Search

Breast cancer patients with liver metastases are associated with high mortality. However, no standardized treatment approach is available for these patients who have undergone chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. We aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of patients with breast cancer liver metastases (BCLM) who underwent drug-eluting beads used for transarterial-chemoembolization (DEB-TACE). We retrospectively enrolled 14 patients with 39 lesions who underwent DEB-TACE for liver metastases following mastectomy for primary breast cancer. The incidence of complications, overall survival (OS), and local tumor progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed. A total of 14 patients with 39 liver metastases were treated with DEB-TACE from July 2017 to July 2020. The objective response rates (ORR) and disease control rates (DCR) were 71.4% and 92.8% at the 3-month period and 50% and 71.4% at the 6-month period, respectively. During the follow-up period the local tumor PFS was 8.0 months. The median OS was 20.0 months (range, 8–40 months) and the 1-, 2-year OS rates were 84.4% and 47.4%, respectively. No severe complications caused by this technique were detected. DEB-TACE for BCLM was characterized as a low trauma technique, with a limited number of complications. The results indicated that this method was safe and effective for patients with BCLM and could be widely adopted as a palliative treatment in clinical practice.

This study retrospectively studied transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with partial splenic embolization (PSE) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with severe hypersplenism. Seventy patients with HCC in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B or C with hypersplenism were divided into non-partial splenic embolization group (N-PSE, n = 51) and partial splenic embolization group (PSE, n = 19). The N-PSE group was further divided into N-PSE with mild to moderate hypersplenism (N-PSE-M, 47 cases) and N-PSE with severe hypersplenism (N-PSE-S, 4 cases). In the PSE group, leukocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets were significantly increased (P .05). The analysis showed a significant increase in ascites after 6 months of TACE in the N-PSE group (P

Migraine is increasingly being reported as a risk factor for primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). However, studies aimed to investigate this association yielded conflicting results. To assess the consistency of the data on the topic, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic literature search from Embase, Web of Science, and PubMed was performed to identify relevant studies on the relationship between migraine and POAG. Random effects models were used to estimate the pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) in this meta-analysis. A total of 11 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included in this meta-analysis. Our findings showed an RR of developing POAG of 1.24 (95% CI = 1.12–1.37) in migraine patients. No evidence of significant heterogeneity was detected across studies (P = .071; I2 = 41.7%). This association was not modified by the glaucoma type of the included patients. A significant association was observed in case–control design studies, but not in cohort design studies. Little evidence of publication bias was found. The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that migraine can significantly increase the risk of the development of POAG. However, the cohort study design failed to identify this association. Whether migraines can significantly increase the risk of developing POAG is still controversial.