【Abstract】 Objective To find out the best method to prepare platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and to evaluate the effect of PRP gel on skin flap survival and its mechanism. Methods Totally, 72 Wistar rats (aged 12 weeks, weighing 250-300 g) were used for the experiment. The arterial blood (8-10 mL) were collected from the hearts of 24 rats to prepare PRP with three kinds of centrifuge methods: in group A, 200 × g centrifuge for 15 minutes, and 500 × g centrifuge for 10 minutes；in group B, 312 × g centrifuge for 10 minutes, and 1 248 × g centrifuge for 10 minutes；and in group C, 200 × g centrifuge for 15 minutes, and 200 × g centrifuge for 10 minutes. The platelet was counted in the whole blood, PRP, and platelet-poor plasma (PPP) to determine an ideal centrifuge. PRP, PPP, and the serum after first centrifuge were collected. The concentrations of platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) were measured in the PRP, PPP, and serum using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method, and PRP and PPP gels were prepared. The flaps of 11 cm × 3 cm in size were elevated on the back of 48 rats, which were divided into 3 groups: PRP gel (PRP group, n=16) and PPP gel (PPP group, n=16) were injected, no treatment was given in the control group (n=16). The flap survival rate was measured at 7 days. Histological and real-time PCR were used to count the inflammatory cells and blood vessel density, and to detect the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), PDGF-AA, and PDGF-BB mRNA at 8 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, and 7 days. Results Platelet counting showed platelet in group A was the highest. ELISA evaluation showed that the concentrations of TGF-β1 and PDGF-BB were significantly higher in PRP than in PPP and serum (P lt; 0.05). The flap survival rate was 61.2% ± 9.1% in PRP group, showing significant differences (P lt; 0.05) when compared with that in PPP group (35.8% ± 11.3%) and control group (28.0% ± 5.4%). The inflammatory cells were significantly lower and the blood vessel density was significantly higher in PRP group than in PPP group and control group (P lt; 0.05). When compared with PPP group and control group, the expressions of VEGF and PDGF-BB increased at all time after operation in PRP group; the expression of EGF increased within 24 hours; and the expression of PDGF-AA increased after 3 days. There were significant differences in PDGF-AA mRNA at 3 days and 7 days, PDGF-BB mRNA at 8 hours, VEGF mRNA at 24 hours and 3 days, and EGF mRNA at 24 hours between PRP group and PPP and control groups (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion 200 × g centrifuge for 15 minutes and 500 × g centrifuge for 10 minutes is the best PRP preparation method. PRP can improve the skin flap survival by regulating the genes involved in angiogenesis.
Objective To investigate and analyze the clinical features of primary pulmonary malignant melanoma. Methods The medical records, imaging examinations, pathological results, treatment and prognosis of four primary pulmonary malignant melanoma (PMML) patients were retrospectively collected. In combination with 96 cases reported in the literature, a total of 100 patients with PMML were analyzed. Results Among the 100 PMML patients, there were 60 males (60.0%) and 40 females (40.0%), with an average age of 56.9±10.3 years. Common clinical symptoms were cough (60.0%), chest tightness or pain (18.0%), hemoptysis (16.0%), and dyspnea (11.0%). Distant metastasis was found in 30 cases (30.0%) at the time of consultation. The clinical stage of the first diagnosis and evaluation of the patients was stage Ⅰ in 7 cases (7.0%), stage Ⅱ in 24 cases (24.0%), stage Ⅲ in 13 cases (13.0%), stage Ⅳ in 39 cases (39.0%), and 17 cases (17.0%) did not mention a clear tumor stage. Thirty patients (30.0%) received comprehensive anti-tumor therapy, 53 patients (53.0%) received surgical resection, and 17 patients among them (17.0%) received postoperative adjuvant comprehensive therapy. The overall median survival time of PMML patients was 8.0 (2.0 - 14.4) months. The median survival time of stage Ⅳ PMML patients was 5.0 (3.1 - 6.9) months, which was significantly lower than 24.0 (6.0 - 32.0) months of stage Ⅱ patients (P<0.05) and 15.0 (0.6 - 29.4) months of stage Ⅲ patients (P<0.05). Further analysis showed that different treatment regimens had no significant effect on the median survival time of patients with stage Ⅳ PMML (P>0.05). Conclusions PMML has a high degree of malignancy and no specific clinical symptoms. It is mainly diagnosed by pathology. Surgical resection, postoperative adjuvant chemoradiotherapy or immunotherapy are the main treatment methods, but its overall prognosis is poor.
