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Background: Radiation‐induced mucositis (RIOM) is a common radiotherapy toxicity. We aimed to evaluate the relationship of serum vitamin status with RIOM among nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients who underwent radiotherapy. Methods: NPC patients who underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy with available pretreatment serum vitamin values were included. Serum vitamin levels and clinical characteristics were collected. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves were conducted to explore the potential risk factors and corresponding cut‐off values for severe RIOM. Results: Two hundred and forty NPC patients were enrolled. Multivariate regression analysis showed that mean oral cavity radiation dose (OR = 2.042; 95% CI = 1.585‐2.630; P <.001), weekly concurrent chemotherapy (OR = 3.898; 95% CI = 1.085‐14.004; P =.037), lower serum level of vitamin B2 (OR = 0.951; 95% CI = 0.924‐0.978; P <.001), and vitamin C (OR = 0.455; 95% CI = 0.346‐0.598; P <.001) were independent risk factors for developing severe RIOM. Conclusions: The findings of this study revealed that serum vitamin status could predict the severity of RIOM, providing a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of RIOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the prognostic value of the number and sites of extracranial metastasis (ECM) in NSCLC patients with BM. NSCLC patients with BM from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2010 to 2015 were enrolled in analysis. Patients from 2010 to 2013 were included in the training set and those from 2014 to 2015 in the validation set. ECM sites among different subtypes of NSCLC were compared by Chi‐square tests. Kaplan–Meier methods and Cox regression models were performed to analyze survival data. Competing‐risks analysis was used to predict cumulative incidence rates for CSS and non‐CSS cause. We included 5974 patients in the training cohort and 3561 patients in the validation cohort. Most (nearly 80%) NSCLC patients with BM showed 0–1 involved extracranial organ, with the most and least common ECM organ being bone and distant lymph nodes (DLNs) among all subtypes of NSCLC, respectively. The number of involved extracranial organs was an independent prognostic factor for patients with BM from NSCLC (p < 0.001). Patients with 0–1 ECM had better survival than those with larger number of involved extracranial organs (p < 0.001). Cumulative incidence rates for CSS were increased with the number of ECM raising (p < 0.001). All involved extracranial organs were associated with worse survival (p < 0.05). In patients with single‐organ ECM, we observed a better prognosis in lung and bone metastasis, while liver metastasis showed worst survival. But the difference in survival in these patient groups was relatively small. Patients with liver metastasis had higher cumulative incidence rates for CSS than that in patients with lung and bone metastasis (p < 0.05). More extracranial metastases were associated with poor prognosis in NSCLC patients with BM and ECM sites showed limited effect on survival. Tailored treatments would be reasonable for BM patients from NSCLC with different metastasis patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of adjuvant treatments in resected pancreatic cancer.Methods: A Markov model was developed to mimic the disease process of postoperative pancreatic cancer, encompassing three health states (relapse-free survival, recurrent disease, and death). Health outcomes and utility scores were derived from the phase III trial and available literature. Cost data were calculated using standard fee data from the West China Hospital for 2017. One-way sensitivity analyses and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were developed to explore model uncertainty.Results: Treatment with S-1 was estimated to yield 1.61 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) at a cost of $25,696, whereas treatment with gemcitabine yielded 1.27 QALYs at a cost of $28,930. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of S-1 versus gemcitabine was $-9,490 per QALY. Based on the willingness-to-pay threshold of $25,841 per QALY, the net monetary benefit (NMB) was $15,786 for S-1 and $3,727 for gemcitabine, generating the incremental NMB of $12,059. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed that the probabilities of S-1 and gemcitabine being cost-effective were 92% and 8%, respectively. Results were robust to changes in parameters.Conclusion: Adjuvant therapy using S-1 is a cost-effective alternative compared to gemcitabine in patients with postoperative pancreatic cancer from the Chinese societal perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Research trends of targeted therapy for cholangiocarcinoma from 2003 to 2022: a bibliometric and visual analysis" published in the journal Clinical & Experimental Medicine. The correction addresses a mistake in the affiliations section of the original article, specifically regarding the sequence of organizations and the use of the word "hospital." The correct affiliations are provided in the correction notice. The correction is reported by the authors Peng Huang, Feng Wen, QiuJi Wu, PengFei Zhang, and Qiu Li. Springer Nature, the publisher, remains neutral in terms of jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

