Size selection of intrahepatic lesions for cryoablation contributes to abscopal effect and long-term survival in patients with liver metastatic melanoma receiving PD-1 blockade therapy.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to examine parameters of cryoablation, tumor characteristics, and their correlations with distant tumor response and survival of liver metastatic melanoma patients receiving cryoablation and PD-1 blockade (cryo-PD-1) combination treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted among 45 melanoma patients who received combined PD-1 blockade therapy and cryoablation for liver metastasis from 2018 to 2022. Cox regression was utilized to determine the associations between factors and overall survival (OS). Changes in cytokines and immune cell compositions in peripheral blood samples following the combined treatment were investigated, along with their correlations with treatment response. RESULTS: The mean cycle of cryo-PD-1 combination treatment was 2.2 (range, 1-6), and the 3-month overall response rate (RECIST 1.1 criteria) was 26.7%. Of the 21 patients who failed previous PD-1 blockade therapy after diagnosis of liver metastasis, 4 (19.0%) achieved response within 3 months since combination treatment. The diameter of ablated lesion ≤ 30 mm, metastatic organs ≤ 2, and pre-treatment LDH level ≤ 300 U/L were independent prognostic factors for favorable OS. Further analysis showed patients with intrahepatic tumor size of 15-45 mm, and ablated lesion size of ≤ 30 mm had significantly higher 3-month response rate (42.9% vs 12.5%; P = 0.022) and survival time (30.5 vs 14.2 months; P = 0.045) than their counterparts. The average increase in NLR among patients with ablated tumor size of ≤ 3 cm and > 3 cm were 3.59 ± 5.01 and 7.21 ± 12.57, respectively. The average increase in serum IL-6 levels among patients with ablated tumor size of ≤ 3 cm and > 3 cm were 8.62 ± 7.95 pg/ml and 15.40 ± 11.43 pg/ml, respectively. CONCLUSION: Size selection of intrahepatic lesions for cryoablation is important in order to achieve abscopal effect and long-term survival among patients with liver metastatic melanoma receiving PD-1 blockade therapy.

SurvivalPath:A R package for conducting personalized survival path mapping based on time-series survival data.

The survival path mapping approach has been proposed for dynamic prognostication of cancer patients using time-series survival data. The SurvivalPath R package was developed to facilitate building personalized survival path models. The package contains functions to convert time-series data into time-slices data by fixed interval based on time information of input medical records. After the pre-processing of data, under a user-defined parameters on covariates, significance level, minimum bifurcation sample size and number of time slices for analysis, survival paths can be computed using the main function, which can be visualized as a tree diagram, with important parameters annotated. The package also includes function for analyzing the connections between exposure/treatment and node transitions, and function for screening patient subgroup with specific features, which can be used for further exploration analysis. In this study, we demonstrate the application of this package in a large dataset of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, which is embedded in the package. The SurvivalPath R package is freely available from CRAN, with source code and documentation hosted at https://github.com/zhangt369/SurvivalPath.

The important role of whole-process computed tomography guidance for percutaneous gastrostomy in esophageal cancer patients who are unsuitable for or have had unsuccessful attempts with endoscopic and fluoroscopic gastrostomy.

PURPOSE: To explore the value of clinical application with the whole process computed tomography (CT) guided percutaneous gastrostomy in esophageal tumor patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 32 esophageal tumor patients in whom endoscopic gastrostomy or fluoroscopy guided gastrostomy were considered too dangerous or impossible due to the esophagus complete obstruction, complicate esophageal mediastinal fistula, esophageal trachea fistula or severe heart disease. All of the 32 patients were included in this study from 2 medical center and underwent the gastrostomy under whole process CT guided. RESULTS: All of the gastrostomy procedure was finished successfully under whole process CT guided and the technical success rate was 100%. The average time for each operation was 27 min. No serious complications occurred and the minor complications occurred in 3 patients, including local infection, severe hyperplasia of granulation tissue and tube dislodgment. There were no procedure related deaths. CONCLUSION: The technical success rate of whole process CT guided percutaneous gastrostomy is high and the complication is low. This technique can be used feasible and effectively in some special patients.

