China special issue on gastrointestinal tumors-Radiological features of pathological complete response in mismatch repair deficient colorectal cancer after neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade: A post hoc analysis of the PICC phase II trial

Neoadjuvant programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade exhibits promising efficacy in patients with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC). However, discrepancies between radiological and histological findings have been reported in the PICC phase II trial (NCT 03926338). Therefore, we strived to discern radiological features associated with pathological complete response (pCR) based on computed tomography (CT) images. Data were obtained from the PICC trial that included 36 tumors from 34 locally advanced dMMR CRC patients, who received neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade for 3 months. Among the 36 tumors, 28 (77.8%) tumors achieved pCR. There were no statistically significant differences in tumor longitudinal diameter, the percentage change in tumor longitudinal diameter from baseline, primary tumor sidedness, clinical stage, extramural venous invasion status, intratumoral calcification, peritumoral fat infiltration, intestinal fistula and tumor necrosis between the pCR and non-pCR tumors. Otherwise, tumors with pCR had smaller posttreatment tumor maximum thickness (median: 10 mm vs 13 mm, P = .004) and higher percentage decrease in tumor maximum thickness from baseline (52.9% vs 21.6%, P = .005) compared to non-pCR tumors. Additionally, a higher proportion of the absence of vascular sign (P = .003, odds ratio [OR] = 25.870 [95% CI, 1.357-493.110]), nodular sign (P < .001, OR = 189.000 [95% CI, 10.464-3413.803]) and extramural enhancement sign (P = .003, OR = 21.667 [2.848-164.830]) was observed in tumors with pCR. In conclusion, these CT-defined radiological features may have the potential to serve as valuable tools for clinicians in identifying patients who have achieved pCR after neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade, particularly in individuals who are willing to adopt a watch-and-wait strategy.     

Silencing KLF16 inhibits oral squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation by arresting the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis

Krüppel-like factor 16 (KLF16), a member of the Krüppel-like factor (KLF) family, has been extensively investigated in multiple cancer types. However, the role of KLF16 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains unknown. Thus, we conducted this study to investigate its related mechanism. KLF16 expression in OSCC cell lines was quantified by western blotting. Then, OECM1 and OC3 cells were divided into Blank, siCtrl, siKLF16#1 and siKLF16#2 groups. Subsequently, cell proliferation was detected using 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, cell migration and invasion were detected with wound healing and Transwell assays, and cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis were detected via flow cytometry. KLF16, p21, CDK4, Cyclin D1 and p-Rb expression was detected by western blotting. Finally, xenograft models were established in nude mice to observe the in vivo effects of KLF16 on OSCC. KLF16 protein expression was upregulated in OSCC cells. Compared to the cells in the Blank group, the OECM1 and OC3 cells in the siKLF16#1 group and siKLF16#2 group exhibited a sharp decrease in proliferation but a remarkable increase in apoptosis. Moreover, the proportion of cells in the G0/G1 phase notably increased and that in the S phase decreased, with evident decreases in cell invasion and migration. Moreover, KLF16, cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4), Cyclin D1 and p-Rb protein expression was upregulated, but p21 expression was downregulated. The mice in the siKLF16#1 and siKLF16#2 xenograft model groups exhibited slower tumour growth and smaller tumours with evident downregulation of Ki67 expression compared to the mice in the Blank group. KLF16 expression was upregulated in OSCC cells, and interfering with KLF16 led to cell cycle arrest, inhibited OSCC cell growth and promoted cell apoptosis.     

A Priori Subcell Limiting Approach for the FR/CPR Method on Unstructured Meshes

A priori subcell limiting approach is developed for high-order flux reconstruction/correction procedure via reconstruction (FR/CPR) methods on two-dimensional unstructured quadrilateral meshes. Firstly, a modified indicator based on modal energy coefficients is proposed to detect troubled cells, where discontinuities exist. Then, troubled cells are decomposed into nonuniform subcells and each subcell has one solution point. A second-order finite difference shock-capturing scheme based on nonuniform nonlinear weighted (NNW) interpolation is constructed to perform the calculation on troubled cells while smooth cells are calculated by the CPR method. Numerical investigations show that the proposed subcell limiting strategy on unstructured quadrilateral meshes is robust in shock-capturing.     

Radiomics model based on preoperative gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI for predicting liver failure

BACKGROUND Postoperative liver failure is the most severe complication in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) after major hepatectomy. Current available clinical indexes predicting postoperative residual liver function are not sufficiently accurate.AIM To determine a radiomics model based on preoperative gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for predicting liver failure in cirrhotic patients with HCC after major hepatectomy.METHODS For this retrospective study, a radiomics-based model was developed based on preoperative hepatobiliary phase gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance images in 101 patients with HCC between June 2012 and June 2018. Sixty-one radiomic features were extracted from hepatobiliary phase images and selected by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method to construct a radiomics signature. A clinical prediction model, and radiomics-based model incorporating significant clinical indexes and radiomics signature were built using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The integrated radiomics-based model was presented as a radiomics nomogram. The performances of clinical prediction model, radiomics signature, and radiomics-based model for predicting post-operative liver failure were determined using receiver operating characteristics curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analyses.RESULTS Five radiomics features from hepatobiliary phase images were selected to construct the radiomics signature. The clinical prediction model, radiomics signature, and radiomics-based model incorporating indocyanine green clearance rate at 15 min and radiomics signature showed favorable performance for predicting postoperative liver failure(area under the curve: 0.809-0.894). The radiomics-based model achieved the highest performance for predicting liver failure(area under the curve: 0.894; 95%CI: 0.823-0.964). The integrated discrimination improvement analysis showed a significant improvement in the accuracy of liver failure prediction when radiomics signature was added to the clinical prediction model(integrated discrimination improvement = 0.117, P =0.002). The calibration curve and an insignificant Hosmer-Lemeshow test statistic(P = 0.841) demonstrated good calibration of the radiomics-based model. The decision curve analysis showed that patients would benefit more from a radiomics-based prediction model than from a clinical prediction model and radiomics signature alone.CONCLUSION A radiomics-based model of preoperative gadoxetic acid–enhanced MRI can be used to predict liver failure in cirrhotic patients with HCC after major hepatectomy.     

超声在胃常见疾病及胃功能诊断中的应用

借助口服超声助显剂，胃壁及其病变得以清晰显示。本文就经腹超声诊断胃常见疾病和胃排空功能评估方面的一些体会与大家分享，希望经腹胃超声这种无创、实时的检查方式能更普及，使更多患者受益。     

干扰素在恶性淋巴瘤自体移植后早期干预的应用

目的:观察非霍奇金淋巴瘤（non-Hodgkin's lymphoma，NHL）患者自体造血干细胞移植（autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation，ASCT）术后应用重组人α-2b干扰素（α-2b IFN）进行早期干预治疗的临床疗效。方法:选取18例行ASCT的NHL患者为研究对象，移植前疾病评估均未达到完全缓解（complete remission，CR），试验组血象恢复后给予IFN 3 000 000 U次/隔日干预治疗，3个月后停用；对照组未行干扰素干预治疗，分析总体疗效及两组对比的生存情况。结果:随访中位时间为34（10~50）个月，患者中位生存时间为37（31~45）个月，3年总体无进展生存（progressive free survival，PFS）、总生存（overall survivial，OS）分别为54.7%、66.8%。ASCT后试验组1年内无疾病复发，2年内复发率为12.5%；对照组1年内复发率为20%，2年内复发率为30%。结论:NHL患者在ASCT后给予重组人α-2b IFN早期干预治疗，患者耐受性好，可能降低移植后早期复发率。