In the past 20 years, targeted therapy for cholangiocarcinoma has attracted certain attention. There is a significant upward in papers focusing on this field. In this study, we used bibliometric and visual methods to explore the current status and future directions in cholangiocarcinoma-targeted therapy research. A total of 1057 papers published in English from 2003 to 2022 were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection SCI-expanded database. Furthermore, Citespace, Vosviewer, and Excel 2016 were utilized to conduct bibliometric and visual analysis. The volume of annual publications has steadily increased over the past two decades. The USA has published the largest number of publications, and the Mayo Clinic acted as the dominant institution. Cancers, Frontiers in Oncology, and Hepatology were the prolific resources in this research field. Moreover, the co-cited reference analysis uncovered the landmark paper in this field. With regard to research hotspots and frontiers, the burst keywords analysis showed that growth factor receptors and pathogenesis might become the hot topics of future research. To sum up, our study displays the current research status and future directions in the targeted therapy for cholangiocarcinoma. More comprehensive and in-depth investigations should focus on critical genetic mutations and their molecular mechanisms to prompt the molecular-targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) is the current standard of care for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) patients. However, there is still no consensus on the optimum number of IC cycles. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy and toxicities of two or more cycles of IC for LA-NPC patients. Methods: Data of LA-NPC patients consecutively treated with IC followed by concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) in our institute from 2017 to 2022 were retrospectively retrieved and analyzed. Survival outcomes of patients who received two IC cycles were compared with those who received more than two IC cycles. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were then performed to determine factors that could be independent predictors of survival. Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare treatment associated acute toxicities between the two groups. Results: A total of 125 patients were recruited in this study. There were 89 patients who received 2 cycles (IC = 2) of IC and 36 received more than 2 cycles (IC > 2) of IC. The median follow-up time was 26 months [IQR 16–38]. The 3-year overall survival rate was not statistically significant between the two groups (95.50% vs. 86.11%, P = 0.501). Similarly, loco-regional recurrence free survival and progression free survival were not significant (97.75% vs. 97.22%, P = 0.694; and 88.76% vs. 83.33%, P = 0.129), but distant metastasis free survival was significant (88.76% vs. 86.11%, P = 0.049). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that IC regimen was an independent prognostic factor. Conclusions: Two cycles of IC is effective and more than two does not add any additional benefit to the survival outcomes of LA-NPC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is often regarded as an indicator of poor prognosis in various cancers. Despite over three centuries of exploration since its discovery, the molecular mechanisms underlying LNM remain inconclusive. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms of LNM, using the "PUMP+" principle for clarification. Pathological examination remains the gold standard for LNM diagnosis, yet there is a need to explore early diagnostic strategies that can effectively improve patient outcomes. With the advent of immunotherapy, discussions on the fate of lymph nodes (LN) have emerged, emphasizing the importance of preserving LN integrity prior to immunotherapy. This, in turn, poses higher demands for diagnostic accuracy and precision treatment of LNM. This review comprehensively discusses the molecular mechanisms, diagnostic methods, and treatment strategies for cancer lymph node metastasis, along with current bottlenecks and future directions in this field. [Display omitted] • Deep analysis strengthens understanding of lymph node metastasis within "PUMP+" framework. • Review explores treatments, incorporating latest research for future advancements. • Overview highlights early detection's role in patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of protein corona (PC) is important for promoting the in vivo delivery of nanoparticles (NPs). However, PC formed in the physiological environment of oral delivery is poorly understood. Here, we engineered seven types of trimethyl chitosan–cysteine (TC) NPs, with distinct molecular weights, quaternization degrees, and thiolation degrees, to deeply investigate the influence of various PC formed in the physiological environment of oral delivery on in vivo gene delivery of polymeric NPs, further constructing the relationship between the surface characteristics of NPs and the efficacy of oral gene delivery. Our findings reveal that TC7 NPs, with high molecular weight, moderate quaternization, and high sulfhydryl content, modulate PC formation in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby reducing particle size and promoting oral delivery of gene loaded TC7 NPs. Orally delivered TC7 NPs target macrophages by in situ adsorption of apolipoprotein (Apo) B48 in intestinal tissue, leading to the improved in vivo antihepatoma efficacy via the natural tumor homing ability of macrophages. Our results suggest that efficient oral delivery of genes can be achieved through an in situ customized ApoB48-enriched PC, offering a promising modality in treating macrophage-related diseases. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Appropriate immobilization setup for postmastectomy radiotherapy may help to improve tumor control and to reduce radiation-related toxicities. This study aims at retrospectively evaluate the outcome and toxicities of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) with a novel integral cervicothoracic thermoplastic mask strategy. Methods: Breast cancer patients were treated with modified radical mastectomy and PMRT. Patient immobilization setup was performed with the placement of a 1-cm thickened wax film on the ipsilateral chest wall and an integral cervicothoracic thermoplastic mask. PMRT was delivered according to the institutional protocol. Dose distribution, disease control, patient survival and radiation-induced toxicities were evaluated. Results: Four-hundred nineteen eligible patients with complete follow-up information were included in the final analysis. The median follow-up was 40.2 (95%CI: 38.9–41.6) months. Two (0.5%) patients had local recurrence and 48 (11.4%) patients had distant metastasis. There were 22 (5.3%) deaths from all causes, of which 19 were caused by breast cancer. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was 94.8%. ER status, PR status, triple negative status, and T stages were significantly related to patient survival (p < 0.05). HER2 expression, N stage were not significantly related to patient survival. Most common radiation-induced toxicities included grade I (87.6%) and grade II (10.2%) dermatitis, and grade I pneumonitis (28.9%) found by chest X-ray or CT scans. No clinical detectable cardiovascular event related to radiotherapy was identified. Conclusion: Postmastectomy radiotherapy with integral cervicothoracic thermoplastic mask leads to favorable outcome and moderate toxicities compared with results reported in literature and might be of clinical significance in breast cancer patient. However, this approach has not been compared directly with postmastectomy radiotherapy without immobilization, and its applicability in other regions with different treatment protocols requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear how telomere-binding protein TPP1 interacts with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and influences cervical cancer development and progression. This study included all eligible 156 cervical cancers diagnosed during 2003–2008 and followed up through 2014, 102 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) patients, and 16 participants with normal cervix identified at the same period. Correlation of expression of TPP1 and hTERT in these lesions was assessed using Kappa statistics. TPP1 was knocked down by siRNA in three cervical cancer cell lines. We assessed mRNA expression using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and protein expression using tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical staining. We further analyzed the impact of TPP1 expression on the overall survival of cervical cancer patients by calculating the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using the multivariable-adjusted Cox regression model. Compared to the normal cervix, high TPP1expression was significantly associated with CIN 3 and cervical cancers (P<0.001 for both). Expressions of TPP1 and hTERT were highly correlated in CIN 3 (Kappa statistics = 0.50, P = 0.005), squamous cell carcinoma (Kappa statistics = 0.22, P = 0.011), and adenocarcinoma/adenosquamous carcinoma (Kappa statistics = 0.77, P = 0.001). Mechanistically, knockdown of TPP1 inhibited the expression of hTERT in both mRNA and protein levels. High expression of TPP1 (HR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.23–5.51) and co-high expression of TPP1 and hTERT (HR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.28–4.43) were independently associated with worse survival in cervical cancer patients. TPP1 and hTERT expression was correlated and high expression of TPP1 was associated with high risk of CIN 3 and cervical cancer and could predict a worse survival in cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Immunotherapy plus palliative radiotherapy can provide survival benefits. • Patients with only recurrence have longer survival rates. • An increased number of immunotherapy cycles can improve patient survival. Immunotherapy provides a remarkable survival advantage for patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer (R/M CC). However, the role of immunotherapy in combination with radiotherapy in R/M CC remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed factors affecting immunotherapy effectiveness in patients with R/M CC. Clinical outcomes including tumor response and patient survival were assessed. Kaplan-Meier curves with the log-rank test were employed to compare survival data. Cox regression analysis was utilized to investigate prognostic factors. A total of 65 R/M CC patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors were eligible for analysis. We found that immunotherapy combined with palliative radiotherapy showed a significant positive correlation with complete response (OR = 6.31; 95 %CI: 1.74–22.91; p = 0.005). The 36-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate (73.7 % vs 33.8 %, p = 0.0048) and 36-month overall survival (OS) rate (85.7 % vs 38.7 %, p = 0.0043) were also prominently increased. We further demonstrated that patients prolonged 36-month PFS rate (69.9 % vs 15.2 %; p < 0.001) and 36-month OS rate (64.6 % vs 39.7 %; p = 0.032) when they had more than 4 cycles of immunotherapy. Meanwhile, our findings showed that patients with only recurrence had longer 36-month OS rate (77.7 % vs 44.4 % vs 40.1 %; p = 0.024) compared to those with only metastasis and both. We also observed that patients with squamous carcinoma had higher 2-year PFS rate (57.9 % vs 14.6 %; p = 0.042) than those with other pathological subtypes (adenocarcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma). The combination of immunotherapy and palliative radiotherapy increased complete response rates and improved survivals in recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have demonstrated that the relationship between m6A-related genes and the prognosis, tumor microenvironment and drug resistance of LC. Methods: The main