Salvage Surgery for Initially Unresectable HCC With PVTT Converted by Locoregional Treatment Plus Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor and Anti-PD-1 Antibody.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the survival outcomes of patients with initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) who underwent or did not undergo salvage surgery followed by a triple combination conversion treatment consisted of locoregional treatment (LRT), tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and anti-PD-1 antibodies. METHODS: The data from 93 consecutive patients with initially unresectable HCC and PVTT across 4 medical centers were retrospectively reviewed. They were converted successfully by the triple combination treatment and underwent or did not undergo salvage resection. The baseline characteristics, conversion schemes, conversion treatment-related adverse events (CTRAEs), overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) of the salvage surgery and non-surgery groups were compared. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors for OS and PFS. Additionally, subgroup survival analysis was conducted by stratification of degree of tumor response and type of PVTT. RESULTS: Of the 93 patients, 44 underwent salvage surgery, and 49 did not undergo salvage surgery. The OS and PFS of the salvage surgery and non-surgery groups were not significantly different (P = .370 and .334, respectively). The incidence and severity of CTRAEs of the 2 groups were also comparable. Subgroup analyses revealed that for patients with complete response (CR) or types III-IV PVTT, there was a trend toward better survival in patients who did not undergo salvage surgery. Multivariate analysis showed that baseline α-fetoprotein and best tumor response per mRECIST criteria were independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with initially unresectable HCC and PVTT who were successfully converted by the triple combination therapy, salvage liver resection may not be necessary, especially for the patients with CR or types III-IV PVTT.

Overall survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sintilimab and disease outcome after treatment discontinuation.

BACKGROUND: The use of Anti-PD-1 therapy has yielded promising outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, limited research has been conducted on the overall survival (OS) of patients with varying tumor responses and treatment duration. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed HCC patients who received sintilimab between January 2019 and December 2020 at four centers in China. The evaluation of tumor progression was based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1. The study investigated the correlation between tumor response and OS, and the impact of drug use on OS following progressive disease (PD). RESULTS: Out of 441 treated patients, 159 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. Among them, 77 patients with disease control exhibited a significantly longer OS compared to the 82 patients with PD (median OS 26.0 vs. 11.3 months, P < 0.001). Additionally, the OS of patients with objective response (OR) was better than that of patients with stable disease (P = 0.002). Among the 47 patients with PD who continued taking sintilimab, the OS was better than the 35 patients who discontinued treatment (median OS 11.4 vs. 6.9 months, P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the tumor response in HCC patients who received sintilimab affects OS, and patients with PD may benefit from continued use of sintilimab.

Combination of alpha-fetoprotein and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to predict treatment response and survival outcomes of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, long-term survival outcomes and treatment response of HCC patients undergoing immunotherapy is unpredictable. The study aimed to evaluate the role of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) combined with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to predict the prognosis and treatment response of HCC patients receiving ICIs. METHODS: Patients with unresectable HCC who received ICI treatment were included. The HCC immunotherapy score was developed from a retrospective cohort at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital to form the training cohort. The clinical variables independently associated with overall survival (OS) were identified using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Based on multivariate analysis of OS, a predictive score based on AFP and NLR was constructed, and patients were stratified into three risk groups according to this score. The clinical utility of this score to predict progression-free survival (PFS) and differentiate objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) was also performed. This score was validated in an independent external validation cohort at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. RESULTS: Baseline AFP ≤ 400 ng/ml (hazard ratio [HR] 0.48; 95% CI, 0.24-0.97; P = 0.039) and NLR ≤ 2.77 (HR 0.11; 95% CI, 0.03-0.37; P<0.001) were found to be independent risk factors of OS. The two labolatory values were used to develop the score to predict survival outcomes and treatment response in HCC patients receiving immunotherapy, which assigned 1 point for AFP > 400 ng/ml and 3 points for NLR > 2.77. Patients with 0 point were classified as the low-risk group. Patients with 1-3 points were categorized as the intermediate-risk group. Patients with 4 points were classified as the high-risk group. In the training cohort, the median OS of the low-risk group was not reached. The median OS of the intermediate-risk group and high-risk group were 29.0 (95% CI 20.8-37.3) months and 16.0 (95% CI 10.8-21.2) months, respectively (P < 0.001). The median PFS of the low-risk group was not reached. The median PFS of the intermediate-risk group and high-risk group were 14.6 (95% CI 11.3-17.8) months and 7.6 (95% CI 3.6-11.7) months, respectively (P < 0.001). The ORR and DCR were highest in the low-risk group, followed by the intermediate-risk group and the high-risk group (P < 0.001, P = 0.007, respectively). This score also had good predictive power using the validation cohort. CONCLUSION: The HCC immunotherapy score based on AFP and NLR can predict survival outcomes and treatment response in patients receiving ICI treatments, suggesting that this score could serve as a useful tool for identification of HCC patients likely to benefit from immunotherapy.

