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Background: There is ongoing debate about surgery of primary site in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.Methods: 3919 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma identified in the SEER registry between 2004 and 2013. The benefit of surgery of primary nasopharynx tumor site on overall and cancer-specific survival was assessed by risk-adjusted multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression and propensity score matching modeling.Results: Surgery was marginally associated with better overall survival (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.816, 95% CI 0.656-1.015, p = 0.07) and cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.749, 95% CI 0.552-1.018, p = 0.06) in the propensity score model. Among 398 cases who underwent primary site surgery, 282 (70.85%) received local tumor excision and 79 (20.31%) received pharyngectomy. Local tumor excision and pharyngectomy had almost the same effect on survival in propensity score matching analysis. The benefit was significant in subgroups of white, age <60 year, and patients with T3, N1, M0, AJCC stage III, or moderately differentiated tumors. Further survival analysis showed surgery to promote survival in both radiotherapy and non-radiotherapy patients.Conclusion: This is the first population-based analysis using propensity score model to provide evidence of a positive impact of surgery on survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Moreover, surgery demonstrated the significant benefit in subgroups of patients with specific clinical characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Recent research indicates a potential association between workplace violence and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the working-age population. However, the relevant evidence in the United States is sparse. Thus, this study was conducted to explore the possible relationship between workplace violence and CVD among United States workers., Methods: We utilized cross-sectional data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey, which included a representative sample of 18 380 workers, to investigate the associations between workplace violence and the prevalence of CVD using logistic regression. Workplace violence was determined based on self-reported threats, bullying, or harassment at work over the past 12 months, supplemented with additional information regarding frequency. CVD included all forms of heart disease and stroke., Results: A total of 1334 workers reported experiences of workplace violence, and 1336 workers were diagnosed with CVD. After adjustment for covariates, participants who reported any instance of workplace violence had significantly higher odds of having CVD (odds ratio [OR], 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35 to 2.30) than those who reported no such violence. Furthermore, the highest odds of CVD (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.23 to 2.63) were observed among those frequently exposed to workplace violence. Even occasional exposure to workplace violence was associated with 74% excess odds of CVD., Conclusions: Our study indicates an association between workplace violence and CVD in United States workers, exhibiting a dose-response pattern.

Background: The overexpression of integrin α V β 3 in hepatocarcinoma (HCC) promotes tumor progression, metastasis, and clinical staging. Thus, the inhibition of integrin α V β 3 might be potentially effective as an anti-cancer agent in HCC., Methods: In this study, we aimed to investigate the antitumor effect of integrin α V β 3 antibody conjugated cationic microbubbles (CMBs) in HCC model. By conjugating with integrin α V β 3 antibody with non-targeting CMBs, CMBs αvβ3 was constructed. The antitumor effect of CMBs αvβ3 was evaluated in HepG2 cells in vitro and in HepG2 xenograft mice models. Bcl-2, p53 and CD31 mRNA level, and caspase-3 activity were examined in xenograft tumors. Cell proliferation assay and scratch test were performed to evaluate the anti-migrant effect of CMBs αvβ3 in vitro ., Results: CMBs αvβ3 could specifically target to HCC HepG2 cells and improve pEGFP-KDRP-CD/TK plasmid transfection efficiency. In HepG2 xenograft mice models, CMBs αvβ3 treatment significantly suppressed tumor weights and volumes. CMBs αvβ3 treatment suppressed Bcl-2 and p53 mRNA level in tumors. In HepG2 cells, CMBs αvβ3 significantly impaired wound healing and inhibited cell proliferation. Moreover, when combined with CD/TK double suicide gene transfection and 5-FC/GCV treatment, caspase-3 was activated and the cell proliferation was tremendously inhibited., Conclusions: CMBs αvβ3 not only suppresses cell migration and proliferation, but also facilitates 5-FC/GCV plus CD/TK double suicide gene-induced apoptotic cell death. CMBs αvβ3 is a promising gene delivery agent with potential anti-tumor activity itself., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tcr.2019.05.29). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2019 Translational Cancer Research. All rights reserved.)

Thyroid cancer is a common malignant disease with high survival rate (98.1%, 2006-2012, Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program). In this study, we investigated the treatment paradoxes in thyroid T0 and micro-carcinoma patients. 48,234 thyroid carcinoma patients were identified from 2010 to 2013 in SEER*Stat database (version 8.2.1) released in 2016. Survival analysis showed a significantly lower thyroid carcinoma-specific survival in T0 patients compared with T1-T3 patients. In propensity score analysis, T0 patients had a similar survival curve with T1-T3 patients when lymph node and distant metastasis stages were matched. When all variables, including radiation and surgery treatment, were matched, T0 patients had significantly higher survival compared to T3 patients. These findings suggested that more metastasis and less treatment led to poorer prognosis in T0 patients. Another paradox is about thyroid micro-carcinoma. The survival rate of micro-carcinoma patients was high (4 years survival rate was 99.92%), and more than 99% micro-carcinoma patients received surgery. Interestingly, all the patients who died because of thyroid carcinoma received surgery. Survival analysis showed no difference in survival when patients stratified by surgery or radiation. In conclusion, we suggested paradoxes in thyroid carcinoma treatment: over-treated in micro-carcinoma patients and less-treated in T0 patients.