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Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) has emerged as a valuable diagnostic tool in prostate lesion assessment. However, training convolutional neural networks (CNNs) inevitably involves magnetic resonance (MR) images from multiple cohorts. There always exists variation in scanning protocol among cohorts, inducing significant changes in data distribution between source and target domains. This challenge has greatly limited clinical adoption on a large scale. Herein, a coarse mask‐guided deep domain adaptation network (CMD2A‐Net) is proposed to develop a fully automated framework for prostate lesion detection and classification (PLDC). No category or mask label is required from the target domain. A coarse segmentation module is trained to cover the possible lesion‐related regions, so that attention maps can be generated to dedicate the local feature extraction of lesions within those regions. Experiments are performed on 512 mpMRI sets from datasets of PROSTATEx (330 sets) and two cohorts, A (74 sets) and B (108 sets). Using ensemble learning, CMD2A‐Net accomplishes an AUC of 0.921 in cohort A and 0.913 in cohort B, demonstrating its transferability from a large‐scale public dataset PROSTATEx to small‐scale target domains. Results from an ablation study also support its effectiveness in classification between benign and malignant lesions, compared to the state‐of‐the‐art models. An interactive preprint version of the article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.166081031.11420810/v1.

Until 1st July 1997, Hong Kong was under the governance of the British Government; therefore, the British system of education was followed. After internship, 7 years of general surgical training is required to obtain registration and fellowship qualifications of the College of Surgeon of Hong Kong and Edinburg. After having become a specialist in general surgery, the surgeon could choose to specialize in colorectal surgery with an additional 3 to 5 years of specialist training in an accredited centre and 6 months of overseas training with subsidies. On the contrary, China has more than 600 medical schools, and students can enroll in different programs to become a medical practitioner. Despite a great discrepancy exists in the quality of teaching and supervision but there are comprehensive regulations governing the accreditation of hospitals, credentialing of operations, medical records, etc. to ensure medical and patient safety. Vast amounts of resources are being invested to strengthen the quality and to advance the technology used in patient care, not only by supporting basic and clinical research but also by providing extra resources to “import” experts and help develop services with clinical excellence. To accomplish this, the aim of the “three fames project” with a 5-year funding of 3 million United States dollar is to invite overseas experts to help build medical teams in specific areas. Due to its huge population (more than 1.3 billion people), China is a country full of potential for development in clinical research, collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the provision of premier medical services.

Abstract Background Angioleiomyoma is an uncommon benign soft tissue tumor and originates from the vascular smooth muscle. It often causes pain and is rarely found in inguinal region. We present a rare case of inguinal canal angioleiomyoma of a female patient who suffered from right groin pain for 4 years and mimicking inguinal hernia clinically. Presentation of case A 53-year-old Chinese female patient presented with 4-year history of right groin pain which was exacerbated by movement. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in view of atypical presentation and absence of cough impulse. Inguinal canal was subsequently explored by open approach and the mass was found arising from the posterior wall of the inguinal canal and measured 5.2 cm × 3.8 cm. The posterior wall was repaired by Bassini approach after the mass was resected en-bloc. Inguinal pain was resolved and no hernia was found during follow-up. Pathology of the resected specimen confirmed angioleiomyoma with clear resection margins. Conclusion This is the first report of a case of angioleiomyoma of the inguinal canal, which presents as a painful mass. Magnetic resonance imaging should be considered when presenting history and physical examination does not confirm with the diagnosis of inguinal hernia. After inguinal canal exploration, suture or mesh repair should be performed to prevent weakening of posterior wall leading to inguinal hernia.

The association of melanosis coli with the development of colorectal polyps remains uncertain.From a total of 18263 patients who had received colonoscopy in our hospital, 219 with melanosis coli cases and 438 controls matched by age and sex (at 1:2 ratio) were included in this study. The association of incidence, number, location, and pathology of colorectal neoplasm with grades and distribution of melanosis coli were analyzed.Melanosis coli was associated with significantly more colorectal polyps than control, a higher incidence of numerous colorectal polyps (number ≥ 20) (7.3% vs 0.5%; p < 0.001), and higher number of small colorectal polyps (diameter ≤ 5 mm; p < 0.01). Patients with melanosis coli had higher incidences of low-grade adenomas (31.1% vs 23.3%, p < 0.05) and non-adenoma polyps (20.1% vs 12.8%, p < 0.05) than the controls. On multivariate analysis, melanosis coli was independently associated with increased detecting rates of low grade adenoma (OR = 1.54; 95%: 1.06-2.23; p < .05), non-adenoma polyp (OR = 1.72; 95%: 1.11-2.70; p < .05) and numerous polyps (OR = 16.2, 95%: 3.66-71.6; p < .05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of high-grade adenomas or adenocarcinomas in the two population groups, but the numbers of these lesions were insufficient to permit firm conclusions. No significant differences in incidence, number, and pathology of colorectal polyps between individuals with melanosis coli of three different grades of severity were found. Melanosis located predominantly in the right colon had an interestingly lower incidence of colonic polyps in right colon than did melanosis located predominantly in the left colon or total colon (8.9% vs. 26.3%, 24.0%, p < 0.05). Patients with melanosis coli had significantly more nonspecific distal ileal ulcers than did controls (8.0% vs 0%, p < 0.001).Melanosis coli is associated with a higher incidence and number of colonic non-adenoma polyps and low-grade adenomas, and higher incidence of distal ileal ulcers. Melanosis coli may not be a harmless pigmentation, but a sign of chronic injury of colonic and intestinal mucosa.

Objective: To evaluate the association of colorectal adenoma with metabolic syndrome (MS) and relevant parameters., Methods: Clinical data of 289 subjects who underwent screening colonoscopy in the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital from January 2014 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed, including 130 normal subjects (normal group) and 159 cases with colorectal adenoma confirmed by pathology(adenoma group). Levels of MS-associated parameters were compared between the two groups, and the association of metabolic diseases with colorectal adenoma was examined., Results: The gender, smoking and drinking habit, regular physical activity, family history of colorectal cancer, and consumption history of long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were not significantly different between two groups (all P>0.05). As compared to normal group, adenoma group had higher body mass index (BMI) [(23.5±3.2) kg/m(2) vs. (22.7±2.8) kg/m(2), t=1.97, P=0.050], larger abdominal circumference [(83.4±10.3) cm vs. (79.6±13.8) cm, t=2.46, P=0.015], higher serum high-density lipoprotein level [(1.3±0.3) mmol/L vs. (1.2±0.3) mmol/L, t=2.03, P=0.044], and higher serum cholesterol [(5.4±1.0) mmol/L vs. (5.0±1.1) mmol/L, t=2.39, P=0.018]. No significant difference was demonstrated in comparing hip circumference and waist-hip ratio, as well as serum fasting glucose and triglyceride(all P>0.05). Higher incidence of colorectal adenoma was found in subjects with MS [69.8%(37/53) vs. 1.7%(122/236), P=0.017], overweight or obesity [65.1% (56/86) vs. 50.7%(103/203), P=0.025], hypertension [67.3%(37/55) vs. 52.1%(122/234), P=0.046] and hypercholesterolemia [66.7%(64/96) vs. 49.2%(95/193), P=0.005]., Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome increased the risk of developing colorectal adenoma. The mechanism may be related to higher serum cholesterol and high density lipoprotein, which may lead to the elevated catabolism of serum cholesterol. Screening colonoscopy should be performed for patients diagnosed as metabolic syndrome, especially for those with central obesity and hypercholesterolemia, thus early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal adenoma may be available.