Small cell carcinoma as an independent prognostic factor for cervical cancer patients: a population-based analysis.

Aim: To compare cervical small cell carcinoma (SmCC) with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patient characteristics and survival outcomes. Methods: Cervical SmCC and SCC patients in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 2004 to 2015 were enrolled. Propensity-score matching analysis (PSM) paired subjects with similar background variables. Cox regression, Kaplan-Meier and stratified analyses were conducted before and after PSM. Results: Cervical SmCC patients showed a higher rate of larger tumor size, advanced grade disease, lymph node involvement and distant metastasis (p < 0.001). Before and after PSM, SmCC histology and advanced Federation International of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages (p < 0.001) were principal prognostic factors of survival, and cervical SmCC was associated with worse survival in all stages (stage I-IV). Conclusion: SmCC was an independent poor prognostic factor in cervical cancer patients.

Visible forceps manipulator with novel linkage bending mechanism for neurosurgery.

In minimally invasive surgery (MIS), especially the neurosurgery, surgeons often suffer from occlusion region problem. Common surgical instruments, like endoscope and corresponding operating tools, are hard to solve it due to their size and rigid mechanical structure. In this paper, we present a visible forceps manipulator with novel linkage bending mechanism, which realizes the flexible bending capability and high output force, as well as the integrated endoscopic function. We present the simplified experiment to evaluate the results of mechanical performance and brain phantom test to evaluate feasibility and usefulness in neurosurgery. Preliminary results show that phantom experiments using the brain phantom verify the feasibility of the novel manipulator.