results were analyzed with bioinformatics methods. Results: Hence, we found 10 m6A-related genes expressed less in tumor samples in comparison with normal ones. Using consensus clustering, all LC patients were grouped into 2 subgroups according to the overall expression of 10 differential expressed m6A-related genes. In two clusters, the OS and immune characteristics were different. We analyzed the predictive potential of 10 m6A-related genes in the prognosis of LC, and obtained a risk prognosis model on the strength of ZC3H13, CBLL1, ELAVL1 and YTHDF1 as the hub candidate genes through LASSO cox. The expression of 4 hub m6A-related genes was validated by IHC in the HPA database. The infiltration level of dendritic cell, CD4+ T cell and neutrophil that were affected by CNV level of m6A-related genes in LUAD and LUSC patients. Moreover, based on GSCALite database, we found that LUSC patients with hypermethylation tended to have a better overall survival. In terms of drug sensitivity, etoposide correlated negatively with ELAVL1, HNRNPC, RBM15B, YTHDF2 and CBLL1. ZC3H13 had positively association with afatinib, while HNRNPC was positively associated with dasatinib, erlotinib, lapatinib and TGX221. Crizotinib had a negative correlation with ELAVL1, CBLL1, HNRNPC and RBM15B. Conclusion: In conclusion, m6A-related genes are important participants in LC and the expression levels of ZC3H13, CBLL1, ELAVL1 and YTHDF1 are significant for prediction and treatment of LC. Researches of drug resistance based on m6A-related genes need to pay more attention for producing new therapeutic strategies of LC and CBLL1 may contribute to target treatment for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly malignant tumor with extremely poor prognosis. The treatment strategy is very limited, and patient outcomes remain dismal with the 5-year survival rate being mere 3–6%. Thus, novel therapeutic strategies for SCLC patients are urgently needed. In this study, we found that the triple-therapy of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, radiotherapy (RT) and anti -PD-1 treatment significantly inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival in the syngeneic SCLC models in immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that the combination of PARP inhibitor niraparib and RT reshaped an inflamed tumor microenvironment, including activation of the cGAS/STING immune response pathway, induction of immunogenic cell death, and upregulation of PD-L1 on tumor cells. Furthermore, this triple-therapy substantially augmented CD8+ T cell infiltration and activation, and enhanced anti-tumor effects as revealed by increased median survival time and reduced tumor volume without additional myelosuppression or hepatic injury. Together, our studies demonstrated that PARP inhibitor combined with RT potentiated anti-tumor immunity and enhanced the efficacy of anti -PD-1 immunotherapy in preclinical study, which provided a promising therapeutic strategy for SCLC patients in clinic. • PARPI plus radiation further activated cGAS/STING pathway than single treatment. • PARPI plus radiation upregulated the expression of PD-L1. • PARPI plus radiation sensitizes small cell lung cancer to anti -PD-1 immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a prevalent form of cancer, often leading to brain metastases (BM) and a significant decline in patient prognosis. Whether immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with brain radiotherapy is superior to conventional chemotherapy combined with brain radiotherapy in those patients remains to be explored., Materials and Methods: Our study enrolled 161 NSCLC patients with BM who underwent either ICIs combined with brain radiotherapy or chemotherapy combined with brain radiotherapy. End points included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), intracranial PFS (IPFS), and extracranial PFS (EPFS). Univariate and multivariate Cox regressions were employed to identify prognostic risk variables., Results: Patients receiving ICIs combined with brain radiotherapy exhibited significantly longer OS compared to those receiving chemotherapy combined with brain radiotherapy (34.80 months vs. 17.17 months, P = 0.005). In the Cox regression analysis, chemotherapy combined with brain radiotherapy (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.09-3.05; P = 0.023), smoking (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.02-2.99; P = 0.043) and squamous cell carcinoma (HR, 2.59; 95% CI, 1.31-5.13; P = 0.006) were associated with a worse prognosis. After propensity score matching (PSM), this finding remained consistent with before PSM (43.73 months vs. 17.17 months, P = 0.018). Squamous cell carcinoma (HR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.15-5.26; P = 0.021) and CT + RT (HR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.15-3.88; P = 0.016) were associated with a less favorable prognosis., Conclusion: The study suggests that the combination of ICIs and brain radiotherapy provides superior OS for NSCLC patients with BM, compared to the chemotherapy combined with brain radiotherapy., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Immunotherapy has revolutionized the therapeutical regimen for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), yet its response rate remains insufficient. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) on small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) mediates local and peripheral immunosuppression in tumors, and the mechanism of PD-L1 loading into these vesicles is garnering increasing attention. Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), a key viral oncoprotein expressed in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive NPC, contributes to remodeling the tumor microenvironment. However, the precise mechanisms by which LMP1 modulates tumor immunity in NPC remain unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the roles and regulatory mechanisms of LMP1 and sEV PD-L1 in NPC immune evasion., Methods: We analyzed the impact of LMP1 on tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte abundance in NPC tissues and humanized tumor-bearing mouse models using multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) and flow cytometry, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis were employed to characterize sEVs. Immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry was utilized to identify proteins interacting with LMP1. The regulatory effects of sEVs on tumor microenvironment were assessed by monitoring CD8 + T cell proliferation and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) expression via flow cytometry. Furthermore, the expression patterns of LMP1 and downstream regulators in NPC were analyzed using mIF and survival analysis., Results: High LMP1 expression in NPC patient specimens and mouse models was associated with restricted infiltration of CD8 + T cells. Additionally, LMP1 promoted sEV PD-L1 secretion, leading to inhibition of CD8 + T cell viability and IFN-γ expression in vitro. Mechanistically, LMP1 recruited apoptosis-linked gene 2-interacting protein X (ALIX) through its intracellular domain and bound PD-L1 through its transmembrane domain, thereby facilitating the loading of PD-L1 into ALIX-dependent sEVs. Disruption of ALIX diminished LMP1-induced sEV PD-L1 secretion and enhanced the anti-tumor immunity of CD8 + T cells both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, increased expression levels of LMP1 and ALIX were positively correlated with enhanced immunosuppressive features and worse prognostic outcomes in NPC patients., Conclusion: Our findings uncovered the mechanism by which LMP1 interacts with ALIX and PD-L1 to form a trimolecular complex, facilitating PD-L1 loading into ALIX-dependent sEV secretion pathway, ultimately inhibiting the anti-tumor immune response in NPC. This highlights a novel target and prognostic marker for NPC immunotherapy., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer Communications published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. on behalf of Sun Yat‐sen University Cancer Center.)

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe clinical disease usually accompanied by activated glial scar, neuronal axon rupture, and disabled motor function. To mimic the microenvironment of the SCI injury site, a hydrogel system with a comparable mechanical property to the spinal cord is desirable. Therefore, a novel elastic bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogel is fabricated with excellent adhesive, injectable, and biocompatible properties. The hydrogel is used to deliver paclitaxel (PTX) together with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to inhibit glial scar formation as well as promote axon regeneration and motor function for SCI repair. Due to the specific interaction of BSA with both drugs, bFGF, and PTX can be controllably released from the hydrogel system to achieve an effective concentration at the wound site during the SCI regeneration process. Moreover, benefiting from the combination of PTX and bFGF, this bFGF/PTX@BSA system significantly aided axon repair by promoting the elongation of axons across the glial scar with reduced reactive astrocyte secretion. In addition, remarkable anti-apoptosis of nerve cells is evident with the bFGF/PTX@BSA system. Subsequently, this multi-functionalized drug system significantly improved the motor function of the rats after SCI. These results reveal that bFGF/PTX@BSA is an ideal functionalized material for nerve repair in SCI., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Purpose: Head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma (HNRMS) is a rare but aggressive malignant neoplasm. Given the young patient age and critical anatomy of the head and neck, performing surgery on the primary tumor still remains debatable. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the non-surgery-based treatment versus surgery-based treatment on patients with nonmetastatic HNRMS., Methods: Patients diagnosed with nonmetastatic HNRMS between 2004 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were enrolled in our study. Inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) method was employed to balance confounding factors between surgery and non-surgery groups. Kaplan-Meier methods and COX regression analyses were used to analyze survival outcomes of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Prognostic nomogram was established to predict survival., Results: A total of 260 eligible patients were extracted from the SEER database. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that there was no significant difference in OS and CSS between the surgery and non-surgery groups both before and after IPTW (p > 0.05). Cox regression analyses and IPTW-adjusted Cox regression analyses for both OS and CSS showed similar survival between the two groups. Prognostic factors were explored and a nomogram for patients in the surgery group was constructed. Risk stratification based on the nomogram indicated that patients in surgery-high-risk group did not benefit from primary surgery. While those in surgery-low-risk group had an equal survival outcome to those in non-surgery group., Conclusions: Our study revealed that compared to patients receiving surgery, those not receiving surgery had similar survival outcomes for nonmetastatic HNRMS. Our established nomogram may serve as a practical tool for individual prognostic evaluations., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Federación de Sociedades Españolas de Oncología (FESEO).)

