Kidney cancer with thyroid metastasis combined with thyroid carcinoma, a case report.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the endocrine system. There have been some reports on kidney cancer with thyroid metastasis. However, kidney cancer has rarely been detected during thyroid cancer surgery. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a rare case of kidney cancer with thyroid metastasis, combined with thyroid carcinoma. A 66-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital in September 2021 due to enlarged left thyroid nodules for two years. The patient was diagnosed with a left thyroid nodule on physical examination in 2012. Extended radical resection of the thyroid cancer was performed. Intraoperatively, two thyroid lesions were identified. Thus, the patient was definitively diagnosed with kidney cancer with thyroid metastasis and papillary thyroid carcinoma. Furthermore, two metastatic nodules due to kidney cancer and one metastatic lymph node lesion due to thyroid cancer were found in the loose connective tissue adjacent to the thyroid. CONCLUSIONS: Kidney cancer with thyroid metastasis and thyroid carcinoma rarely co-occur, and it is difficult to identify the primary tumor. Although clinical examination methods are increasingly updated, the past medical history and physical examination are still very important.

Citric acid promotes SPARC release in pancreatic cancer cells and inhibits the progression of pancreatic tumors in mice on a high-fat diet.

Over the years, pancreatic cancer has experienced a global surge in incidence and mortality rates, largely attributed to the influence of obesity and diabetes mellitus on disease initiation and progression. In this study, we investigated the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer in mice subjected to a high-fat diet (HFD) and observed an increase in citric acid expenditure. Notably, citrate treatment demonstrates significant efficacy in promoting tumor cell apoptosis, suppressing cell proliferation, and inhibiting tumor growth in vivo. Our investigations revealed that citrate achieved these effects by releasing secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) proteins, repolarizing M2 macrophages into M1 macrophages, and facilitating tumor cell apoptosis. Overall, our research highlights the critical role of citric acid as a pivotal metabolite in the intricate relationship between obesity and pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, we uncovered the significant metabolic and immune checkpoint function of SPARC in pancreatic cancer, suggesting its potential as both a biomarker and therapeutic target in treating this patient population.

An exploratory research on antitumor effect of drug-eluting slow-releasing electrospinning membranes.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term inhibition of malignant biliary tumor growth using paclitaxel (PTX)-covered polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun membranes. Methods: A mixture of PCL, a material used to fabricate polymer stents, and PTX, a widely used chemotherapeutic agent, was synthesized by electrospinning. After preparing the drug-eluting membrane, drug release and fiber degradation were assessed in vitro under different pH conditions. The QBC939 cholangiocarcinoma cell line was cultured to establish a xenograft nude mouse model. Finally, the drug-eluting membrane was implanted into the mouse model, and the relative tumor inhibition rate was evaluated. Results: A new PTX-loaded PCL electrospun fiber membrane was developed. The drug release rate was about 20-40% in the 32-day release cycle, and the release quantity was between 20 and 170 mg. As pH decreased, the release rate increased significantly. The degradation rate of the fiber membranes in vitro was approximately 20-48%, and was positively correlated with the drug loading rate. In animal experiments, the growth of tumors in mice was suppressed using drug-eluting membranes. Conclusion: The PTX-loaded PCL electrospun fiber membrane enhanced the long-term drug release and exhibited excellent antitumor effects in vivo.

A Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals the Prognostic and Immunotherapeutic Value of ALKBH7.

