Study on the Value of Ultrasound Elastography Combined with Plasma miRNA Expression in the Early Detection of Breast Cancer

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignant tumor in women, and its morbidity and mortality are increasing each year, due to the lack of specific clinical symptoms in the early stage of BC, and the lack of diagnostic methods for early breast cancer. Therefore, identifying an effective diagnostic method for early BC has become urgent. Materials and Methods: Breast lesions with a histological diagnosis that were examined by ultrasonic elastography (UE) in our department from June 2020 to December 2021 were reviewed. qRT-PCR was performed to measure the expression levels of miR-144-5p and miR-26b-5p in the plasma of patients with BC. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve and area under the curve (AUC) were used to investigate the potential diagnostic value of miR- 144-5p, miR-26b-5p and the elastographic score in BC. Results: The ultrasonic elastography score(UES) was found to be significantly upregulated in BC compared with that in benign breast lesions, and the AUC, sensitivity and specificity were 0.809, 0.717 and 0.806 for distinguishing BC from benign breast lesions, respectively. miR-144-5p and miR-26b- 5p were found to be upregulated in the plasma of BC patients, and miR-144-5p+miR-26b-5p had 0.781 sensitivity and 0.780 specificity for the diagnosis of BC. Furthermore, we found that the diagnostic performance of miR-144-5p and miR-26b-5p combined with UES for BC had 0.913 sensitivity and 0.890 specificity. Conclusions: The combination of plasma miR-144-5p, miR-26b-5p and UES has a very high clinical application value for the early detection of BC.     

Confounded association between proton pump inhibitor use and risk of biliary tract cancer: Result from three cohorts

Recent epidemiological studies suggested that proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use was associated with an increased risk of biliary tract cancer (BTC), however, confounders were not adequately controlled. Our study aimed to evaluate PPI use and subsequent risk of BTC and its subtypes in three well-established cohorts. We conducted a pooled analysis of the subjects free of cancers in UK Biobank (n = 463 643), Nurses' Health Study (NHS, n = 80 235) and NHS II (n = 95 869). Propensity score weighted Cox models were used to estimate marginal HRs of PPIs use on BTC risk, accounting for potential confounders. We documented 284 BTC cases in UK Biobank (median follow-up: 7.6 years), and 91 cases in NHS and NHS II cohorts (median follow-up: 15.8 years). In UK biobank, PPI users had a 96% higher risk of BTC compared to nonusers in crude model (HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.44-2.66), but the effect was attenuated to null after adjusting for potential confounders (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.60-1.49). PPI use was not associated with risk of BTC in the pooled analysis of three cohorts (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.60-1.43). We also observed no associations between PPI use with risk of intrahepatic (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.49-2.04), extrahepatic bile duct (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.52-2.27) and gallbladder cancers (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.26-1.66) in UK Biobank. In summary, regular use of PPIs was not associated with the risk of BTC and its subtypes.     

Checkpoint-blocker-induced autoimmunity is associated with favourable outcome in metastatic melanoma and distinct T-cell expression profiles

Background Immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) activate CD8⁺ T cells, eliciting both anti-cancer activity and immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The relationship of irAEs with baseline parameters and clinical outcome is unclear.Methods Retrospective evaluation of irAEs on survival was performed across primary (N = 144) and secondary (N = 211) independent cohorts of patients with metastatic melanoma receiving single agent (pembrolizumab/nivolumab—sICB) or combination (nivolumab and ipilimumab—cICB) checkpoint blockade. RNA from pre-treatment and post-treatment CD8⁺ T cells was sequenced and differential gene expression according to irAE development assessed.Results 58.3% of patients developed early irAEs and this was associated with longer progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) across both cohorts (log-rank test, OS: P < 0.0001). Median survival for patients without irAEs was 16.6 months (95% CI: 10.9–33.4) versus not-reached (P = 2.8 × 10⁻⁶). Pre-treatment monocyte and neutrophil counts, but not BMI, were additional predictors of clinical outcome. Differential expression of numerous gene pathway members was observed in CD8⁺ T cells according to irAE development, and patients not developing irAEs demonstrating upregulated CXCR1 pre- and post-treatment.Conclusions Early irAE development post-ICB is associated with favourable survival in MM. Development of irAEs is coupled to expression of numerous gene pathways, suggesting irAE development in-part reflects baseline immune activation.Subject terms: Immunotherapy, Melanoma     

