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.     

白花蛇舌草干预湿热瘀滞型肠内多发息肉术后复发的临床研究

目的 临床观察白花蛇舌草干预湿热瘀滞型肠内多发息肉患者内镜治疗术后复发情况。方法 采用前瞻性的随机空白对照试验设计，选取2019年9月1日—2020年12月31日上海中医药大学附属普陀医院消化科收治的门诊及住院结直肠多发息肉患者132例作为研究对象。采用随机方法分为对照组和试验组，每组66例。对照组行内镜治疗术给予常规治疗后无药物干预，试验组在对照基础上给予白花蛇舌草汤剂（每日取白花蛇舌草15 g、大枣3枚，煎取400 mL汤剂，分2次饭后温服）治疗，连续干预1年。观察并比较两组术前与术后1年肠道内息肉的复发率、息肉数目、息肉最大直径、中医证候评分及肝肾功能及血常规的差异。结果 干预1年后，试验组复发9例（14.75%），对照组复发21例（33.33%），两组息肉复发率比较，差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。试验组腺瘤、伴重度异型增生、体质量指数（BMI）≥24 kg·m^-2患者治疗后息肉复发率均较对照组同类型降低，差异显著（P＜0.05）；术后1年试验组息肉最大直径及息肉数目均较对照组显著减小，差异显著（P＜0.05）；术后1年试验组中医证候各项评分均显著低于对照组（P＜0.05）；术后1年，两组中医证候疗效比较，差异具有统计学意义（P＜0.05），且术前、术后1年两组患者肝肾功能、凝血功能等安全性指标无显著差异。结论 应用白花蛇舌草干预结直肠息肉术后患者，1年后明显降低肠内息肉的复发率，尤以腺瘤性息肉、重度异型增生、BMI超重患者更显著，不仅改善临床症状，还能有效预防结直肠息肉的复发，改善患者的预后。     

hsacirc0006867在结直肠癌组织中的表达及其临床意义北大核心

目的:探讨环状RNA hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中的表达及其与临床病理因素的关系。方法:全转录组测序筛选结直肠癌中特异circRNAs表达谱,挑选出差异表达显著的hsa_circ_0006867,qRT-PCR检测54例结直肠癌组织及癌旁组织中hsa_circ_0006867表达情况,分析其表达水平与结直肠癌临床病理特征的相关性,ROC曲线分析hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中的诊断价值。结果:测序获得circRNAs在结直肠癌中的差异表达谱,qRT-PCR验证hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中表达下调(P<0.05)。其表达水平与肿瘤分化程度和远处转移有关(P<0.05)。ROC曲线显示hsa_circ_0006867诊断结直肠癌AUC为0.851(95%CI:0.775~0.927),当截断值为0.0146时,敏感度为88.46%(95%CI:0.770~0.946),特异度为73.08%(95%CI:0.598~0.832),差异具有统计学意义(P<0.001)。结论:hsa_circ_0006867在结直肠癌中表达下调,与相关临床病理特征密切联系,可作为潜在结直肠癌临床诊断指标。     

Bench to bedside: recent advances in lung cancer pathological research with implications for diagnostic clinical practice

After decades of relative stagnation lung cancer is emerging as a disease type where rapid progress is being made in diagnosis and therapy, as well as in our understanding of disease biology. Much of this progress is of immediate impact to diagnosticians, and more is likely to affect diagnostic practice in the near future. In this review we seek to briefly summarize several key areas of active research of immediate or probable imminent value to trainee and consultant pulmonary pathologists alike. We cover some major changes in tumour classification, grading, and patient stratification, as well as considering the state of the art in machine-assisted interpretation of lung cancer histology, and the use of genetically modified lung cancer models.     

Abdominal lymph node recurrence from colorectal cancer: Resection should be considered as a curative treatment in patients with controlled disease

BackgroundLymph node recurrences (LNR) from colorectal cancer (CRC) still represent a therapeutic challenge, as standardized recommendations have yet to be established. The aim of this study was to analyze short- and long-term oncological outcomes following resection of LNR from CRC.MethodsAll patients with previously resected CRC who underwent histopathologically confirmed LNR resection in 3 tertiary referral centers between 2010 and 2017 were reviewed. Short- and long-term outcomes were analyzed, mainly recurrence-free and overall survival. Further recurrences following LNR resection were also analyzed.ResultsOverall, 18 patients were included. Primary CRC was left-sided in 16 (89%) patients, staged T3-4 in 15 (83%), N+ in 14 (78%) and presented with synchronous metastases in 8 (43%). Median time interval between primary CRC and LNR resections was 31 months. Performed lymphadenectomies were aortocaval (n = 10), pelvic (n = 7), in hepatic pedicle (n = 3) and mesenteric (n = 1). Four patients had associated liver metastases resection. Three (17%) presented with postoperative complications, of which one Clavien-Dindo 3. Fourteen (78%) patients presented with further recurrences after a mean delay of 9 months, with 36% of patients presenting with early (<6 months) recurrence. Five (36%) patients could undergo secondary recurrence resection and 3 (21%) patients radiotherapy. Median overall survival following LNR resection reached 44 months.ConclusionsCurrent results suggest that LNR resection is feasible and associated with improved survival, in selected patients. Longer time interval between primary CRC resection and LNR occurrence appeared to be a favorable prognostic factor whereas multisite recurrence appeared to be associated with impaired long-term survival.     

Patient preferences and predicted relative uptake for targeted therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer: a discrete choice experiment

Abstract

Objective

Ras wild-type metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRC) may be treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) agents. We aim to estimate patients’ preferences for mCRC treatment and relative importance of cost, efficacy improvement, avoidance of side effects and therapy convenience, and relative uptake between profiles that resemble Bevacizumab (anti-VEGF) and Cetuximab (anti-EGFR), two commonly prescribed mCRC targeted therapies.     

Can EGFR mutation status be reliably determined in pre‐operative needle biopsies from adenocarcinomas of the lung?

The identification of EGFR mutations in non‐small‐cell lung cancer is important for selecting patients, who may benefit from treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The analysis is usually performed on cytological aspirates and/or histological needle biopsies, representing a small fraction of the tumour volume. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of this molecular test. We retrospectively included 201 patients with primary adenocarcinoma of the lung. EGFR mutation status (exon 19 deletions and exon 21 L858R point mutation) was evaluated on both pre‐operative biopsies (131 histological and 70 cytological) and on the surgical specimens, using PCR. Samples with low tumour cell fraction were assigned to laser micro‐dissection (LMD). We found nine (4.5%) patients with EGFR mutation in the lung tumour resections, but failed to identify mutation in one of the corresponding pre‐operative, cytological specimens. Several (18.4%) analyses of the pre‐operative biopsies were inconclusive, especially in case of biopsies undergoing LMD and regarding exon 21 analysis. Discrepancy of mutation status in one patient may reflect intra‐tumoural heterogeneity or technical issues. Moreover, several inconclusive results in the diagnostic biopsies reveal that attention must be paid on the suitability of pre‐operative biopsies for EGFR mutation analysis.