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Background: To summarize the impact of radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy delays on patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We retrospectively included 233 patients with stage II-IVa NPC treated with RT and chemotherapy between December 11, 2019 and March 11, 2020. The outcomes were elevation in the EBV DNA load between two adjacent cycles of chemotherapy or during RT, and 1-year disease-free survival (DFS). Results: RT delay occurred in 117 (50%) patients, and chemotherapy delay occurred in 220 (94%) patients. RT delay of ≥ 6 days was associated with a higher EBV DNA elevation rate (20.4% vs. 3.6%, odds ratio [OR] = 6.93 [95% CI = 2.49–19.32], P ≥ 10 days was not associated with a higher EBV DNA elevation rate (12.5% vs. 6.8%, OR = 1.94 [95% CI = 0.70–5.40], P = 0.20), or worse 1-year DFS (93.8% vs. 97.1%, HR = 3.73 [95% CI = 0.86–16.14], P = 0.059), compared with delay of ≥ 6 days remained an independent adverse factor for both EBV DNA elevation and DFS. Conclusion: To ensure treatment efficacy for patients with nonmetastatic NPC, initiation of RT should not be delayed by more than 6 days; the effect of chemotherapy delay requires further investigation.

Increasing evidence has revealed the roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as tumor biomarkers. Here, we introduce an immune-associated nine-lncRNA signature for predicting distant metastasis in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). The nine lncRNAs are identified through microarray profiling, followed by RT–qPCR validation and selection using a machine learning method in the training cohort (n = 177). This nine-lncRNA signature classifies patients into high and low risk groups, which have significantly different distant metastasis-free survival. Validations in the Guangzhou internal (n = 177) and Guilin external (n = 150) cohorts yield similar results, confirming that the signature is an independent risk factor for distant metastasis and outperforms anatomy-based metrics in identifying patients with high metastatic risk. Integrative analyses show that this nine-lncRNA signature correlates with immune activity and lymphocyte infiltration, which is validated by digital pathology. Our results suggest that the immune-associated nine-lncRNA signature can serve as a promising biomarker for metastasis prediction in LA-NPC.

Objectives : To explore the associations of FKBP4 and FKBP5 gene polymorphisms with disease susceptibility, glucocorticoid (GC) efficacy, anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods : All subjects were collected from the First and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University in Hefei, China, during 2011 to 2015. In the case–control study, 541 SLE patients and 543 controls were recruited. In the follow-up study, 466 patients completed the 12-week follow-up and then were divided into GC-sensitive and GC-insensitive groups. Genotyping was determined using Multiplex SNaPshot technique. Data were analyzed using chi-square test and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results : rs4713904, rs9368878, and rs7757037 of FKBP5 were associated with depression in SLE patients (rs4713904, PBH = 0.037; rs9368878, PBH = 0.001; rs7757037, PBH = 0.003). Moreover, rs4713904 was associated with GC efficacy in males with SLE (PBH = 0.011). The rs755658 of FKBP5 was associated with improvement in social function (PBH = 0.022) and mental component summary (PBH = 0.028). The rs4713907 of FKBP5 was related to improvement in total score of SF-36, bodily pain, and mental component summary score (all PBH = 0.018). Furthermore, the rs12582595 of FKBP4 was correlated with general health improvement (PBH = 0.033). No associations were seen between FKBP4/FKBP5 gene polymorphisms and SLE susceptibility and anxiety. Conclusions : FKBP5 gene polymorphisms may be associated with depression and GC efficacy of SLE patients. Meanwhile, the genetic polymorphisms of FKBP4 and FKBP5 genes may be associated with HRQOL improvement in SLE patients.Key Points• FKBP5 gene polymorphisms were associated with depression of SLE patients.• FKBP5 gene polymorphisms were associated with GC efficacy of SLE patients.• FKBP5 gene polymorphisms were associated with HRQOL improvement in SLE patients.• FKBP4 gene polymorphisms were associated with HRQOL improvement in SLE patients.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common form of gastrointestinal malignancies. A growing number of reports focusing on oxaliplatin (OXA) resistance in CRC treatment have revealed that drug resistance is an urgent issue in clinical applications, especially for finding effective therapeutic targets. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) are reported to play a critical role in tumor progressions and multi-drug resistance. The main aim of this study is to establish whether miR-5000-3p is an oncogene that is resistant to OXA and further confirm its underlying regulatory role in CRC. The OXA-associated gene expression dataset in CRC cells was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Statistical software R was used for significance analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between OXA-resistant (OR)-CRC cells and CRC cells, and results indicated ubiquitin-specific peptidase 49 (USP49) was upregulated in OR-CRC cells. Luciferase reporter assay showed that USP49 was verified to act as a downstream target gene of miR-5000-3p. From the results of TCGA database, miR-5000-3p expression was upregulated and USP49 was downregulated in patients with CRC. The function of miR-5000-3p was detected using MTT assay, wound healing, Transwell, and flow cytometry assays. Moreover, through in vitro and in vivo experiments, miR-5000-3p expression was confirmed to be upregulated in CRC cells or OR-CRC cells comparing to normal cell lines. Molecular mechanism assays revealed that USP49 binds to the miR-5000-3p promoter to increase the expression of miR-5000-3p, resulting in cancer cells sensitized to OXA. To sum up, these results suggest that miR-5000-3p may be a novel biomarker involved in drug-resistance progression of CRC. Moreover, the drug-resistance mechanism of miR-5000-3p/USP49 axis provides new treatment strategies for CRC in clinical trials.

