admission, he had received antimicrobial treatment for 2 weeks for K. pneumoniae bacteremia whose entry was unclear and he was readmitted to our hospital owing to fever and stomachache. K. pneumoniae was isolated from two sets of blood cultures, and computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed inflammation and destruction of the 8th and 9th thoracic vertebra. The diagnosis was spondylodiscitis secondary to K. pneumoniae bacteremia. Although the entry point for K. pneumoniae was unclear, we suggest that inflammation of the mucosa around the fecalith might have caused the Enterobacteriaceae bacteremia.     

乳腺癌21基因检测的研究进展

乳腺癌是一类具有异质性的肿瘤，不同患者的治疗方法和疗效都不相同。尽管目前仍在努力为激素受体（hormone receptor，HR）阳性（+）、人表皮生长因子受体2（human epidermal growth factor receptor 2,HER-2）阴性（-）、淋巴结（axillary lymph node，ALN）阴性（-）的早期乳腺癌患者寻找合适的治疗方法，但其术后是否需要化疗仍然是肿瘤科医生面临的一个难题。以往治疗主要依赖于经典的组织病理学和免疫组织化学技术，随着精准医疗时代的到来，我们需要更定量的诊断方法和合理的个体化治疗。虽然化疗可降低疾病复发风险并提高生存率，但它带来的不良反应事件会降低患者的生活质量，尤其低复发风险（recurrence risk,RS)有可能超过化疗益处。21基因检测不仅可以预测这类早期乳腺癌化疗疗效及评估预后，还可提供精准的个体化治疗方案指导用药，为患者增添信心。本文就乳腺癌21基因检测的研究进展进行综述。     

电子线照射对小鼠胰岛素生长因子相关蛋白表达的影响

目的：探讨电子线对胰岛素生长因子-1家族蛋白表达的影响，为研究辐射对肝脏的早期损伤提供依据。方法：采用电子线照射小鼠，照射剂量为1、2、4 Gy，用Western blot法检测照射后12、48和72 h小鼠肝脏中胰岛素生长因子1受体（IGF-1R）、胰岛素生长因子结合蛋白1（IGFBP1）、胰岛素生长因子结合蛋白4（IGFBP4）和胰岛素生长因子1（IGF-1）蛋白表达水平的改变。结果：照射剂量为1 Gy时，与对照组相比，IGF-1蛋白在照射后48 h时表达增加，IGFBP1、IGFBP4和IGF1R蛋白的表达在照射后12、48和72 h均表达减少。照射剂量为2 Gy时，IGF-1和IGFBP4蛋白在照射后48 h时表达增加，其余时间点表达减少。IGFBP1蛋白在照射后12 h时表达增加，48和72 h时表达减少。IGF1R蛋白在照射后3个时间点均呈现为表达减少。照射剂量4 Gy时，肝脏中IGF-1、IGFBP1和IGFBP4蛋白均表达减少，IGF1R蛋白在照射后12 h时表达增加，48、72 h时均表达减少（均为P < 0.05）。结论：电子线照射后小鼠肝脏中胰岛素生长因子-1家族蛋白多以下调表达为主，与前期基因表达的结果相一致，有可能作为反映放射性工作人员早期肝脏损伤的生物标志物之一。