Transarterial chemoembolization plus a PD-1 inhibitor with or without lenvatinib for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with a PD-1 inhibitor and TACE combined with a PD-1 inhibitor and lenvatinib have recently been reported as promising treatments to improve the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. This study aims to compare the efficacy of these two treatments. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted, and patients were recruited from two centers in China. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared, and the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were evaluated according to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST). Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were analyzed to assess safety. RESULTS: The median follow-up for the entire cohort was 11.4 months. Of the 103 patients included in this study, 56 received triple therapy, and 47 received doublet therapy. PFS was significantly higher in the triple therapy group than in the doublet therapy group (mPFS 22.5 vs. 14.0 months, P < 0.001). Similar results were obtained in terms of OS (P = 0.001). The ORR and DCR were also better in the triple therapy group (64.3% vs. 38.3%, P = 0.010; 85.7% vs. 57.4%, P = 0.002). The most common AEs in the triple therapy group were decreased albumin (55.3%), decreased platelet count (51.8%) and hypertension (44.6%). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of TACE with a PD-1 inhibitor and lenvatinib in patients with BCLC stage B HCC might result in significantly improved clinical outcomes with a manageable safety profile compared with TACE with a PD-1 inhibitor.

CFHBA-PID Algorithm: Dual-Loop PID Balancing Robot Attitude Control Algorithm Based on Complementary Factor and Honey Badger Algorithm.

The PID control algorithm for balancing robot attitude control suffers from the problem of difficult parameter tuning. Previous studies have proposed using metaheuristic algorithms to tune the PID parameters. However, traditional metaheuristic algorithms are subject to the criticism of premature convergence and the possibility of falling into local optimum solutions. Therefore, the present paper proposes a CFHBA-PID algorithm for balancing robot Dual-loop PID attitude control based on Honey Badger Algorithm (HBA) and CF-ITAE. On the one hand, HBA maintains a sufficiently large population diversity throughout the search process and employs a dynamic search strategy for balanced exploration and exploitation, effectively avoiding the problems of classical intelligent optimization algorithms and serving as a global search. On the other hand, a novel complementary factor (CF) is proposed to complement integrated time absolute error (ITAE) with the overshoot amount, resulting in a new rectification indicator CF-ITAE, which balances the overshoot amount and the response time during parameter tuning. Using balancing robot as the experimental object, HBA-PID is compared with AOA-PID, WOA-PID, and PSO-PID, and the results demonstrate that HBA-PID outperforms the other three algorithms in terms of overshoot amount, stabilization time, ITAE, and convergence speed, proving that the algorithm combining HBA with PID is better than the existing mainstream algorithms. The comparative experiments using CF prove that CFHBA-PID is able to effectively control the overshoot amount in attitude control. In conclusion, the CFHBA-PID algorithm has great control and significant results when applied to the balancing robot.

Postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization improves outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma associated with bile duct tumor thrombus: a propensity score matching analysis.

