Association of primary tumor location with long-term oncological prognosis following hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma:A multicenter propensity score matching analysis.

PURPOSE: There is a striking laterality in the site of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a strong predominance for the right side; however, the impact of primary tumor location on long-term prognosis after hepatectomy of HCC remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of primary tumor location on long-term oncological prognosis after hepatectomy for HCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data of consecutive patients undergoing curative hepatectomy for HCC between 2008 and 2017 were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of left-sided HCC (LS group) and right-sided HCC (RS group) were compared by using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. COX regression analysis was performed to assess the adjusted effect of tumor location on long-term oncological prognosis. RESULTS: Of the 2799 included patients, 707 (25.3%) and 2092 (74.7%) were in the LS and RS groups, respectively. Using PSM analysis, 650 matched pairs of patients were created. In the PSM cohort, median OS (66.0 vs. 72.0 months, P = 0.001) and RFS (28.0 vs. 51.0 months, P < 0.001) were worse among patients in the LS group compared to individuals in the RS group. After further adjustment for other confounders using multivariable COX regression analyses, HCC located on the left side remained independently associated with worse OS and RFS. CONCLUSION: Tumors located on the left side are associated with poorer OS and RFS after hepatectomy for HCC. Careful surgical options selection and frequent follow-up to improve long-term survival may be justified for HCC patients with left-sided primary tumors.

Cancer-related stroke: Exploring personalized therapy strategies.

BACKGROUND: Cancer and ischemic stroke are two common diseases that threaten human health and have become the main causes of death in the world. It is estimated that one-in-ten patients with ischemic stroke have concomitant cancer, and this incidence is expected to increase as improvements in medical technology extends the life expectancy of cancer patients. DISCUSSION: Cancer-related stroke (CRS) refers to unexplained ischemic stroke in patients with active cancer that cannot be explained by current stroke mechanisms. Available evidence suggests that CRS accounts for 5-10% of embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). Although the incidence of CRS is gradually increasing, its underlying pathogenesis remains unclear. Also, there is no consensus on acute treatment and secondary prevention of stroke. CONCLUSION: In this review, we retrospectively analyzed the incidence, mechanisms of CRS, its potential as a new stroke subtype, options for acute treatment, secondary prevention strategies, and disease progression, with the aim of attempting to explore personalized therapy strategies.

[Corrigendum] Effects of simvastatin on iNOS and caspase­3 levels and oxidative stress following smoke inhalation injury.

After the publication of the above paper, the authors have noticed that the affiliations were presented incorrectly; essentially, Drs Rong­qiang Yang, Peng­fei Guo, Qing­nan Meng, Ya Gao, Imran Khan, Xiao­bo Wang and Zheng­jun Cui are based at the Department of Burn and Repair Reconstruction Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, whereas Drs Zhao Ma and Cheng Chang are located at The School of Basic Medical Science of Zhengzhou University. Therefore, the affiliations for this paper should have appeared as follows: Rong­Qiang Yang1, Peng­Fei Guo1, Zhao Ma2, Cheng Chang2, Qing­Nan Meng1, Ya Gao1, Imran Khan1, Xiao­Bo Wang1 and Zheng­Jun Cui1. 1Department of Burn and Repair Reconstruction Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University; 2The School of Basic Medical Science of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China. The authors regret that these errors with the author affiliations were not noticed prior to the publication of their paper, and apologize for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in Molecular Medicine Reports 22: 3405-3417, 2020; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2020.11413].

Iron-chelated thermoresponsive polymer brushes on bismuth titanate nanosheets for metal affinity separation of phosphoproteins.

Separation of phosphoproteins plays an important role for identification of biomarkers in life science. In this work, bismuth titanate supported, iron-chelated thermoresponsive polymer brushes were prepared for selective separation of phosphoproteins. The iron-chelated thermoresponsive polymer brushes were synthesized by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and glycidyl methacrylate, followed by a ring opening reaction of epoxy group, and chelation of the obtained cis-diols with Fe3+ ions. The composite material was characterized to determine the size and thickness, the content of the organic polymer and the metal loading. The bismuth titanate supported, iron-chelated thermoresponsive polymer brushes showed selective binding for phosphoproteins in the presence of abundant interfering proteins, and a high binding capacity for phosphoproteins by virtue of the metal affinity between the metal ions on the polymer brushes and the phosphate groups in the phosphoproteins (664 mg ß-Casein per g sorbent). The thermoresponsive property of the polymer brushes made it possible to adjust phosphoprotein binding by changing temperature. Finally, separation of phosphoproteins from a complex biological sample (i.e. milk) was demonstrated using the nanosheet-supported thermoresponsive polymer brushes.

