Search

With great interest, we read a study about a novel model modification for end-stage liver disease-sodium (MELD).(1) Starlinger P and colleagues concluded that the addition of C-reactive protein (CRP) and von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF-Ag) to the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium (MELD-Na) improves the prediction of waitlist mortality. However, several crucial concerns attached our due attention.

The option of T1a glottic cancer treatments remarkably varied in different countries. This study aimed to construct predictive models to predict overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with initially diagnosed T1a glottic cancer. And we used propensity score matching (PSM) to reassess the effect of treatments.Data of patients with initially diagnosed T1a glottic cancer were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Patients with complete information were randomly divided into the training and the validation cohorts (7:3). Cox regression was conducted to screen significant predictors of the OS and the CSS. PSM was performed to mimic randomized controlled trials. Survival analyses were performed by Kaplan-Meier survival methods, and log-rank tests were utilized.A total of 2342 patients met the inclusion criteria. Survival analyses showed that patients who underwent primary site surgery would have better OS and CSS. Univariate analyses and multivariate analyses proved that stage, N stage, primary site surgery, and chemotherapy significantly affected both the OS and the CSS. Predictive nomograms were established to predict patients' prognosis. Finally, the OS and the CSS for patients who underwent primary site surgery alone were significantly longer than those who underwent radiation alone before and after PSM.We constructed nomograms predicting the OS and the CSS of patients with initially diagnosed T1a glottic cancer. Compared to our previous studies, this study indicated that primary site surgery may be superior to radiation and chemotherapy. At present, chemotherapy should be not recommended for T1a glottic cancer patients.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Autophagy, a major cause of cancer-related death, is correlated with the pathogenesis of various diseases including cancers. Our study aimed to develop an autophagy-related model for predicting prognosis of patients with laryngeal cancer. We analyzed the correlation between expression profiles of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) and clinical outcomes in 111 laryngeal cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Afterward, gene functional enrichment analyses of gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were performed to find the major biological attributes. Univariate Cox regression analyses and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to screen ARGs whose expression profiles were significantly associated with laryngeal cancer patients overall survival (OS). Furthermore, to provide the doctors and patients with a quantitative method to perform an individualized survival prediction, we constructed a prognostic nomogram. Thirty eight differentially expressed ARGs were screened out in laryngeal cancer patients through the TCGA database. Related functional enrichments may act as tumor-suppressive roles in the tumorigenesis of laryngeal cancer. Subsequently, 4 key prognostic ARGs (IKBKB, ST13, TSC2, and MAP2K7) were identified from all ARGs by the Cox regression model, which significantly correlated with OS in laryngeal cancer. Furthermore, the risk score was constructed, which significantly divided laryngeal cancer patients into high- and low-risk groups. Integrated with clinical characteristics, gender, N and the risk score are very likely associated with patients OS. A prognostic nomogram of ARGs was constructed using the Cox regression model. Our study could provide a valuable prognostic model for predicting the prognosis of laryngeal cancer patients and a new understanding of autophagy in laryngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a prevalent malignancy in Asia particularly southern China. Comparisons of outcomes of conformal radiotherapy (CRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) have been still debated. This meta-analysis was carried out to compare oncologic outcomes of CRT and IMRT in the treatment of NPC. METHODS A literature search was performed through PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library databases from their inceptions to November 10, 2018. Two authors assessed the included studies and extracted data independently. Relative studies that compared oncologic outcomes between CRT and IMRT for NPC were included. RESULTS A total of 13 eligible studies were included, which contained 1 RCT, 1 prospective study, and 11 retrospective studies. Our meta-analysis showed that IMRT has increased overall survival (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.41-0.65, P