BACKGROUND: Surgical resection is the primary treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT). This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant TACE (PA-TACE) in patients with HCC and BDTT. METHODS: Data from patients who underwent surgery for HCC with BDTT at two medical centers were retrospectively analyzed. The survival outcomes of patients who were treated by hepatic resection followed by PA-TACE were compared with those of patients who underwent surgery alone. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed with a 1:1 ratio. RESULTS: Of the 308 consecutively enrolled HCC patients with BDTT who underwent surgical resection, 134 underwent PA-TACE whereas 174 underwent surgery alone. From the initial cohort, PSM matched 106 pairs of patients. The OS and DFS rates were significantly better for the PA-TACE group than the surgery alone group (for OS: before PSM, P = 0.026; after PSM, P = 0.039; for DFS: before PSM, P = 0.010; after PSM, P = 0.013). CONCLUSION: PA-TACE was associated with better survival outcomes than surgery alone for patients with HCC and BDTT. Prospective clinical trials are warranted to validate the beneficial effect of PA-TACE on HCC patients associated with BDTT.

Recurrence hazard rate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and bile duct tumor thrombus: a multicenter observational study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) have a high rate of postoperative recurrence. We aimed to describe the patterns and kinetics of recurrence in BDTT patients and provide management options accordingly. METHODS: This retrospective study included 311 HCC patients with BDTT who underwent surgery from 2009 to 2017 at five centers in China. The hazard rate of recurrence was calculated using the hazard function. RESULTS: The hazard rate of intrahepatic recurrence was higher than that of extrahepatic recurrence (0.0588 vs. 0.0301), and both showed a decreasing trend, and the intrahepatic recurrence and extrahepatic recurrence risk decreased to a lower level after 40 and 20 months, respectively. Patients who underwent anatomic resection had a consistently lower hazard rate of recurrence than patients who underwent nonanatomic resection, whereas patients who received postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) mainly had a lower hazard rate of recurrence in the first year than patients who did not. CONCLUSION: The follow-up of BDTT patients should be at least 40 months because of its high rate of recurrence, in parallel with the need for vigilance for extrahepatic recurrence within 20 months. Anatomic hepatectomy and adjuvant TACE are recommended to improve BDTT patient outcomes.

Patterns, treatments, and prognosis of tumor recurrence after resection for hepatocellular carcinoma with microvascular invasion: a multicenter study from China.

BACKGROUND: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a risk factor of post-hepatectomy tumor recurrence for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The patterns, treatments, and prognosis have not been documented in HCC patients with MVI. METHODS: A multicenter database of patients with HCC and MVI following resection was analyzed. The clinicopathological and initial operative data, timing and first sites of recurrence, recurrence management, and long-term survival outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 1517 patients included, the median follow-up was 39.7 months. Tumor recurrence occurred in 928 patients, with 49% within 6 months of hepatectomy and 60% only in the liver. The incidence of intrahepatic only recurrence gradually increased with time after 6 months. Patients who developed recurrence within 6 months of hepatectomy had worse survival outcomes than those who developed recurrence later. Patients who developed intrahepatic only recurrence had better prognosis than those with either extrahepatic only recurrence or those with intra- and extrahepatic recurrence. Repeat resection of recurrence with curative intent resulted in better outcomes than other treatment modalities. CONCLUSION: Post-hepatectomy tumor recurrence in patients with HCC and MVI had unique characteristics and recurrence patterns. Early detection of tumor recurrence and repeat liver resection with curative intent resulted in improved long-term survival outcomes.

