Multislice spiral CT images combined with CEA and lymphocyte-to-neutrophil ratio predict recurrence and post-operative metastasis of rectal cancer.

To explore the early predictors of post-operative recurrence and metastasis of rectal cancer, analyse the associated risk, and construct a model. Retrospective collection. Four hundred patients with rectal cancer underwent surgical resection and pathological diagnosis from September 2013 to September 2014. During the post-operative period, the patients were tested by imaging examination, serum tumour markers, and routine blood follow-up for at least 3 years. Preoperative CT examination of tumour size, lymphocyte-to-neutrophil ratio, and CEA were significant biomarkers for predicting recurrence and/or metastasis of post-operative rectal cancer. The stratified threshold of the lesion size cut-off point in CT images of patients with rectal cancer was 18.75 cm3, the cut-off point value of the lymphocyte-to-neutrophil ratio was 0.33, and the CEA cut-off point value was 16.97 ng/ml. We used the cut-off point to perform stratified survival analysis to obtain two K-M curves and conduct a log-rank test. The Cox multivariate risk regression results were as follows: preoperative CT images of lesion size, lymphocyte-to-neutrophil ratio, and CEA. The AUC of the normogram model for the prediction of post-operative recurrence and metastasis of rectal cancer is 0.939. Preoperative CT examination of tumour size can predict post-operative recurrence and metastasis of rectal cancer and can be used to analyse its risk. The lymphocyte-to-neutrophil ratio and CEA can also predict post-operative tumour recurrence and metastasis risk.

Alkaline Phosphatase-Triggered Simultaneous Hydrogelation and Chemiluminescence.

Chemiluminescence (CL) has a higher signal-to-noise ratio than fluorescence, but the use of CL to track an enzyme-instructed self-assembly (EISA) process has not been reported. In this work, by coincubation of the hydrogelator precursor Fmoc-Phe-Phe-Tyr(H2PO3)-OH (1P) and the CL agent AMPPD (2) with alkaline phosphatase (ALP), we employed CL to directly characterize and image the simultaneous EISA process of 1P. Hydrogelation processes of 1P with and without 2 and the CL properties of 2 with and without 1P under ALP catalysis were systematically studied. The results indicated that 2 is an ideal CL indicator for ALP-triggered hydrogelation of 1P. Using an IVIS optical imaging system, we obtained time-course CL images of 2 to track the simultaneous hydrogelation process of 1P in the same solution. We envision that our CL method could be employed to track more biological EISA events in the near future.

Benign pancreatic lesion on 18F-FDG PET-MRI: A case report.

RATIONALE: Differentiation of benign and malignant lesions in the head of pancreas is the key. When the mass is small, it is difficult to distinguish via conventional imaging modalities. Positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) can distinguish benign and malignant lesions from the perspective of metabolism, which provides a new idea for the diagnosis of pancreatic head mass. PATIENT CONCERNS: We report the case of a 44-year-old male patient who underwent an 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/MRI for medical examination. The patient did not complain of special discomfort. DIAGNOSES: PET-MRI revealed in the head of the pancreas, there is a circular space-occupying lesion without obvious fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation, which tends to be benign based on its MRI and metabolic characteristics. INTERVENTIONS: The patient refused further laboratory examination or ultrasound gastroscopy as there is no discomfort. OUTCOMES: No special discomfort was found in the patient after 6 months follow-up. LESSONS: If routine examination fails to diagnose benign or malignant pancreatic head occupying, and the patient refuses invasive examination, PET-MRI can be performed for identification.

Role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/computed tomography in the diagnosis and treatment response assessment of primary bone lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE: Primary bone lymphoma (PBL) is a rare type of extranodal lymphoma, and the clinical application value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) in PBL has not been fully evaluated. This study aimed to determine the imaging characteristics of PBL and investigate the value of 18 F-FDG PET/CT parameters. METHODS: A total of 25 patients with PBL who underwent PET/CT examination before treatment were included in this study. The clinicopathological parameters and PET/CT parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 25 patients, 7 patients had single lesions, 15 patients had nonsingle lesions (≥2) and 3 patients had diffuse distribution in the medullary cavity. The bone destruction types included osteolytic, osteogenic, normal density, mixed lytic and osteogenic. All patients showed increased FDG uptake, and the CT detection rate was 88%. Five patients underwent PET/CT assessment mid-treatment, and when assessed using the Deauville five-point scale, four patients were PET-negative and one patient was PET-positive. There were two PET-positive and three PET-negative patients when assessed using the Δ maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) method. Six patients underwent PET/CT imaging at the end of treatment. When assessed using the Deauville five-point scale, five patients (83%) were PET-negative and one patient (17%) was PET-positive. The same results were obtained when evaluated by the ΔSUV max method. CONCLUSION: PET/CT plays a substantial role in the diagnosis and treatment efficacy evaluation of PBL, and it should be recognized by clinicians and radiologists. Changes in metabolic parameters such as SUV, metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis have considerable potential for application in PBL diagnostics and treatment efficacy evaluation.

The progress of PET/MRI in clinical management of patients with pancreatic malignant lesions.