Two-dimensional titanate-based zwitterionic hydrophilic sorbent for the selective adsorption of glycoproteins.

The selective adsorption towards glycoproteins from complex biosamples is of vital importance in life science studies. A new zwitterionic hydrophilic material, i.e., a functionalized titanate nanosheet, is prepared by assembling well-dispersed gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the surface of ultrathin titanate nanosheets via an ion-exchange approach, followed through immobilizing l-cysteine (L-Cys) by Au-S bonding. This 2D-titanate-based zwitterionic hydrophilic material is shortly termed as L-Cys/Au/TiNSs and it exhibits transverse several hundred nanometers with an ultrathin nanosheet structure. The zwitterionic hydrophilic titanate nanosheets have strong adsorption affinity to glycoproteins, offering a large binding capacity towards immunoglobulin G (1098.9 mg g-1), which could be readily stripped into an ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) solution (0.5%, m/v) with a recovery of 82.4%. The practical applications of L-Cys/Au/TiNSs are further proved by successful specific adsorption of IgG from human serum.

A comparison of the Cook-Swartz Doppler with conventional clinical methods for free flap monitoring: A systematic review and a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Currently there is no consensus on what is the optimal method for monitoring free flaps. Our meta-analysis compared the free flap success and salvage rates of Cook-Swartz Implantable Doppler monitoring with clinical monitoring to gain insight into the relative benefit of these systems. METHODS: Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched until January 16, 2016. Search terms included free flap surgery, free flap microsurgery and implantable Doppler. Studies were included if they involved the comparison of Cook-Swartz Doppler and clinical assessment for monitoring free flap function. Studies using free flap monitoring as an outcome measure for drug treatment were also excluded. Sensitivity analysis using the leave-one-out approach was used to assay the reliability of the findings. RESULTS: Initial search identified 14 studies, of which five studies were included in the meta-analysis. Cook-Swartz Doppler had significantly better rate of free flap success and salvage than clinical monitoring methods (P values ≤ 0.006). Data did not markedly changed when each study was removed in turn, showing reliability of the findings. DISCUSSION: The Cook-Swartz Doppler as a monitoring method may result in a higher rate of free flap success and salvaging but also a greater frequency of false positives than conventional methods. Our analysis is limited by designs of included studies and by heterogeneity of clinical monitoring techniques. CONCLUSIONS: More studies are needed to evaluate if Cook-Swartz Doppler can be used alone, or to be better used as an adjunctive technique to complement the clinical method of monitoring.

[Surgical ventricular restoration versus isolated coronary artery bypass grafting for left ventricular aneurysm: comparison of mid- to long-term outcomes].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the mid- to long-term outcomes of patients receiving isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) versus surgical ventricular restoration (SVR) plus CABG for left ventricular aneurysms. METHODS: The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed in 205 patients with left ventricular aneurysms admitted to our hospital between January, 1997 and December, 2012, including 115 patients receiving SVR plus CABG and 90 undergoing isolated CABG. By matching preoperative echocardiographic parameters including aneurysm size, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-systolic volume index (LVESVI) and EuroSCORE risk factors, 32 patients receiving SVR plus CABG and another 32 with isolated CABG were enrolled in this study. The patients were compared for survival rates, major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), left ventricular geometry and function at 1, 3 and 5 years of follow-up. RESULTS: Compared with the patients receiving isolated CABG, those receiving SVR and CABG showed greater improvements in echocardiographic parameters and NYHA functional class. The differences in the echocardiographic parameters between the two groups gradually reduced with time and became comparable at 5 years after the operation (P>0.05). No significant difference was found in the mid- to long-term survival or the incidence of MACCEs between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared with isolated CABG, SVR plus CABG does not reduce the incidence of MACCEs or improve the mid- to long-term survival rate of patients with left ventricular aneurysm with a LVESVI <60 mL/m(2).