Enhanced light emission of germanium light-emitting-diode on 150 mm germanium-on-insulator (GOI).

Germanium-on-insulator (GOI) has emerged as a novel platform for Ge-based electronic and photonic applications. Discrete photonic devices, such as waveguides, photodetectors, modulators, and optical pumping lasers, have been successfully demonstrated on this platform. However, there is almost no report on the electrically injected Ge light source on the GOI platform. In this study, we present the first fabrication of vertical Ge p-i-n light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on a 150 mm GOI substrate. The high-quality Ge LED on a 150-mm diameter GOI substrate was fabricated via direct wafer bonding followed by ion implantations. As a tensile strain of 0.19% has been introduced during the GOI fabrication process resulting from the thermal mismatch, the LED devices exhibit a dominant direct bandgap transition peak near 0.785 eV (∼1580 nm) at room temperature. In sharp contrast to conventional III-V LEDs, we found that the electroluminescence (EL)/photoluminescence (PL) spectra show enhanced intensities as the temperature is raised from 300 to 450 K as a consequence of the higher occupation of the direct bandgap. The maximum enhancement in EL intensity is a factor of 140% near 1635 nm due to the improved optical confinement offered by the bottom insulator layer. This work potentially broadens the GOI's functional variety for applications in near-infrared sensing, electronics, and photonics.

Tensile strained direct bandgap GeSn microbridges enabled in GeSn-on-insulator substrates with residual tensile strain.

Despite having achieved drastically improved lasing characteristics by harnessing tensile strain, the current methods of introducing a sizable tensile strain into GeSn lasers require complex fabrication processes, thus reducing the viability of the lasers for practical applications. The geometric strain amplification is a simple technique that can concentrate residual and small tensile strain into localized and large tensile strain. However, the technique is not suitable for GeSn due to the intrinsic compressive strain introduced during the conventional epitaxial growth. In this Letter, we demonstrate the geometrical strain amplification in GeSn by employing a tensile strained GeSn-on-insulator (GeSnOI) substrate. This work offers exciting opportunities in developing practical wavelength-tunable lasers for realizing fully integrated photonic circuits.

Predicting NOx Distribution in a Micro Rich-Quench-Lean Combustor Using a Variational Autoencoder.

Micro gas turbines are widely used in distributed power generation systems. However, the combustion of gas turbine combustors produces a large amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which pollute the environment and endanger human life. To reduce environmental pollution, low-emission combustors have been developed. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the use of low-heat-value gas fuels, and it is necessary to study the NOx emissions from low heat value gas fuel combustors. Data-driven deep learning methods have been used in many fields in recent years. In this study, a variational autoencoder was introduced for the prediction of NOx production inside the combustor. The combustor used was a micro rich-quench-lean combustor designed by the research group using coal bed gas as a fuel. The internal NO distribution contour was obtained as the dataset using simulation methods, with a size of 60 images. The model architecture parameters were obtained through hyperparameter exploration using the grid search method. The model accurately predicted the distribution of NO inside the combustor. The method can be applied in the prediction of a wider range of parameters and offers a new way of designing combustors for the power industry.

Fisher Information as General Metrics of Quantum Synchronization.

Quantum synchronization has emerged as a crucial phenomenon in quantum nonlinear dynamics with potential applications in quantum information processing. Multiple measures for quantifying quantum synchronization exist. However, there is currently no widely agreed metric that is universally adopted. In this paper, we propose using classical and quantum Fisher information (FI) as alternative metrics to detect and measure quantum synchronization. We establish the connection between FI and quantum synchronization, demonstrating that both classical and quantum FI can be deployed as more general indicators of quantum phase synchronization in some regimes where all other existing measures fail to provide reliable results. We show advantages in FI-based measures, especially in 2-to-1 synchronization. Furthermore, we analyze the impact of noise on the synchronization measures, revealing the robustness and susceptibility of each method in the presence of dissipation and decoherence. Our results open up new avenues for understanding and exploiting quantum synchronization.