Recent studies have identified a role for ALKBH7 in the occurrence and progression of cancer, and this protein is related to cellular immunity and immune cell infiltration. However, the prognostic and immunotherapeutic value of ALKBH7 in different cancers have not been explored. In this study, we observed high ALKBH7 expression in 17 cancers and low expression in 5 cancers compared to paired normal tissues. Although ALKBH7 expression did not correlate relatively significantly with the clinical parameters of age (6/33), sex (3/33) and stage (3/27) in the cancers studied, the results of the survival analysis reflect the pan-cancer prognostic value of ALKBH7. In addition, ALKBH7 expression was significantly correlated with the TMB (7/33), MSI (13/33), mDNAsi (12/33) and mRNAsi (13/33) in human cancers. Moreover, ALKBH7 expression was associated and predominantly negatively correlated with the expression of immune checkpoint (ICP) genes in many cancers. Furthermore, ALKBH7 correlated with infiltrating immune cells and ESTIMATE scores, especially in PAAD, PRAD and THCA. Finally, the ALKBH7 gene coexpression network is involved in the regulation of cellular immune, oxidative, phosphorylation, and metabolic pathways. In conclusion, ALKBH7 may serve as a potential prognostic pan-cancer biomarker and is involved in the immune response. Our pan-cancer analysis provides insight into the role of ALKBH7 in different cancers.

Corrigendum: Prognostic ferroptosis-related lncRNA signatures associated with immunotherapy and chemotherapy responses in patients with stomach cancer.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.798612.].

Pathology confirmation of the efficacy and safety of microwave ablation in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: The incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has rapidly increased in recent years. Microwave ablation (MWA) was proposed as an alternative treatment for PTC. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of MWA by exploring the postoperative pathology results of post-ablation lesions in patients with PTC. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed data from 12 patients who underwent thyroid surgery after MWA treatment for primary PTC between January 2015 and November 2021 in six hospitals. Results: The average age of the 12 patients (8 female) was 45.3 ± 9.7 years. There was one patient with PTC (size > 1 cm) and 11 patients with micro-PTC (size ≤ 1 cm), of which eight patients had unifocal micro-PTC and three patients had multifocal micro-PTC. A total of 17 tumor foci with mean size of 6.2 ± 2.6 mm were treated by MWA. The median interval time between MWA and surgery was 6.6 months (range: 0.4-21.9 months). Intraoperatively, adherence to the anterior cervical muscle group was observed in three cases (3/12). Upon postoperative pathologic examination, all the post-ablation lesions of the eight unifocal micro-PTC and two multifocal micro-PTC showed no residual carcinomas. Outside the ablation zone, PTCs were detected in three cases, including two of the eight patients with unifocal micro-PTC and one of the three patients with multifocal micro-PTC. Cervical lymph node metastases were detected in seven patients (7/12). Conclusion: MWA was feasible for the treatment of primary unifocal low-risk micro-PTC (T1aN0M0) with good efficacy and safety. However, the use of MWA for treating PTC (size > 1 cm) and multifocal micro-PTC remains controversial.

A machine learning-based approach to predicting the malignant and metastasis of thyroid cancer.

Background: Thyroid Cancer (TC) is the most common malignant disease of endocrine system, and its incidence rate is increasing year by year. Early diagnosis, management of malignant nodules and scientific treatment are crucial for TC prognosis. The first aim is the construction of a classification model for TC based on risk factors. The second aim is the construction of a prediction model for metastasis based on risk factors. Methods: We retrospectively collected approximately 70 preoperative demographic and laboratory test indices from 1735 TC patients. Machine learning pipelines including linear regression model ridge, Logistic Regression (LR) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) were used to select the best model for predicting deterioration and metastasis of TC. A comprehensive comparative analysis with the prediction model using only thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS). Results: The XGBoost model achieved the best performance in the final thyroid nodule diagnosis (AUC: 0.84) and metastasis (AUC: 0.72-0.77) predictions. Its AUCs for predicting Grade 4 TC deterioration and metastasis reached 0.84 and 0.97, respectively, while none of the AUCs for Only TI-RADS reached 0.70. Based on multivariate analysis and feature selection, age, obesity, prothrombin time, fibrinogen, and HBeAb were common significant risk factors for tumor progression and metastasis. Monocyte, D-dimer, T3, FT3, and albumin were common protective factors. Tumor size (11.14 ± 7.14 mm) is the most important indicator of metastasis formation. In addition, GGT, glucose, platelet volume distribution width, and neutrophil percentage also contributed to the development of metastases. The abnormal levels of blood lipid and uric acid were closely related to the deterioration of tumor. The dual role of mean erythrocytic hemoglobin concentration in TC needs to be verified in a larger patient cohort. We have established a free online tool (http://www.cancer-thyroid.com/) that is available to all clinicians for the prognosis of patients at high risk of TC. Conclusion: It is feasible to use XGBoost algorithm, combined with preoperative laboratory test indexes and demographic characteristics to predict tumor progression and metastasis in patients with TC, and its performance is better than that of Only using TI-RADS. The web tools we developed can help physicians with less clinical experience to choose the appropriate clinical decision or secondary confirmation of diagnosis results.