ObjectiveTo investigate the expression and clinical significance of HOXB7 mRNA and protein in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues.MethodsThe expressions of HOXB7 mRNA were evaluated in 6 cases of adjacent colorectal mucosal (ACRM) tissues and 6 cases of CRC tissues by using RT-PCR. The HOXB7 protein expressions were evaluated in 30 cases of ACRM tissues and 98 cases of CRC tissues by using immunohistochemistry. The correlations between the expression of HOXB7 protein, and the clinicopathologic factors or the patient’ survival were analyzed.ResultsRT-PCR results showed that expression level of HOXB7 mRNA in CRC tissues was significantly higher than that of ACRM tissues (P=0.003). Immunohistochemistry results showed that significantly higher positive-expression rate of HOXB7 protein in CRC tissues compared with ACRM tissues (P<0.05). Positive expression of HOXB7 protein was associated with depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and the TNM stage (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that positive expression of HOXB7 protein was not inversely correlated with survival of CRC patients (P=0.865).ConclusionPositive expression of HOXB7 protein is a novel biomarker for estimating the progression of CRC, but remains of textual research may be to confirm the significance of HOXB7 protein for prognosis evaluation.
ObjectiveBy mining data from the Database of Colorectal Cancer (DACCA) at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, this study aims to evaluate the relationship between nutritional risk screening (NRS) 2002 scores at initial diagnosis and long-term survival in patients. MethodsThe DACCA database version from November 24, 2023, was selected to compare the clinicopathological data of patients with NRS2002 scores <3 and ≥3, and to explore the impact of NRS2002 scores on survival. ResultsA total of 723 patients were screened, with 585 (80.9%) had NRS2002 scores <3 and 138 (19.1%) had NRS2002 scores ≥3. All 723 patients were followed up, with a follow-up period ranging from 1 to 78 months and a median follow-up time of 34 months. The median survival time for patients with NRS2002 scores <3 was 35 months, while it was 31 months for those with NRS scores ≥3. During the follow-up period, 589 patients (81.5%) survived, including 515 (71.2%) tumor-free survivors and 74 (10.2%) survivors with tumors. There were 134 deaths (18.5%), including 126 cancer-related deaths (17.4%) and 8 non-cancer-related deaths (1.1%). Multivariate logistic regression results showed that after controlling for 6 factors including age, radical surgery, adjuvant therapy, hypertension, differentation, and TNM staging, NRS2002 score was not a factor affecting the survival of colorectal cancer patients (RR=0.98, P=0.875). ConclusionNRS2002 score is not a predictive factor for the survival of colorectal cancer patients, possibly because although patients may have nutritional risks preoperatively, the long-term impact on survival is minimal following surgery and postoperative recovery.
ObjectiveTo analyze the short- and long-term therapeutic effects of heart transplantation in children. MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on recipients and donors who underwent heart transplantation at the 7th People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou from May 2018 to August 2023, analyzing their clinical characteristics, surgical data, postoperative complications, and survival rates. ResultsA total of 22 children underwent heart transplantation, including 14 males and 8 females, with a median age of 13.5 (10.0, 15.0) years and a median weight of 41.9 (30.5, 55.4) kg. The primary diseases included: dilated cardiomyopathy in 16 patients, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 1 patient, myocardial dysplasia in 3 patients, right ventricular dysplasia in 1 patient, and congenital heart disease with abnormal coronary artery origin in 1 patient. The median age of the donors was 21.0 (13.0, 29.0) years, and the median weight was 50.5 (47.3, 75.0) kg. The blood types of the donors and recipients were the same, with type A in 10 patients, type B in 5 patients, type O in 5 patients, and type AB in 2 patients. Before transplantation, all children had a New York Heart Association cardiac function grade Ⅳ, with 1 patient assisted by intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), 3 patients assisted by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), 2 patients assisted by continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), and 2 patients on mechanical ventilation. Nine patients met the criteria for emergency child status allocation, and the panel reactive antibody level in the patients was<10%. The median cold ischemic time of the donor heart was 355.0 (262.0, 395.5) min, the median aortic cross-clamping time was 45.0 (38.3, 51.3) min, the median mechanical ventilation time was 22.5 (16.8, 52.5) h, the median postoperative hospital stay was 29.5 (20.0, 43.0) d, and the median intensive care unit stay was 6.0 (5.0, 8.3) d. After surgery, 4 patients were assisted by ECMO, 2 patients by CRRT, and 7 patients developed complications, including lung fungal infection in 6 patients, liver and kidney dysfunction in 1 patient, local wound non-union and mediastinal infection in 1 patient, and multiple organ failure in 1 patient. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that the survival rates of children after surgery were 91.3% at 1 year and 3 years; the survival rates of adult heart transplant recipients at our center were 86.7% and 73.8% at 1 year and 3 years, respectively, indicating that the survival rate of children with heart transplantation was higher than that of adult patients. ConclusionHeart transplantation is an effective treatment for end-stage heart failure in children, and the short- and long-term survival rates of children with heart transplantation are superior to those of adults. There are still many difficulties to be solved in pediatric heart transplantation, requiring joint efforts from society and the medical community.