Benefits of step-by-step debulking microwave ablation for huge unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma patients after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization refractoriness.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the safety and efficacy of step-by-step debulking Microwave Ablation (MWA) with Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) monotherapy for huge (≥10 cm in diameter) unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after TACE refractoriness. METHODS: This is a multi-center retrospective study carried out on 599 patients with huge unresectable HCC who received TACE as first-line therapy at five hospitals from January 2009 to December 2018. A total of 103 patients with TACE refractoriness were divided into two cohorts: monthly step-by-step debulking MWA (n = 52) or continued TACE (n = 51). Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) after refractory TACE were evaluated. Residual liver and tumor volume were recorded for the MWA group. RESULTS: Median follow-up period was 24.3 months and median OS and PFS were significantly longer in the MWA group than in the TACE group (OS 21.0 vs. 11.7 months, PFS 6.1 vs. 3.0 months, both p < 0.001). The one-, two-, and three-year OS rates in the MWA and TACE groups were 73.1%, 46.6%, and 37.2% versus 43.1%, 15.5%, and 2.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the 0.5-, 1-, and 2-year PFS rates in the MWA and TACE groups were 51.9%, 36.5%, and 25.0% versus 27.5%, 11.8%, and 0, respectively. Multivariate analyses confirmed that switching to debulking MWA treatment was an independent favorable prognostic factor for PFS and OS. In the MWA group, the average additions of residual liver volume/total liver volume were 7.7% ± 6.7%, 7.2% ± 10.2%, and 10.1% ± 8.8% after the first, second, and third MWA procedure. CONCLUSION: Step-by-step debulking MWA can significantly improve long-term OS and PFS in patients with huge unresectable HCCs compared with repeated TACE after TACE refractoriness. Key PointThe debulking MWA therapy provides significantly longer OS and PFS than continued TACE for patients with huge unresectable HCCs after TACE-refractory, especially with complete tumor ablation.The most common complications were fever (48.1%) and pain (46.2%) in the MWA group. Two major complications (abdominal infection) were recorded in the MWA group, which recovered after symptomatic treatment.During the course of repeated MWAs, liver hyperplasia appeared mainly after the second MWA procedure and the average maximum increased RLV/TLV rate was 16.3%±12.7%.

Ge0.95Sn0.05 Gate-All-Around p-Channel Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors with Sub-3 nm Nanowire Width.

We demonstrate Ge0.95Sn0.05 p-channel gate-all-around field-effect transistors (p-GAAFETs) with sub-3 nm nanowire width (WNW) on a GeSn-on-insulator (GeSnOI) substrate using a top-down fabrication process. Thanks to the excellent gate control by employing an aggressively scaled nanowire structure, Ge0.95Sn0.05 p-GAAFETs exhibit a small subthreshold swing (SS) of 66 mV/decade, a decent on-current/off-current (ION/IOFF) ratio of ∼1.2 × 106, and a high-field effective hole mobility (µeff) of ∼115 cm2/(V s). In addition, we also investigate quantum confinement effects in extremely scaled GeSn nanowires, including threshold voltage (VTH) shift and IOFF reduction with continuous scaling of WNW under 10 nm. The phenomena observed from experimental results are substantiated by the calculation of GeSn bandgap and TCAD simulation of electrical characteristics of devices with sub-10 nm WNW. This study suggests Ge-based nanowire p-FETs with extremely scaled dimension hold promise to deliver good performance to enable further scaling for future technology nodes.

Employing Equivalent Circuit Models to Study the Performance of Selenium-Based Solar Cells with Polymers as Hole Transport Layers.