Recently, the morbidity and mortality of pancreatic cancer have been increasing year by year. Because of its deep anatomical location and because most presented patients often suffer from abdominal pain or jaundice, it is difficult to diagnose pancreatic cancer at an early stage, leading to late clinical stage and poor prognosis. integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) fusion imaging not only has the characteristics of high resolution and multi-parameter imaging of MRI, but also combines the high sensitivity and the semi-quantitative characteristics of PET. In addition, the continuous development of novel MRI imaging and PET imaging biomarkers provide a unique and precise research direction for future pancreatic cancer research. This review summarizes the value of PET/MRI in the diagnosis, staging, efficacy monitoring, and prognosis evaluation of pancreatic cancer, and prognosis for developing emerging imaging agents and artificial intelligence radiomics in pancreatic cancer.

CAR-T cell therapy for lung cancer: Potential and perspective.

Lung cancer is the highest incidence and mortality of all cancers around the world. In the present immunotherapy era, an increasing number of immunotherapeutic agents including monoclonal antibody-targeted drugs have been used in the clinical treatment of malignancy, but it still has many limitations. Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CAR-T) cells, a novel adoptive immunotherapy strategy, have not only been used successfully against hematological tumors, but have also opened up new avenues for immunotherapy of solid tumors, including lung cancer. However, targeting lung cancer-specific antigens using engineered CAR-T cells is complicated by the lack of proper tumor-specific antigens, an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, a low level of CAR-T cell infiltration into tumor tissues, along with off-target effect, etc. Simultaneously, the clinical application of CAR-T cells remains limited because of many challenges such as tumor lysis syndrome, neurotoxicity syndrome, and cytokine release syndrome. In this review, we outline the basic structure and generation characteristic of CAR-T cells and summarize the common tumor-associated antigens in clinical trials of CAR-T cell therapy for lung cancer, and point out the current challenges and new strategies, aiming to provide new ideas and approaches for the pre-clinical experiments and clinical trials of CAR-T cell therapy in lung cancer.

The value of AI in the Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis of Malignant Lung Cancer.

Malignant tumors is a serious public health threat. Among them, lung cancer, which has the highest fatality rate globally, has significantly endangered human health. With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its integration with medicine, AI research in malignant lung tumors has become critical. This article reviews the value of CAD, computer neural network deep learning, radiomics, molecular biomarkers, and digital pathology for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of malignant lung tumors.

FAPI-PET/CT in Cancer Imaging: A Potential Novel Molecule of the Century.

Fibroblast activation protein (FAP), a type II transmembrane serine protease, is highly expressed in more than 90% of epithelial tumors and is closely associated with various tumor invasion, metastasis, and prognosis. Using FAP as a target, various FAP inhibitors (FAPIs) have been developed, most of which have nanomolar levels of FAP affinity and high selectivity and are used for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of different tumors. We have conducted a systematic review of the available data; summarized the biological principles of FAPIs for PET imaging, the synthesis model, and metabolic characteristics of the radiotracer; and compared the respective values of FAPIs and the current mainstream tracer 18F-Fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) in the clinical management of tumor and non-tumor lesions. Available research evidence indicates that FAPIs are a molecular imaging tool complementary to 18F-FDG and are expected to be the new molecule of the century with better imaging effects than 18F-FDG in a variety of cancers, including gastrointestinal tumors, liver tumors, breast tumors, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The Value of Multimodality PET/CT Imaging in Detecting Prostate Cancer Biochemical Recurrence.

Prostate cancer (PCa) induced death is the predominant cause of cancer-related death among men in 48 countries. After radical treatment, biochemical recurrence has become an important factor for prognosis. The early detection and diagnosis of recurrent lesions are very helpful in guiding treatment and improving the prognosis. PET/CT is a promising method for early detection of lesions in patients with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. This article reviews the progress of the research on PET/CT in the PCa biochemical recurrence and aims to introduce new technologies and provide more direction for future research.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T Cell Immunotherapy Against Thoracic Malignancies: Challenges and Opportunities.

Different from surgery, chemical therapy, radio-therapy and target therapy, Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CAR-T) cells, a novel adoptive immunotherapy strategy, have been used successfully against both hematological tumors and solid tumors. Although several problems have reduced engineered CAR-T cell therapeutic outcomes in clinical trials for the treatment of thoracic malignancies, including the lack of specific antigens, an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, a low level of CAR-T cell infiltration into tumor tissues, off-target toxicity, and other safety issues, CAR-T cell treatment is still full of bright future. In this review, we outline the basic structure and characteristics of CAR-T cells among different period, summarize the common tumor-associated antigens in clinical trials of CAR-T cell therapy for thoracic malignancies, and point out the current challenges and new strategies, aiming to provide new ideas and approaches for preclinical experiments and clinical trials of CAR-T cell therapy for thoracic malignancies.