Objective To investigate the relevance among sarcopenia, peripheral inflammatory, and nutritional factors, as well as the impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis of gastric cancer. Methods A total of 174 patients with gastric cancer in Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from July 2016 to December 2020 were retrospectively included. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) of the third lumbar vertebra level was calculated using CT images, and male patients with SMI<52.4 cm2/m2 and female patients with SMI<38.5 cm2/m2 were considered sarcopenia. The key clinicopathological features of patients were collected for prognostic analysis. ResultsAmong the 174 patients with gastric cancer, 73 patients (41.95%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. Compared with those of non-sarcopenia, the patients who were diagnosed with sarcopenia showed a significantly elder age and lower body mass index (BMI). In addition, males demonstrated a significantly higher rate of sarcopenia. Further, patients with sarcopenia showed a significant increasing in the incidence of postoperative pulmonary infections and length of hospitalization than patients without sarcopenia. The two groups showed significant differences in type 2 diabetes, peripheral C-reaction protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), albumin, prealbumin, and hemoglobin. Overall, the multivariate analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated that sarcopenic patients had a significantly lower survival rate than the non-sarcopenia patients. Conclusion Sarcopenia is closely related to higher levels of inflammation, malnutrition, and poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. Therefore, we should diagnose sarcopenia patients as early as possible, and give nutritional support to the patients.
ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of primary tumor site on prognosis of colorectal cancer after radical resection in different stages.MethodsFour hundreds and twenty patients with colorectal cancer in our hospital from Jan. 2008 to Dec. 2016 were selected as study subjects, all patients were confirmed by pathology. According to the location of colorectal cancer, the patients were divided into rectum group (n=220), left colon group (n=105) and right colon group (n=95). The difference of clinicopathological features of patients with different group were compared. The risk factors affecting the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients were analyzed by single factor and multi factor unconditional Cox regression analysis, and the survival curve was drawn by Kaplan-Meier method, and the difference test was carried out by log-rank method.ResultsThere were no significant differences between the three groups in age, BMI, smoking history, alcohol history, family history, vascular tumor thrombus, N staging, tumor diameter, nerve invasion and cancer nodule (P>0.05). There were significant differences in sex, pathological type, anterior intestinal obstruction, TNM staging, T staging and M staging (P<0.05). The results of single factor Cox regression analysis showed that sex, pathological type, anterior intestinal obstruction, TNM staging, T staging, M staging, primary tumor site, nerve invasion and cancer nodule were the risk factors for the prognosis of the patients (P<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that TNM staging, location of primary tumor and nerve invasion were risk factors affecting prognosis of patients (P<0.05). The total 5-year survival rate of the rectal group was 80.45% (177/220), the total 5-year survival rate of the left hemicolon group was 67.62% (71/105), and the total 5-year survival rate of the right hemicolon group was 68.42% (65/95). The survival curves of Kaplan-Meier showed that the difference between the three groups was statistically significant (P<0.05).ConclusonsThe 5-year survival rate of patients with rectal cancer is significantly higher than that of patients with left colon cancer and right colon cancer. For patients with different stage of colorectal cancer after radical resection, the prognosis of colorectal cancer can be predicted by the location of primary tumor.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic value of various severity assessment scoring systems for sepsis after cardiac surgery and the predictive value for long-term prognosis.MethodsThe clinical data of patients who underwent cardiac sugeries including coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and (or) valve reconstruction/valve replacement were extracted from Medical Information Mark for Intensive Care-Ⅲ (MIMIC-Ⅲ). A total of 6 638 patients were enrolled in this study, including 4 558 males and 2 080 females, with an average age of 67.0±12.2 years. Discriminatory power was determined by comparing the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for each scoring system individually using the method of DeLong. An X-tile analysis was used to determine the optimal cut-off point for each scoring system, and the patients were grouped by the cut-off point, and Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test were applied to analyze their long-term survival.ResultsCompared with the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, acute physiology score-Ⅲ (APS-Ⅲ, P<0.001), the simplified acute physiology score-Ⅱ (SAPS-Ⅱ, P<0.001) and logistic organ dysfunction score (LODS, P<0.001) were more accurate in distinguishing sepsis. Compared with the non-septic group, the 10-year overall survival rate of the septic group was lower (P<0.001). Except for the systemic inflammation response score (SIRS) system, the 10-year overall survival rates of patients in the high risk layers of SOFA (HR=2.50, 95%CI 2.23-2.80, P<0.001), SAPS (HR=2.93, 95%CI 2.64-3.26, P<0.001), SAPS-Ⅱ (HR=2.77, 95%CI 2.51-3.04, P<0.001), APS-Ⅲ (HR=2.90, 95%CI 2.63-3.20, P<0.001), LODS (HR=2.17, 95%CI 1.97-2.38, P<0.001), modified logistic organ dysfunction score (MLODS, HR=2.04, 95%CI 1.86-2.25, P<0.001) and the Oxford acute severity of illness score (OASIS, HR=2.37, 95%CI 2.16-2.60, P<0.001) systems were lower than those in the low risk layers.ConclusionCompared with SOFA score, APS-Ⅲ score may have higher value in the diagnosis of sepsis in patients who undergo isolated CABG, a valve procedure or a combination of both. Except for SIRS scoring system, SOFA, APS-Ⅲ, SAPS, SAPS-Ⅱ, LODS, MLODS and OASIS scoring systems can be applied to predict the long-term outcome of patients after cardiac surgery.
