[Risk Factors and a Prediction Model for Frequent Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease].

Objective To identify the risk factors of patients with frequent acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and construct a prediction model based on the clinical data,providing a theoretical basis for the clinical prevention and treatment. Methods A total of 25 638 COPD patients admitted to the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,the Third People's Hospital of Chengdu from January 1,2013 to May 1,2023 were selected.Among them,11 315 patients were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,and their clinical characteristics were analyzed.Multivariate Logistic regression was carried out to identify the risk factors for frequent AECOPD.A nomogram model was utilized to quantify the risk of acute exacerbation,and the performance of the prediction model was assessed based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results In the patients with frequent AECOPD,male percentage (P<0.001),age (P<0.001),urban residence (P<0.001),smoking (P<0.001),length of stay (P<0.001),total cost (P<0.001),antibiotic cost (P<0.001),diabetes (P=0.003),respiratory failure (P<0.001),heart disease (P<0.001),application of systemic glucocorticoids (P<0.001),white blood cell count (P<0.001),neutrophil percentage (P<0.001),C-reactive protein (P<0.001),total cholesterol (P<0.001),and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) (P<0.001) were all higher than those in the patients with infrequent AECOPD.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that age,urban residence,smoking,diabetes,heart disease,Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection,application of systemic glucocorticoids,antibiotics,respiratory failure,and elevated white blood cell count,total cholesterol,and BNP were independent risk factors for hospitalization due to frequent AECOPD.A nomogram model of hospitalization due to frequent AECOPD was constructed according to risk factors.The ROC curve was established to evaluate the performance of the model,which showed the area under the ROC curve of 0.899 (95%CI=0.892-0.905),the sensitivity of 85.30%,and the specificity of 79.80%. Conclusion Frequent AECOPD is associated with smoking,heart disease,application of systemic glucocorticoids,Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection,age,low body mass index,and elevated BNP.Predicting the risks of hospitalization due to frequent AECOPD by the established model can provide theoretical support for the treatment and risk factor management of the patients.

High-Performance Electrochemical NO Reduction into NH3 by MoS2 Nanosheet.

Electrochemical reduction of NO not only offers an attractive alternative to the Haber-Bosch process for ambient NH3 production but mitigates the human-caused unbalance of nitrogen cycle. Herein, we report that MoS2 nanosheet on graphite felt (MoS2 /GF) acts as an efficient and robust 3D electrocatalyst for NO-to-NH3 conversion. In acidic electrolyte, such MoS2 /GF attains a maximal Faradaic efficiency of 76.6 % and a large NH3 yield of up to 99.6 µmol cm-2 h-1 . Using MoS2 nanosheet-loaded carbon paper as the cathode, a proof-of-concept device of Zn-NO battery was assembled to deliver a discharge power density of 1.04 mW cm-2 and an NH3 yield of 411.8 µg h-1 mgcat. -1 . Calculations reveal that the positively charged Mo-edge sites facilitate NO adsorption/activation via an acceptance-donation mechanism and disfavor the binding of protons and the coupling of N-N bond.

Baseball Player Behavior Classification System Using Long Short-Term Memory with Multimodal Features.

In this paper, a preliminary baseball player behavior classification system is proposed. By using multiple IoT sensors and cameras, the proposed method accurately recognizes many of baseball players' behaviors by analyzing signals from heterogeneous sensors. The contribution of this paper is threefold: (i) signals from a depth camera and from multiple inertial sensors are obtained and segmented, (ii) the time-variant skeleton vector projection from the depth camera and the statistical features extracted from the inertial sensors are used as features, and (iii) a deep learning-based scheme is proposed for training behavior classifiers. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed deep learning behavior system achieves an accuracy of greater than 95% compared to the proposed dataset.

Reduced Port Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy with D2 Lymphadenectomy.

BACKGROUND: Reduced port laparoscopic surgery (RPLS), as a more minimally invasive treatment alternative to conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS), has been increasing in recent years. 1 With the accumulation of surgical experience and improvements in surgical techniques, the indication of RPLS has been gradually extended from benign diseases to malignant tumors, including gastric cancer. 2-4 However, due to the lack of counteraction and triangulation, lymphadenectomy during reduced port laparoscopic gastrectomy (RPLG) for gastric cancer was considered challenging. In this study, we report our experience performing RPLG with D2 lymphadenectomy for distal gastric cancer. METHODS: A disposable, single-incision, multiport, laparoscopic surgery trocar was used through a 3-cm incision at the umbilicus for the laparoscopist and surgeon's right hand. One 12-mm trocar was inserted at the upper-right quadrant for the surgeon's left hand. Distal gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy was performed in the same manner with CLS. 5 After extracting the resected specimen through the umbilicus incision, intracorporeal Roux-en-Y or B-II gastrojejunostomy was used for reconstruction. RESULTS: RPLG with D2 lymphadenectomy was performed on five patients from April 2017 to June 2017. No intraoperative event requiring conversion to CLS or open surgery occurred. No postoperative complication was observed. The median operating time and blood loss was 166 min and 50 ml. The mean number of retrieved lymph nodes was 32.7. Postoperatively, the mean time to first flatus, soft intake, and hospital stay was 2.6, 3.5, and 6.7 days respectively. CONCLUSIONS: RPLG with D2 lymphadenectomy might be safe and feasible in selected patients.

