Exonuclease 1 (EXO1) is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Correlates with Immune Infiltrates in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Exonuclease 1 (EXO1) has been identified to be highly expressed in different human malignancies, but its expression and prognostic role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two independent cohorts extracted from public databases and one cohort from our center were analyzed in this study. Expression levels of EXO1 in LUAD tissues and paired para-cancer tissues were detected. The prognostic value of EXO1 in LUAD patients was evaluated in the three cohorts. Enrichment analyses were performed to explore the possible underlying biological pathways. Moreover, we also explored the correlations between EXO1 and tumor-infiltrating immune cells and evaluated the impact of EXO1 knock-down on the migration of lung cancer cells. RESULTS: In this study, we found that EXO1 was highly expressed in LUAD tissues compared with para-cancerous tissues in public databases (p < 0.01), which was consistent with our data (p < 0.01). Survival analysis indicated that high expression of EXO1 was associated with poor prognosis in LUAD (p < 0.01). Enrichment analyses indicated that biological pathways like cell cycle regulation, DNA damage and repair, immune response, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, may be associated with EXO1 aberrant expression. Moreover, high expression of EXO1 was correlated with decreased infiltrating B cells (p < 0.01) and CD4+ T cells (p < 0.01) levels, and low infiltrating levels of B cells (p < 0.01) and dendritic cells (DCs) (p < 0.05) indicated poor overall survival (OS) in LUAD. Additionally, in vitro experiments suggested that knockdown of EXO1 may inhibit the migratory ability of lung cancer cells. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, EXO1 is a potential prognostic biomarker in LUAD, and correlates with infiltrating levels of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Further prospective validation of EXO1 in lung cancer is warranted.

Calcifying fibrous pseudotumor in the pelvic cavity: A case report and review of the literature.

Calcifying fibrous pseudotumors (CFPs) are rare benign lesions mostly occurring in the limbs, necks and gastrointestinal tracts of young adults. In the present study, we report the first known case of a pelvic CFP in China in a 67-year-old male patient. The solitary tumor had an extremely regular shape and was in the vicinity of the sigmoid colon. Surgical resection was performed and the tumor was histologically diagnosed as CFP. We reviewed 64 cases of CFPs and discussed the clinical features of this disease in China and other countries. We found that the CFPs were most common in patients aged 18-60 and often had no obvious symptoms. They were immunoreactive for vimentin and factor XIIIa, while negative for CD117 and S100. In China, CFPs were mostly identified in the stomach, possibly associated with Chinese eating. The pathogenesis of this disease remains unclear. More research is needed to confirm the present results.

Stent Angioplasty for Acute Intracranial Atherosclerotic Occlusion After Failed Thrombectomy: A Single-Institution Series of 55 Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Analysis of safety and effectiveness of stent angioplasty for failure of thrombectomy in patients with acute intracranial atherosclerotic occlusion. METHODS: Retrospective continuous analysis of the clinical data of 458 patients with acute stroke undergoing endovascular artery thrombectomy in Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University from May 2013 to February 2018. Patients with acute intracranial atherosclerotic occlusion treating with stent implantation were included and the safety and effectiveness of stent angioplasty was evaluated. RESULTS: There was successful stent release in 55 patients. There were 36 cases (65.5%) with occlusion located in the anterior circulation and 19 cases (34.5%) in the posterior circulation. Twenty patients underwent intravenous thrombolysis before surgery, and the time of admission to intravenous thrombolysis was (39.9 ± 13.2) minutes. Fifty-four patients (98.2%) achieved modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction 2b-3 recanalization. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score 2.0 (0.0,6.0) 7 days after surgery was significantly improved compared with the preoperative National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score 12.5 (6.0-20.0) (Z = -4.073, P < 0.05). Intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 7 patients (12.7%) after surgery, among them, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 2 cases (3.6%). CTP examination of the skull 3-5 days after operation showed: Among 39 cases (70.9%): 33 cases (84.6%) were patency, 4 cases (10.3%) were occlusion, 2 cases (5.1%) were moderate stenosis, and 16 cases (29.1%) were not examined by computed tomography perfusion. Ninety-day follow-up showed that a total of 43 cases were followed up, and 12 cases were lost to follow-up. Thirty-four patients (79.1%) had a good prognosis 90 days after surgery (modified Rankin scale score 0-2) and 9 patients died (20.9%). CONCLUSION: When thrombectomy in patients with acute intracranial atherosclerotic occlusion fails, stent angioplasty is safe and effective; however, short-term stent reocclusion after surgery cannot be ignored. Because of the small sample size, larger multicenter clinical studies are needed to confirm this result.

Endovascular Embolization of Intracranial Aneurysms: To Use Stent(s) or Not? Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to review the literature concerning stent-assisted coiling (SAC) in comparison with coiling without stents for treating intracranial aneurysms and to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of SAC by conducting a meta-analysis of published studies. METHODS: According to the methods and guidelines for meta-analysis, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Database were searched. All articles that compared SAC and coiling without stent were reviewed. The data extracted were the rates of immediate occlusion, progressive thrombosis, angiographic occlusion, angiographic recurrence, overall complications, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke. RESULTS: Sixteen studies with 4294 aneurysms were analyzed. SAC was performed for 1466 aneurysms; and coiling without stent was performed for 2828 aneurysms. No significant difference in immediate occlusion rate was found between the 2 groups (odds ratio [OR] = 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-1.39, P = 0.96). However, SAC had an advantage in terms of angiographic occlusion rate during follow-up (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.16-2.26, P < 0.01), progressive thrombosis rate (OR = 2.54, 95% CI: 2.00-3.24, P < 0.01), and reduction in recurrence rate (OR = 0.46; 95% CI, 0.35-0.59, P < 0.01). No significant differences were shown in overall complication rate (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 086-1.96, P = 0.21) and hemorrhagic stroke rate (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.43-1.20, P = 0.21). Ischemic strokes were more common in the SAC patients than in the non-stent-assisted patients (OR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.05-2.63, P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Compared with coiling without stent, stent-assisted coiling of intracranial aneurysms achieved satisfactory results, with higher long-term angiographic occlusion rate and lower recurrence rate. However, ischemic stroke remains a problem that cannot be ignored.