Prognostic and Immunotherapeutic Predictive Value of CAD Gene in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Integrated Bioinformatics and Experimental Analysis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common type of cancer that ranks first in cancer-associated death worldwide. Carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 2, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase (CAD) are the key components of the pyrimidine pathway, which promotes cancer development. However, the function of CAD in HCC needs to be clarified. In this study, the clinical and transcriptome data of 424 TCGA-derived HCC cases were analyzed. The results demonstrated that high CAD expression was associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. The effect of CAD on HCC was then investigated comprehensively using GO annotation analysis, KEGG enrichment analysis, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), and CIBERSORT algorithm. The results showed that CAD expression was correlated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and immune cell infiltration. In addition, low CAD levels in HCC patients predicted increased sensitivity to anti-CTLA4 and PD1, while HCC patients with high CAD expression exhibited high sensitivity to chemotherapeutic and molecular-targeted agents, including gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and sorafenib. Finally, the results from clinical sample suggested that CAD expression increased remarkably in HCC compared with non-cancerous tissues. Loss of function experiments demonstrated that CAD knockdown could significantly inhibit HCC cell growth and migration both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, the results indicated that CAD is a potential oncogene during HCC metastasis and progression. Therefore, CAD is recommended as a candidate marker and target for HCC prediction and treatment.

Disulfidptosis-Associated lncRNAs are Potential Biomarkers for Predicting Immune Response and Prognosis Within Individuals Diagnosed with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent form of cancer that is distributed globally. Disulfidptosis, characterized by the fragility of the actin cytoskeleton, represents a distinct type of cell death and holds promise for novel cancer therapies. Nevertheless, the connection among disulfidptosis-associated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and HCC is still unexplored. This study uses an in silico approach to provide the novel biomarkers of disulfidptosis-associated lncRNAs for predicting the immune response and prognosis with HCC. Methods: In order to address this gap, we integrated transcriptomic data of HCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and identified genes that exhibit differential expression with disulfidptosis and lncRNAs. Through co-expression analysis, we identified disulfidptosis-related lncRNAs. Afterwards, by employing univariate Cox regression analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), a model for disulfidptosis-associated lncRNA was constructed. The risk model underwent assessment through the utilization of diverse analytical methodologies, including functional enrichment annotation, Kaplan-Meier analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), immune infiltration and immune status analysis, as well as tumor mutation analysis. Furthermore, we discussed the implications of the model in predicting drug sensitivity. Results: Our study culminated in the construction of a disulfidptosis-related lncRNA model comprising four prognostic disulfidptosis-related lncRNAs (ACYTOR, NRAV, AL080248.1, and AC069307.1). This model demonstrates exceptional diagnostic value for HCC patients and holds practical implications for guiding clinicians in personalizing immunotherapy and drug selection based on individual variations. Conclusion: In summary, our research introduces a novel predictive tool utilizing disulfidptosis-related lncRNAs, offering potential guidance for the therapeutic management of HCC.

Preoperative and Prognostic Prediction of Microvascular Invasion in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review Based on Artificial Intelligence.

Microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma is an important factor affecting tumor recurrence after liver resection and liver transplantation. There are many ways to classify microvascular invasion, however, an international consensus is urgently needed. Recently, artificial intelligence has emerged as an important tool for improving the clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma. Many studies about microvascular invasion currently focus on preoperative and prognosis prediction of microvascular invasion using artificial intelligence. In this paper, we review the definition and staging of microvascular invasion, especially the diagnosis of it by using artificial intelligence. In preoperative prediction, deep learning based on multimodal data modeling of radiomics-screened features, clinical features, and medical images is currently the most effective means. In prognostic prediction, pathology is the gold standard, and the techniques used should more effectively utilize the global features of the pathology images.