The updated version of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines revised pretreatment workup for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) into “biopsy of the primary site or neck.” Despite provision of important diagnostic information, concerns regarding tumor cell dissemination limit the application of lymph node biopsy. This study aimed to investigate whether biopsy of the neck is associated with impaired survival in NPC. A propensity score-matched, population-based cohort identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to compare overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) of patients who underwent pretreatment cervical lymph node biopsy without subsequent neck dissection or removal of node compared with patients who did not undergo node biopsy. Of 2910 eligible patients, 416 (14.3%) underwent pretreatment lymph node biopsy. After use of control for patient, tumor, and demographic characteristics, biopsy was not associated with impaired OS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89–1.47; P = 0.29) or DSS (HR, 1.07; 95% CI 0.81–1.40; P = 0.63). Interestingly, in the subgroup analysis, the unfavorable effect of biopsy was observed for patients with differentiated non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma (but not other histologic types). Race did not positively alter the survival outcomes. The findings provide reference for clinical practice, showing that pretreatment cervical lymph node biopsy is not associated with impaired survival in NPC, except for patients with differentiated non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma. The recommended NCCN guidelines would be more specific by adding details to the general recommendation that neck biopsy is safe for all patients. Future prospective studies are needed to verify the study findings.

The corrosion behavior of the 110S tube steel in the environments of high H2S and CO2 content was investigated by using a high-temperature and high-pressure autoclave, and the corrosion products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction technique. The results showed that all of the corrosion products under the test conditions mainly consisted of different types of iron sulfides such as pyrrhotite of Fe0.95S, mackinawite of FeS0.9, Fe0.985 S and FeS, and the absence of iron carbonate in the corrosion scales indicated that the corrosion process was controlled by H2S corrosion. The corrosion rate of the 110S steel decreased firstly and then increased with the rising of temperature. The minimum corrosion rate occurred at 110 °C. When the H2S partial pressure $$P_{H{_2}S}$$ below 9 MPa, the corrosion rate declined with the increase of $$P_{H{_2}S}$$ . While over 9 MPa, a higher $$P_{H{_2}S}$$ resulted in a faster corrosion process. With the increasing of the CO2 partial pressure, the corrosion rate had an increasing trend. The morphologies of the corrosion scales had a good accordance with the corrosion rates.

Scientific Reports 5: Article number: 17378; published online: 27 November 2015; updated: 08 February 2016. This Article contains a typographical error in Affiliation 2. The correct affiliation is listed below: Department of Radiation Oncology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, People’s Republic of China

The prognostic value and staging category of parotid lymph node (PLN) metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain unknown. We retrospectively reviewed MRI scans and medical records for 1811 NPC patients who received intensity-modulated radiotherapy. The diagnosis of PLN metastasis was mainly based on MRI follow-up. Twenty-five positive PLNs in 21/1811 patients were identified; the incidence of PLN metastasis was 1.2%. PLN metastasis was significantly associated with advanced N-category and stage. Ten of the 21 patients received irradiation of the involved PLNs; the PLN recurrence rate was significantly higher for patients who received no irradiation; thus only patients with irradiated PLN were included in prognostic analyses. PLN metastasis was associated with significantly poorer progression-free survival, overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), but not regional or local relapse-free survival, in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, PLN metastasis was also significantly associated with poor DMFS. PLN involvement had a significantly higher hazard ratio (HR) for distant failure than N2 disease and similar HR to N3 disease. In conclusion, PLN metastasis is rare in NPC and was associated with similarly poor DMFS as N3 disease. PLN metastasis should be suspected in advanced nodal disease, but diagnosed with care before administering aggressive treatment.

The squeeze-out flow in reactions of $^{124}$Sn + $^{124}$Sn and $^{124}$Ba + $^{124}$Ba at different incident energies for different impact parameters is investigated by means of an isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. For the first time, it is found that the more neutron-rich system ($% ^{124}$Sn + $^{124}$Sn) exhibits weaker squeeze-out flow. This isospin dependence of the squeeze-out flow is shown to mainly result from the isospin dependence of nucleon-nucleon cross section and the symmetry energy., Comment: 4 pages in REVTex, 3 figures, 1 table