Selenium(Se)-based solar cells (SSCs), known as one of the oldest solar cells, have regained intense attention due to the advantages of Se including direct bandgap, good stability, and single absorber. Among all kinds of device structures, conventional n-i-p SSCs with top organic hole transport layers (HTLs) show great potential since organic HTLs could be well-designed to smoothly extract holes from the Se single absorber and protect the Se surface. However, till now, the performance of Se solar cells with organic HTLs is not as good as expected. To address this issue, herein, the SSCs are first presented with organic polymers as the HTLs with the improved efficiency up to 4.3%, which is the highest one in organic HTLs-based SSCs. Additionally, comparing with perovskite solar cells, it is found that the recombination process is the key factor that influences the performance of SSCs. It is believed that the further optimization of the Se active layer and the design of new and suitable organic HTLs for SSCs should be the main focus to suppress the undesired recombination processes of Se films. Such realization would boost the efficiency of the as-fabricated SSCs.

GeSn-on-insulator dual-waveband resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetectors at the 2 µm and 1.55 µm optical communication bands.

Germanium-tin-on-insulator (GSOI) has emerged as a new platform for three-dimensional (3D) photonic-integrated circuits (PICs). We report, to our knowledge, the first demonstration of GeSn dual-waveband resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetectors (RCE PDs) on GSOI platforms with resonance-enhanced responsivity at both 2 µm and 1.55 µm bands. 10% Sn is introduced to the GeSn absorbing layer to extend the detection wavelength to the 2 µm band. A vertical Fabry-Perot cavity is designed to enhance the responsivity. The measured responsivity spectra show resonance peaks that cover a wide wavelength range near both the 2 µm and conventional telecommunication bands. This work demonstrates that GeSn dual-waveband RCE PDs on a GSOI platform are promising for CMOS-compatible 3D PICs for optoelectronic applications in 2 µm and telecommunication bands.

Single-nodule hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma smaller than 3 cm: two phenotypes defined by cluster analysis and their association with the outcome of ablation as the first-line therapy.

OBJECTIVES: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous disease. This study aimed to identify the heterogeneity related to the prognosis of ablation in patients with single-nodule hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated HCC ≤3 cm. METHODS: A total of 359 patients with single-nodule HBV-associated HCC ≤3 cm treated with curative thermal ablation were retrospectively investigated. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to obtain more homogeneous patient clusters concerning demographic and physiological characteristics. Discriminant analysis was performed to identify the relatively important variables for cluster analysis. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was used to clarify the relationship between clusters and categorical variables. Overall survival (OS) was compared among clusters using the Kaplan-Meier model. RESULTS: A two-cluster model was identified. Cluster 1 (n = 85) showed a higher percentage of female and older patients, higher inflammation response (higher prognostic nutritional index [PNI] and Glasgow prognostic score [GPS]), worse liver function (higher albumin-bilirubin grade and Child-Pugh grade), and relatively poorer immune status (higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio [NLR]) than cluster 2 (n = 274). NLR and GPS were the two most influential variables for cluster analysis (p < .0001). Cluster 2 had a significantly better prognosis than cluster 1. MCA revealed a clear negative correlation between inflammation status and liver function. Compared with cluster 1, the hazard ratios for OS of cluster 2 were 0.47 and 0.52 before and after adjusting for age, respectively (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: This study identified two sub-phenotypes of patients with single-nodule HBV-associated HCC ≤3 cm and their association with the outcome of thermal ablation alone as the first-line therapy. Key points Thermal ablation alone as the first-line therapy is not suitable for all patients with single-nodule hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≤3 cm. Patients with single-nodule HBV-associated HCC ≤3 cm can be identified as two sub-phenotypes associated with the outcome of thermal ablation alone as the first-line therapy, based on key preoperative clinical characteristics, especially inflammatory response and immune status. Patients with single-nodule HBV-associated HCC ≤3 cm characterized by late-onset disease, worse liver function, poorer immune status, and higher inflammatory response (with higher inflammatory response being the most important factor) are not suitable for thermal ablation alone as the first-line therapy. In contrast, patients with single-nodule HBV-associated HCC ≤3 cm characterized by early-onset disease, better liver function, lower inflammatory response, and good immune status (with lower inflammatory response being the most important factor) are particularly suitable for thermal ablation alone. Implications for patient care In the treatment of patients with single-nodule HBV-associated HCC ≤3 cm, thermal ablation alone as the first-line therapy should be carefully considered after recognizing the key clinical characteristics, among which inflammatory response and immune status are the two most important factors involved in clinical heterogeneity, and inflammatory response is closely related to the prognosis of thermal ablation alone as the first-line therapy for these patients.