Prognostic Ferroptosis-Related lncRNA Signatures Associated With Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy Responses in Patients With Stomach Cancer.

Ferroptosis is associated with the prognosis and therapeutic responses of patients with various cancers. LncRNAs are reported to exhibit antitumor or oncogenic functions. Currently, few studies have assessed the combined effects of ferroptosis and lncRNAs on the prognosis and therapy of stomach cancer. In this study, transcriptomic and clinical data were downloaded from TCGA database, and ferroptosis-related genes were obtained from the FerrDb database. Through correlation analysis, Cox analysis, and the Lasso algorithm, 10 prognostic ferroptosis-related lncRNAs (AC009299.2, AC012020.1, AC092723.2, AC093642.1, AC243829.4, AL121748.1, FLNB-AS1, LINC01614, LINC02485, LINC02728) were screened to construct a prognostic model, which was verified in two test cohorts. Risk scores for patients with stomach cancer were calculated, and patients were divided into two risk groups. The low-risk group, based on the median value, had a longer overall survival time in the KM curve, and a lower proportion of dead patients in the survival distribution curve. Potential mechanisms and possible functions were revealed using GSEA and the ceRNA network. By integrating clinical information, the association between lncRNAs and clinical features was analyzed and several features affecting prognosis were identified. Then, a nomogram was developed to predict survival rates, and its good predictive performance was indicated by a relatively high C-index (0.67118161) and a good match in calibration curves. Next, the association between these lncRNAs and therapy was explored. Patients in the low-risk group had an immune-activating environment, higher immune scores, higher TMB, lower TIDE scores, and higher expression of immune checkpoints, suggesting they might receive a greater benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In addition, a significant difference in the sensitivity to mitomycin. C, cisplatin, and docetaxel, but not etoposide and paclitaxel, was observed. In summary, this model had guiding significance for prognosis and personalized therapy. It helped screen patients with stomach cancer who might benefit from immunotherapy and guided the selection of personalized chemotherapeutic drugs.

An 11-year retrospective study: clinicopathological and survival analysis of gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm.

To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and relevant prognostic factors of gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (GEP-NEN), to improve our understanding of GEP-NEN.This was a retrospective analysis of 155 patients (average age 53.7 ±â€Š13.6 years) pathologically diagnosed with GEP-NEN. We analyzed the clinicopathological characteristics, treatment, and prognostic factors of GEP-NEN.The most common primary site was the pancreas (41.9%), followed by the rectum, stomach and duodenum. Most cases were nonfunctional GEP-NENs (149/155) with nonspecific symptoms. TNM stage and histological grade were determined by the latest criteria. Surgical resection was the mainstay of treatment in 150 patients, and 22 patients received chemotherapy under different circumstances. A total of 130 patients were followed up for a median of 44 months, and 1-year and 3-year survival rates were 82.3% and 72.3%, respectively. According to univariate and multivariate analysis, incidental diagnosis, maximum tumor diameter, tumor stage, lymph node and distant metastasis, TNM stage, and histological grade were significantly correlated with overall survival, but histological grade was the only factor confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for long-term survival of GEP-NEN.GEP-NEN, with an increasing trend in incidence, occurred most frequently in the pancreas. Nonfunctional tumors with nonspecific symptoms comprised the majority of cases. The main treatment was surgical resection. Histological grade was confirmed as the only independent prognostic factor.