Transarterial chemoembolization plus immune checkpoint inhibitor as postoperative adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus: A multicenter cohort study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) plus immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was conducted on three centers from June 2018 to December 2020. Patients were divided into the PA-TACE (n = 48) and PA-TACE plus ICI groups (n = 42). The recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) curves were depicted by Kaplan-Meier method, and the differences between the two groups were compared using log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors for RFS and OS. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed according to the Common Terminology Criteria for AEs (CTCAE) version 5.0. RESULTS: The median RFS of the PA-TACE plus ICI group was significantly longer than the PA-TACE group (12.76 months vs. 8.11 months; P = 0.038). The median OS of the PA-TACE plus ICI group was also significanfly better than the PA-TACE group (24.5 months vs. 19.1 months; P = 0.032). PA-TACE plus ICI treatment was an independent prognostic factor for RFS (HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.32-0.9, P = 0.019) and OS (HR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.26-0.86, P = 0.014). Only one patient experienced grade ≥3 immune-related AEs in the PA-TACE plus ICI group. CONCLUSIONS: PA-TACE plus ICI treatment had better efficacy in preventing recurrence and prolonging survival than PA-TACE alone for HCC patients with PVTT after R0 resection. This novel treatment modality may be an appropriate option for HCC with PVTT.

A new and rare type of hepatocellular carcinoma: Survival and gene analysis of portal vein tumour thrombus-type hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Portal vein tumour thrombus (PVTT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is known as a major complication associated with poor survival. We clinically defined a new and rare type of HCC, PVTT-type HCC (PVTT-HCC), in a small group of HCC patients with HCC presenting only as PVTT without a demonstrable parenchyma tumour. The clinicopathological and biological features of PVTT-HCC are not clear. METHODS: The data for patients who had PVTT-HCC with histologically confirmed HCC from January 2004 to December 2012 at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital were retrospectively analysed. The survival outcomes of patients with PVTT-HCC were compared with those of HCC patients with PVTT (HCC-PVTT). Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to match patients at a ratio of 1:3. Then, we performed RNA-Seq analysis of liver samples from PVTT-HCC and HCC-PVTT patients to identify and compare differentially expressed genes and biological pathways between the two groups. RESULTS: We observed and collected 10 rare cases of PVTT-HCC and performed a prospective cohort study to compare overall survival (OS) between PVTT-HCC and HCC-PVTT. PVTT invaded the main portal vein in 10 PVTT-HCC patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that ChildPugh (A/B), different treatments (LR/non-LR), and different groups were independent risk factors for OS. The median OS was 10.3 months (95 % CI = 6.7-13.8) in the HCC-PVTT group and 7.5 months (95 % CI = 2.8-12.1) in the PVTT-HCC group (P = 0.042). From RNA-Seq, 1630 differentially expressed genes were obtained, of which 731 were upregulated and 899 downregulated in PVTT-HCC compared with HCC-PVTT. CONCLUSIONS: The survival outcomes of patients with PVTT-HCC were worse than those of patients with HCC-PVTT. RNA-Seq demonstrated differential gene expression between PVTT-HCC and HCC-PVTT, indicating that the former may have distinguishing biological characteristics and be a new and rare type of HCC.

Camrelizumab plus gemcitabine and oxaliplatin for the treatment of advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a bi-centric observational retrospective study.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), coupled with systemic chemotherapy, may enhance the clinical benefit of cancer by potentiating antitumor immunity, but its efficacy and safety are not clear in advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab plus gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GEMOX) for the treatment of advanced ICC in the real world. Methods: Advanced ICC patients receiving at least one session of camrelizumab plus GEMOX combination treatment from March 2020 to February 2022 at two high-volume centers were considered eligible. Tumor response was evaluated based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1). The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), time to response (TTR), and duration of response (DOR). The secondary end points included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). Results: 30 eligible ICC patients were enrolled and analyzed in this observational retrospective study. The median follow-up time was 24.0 (21.5-26.5) months. The ORR and DCR were 40% and 73.3%, respectively. The median TTR was 2.4 months and the median DOR was 5.0 months. The median PFS and OS were 7.5 months and 17.0 months, respectively. The most common TRAEs were fever (83.3%), fatigue (73.3%), and nausea (70%). Of all TRAEs, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia were the most frequent severe AE (both 10%). Conclusion: The combination of camrelizumab and GEMOX is a potentially efficacious and safe treatment modality for advanced ICC patients. Potential biomarkers are needed to identify patients who might benefit from this treatment option.