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a group of heterogenous immature myeloid cells with potent immune suppressive properties that not only constrain anti-tumor immune activation and functions, promote tumor progression, but also contribute to treatment resistance and tumor relapse. Targeting MDSCs may be a promising new cancer treatment method, but there is still a problem of low treatment efficiency. Combined application with radiotherapy may be a potential method to solve this problem. Drug delivery systems (DDSs) provide more efficient targeted drug delivery capability and can reduce the toxicity and side effects of drugs. Recent advance in DDSs targeting development, recruitment, differentiation, and elimination of MDSCs have shown promising effect in reversing immune inhibition and in overcoming radiotherapy resistance. In this review, we systematically summarized DDSs applied to target MDSCs for the first time, and classified and discussed it according to its different mechanisms of action. In addition, this paper also reviewed the biological characteristics of MDSCs and their role in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of cancer. Moreover, this review also summarizes the role of DDSs targeting MDSCs in radiosensitization. Finally, the future development of DDSs targeting MDSCs is also prospected., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: Induction chemotherapy (IC) plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) has been established as standard of care for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC). No direct comparison between different IC regimens has been performed. We conducted Bayesian network meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IC regimens in LANPC., Materials and Methods: We systematically searched studies comparing different regimens of IC plus CCRT versus CCRT alone for LANPC. Pairwise meta-analysis and Bayesian network meta-analysis were conducted using Review Manger, Stata and R software., Results: Eight eligible studies with a total of 2382 patients were involved. Compared with CCRT alone, IC + CCRT significantly improved PFS (HR = 0.68 [95% CI 0.59-0.79]) and OS (HR = 0.72 [95% CI 0.61-0.86]) in conventional meta-analysis. In Bayesian network meta-analysis, GP (gemcitabine and cisplatin) had advantage in prolonging PFS, OS and DMFS. GP had adverse but manageable impacts on hemoglobin and platelet. Meanwhile, treatment compliance of GP was higher than that of other regimens., Conclusion: Based on existing evidences, GP could likely to be recommended as an optimal IC regimen for LANPC., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious clinical disease. Due to the deformability and fragility of the spinal cord, overly rigid hydrogels cannot be used to treat SCI. Hence, we used TPA and Laponite to develop a hydrogel with shear-thinning ability. This hydrogel exhibits good deformation, allowing it to match the physical properties of the spinal cord; additionally, this hydrogel scavenges ROS well, allowing it to inhibit the lipid peroxidation caused by ferroptosis. According to the in vivo studies, the TPA@Laponite hydrogel could synergistically inhibit ferroptosis by improving vascular function and regulating iron metabolism. In addition, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were introduced into the TPA@Laponite hydrogel to regulate the ratios of excitatory and inhibitory synapses. It was shown that this combination biomaterial effectively reduced muscle spasms and promoted recovery from SCI., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Background: Cox proportional hazard regression (CPH) model relies on the proportional hazard (PH) assumption: the hazard of variables is independent of time. CPH has been widely used to identify prognostic markers of the transcriptome. However, the comprehensive investigation on PH assumption in transcriptomic data has lacked., Results: The whole transcriptomic data of the 9,056 patients from 32 cohorts of The Cancer Genome Atlas and the 3 lung cancer cohorts from Gene Expression Omnibus were collected to construct CPH model for each gene separately for fitting the overall survival. An average of 8.5% gene CPH models violated the PH assumption in TCGA pan-cancer cohorts. In the gene interaction networks, both hub and non-hub genes in CPH models were likely to have non-proportional hazards. Violations of PH assumption for the same gene models were not consistent in 5 non-small cell lung cancer datasets (all kappa coefficients < 0.2), indicating that the non-proportionality of gene CPH models depended on the datasets. Furthermore, the introduction of log(t) or sqrt(t) time-functions into CPH improved the performance of gene models on overall survival fitting in most tumors. The time-dependent CPH changed the significance of log hazard ratio of the 31.9% gene variables., Conclusions: Our analysis resulted that non-proportional hazards should not be ignored in transcriptomic data. Introducing time interaction term ameliorated performance and interpretability of non-proportional hazards of transcriptome data in CPH., (© 2022 The Author(s).)