The clinical application of 18F-FDG PET/CT in pancreatic cancer: a narrative review.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the worst prognoses of all malignant tumors, with an annual incidence near its annual mortality rate. To improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer, it is essential to diagnose and evaluate pancreatic cancer early. Imaging examinations play an essential role in tumor detection, staging, and surgical resection assessment and can provide reliable evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Currently, imaging techniques commonly used for pancreatic cancer include endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), conventional ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), multidetector spiral computed tomography (MDCT), positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), and others PET/CT is a new imaging device composed of PET and CT. 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) is a commonly used tracer in the clinic. Cancer cells are more robust than other ordinary cells in that they can ingest glucose, and the structure of glucose is similar to the structure of 18F-FDG. Therefore, after the injection of 18F-FDG, 18F-FDG in tumor cells appears very thick during PET scanning. Therefore, PET/CT can determine the metabolic capacity and anatomical position of pancreatic tumor cells in the body accurately diagnose the patient's condition and tumor location. It plays a vital role in early diagnosis and accurate staging, predicts survival, and monitors therapeutic effectiveness and pancreatic cancer recurrence. Although 18F-FDG PET/CT has limitations in identifying inflammatory diseases and tumors, it still has good development potential. This article reviews the clinical application of 18F-FDG PET/CT in pancreatic cancer.

Hippocampal changes in inflammasomes, apoptosis, and MEMRI after radiation-induced brain injury in juvenile rats.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to characterize changes in hippocampal inflammasomes, pyroptosis and apoptosis in juvenile rats after brain irradiation and to assess whether manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) reflected those changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats received a whole-brain radiation dose of 15 Gy or 25 Gy. Hippocampal inflammasomes and apoptosis were measured using Western blot analysis at 4 days and 8 weeks after irradiation. MEMRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) were performed at the same time points. RESULTS: Neither the 15 Gy nor 25 Gy group showed changes in the expression of inflammasome proteins absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), gasdermin-D (GSDMD), nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 1 (NLRP1) and NLRP3 at 4 days or 8 weeks after radiation injury (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the expression levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and IL-18 were not significantly different among the groups (P > 0.05). The expression levels of cleaved caspase-1 and -3, indicators of apoptosis, were higher in the irradiation groups than in the control group at 4 days post irradiation, especially for caspase-3 (P < 0.05), but this increase was slightly attenuated at 8 weeks after radiation injury. Four days post irradiation, the MEMRI signal intensity (SI) in the irradiation groups, especially the 25 Gy group, was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Eight weeks after radiation injury, the SI of the 15 Gy group and the 25 Gy group recovered by different degrees, but the SI of the 25 Gy group was still significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). On day 4 post irradiation, the metabolic ratio of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) to creatine (Cr) in the 15 Gy group and 25 Gy group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The NAA/Cr ratio in the 15 Gy group recovered to control levels at 8 weeks (P > 0.05), but the NAA/Cr ratio in the 25 Gy group remained significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Radiation-induced brain injury is dose-dependently associated with apoptosis but not inflammasomes or pyroptosis, and the change in apoptosis can be detected by MEMRI.

Intracellular self-assembly of Ru(bpy)32+ nanoparticles enables persistent phosphorescence imaging of tumors.

Nanoprobes are advantageous over small molecular probes in sensitivity but most luminescence molecules used to construct nanoprobes often suffer from an aggregation-caused quenching effect. Herein, we rationally designed a small molecular probe Cys(StBu)-Lys(Ru(bpy)32+)-CBT (1) which "smartly" self-assembled into nanoparticles 1-NPs inside cells with non-quenched, persistent phosphorescence. Employing this property, we successfully applied 1 for long-term sensing of biothiol activity in living HepG2 cells and tumors. We envision that, by modifying the amino group with an enzyme substrate, our probe 1 could be further developed for sensing intracellular enzyme activity with non-quenched, persistent phosphorescence.

Air quality impact of the coal-fired power plants in the northern passageway of the China West-East Power Transmission Project.

This paper analyzes the air quality impacts of coal-fired power plants in the northern passageway of the West-East Power Transmission Project in China. A three-layer Lagrangian model called ATMOS, was used to simulate the spatial distribution of incremental sulfur dioxide (SO2) and coarse particulate matter (PM10) concentrations under different emission control scenarios. In the year 2005, the emissions from planned power plants mainly affected the air quality of Shanxi, Shaanxi, the common boundary of Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, and the area around the boundary between Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. In these areas, the annually averaged incremental SO2 and PM10 concentrations exceed 2 and 2.5 microg/m3, respectively. The maximum increases of the annually averaged SO2 and PM10 concentrations are 8.3 and 7.2 microg/m3, respectively, which occur around Hancheng city, near the boundary of the Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces. After integrated control measures are considered, the maximum increases of annually averaged SO2 and PM10 concentrations fall to 4.9 and 4 microg/m3, respectively. In the year 2010, the areas affected by planned power plants are mainly North Shaanxi, North Ningxia, and Northwest Shanxi. The maximum increases of the annually averaged SO2 and PM10, concentrations are, respectively, 6.3 and 5.6 microg/m3, occurring in Northwest Shanxi, which decline to 4.4 and 4.1 microg/m3 after the control measures are implemented. The results showed that the proposed power plants mainly affect the air quality of the region where the power plants are built, with little impact on East China where the electricity will be used. The influences of planned power plants on air quality will be decreased greatly by implementing integrated control measures.