Search

Objective: To investigate the effects of biologics on psychological status and quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 42 hospitals in 22 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) from September 2021 to May 2022. General clinical information and the use of biologics were obtained from adult patients diagnosed with IBD who voluntarily participated in the study. Psychological status was evaluated using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) assessment tools. Counts were analyzed via the Chi-square test, and datasets that were not normally distributed were analyzed via nonparametric tests. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 2 478 valid questionnaires were collected. The GAD-7 score of the biologics group was significantly lower than that of the non-use group [6 (2, 9) vs. 7 (3, 10), Z =-3.49, P <0.001]. IBDQ scores [183 (158, 204) vs. 178 (152, 198), Z =-4.11, P <0.001], intestinal symptom scores [61 (52, 67) vs. 58 (49, 65), Z =-5.41, P <0.001], systemic symptom scores [28 (24, 32) vs. 27 (23, 31), Z =-2.37, P =0.018], emotional ability scores [69 (58, 77) vs. 67 (56, 75), Z =-3.58, P <0.001] and social ability scores [26 (22, 29) vs. 25 (22, 29), Z =-2.52, P =0.012] in the biologics group were significantly higher than in the non-use group. GAD-7 scores [5 (2, 9) vs. 6 (3, 10), Z =-3.50, P <0.001] and PSQI scores [6 (4, 9) vs. 6 (4, 9), Z =-2.55, P =0.011] were significantly lower in the group using infliximab than in the group not using it. IBDQ scores were significantly higher in patients using vedolizumab than in those not using it [186 (159, 205) vs. 181 (155, 201), Z =-2.32, P =0.021] and were also significantly higher in the group treated with adalimumab than in the group not treated with adalimumab [187 (159, 209) vs. 181 (155, 201), Z =-2.16, P =0.030]. However, ustekinumab had no significant effect on any of the scores. Conclusion: The use of biologics is strongly associated with improvements in anxiety status and quality of life in IBD patients.

Objective: To investigate the correlation between serum interleukin-38 (IL-38) and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) with pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods: The 94 patients with AECOPD admitted to Tianjin Chest Hospital from August 2015 to April 2018 were suspected of PE. They were divided into two groups based on CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and color Doppler ultrasound of lower extremity veins: 39 cases in PE group and 55 cases in Non-PE group. The general data and laboratory examination results of these subjects were recorded. Serum IL-38 was measured by double antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The between-group differences of above parameters were analyzed. Pearson correlation or Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the association of IL-38 with each variable in AECOPD patients. Binary Logistic regressions were conducted to determine the risk factors of AECOPD with PE. ROC curve was used to assess the value of serum IL-38 in predicting AECOPD with PE. Results: The serum level of IL-38 was lower in PE group than in Non-PE group [46.3 (33.1, 58.1) vs 61.5 (46.6, 72.5) ng/L, P< 0.05]. Correlation analysis showed that serum IL-38 levels were negatively correlated with C reactive protein and fibrinogen in patients with AECOPD ( r= -0.38,-0.29, all P< 0.05). Binary Logistic regressions showed that lower serum IL-38 level was a risk factor of AECOPD with PE ( OR= 0.78, 95 %CI : 0.61-0.94, P< 0.05). The area under the ROC curve was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.63-0.84, P< 0.05). When cutoff value of serum IL-38 was 52.1ng/L, the sensitivity was 70.9% and the specificity was 69.2% respectively. Conclusion: IL-38 could relieve the hypercoagulability by inhibiting inflammation in patients with AECOPD and could act as a predictor of AECOPD with PE.

Objective: To investigate a novel therapeutic regiment for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) based on c-kit RNA interference (RNAi) under the mediation of AdMax adenovirus., Methods: c-kit shRNA, whose lateral sides were decorated with restriction endonuclease sequences, was designed. The joining of c-kit shRNA and PDC316-EGFP-U6 was catalyzed by T4 DNA ligase to construct PDC316-EGFP-U6-C-KIT. Homologous recombination of AdEGFP-U6-C-KIT was performed with AdMax system. Heterotopic transplantation of GIST in nude mice was established. AdEGFP-U6-C-KIT was intratumorally injected in experimental group while blank admax adenovirus AdEGFP-U6 in control group. The volume, inhibition ratio of tumor and CD117 expression of graft tumor were compared between test and control groups., Results: The length of c-kit shRNA was around 50 bp in agarose electrophoresis. Gene sequencing revealed the designed c-kit RNAi sequence in PDC316-EGFP-U6-C-KIT. After transfection with AdEGFP-U6-C-KIT, 293 cells presented green fluorescence. The physical and infective titer of AdEGFP-U6-C-KIT was 5 × 10(11)vp/ml and 5.67 × 10(7) pfu/ml respectively. At the end of test, the mean volume of graft tumor was significantly smaller in test group than in control group [(75 ± 23) vs (989 ± 31) mm(3), P = 0.000]. The inhibition ratio of tumor was 59.6% in test group. Two cases (20%) in test group and 10 (100%) in control group had a positive expression of CD117 (P = 0.001)., Conclusion: c-kit RNAi mediated by Admax vector system can inhibit effectively the expression of c-kit gene and the growth of GIST in nude mice.

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and the prognostic factors of patients with colorectal cancer., Methods: The data of 2042 cases of colorectal cancer, pathologically confirmed at our hospital from January 1995 to December 2007, were summarized and analyzed., Results: The median age of all cases with colorectal cancer was 59 years old. The high-risk age ranged from 50 to 70 years old. The ratio of male and female was 1.4:1. The lesions located in rectum accounted for 46.2% and those for 22.0% in sigmoid. Patients under age 40 had a higher percentage of poor differentiation (33.5%) and mucinous carcinoma (16.7%). The cases with confirmed stage I, II, III and IV were 5.8%, 42.9%, 31.0% and 20.3% respectively. For all cases, the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year survival rates were 92.3%, 73.9%, 65.1% and 57.5% respectively. The independent risk factors for patient prognosis were age, gross type, differentiation, TNM staging and surgical type. Adjuvant chemotherapy was a protective factor. As compared with phase I (1995 - 2001), phase II (2002 - 2007) had a higher proportions of employing stapler, Dixon operation and adjuvant chemotherapy. The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of phase II were higher than phase I (93.4%, 78.0% and 73.2% vs 90.6%, 69.2% and 58.8%)., Conclusion: The prognostic factors of patients with colorectal cancer are age, gross type, differentiation, TNM staging, surgical type and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Objective: To investigate the expression of Dickkopf-3 (Dkk-3) in esophageal cancer and normal esophageal tissue and the relationship between Dkk-3 expression and the biological behavior of esophageal cancer., Methods: Immunohistochemical method of S-P was used to examine Dkk-3 expression in 69 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and 5 cases of normal esophageal tissue with non-tumor tissue microarray and the results were analyzed and correlated with their clinical and pathological features., Results: Positive Dkk-3 expression was observed in 65.7% (44/67) of the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases, but only one of the five cases with normal esophageal tissue showed positive microvascular expression of Dkk-3. In cases with positive expression of Dkk-3 significant differences were found in fiber membrane infiltration, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and TNM staging (P < 0.05), while no significant differences were found in the age, gender and pathological grading (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: The upregulation of Dkk-3 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma may contribute to tumor invasion and metastasis.