Comparison between surgery and thermal ablation for adrenal metastases: a retrospective study.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively compare the efficacy and safety of surgical resection (SR) and thermal ablation for the treatment of adrenal metastases. METHODS: From January 2008 to December 2018, 133 patients with adrenal metastases who underwent SR (n = 76) or thermal ablation (n = 57) were enrolled. The mean tumor size was 58.00 ± 10.65 mm (22-80 mm) in the SR group and 58.03 ± 12.76 mm (34-89 mm) in the thermal ablation group. Local progression-free survival (LPFS) and safety were compared between the two groups using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank tests. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate the prognostic factors of LPFS. Complications, hospitalization days, and blood loss were also assessed. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 29.0 months (range, 20.4-37.6 months). No treatment-related mortality was observed. The 1-, 3- and 5-year LPFS rates were 74.0%, 62.8%, and 31.4% in the SR group and 72.8%, 68.7%, and 51.5% in the ablation group, with the median LPFS of 41.5 months (95% CI: 9.3-23.4 months) vs. 47.9 months (95% CI 20.6-75.8 months), respectively (p = 0.784). Tumor size ≥3 cm was the only significant risk factor for LPFS (p = 0.031). The ablation group was superior to the SR group with a lower major complication rate (4.1% vs. 14.5%, p = 0.03), less blood loss (1 ml vs. 100 ml, p < 0.001), and a shorter hospital stay (2 d vs. 6 d, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Thermal ablation provided a similar LPFS and less comorbidities than SR, indicating that it is an effective and safe treatment for adrenal metastases.

Parameter Determination and Ion Current Improvement of the Ion Current Sensor Used for Flame Monitoring.

Flame monitoring of industrial combustors with high-reliability sensors is essential to operation security and performance. An ion current flame sensor with a simple structure has great potential to be widely used, but a weak ion current is the critical defect to its reliability. In this study, parameters of the ion current sensor used for monitoring flames on a Bunsen burner are suggested, and a method of further improving the ion current is proposed. Effects of the parameters, including the excitation voltage, electrode area, and electrode radial and vertical positions on the ion current, were investigated. The ion current grew linearly with the excitation voltage. Given that the electrodes were in contact with the flame fronts, the ion current increased with the contact area of the cathode but independent of the contact area of the anode. The smaller electrode radial position resulted in a higher ion current. The ion current was insensitive to the anode vertical position but largely sensitive to the cathode vertical position. Based on the above ion current regularities, the sensor parameters were suggested as follows: The burner served as a cathode and the platinum wire acted as an anode. The excitation voltage, anode radial and vertical positions were 120 V, 0 mm, and 6 mm, respectively. The method of further improving the ion current by adding multiple sheet cathodes near the burner exit was proposed and verified. The results show that the ion current sensor with the suggested parameters could correctly identify the flame state, including the ignition, combustion, and extinction, and the proposed method could significantly improve the magnitude of the ion current.