Serum metabolomics analysis of biomarkers and metabolic pathways in patients with colorectal cancer associated with spleen-deficiency and qi-stagnation syndrome or damp-heat syndrome: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To profile the serum metabolites and metabolic pathways in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients associated with spleen-deficiency and qi-stagnation syndrome (SDQSS) or damp-heat syndrome (DHS). Methods: From May 2020 to January 2021, CRC patients diagnosed with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of SDQSS or DHS were enrolled. The clinicopathological data of the SDQSS and DHS groups were compared. The serum samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The variable importance in the projection >1, fold change ≥3 or ≤0.333, and P value ≤0.05 were used to identify differential metabolites between the two groups. Furthermore, areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve > 0.9 were applied to select biomarkers with good predictive performance. The enrichment metabolic pathways were searched through the database of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Results: 60 CRC patients were included (30 SDQSS and 30 DHS). The level of alanine aminotransferase was marginally significantly higher in the DHS group than the SDQSS group (P = 0.051). The other baseline clinicopathological characteristics were all comparable between the two groups. 23 differential serum metabolites were identified, among which 16 were significantly up-regulated and 7 were significantly down-regulated in the SDQSS group compared with the DHS group. ROC curve analysis showed that (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoic acid, neocembrene, 1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid, 3-methyl-3-hydroxypentanedioate, and nicotine were symbolic differential metabolites with higher predictive power. The top five enrichment signalling pathways were valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis; lysosome; nicotine addiction; fructose and mannose metabolism; and pertussis. Conclusion: Our study identifies the differential metabolites and characteristic metabolic pathways among CRC patients with SDQSS or DHS, offering the possibility of accurate and objective syndrome differentiation and TCM treatment for CRC patients.

Postoperative adjuvant aspirin for patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma and portal vein tumor thrombus: An open-label, randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To compare the survival outcomes of postoperative adjuvant aspirin with surgery alone in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT). Methods: From June 2013 to July 2015, an open-label, randomized controlled study was conducted in patients with resectable HBV-related HCC and PVTT. Patients were randomly assigned to undergo surgical resection and postoperative adjuvant aspirin (n = 40) or hepatectomy alone (n = 40). The primary end point was overall survival (OS). The secondary end points were time to recurrence of primary tumor (t-TTR) and time to recurrence of PVTT (p-TTR). The expression levels of COX1 and COX2 in surgical specimens of the aspirin group were correlated with patients' survival. Results: The median OS were 16.2 and 13.4 months for the adjuvant aspirin and surgery alone groups, respectively. The median t-TTR were 5.3 and 3.2 months for the adjuvant aspirin and surgery alone groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in the OS and t-TTR between the two groups of patients (P = 0.078 and 0.336, respectively). The median p-TTR were 12.0 months and 5.4 months for the adjuvant aspirin group and the surgery alone group, respectively. Patients in the adjuvant aspirin group had markedly longer p-TTR (P = 0.001). Increased expressions of COX1 or COX2 in tumor tissues denoted better prognosis for patients receiving adjuvant aspirin. Conclusion: For patients with resectable HBV-related HCC and PVTT, postoperative adjuvant aspirin significantly prolonged time to recurrence of PVTT than surgery alone. Expression of COX1 or COX2 may predict survival in these patients.