淫羊藿、巴戟天中药提取物对恒河猴M0、M1型单核衍生巨噬细胞基因表达的影响

【目的】探讨中药淫羊藿、巴戟天提取物(中药注射液喘可治的组成)对恒河猴单核衍生的巨噬细胞在未极化(M0)、M1极化条件下基因表达的影响,分析其可能的免疫调节的作用机制。【方法】采用密度梯度离心法分离中国恒河猴外周血单个核细胞(PBMCs),采用贴壁法纯化出单核细胞,并以粒细胞巨噬细胞集落刺激因子(GM-CSF)刺激5 d以使单核细胞分化成巨噬细胞;然后不加入极化因子(M0)或以干扰素γ(IFN-γ,继续培养2 d)诱导巨噬细胞极化为M1表型,同时分别加入淫羊藿、巴戟天提取物进行干预;然后提取m RNA并逆转录后,采用实时荧光定量PCR检测CCR5、CD4、CTLA-4、Fox P3、IDO、IL-10、TGF-β等基因表达量。【结果】与空白对照组比较,加入巴戟天提取物培养的M0巨噬细胞基因表达上调不明显;经淫羊藿提取物培养的M0巨噬细胞,CCR5基因表达量上调4.21倍,TGF-β上调7.66倍,Fox P3、IL-10轻度上调,而CD4、CTLA-4、IDO等基因表达改变倍数无明显变化。经巴戟天提取物刺激的M1型巨噬细胞,CTLA-4基因表达量上调3.22倍,Fox P3上调3.69倍,CCR5、CD4、IL-10、IDO基因改变倍数均无明显变化,TGF-β未测出;而由淫羊藿提取物刺激的M1型巨噬细胞,IL-10的表达量上调11.83倍,Fox P3上调4.55倍,IDO、CCR5、CD4、CTLA-4基因改变倍数无明显变化,TGF-β未测出。【结论】巴戟天和淫羊藿提取物培养能够上调M1型巨噬细胞IL-10、Fox P3、CTLA-4等抑炎基因表达,淫羊藿提取物能够上调M0巨噬细胞CCR5和TGF-β等基因表达,促进病原体清除和组织修复,从而发挥多效免疫调节作用。     

Clinical analysis of high-intensity focussed ultrasound ablation for abdominal wall endometriosis: a 4-year experience at a specialty gynecological institution

Objective: To evaluate the long-term clinical effect of high-intensity focussed ultrasound (HIFU) as a non-invasive modality for ablation of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) foci.

Methods: All women who were diagnosed with cutaneous endometriosis and underwent HIFU ablation and 4-year follow-up were included. Patient symptoms, imaging performed, HIFU ablation, recurrence, lesion location, size and number were collected and analyzed.

Results: A total of 51 women with 57 painful abdominal wall masses with a median volume of 4.00?cm³ and a mean age of 30.5±2.12 years were treated with HIFU. The main symptoms were a palpable painful abdominal mass (93%), protrusion of the skin (28.1%, 16) or lack of protrusion of the skin (71.9%, 41). Ultrasound was initially performed in 100% (51) of women, whereas 6% (3) required MRI examinations to distinguish the features and range of the masses. Ablation was performed with a median 300?s of sonication time, 40?min treatment time, 150?W of power and 41800?J of total energy to treat lesions that were a median volume of 3.83?cm³. No severe complications occurred, except in one patient with a first-degree skin burn, during the 48-month follow-up period. The pooled recurrence of cutaneous endometriosis occurred in 3.9% (2) of women.

Conclusion: The diagnosis of AWE should be confirmed with imaging of the lesion number, location, size and features before HIFU ablation. HIFU should be the first choice for the treatment of AWE as it is a non-invasive method, with high efficiency and safety and rapid postoperative recovery.