Cryoablation combined with transarterial infusion of pembrolizumab (CATAP) for liver metastases of melanoma: an ambispective, proof-of-concept cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The presence of liver metastasis correlates with poor therapeutic response of PD-1 blockade therapy in melanoma. A novel treatment protocol by combining cryoablation with transarterial infusion of pembrolizumab (CATAP) was proposed, and its feasibility and safety was assessed among this group of patients. METHODS: This registered ambispective cohort study enrolled fifteen melanoma patients with multiple hepatic metastases who received planned two-stage CATAP therapy: in the combined stage, subtotal cryoablation on day 1, in which one to two intrahepatic lesions were ablated completely with other lesions left untreated, sequentially combined transarterial infusion of pembrolizumab on day 3, every three weeks, for at least one cycle; in the infusion stage, arterial infusion of pembrolizumab was recommended at three-week interval until disease progression. The primary endpoint was objective response rate by RECIST (version 1.1); secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS) and safety; exploratory endpoints were changes of cytokines and immune cell compositions in peripheral blood samples. RESULTS: Of the 15 patients enrolled, no grade 3-4 adverse events or major complications were observed. One patient (6.7%) achieved complete response, and 3 (20.0%) achieved partial response. The overall response rates of CATAP for the entire cohort and patients with cutaneous melanoma were 26.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.3-49.0%) and 33.3% (95% CI 2.5-64.1%), respectively. Clinical response was observed in a proportion of patients (2/6; 33.3%) who failed first-line intravenous pembrolizumab treatment. The median overall PFS time and hepatic PFS time were 4.0 (95% CI 2.5-5.5) and 5.73 (95% CI 1.1-10.4) months, respectively. A significant increase in CD3-CD16 + CD56 + cells (natural killer cells; P = 0.0124) and a marginally significant decrease in CD4 + CD25 + cells (regulatory T cells; P = 0.0546) were observed three weeks after the first cycle of treatment in the combined stage. CONCLUSIONS: The CATAP therapy demonstrated positive clinical activity and a favorable safety profile for melanoma patients with liver metastasis.

Microwave ablation plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a multicenter, randomized, controlled, phase III clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: This prospective trial was performed to verify whether microwave ablation (MWA) in combination with chemotherapy could provide superior survival benefit compared with chemotherapy alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March 1, 2015, to June 20, 2017, treatment-naïve patients with pathologically verified advanced or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were randomly assigned to MWA plus chemotherapy group or chemotherapy group. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), while the secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), time to local progression (TTLP), and objective response rate (ORR). The complications and adverse events were also reported. RESULTS: A total of 293 patients were randomly assigned into the two groups. One hundred forty-eight patients with 117 stage IV tumors were included in the MWA plus chemotherapy group. One hundred forty-five patients with 113 stage IV tumors were included in the chemotherapy group. The median follow-up period was 13.1 months and 12.4 months, respectively. Median PFS was 10.3 months (95% CI 8.0-13.0) in the MWA plus chemotherapy group and 4.9 months (95% CI 4.2-5.7) in the chemotherapy group (HR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.28-0.53; p < 0.0001). Median OS was not reached in the MWA plus chemotherapy group and 12.6 months (95% CI 10.6-14.6) in the chemotherapy group (HR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.27-0.53; p < 0.0001) using Kaplan-Meier analyses with log-rank test. The median TTLP was 24.5 months, and the ORR was 32% in both groups. The adverse event rate was not significantly different in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with advanced NSCLC, longer PFS and OS can be achieved with the treatment of combined MWA and chemotherapy than chemotherapy alone. KEY POINTS: • Patients treated with MWA plus chemotherapy had superior PFS and OS over those treated with chemotherapy alone. • The ORR of patients treated with MWA plus chemotherapy was similar to that of those treated with chemotherapy alone. • Complications associated with MWA were common but tolerable and manageable.

Improved stability and efficiency of polymer-based selenium solar cells through the usage of tin(iv) oxide in the electron transport layers and the analysis of aging dynamics.