A reasonable identification of the early recurrence time based on microvascular invasion for hepatocellular carcinoma after R0 resection: A multicenter retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Early and late recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have different clinical outcomes, especially for those accompanied by microvascular invasion (MVI), but the definition of early recurrence remains controversial. Therefore, a reasonable identification of the early recurrence time for HCC is urgently needed. METHODS: Resected recurrence patients were enrolled and divided into two cohorts, one for identification of the early recurrence time and another for verification of the accuracy of the point. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were adopted to identify the prognostic factors of recurrence HCC (rHCC) and Kaplan-Meier method was applied to analyze the overall survival (OS). The appropriate cutoff value was determined by the exhaustive method using different recurrence intervals from 1 to 24 months in turn. RESULTS: In total, 292 resected rHCC patients were analyzed to calculate the early recurrence interval, and another 421 resected rHCC patients with MVI were enrolled to verify the efficacy of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in this recurrence interval. MVI was identified as an independent risk factor by multivariable analysis. The OS of rHCC patients without MVI is better than that of patients with MVI when the recurrence time was within 13 months, while not beyond 13 months. The verification cohort demonstrated that adjuvant TACE provided longer survival for rHCC with MVI when the recurrence time was within 13 months, while not beyond 13 months. CONCLUSION: For HCC patients with MVI who underwent R0 resection, 13 months may be a reasonable early recurrence time point, and within this interval, postoperative adjuvant TACE may result in longer survival compared with surgery alone.

Network pharmacology-based analysis of Resinacein S against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by modulating lipid metabolism.

Background: Ganoderma lucidum is reportedly the best source of traditional natural bioactive constituents. Ganoderma triterpenoids (GTs) have been verified as an alternative adjuvant for treating leukemia, cancer, hepatitis and diabetes. One of the major triterpenoids, Resinacein S, has been found to regulate lipid metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease that has become a major public health problem. Given the regulatory effects on lipid metabolism of Resinacein S, we sought to explore potential protective effects against NAFLD. Methods: Resinacein S was extracted and isolated from G. lucidum. And mice were fed with high fat diet with or without Resinacein S to detect hepatic steatosis. According to Network Pharmacology and RNA-seq, we analyzed the hub genes of Resinacein S against NAFLD disease. Results: Our results can be summarized as follows: (1) The structure of Resinacein S was elucidated using NMR and MS methods. (2) Resinacein S treatment could significantly attenuate high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hepatic steatosis and hepatic lipid accumulation in mouse. (3) GO terms, KEGG pathways and the PPI network of Resinacein S induced Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) demonstrated the key target genes of Resinacein S against NAFLD. (4) The hub proteins in PPI network analysis could be used for NAFLD diagnosis and treatment as drug targets. Conclusion: Resinacein S can significantly change the lipid metabolism in liver cells and yield a protective effect against steatosis and liver injury. Intersected proteins between NAFLD related genes and Resinacein S-induced DEGs, especially the hub protein in PPI network analysis, can be used to characterize targets of Resinacein S against NAFLD.

Efficacy and safety of TACE combined with lenvatinib and PD-1 inhibitors for unresectable recurrent HCC: A multicenter, retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on the optimal regimen for unresectable recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), so this retrospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with lenvatinib and PD-1 inhibitors (T-L-P) versus TACE combined with lenvatinib (T-L) or TACE alone. METHOD: Data were collected from 204 patients with unresectable recurrent HCC who received T-L-P, T-L, or TACE alone at three medical centers from January, 2019 to December, 2020 for analysis. The survival outcomes, tumor response, and adverse events were compared between three groups, and risk factors were further investigated. RESULTS: The median overall survival in the T-L-P, T-L, and TACE alone groups were not reached, 25.6, and 15.7 months, respectively (p < 0.001). The median progression-free survival in the T-L-P, T-L, and TACE alone groups were 24.1, 17.3, and 13.7 months, respectively (p < 0.001). The best objective response rate in the T-L-P, T-L, and TACE alone groups were 70.4%, 48.9%, and 42.5%, respectively. The best disease control rate in the T-L-P, T-L, and TACE alone groups were 100.0%, 97.8%, and 87.5%, respectively. There was no significant difference between the T-L-P and T-L groups for Grade 3/4 adverse events. CONCLUSION: T-L-P regimen was safe and superior to T-L or TACE alone in improving survival for unresectable recurrent HCC patients.