ObjectiveTo analyze the relevant risk factors affecting postoperative relapse-free survival (RFS) in the primary gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and develop a Nomogram predictive model of postoperative RFS for the GIST patients. MethodsThe patients diagnosed with GIST by postoperative pathology from January 2011 to December 2020 at the First Hospital of Lanzhou University and Gansu Provincial People’s Hospital were collected, and then were randomly divided into a training set and a validation set at a ratio of 7∶3 using R software function. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to identify the risk factors affecting the RFS for the GIST patients after surgery, and then based on this, the Nomogram predictive model was constructed to predict the probability of RFS at 3- and 5-year after surgery for the patients with GIST. The effectiveness of the Nomogram was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), consistency index (C-index), and calibration curve, and the clinical utility of the Nomogram and the modified National Institutes of Health (M-NIH) classification standard was evaluated using the decision curve analysis (DCA). ResultsA total of 454 patients were included, including 317 in the training set and 137 in the validation set. The results of multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the tumor location, tumor size, differentiation degree, American Joint Committee onCancer TNM stage, mitotic rate, CD34 expression, treatment method, number of lymph node detection, and targeted drug treatment time were the influencing factors of postoperative RFS for the GIST patients (P<0.05). The Nomogram predictive model was constructed based on the influencing factors. The C-index of the Nomogram in the training set and validation set were 0.731 [95%CI (0.679, 0.783)] and 0.685 [95%CI (0.647, 0.722)], respectively. The AUC (95%CI) of distinguishing the RFS at 3- and 5-year after surgery were 0.764 (0.681, 0.846) and 0.724 (0.661, 0.787) in the training set and 0.749 (0.625, 0.872) and 0.739 (0.647, 0.832) in the validation set, respectively. The calibration curve results showed that a good consistency of the 3-year and 5-year recurrence free survival rates between the predicted results and the actual results in the training set, while which was slightly poor in the validation set. There was a higher net benefit for the 3-year recurrence free survival rate after GIST surgery when the threshold probability range was 0.19 to 0.57. When the threshold probability range was 0.44 to 0.83, there was a higher net benefit for the 5-year recurrence free survival rate after GIST surgery. And within the threshold probability ranges, the net benefit of the Nomogram was better than the M-NIH classification system at the corresponding threshold probability. ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that the patients with GIST located in the other sites (mainly including the esophagus, duodenum, and retroperitoneum), with tumor size greater than 5 cm, poor or undifferentiated differentiation, mitotic rate lower than 5/50 HPF, negative CD34 expression, ablation treatment, number of lymph nodes detected more than 4, and targeted drug treatment time less than 3 months need to closely pay attentions to the postoperative recurrence. The discrimination and clinical applicability of the Nomogram predictive model are good.
Objective Establishing Nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) rate of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma by utilizing the database of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Methods Obtained the data of 3 272 gastric adenocarcinoma patients who were diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 from the SEER database. These patients were randomly divided into training (n=2 182) and validation (n=1 090) cohorts. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed to evaluate the prognostic effects of multiple clinicopathologic factors on OS. Significant prognostic factors were combined to build Nomogram. The predictive performance of Nomogram was evaluated via internal (training cohort data) and external validation (validation cohort data) by calculating index of concordance (C-index) and plotting calibration curves. Results In the training cohort, the results of Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that, age at diagnosis, race, grade, 6th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, histologic type, and surgery were significantly associated with the survival prognosis (P<0.05). These factors were used to establish Nomogram. The Nomograms showed good accuracy in predicting OS rate, with C-index of 0.751 ［95%CI was (0.738, 0.764)］ in internal validation and C-index of 0.753 ［95% CI was (0.734, 0.772)］ in external validation. All calibration curves showed excellent consistency between prediction by Nomogram and actual observation. Conclusion Novel Nomogram for patients with gastric adenocarcinoma was established to predict OS in our study has good prognostic significance, it can provide clinicians with more accurate and practical predictive tools which can quickly and accurately assess the patients’ survival prognosis individually, and can better guiding clinicians in the follow-up treatment of patients.