Recently, in the arena of finding substitutes for lead-containing perovskite solar cells, the oldest selenium solar cells (SSCs) have been reconsidered by many scientists due to their suitable energy level structure and less-toxic nature. A lot of research efforts have been made to improve the efficiency of SSCs through seeking suitable substrates and modifying the process of Se crystallization. However, little attention has been paid to investigating the stability of SSCs. In addition, one crucial point that is neglected by researchers could be the potential applications of low-cost SSCs in complicated and tough environments, owing to the intrinsic physicochemical resistance of the Se material. To address these issues, in this research, SSCs with an elaborately designed architecture have been presented, and the highest efficiency (3.7%) among SSCs with organic hole transport layers was achieved. Additionally, a dozen of P3HT-based SSCs were demonstrated to maintain 92% efficiency after more than 1500 hours. The favorable long-term stability of the SSCs allowed us to carefully analyze the changes in each dynamic parameter during aging and helped explore the factors that affect the device behaviors. These results would pave the way for the application of the ultra-stable SSCs in harsh conditions.

Microwave ablation versus sorafenib for intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular carcinoma with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization refractoriness: a propensity score matching analysis.

Purpose: To compared the benefits of sorafenib with microwave ablation (MWA) in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with tumor size ≤7 cm and tumor number ≤5 after Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization (TACE) failure.Methods: A retrospective, single-center study was conducted using a one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) analysis and involved 52 intermediate-stage HCC patients with absence of evidence of intrahepatic vascular invasion and extrahepatic metastasis after TACE failure and underwent treatment with MWA or sorafenib between 2007 and 2019. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. The factors with OS and PFS were determined by Cox regression.Results: Of the 52 patients included in our study, 30 (57.7%) underwent MWA and 22 (42.3%) received sorafenib. After PSM, 22 pairs were enrolled into different groups for further analysis. Patients in the MWA-group had a significantly longer median PFS than patients in the sorafenib-group on both before (median, 9.3 vs. 2.8 months, p = .001) and after PSM (median, 9.0 vs. 2.8 months, p = .006). They also had a significantly longer median OS than patients in the sorafenib-group on before (median, 48.8 vs. 16.6 months, p = .001) and after PSM (median, Not reached vs. 16.6 months, p = .001). Besides, Cox regression analysis showed that the treatment and age were the independent prognostic factors of OS and PFS (p＜0.05).Conclusions: MWA was superior to sorafenib in improving survival for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with tumor size ≤7 cm and tumor number ≤5 after TACE failure.Key PointsCompared with sorafenib, microwave ablation may be a more reasonable alternative treatment for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with tumor size ≤7 cm and tumor number ≤5 after TACE refractoriness.The treatment (MWA vs sorafenib) and the age of patients were the independent prognostic factors of OS and PFS.

Global microarray profiling identified hsa_circ_0064428 as a potential immune-associated prognosis biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence has shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved tumourigenesis and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, progression about its function in HCC is relatively slow. Here, we aimed to investigate whether plasma circRNAs could reflect the tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in HCC tumour tissues and serve as prognosis biomarker for HCC. METHODS: Tissue samples of patients with HCC were subjected to immunohistochemistry staining against CD8 to examine the TILs. Then, we investigated the expression profile of circRNAs by microarray between plasma of patients with HCC with high TILs and low TILs, and the differentially expressed circRNAs were validated with qRT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS software and GraphPad Prism. RESULTS: We have demonstrated that patients with HCC with high TILs exhibit a significant better overall survival, suggesting clinical outcome could be predicted by TILs. Global circRNA microarray between plasma of patients with HCC with high TILs and low TILs successfully identified six differentially expressed novel circRNAs. Among them, the expression of hsa_circ_0064428 was significantly reduced in patients with HCC with high TILs but increased in patients with low TILs. Moreover, hsa_circ_0064428 was negatively correlated with patient's survival, tumour size and metastasis. CONCLUSION: These findings together imply that hsa_circ_0064428 could be considered as a potential HCC prognosis biomarker. Future in-depth research is required to further illustrate the involvement of hsa_circ_0064428 in HCC tumourigenesis and metastasis.