An automatically contamination-avoiding technique for intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy using a transorally inserted anvil during laparoscopic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Intracorporeal Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy during laparoscopic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer remains a challenging manipulation due to the uncontrolled direction of the jejunal side or unintended embedded tissues, although several methods have been introduced. In this study, we simplified the procedure based on a surgical string fixing technique using a transorally inserted anvil (OrVil™; Covidien Ltd., Mansfield, MA, USA). METHODS: From March 2012 to September 2013, 14 consecutive patients underwent simplified intracorporeal Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy using OrVil™ during laparoscopic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer at our hospital. Clinicopathologic characteristics and surgical outcomes of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: All of the procedures were successful completed with no complication or conversion to open surgery. The mean overall operative time was 193.8 ± 41.8 min, whereas the mean reconstruction time was 32.6 ± 4.6 min. The mean estimated blood loss was 105.7 ± 65.4 ml. The mean diameter of anastomosis measured by upper gastrointestinal contrast X-ray test at 1 month after operation was 2.3 cm. During a median follow-up period of 12 months, neither local recurrence nor anastomosis-related morbidity was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary results suggested that this automatically contamination-avoiding technique based on a surgical-string-fixing strategy using OrVil™ during laparoscopic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer might be feasible and safe and provide a simple solution for intracorporeal Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy.

[The safety and long-term survival after laparoscopic surgery versus open surgery for colon cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term outcomes and 5-year recurrence, overall survival, and disease-free survival of laparoscopic assisted surgery for colon cancer. METHODS: The clinical and pathologic data were compared between the patients who underwent colectomy during March 2003 to July 2008 and assigned in laparoscopic group (n = 92) and open group (n = 285) according the surgical approach. The 5-year overall survival, disease-free survival, and recurrence rate were analyzed for all patients who were followed-up for more than 36 months in either of the groups. RESULTS: The laparoscopic colectomy was associated with manifested less blood loss (50(50) ml) (Z = -8.292, P < 0.01), early return of bowel function (the evacuation time was (3.0 ± 1.0) days, and the meal time after operation was (4.0 ± 1.3) days) (t = -6.475 and -4.871, P < 0.01), and longer length (cm) of distal resection margin ((10 ± 4) cm vs. (9 ± 4) cm, t = 3.527, P = 0.000). The 5-year overall survival of the laparoscopic group and the open group were 63.6% and 61.8% respectively. The 5-year disease-free survival of the I-III stage patients in the laparoscopic group and the open group were 69.5% and 65.5% respectively, and the local recurrence were 8.7% and 13.6% (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The laparoscopic colectomy for colon cancer is safe in short-term clinical results and non-inferior to the open colectomy in long-term oncological outcomes.

Extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma of the stomach: A rare case report.

BACKGROUND: Extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma (EES) is a rare and highly malignant small round cell tumor associated with a poor clinical outcome. Ewing sarcoma (ES) involving the stomach is an uncommon presentation and can be easily confused with other small round cell tumors. We herein present a rare case of ES involving the gastric area. CASE SUMMARY: We report a case of gastric ES in a 19-year-old female patient who initially presented with a complaint of a tender epigastric mass for 5 d. Contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography revealed a soft-tissue-density mass with a diameter of 8.5 cm between the liver and stomach; the mass was connected to the gastric antrum. Then, the mass was surgically excised completely. Upon histopathological, immunophenotype and molecular analysis, the mass was identified to be a primary gastric ES. CONCLUSION: EES is an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis. Therefore, early diagnosis and timely intervention are essential for a good prognosis. It is imperative for us to raise awareness about this rare tumor. Surgical resection is still the best treatment option.

ASCL2 induces an immune excluded microenvironment by activating cancer-associated fibroblasts in microsatellite stable colorectal cancer.

Proficient mismatch repair or microsatellite stable (pMMR/MSS) colorectal cancers (CRCs) are vastly outnumbered by deficient mismatch repair or microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) tumors and lack a response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). In this study, we reported two distinct expression patterns of ASCL2 in pMMR/MSS and dMMR/MSI-H CRCs. ASCL2 is overexpressed in pMMR/MSS CRCs and maintains a stemness phenotype, accompanied by a lower density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) than those in dMMR/MSI CRCs. In addition, coadministration of anti-PD-L1 antibodies facilitated T cell infiltration and provoked strong antitumor immunity and tumor regression in the MC38/shASCL2 mouse CRC model. Furthermore, overexpression of ASCL2 was associated with increased TGFB levels, which stimulate local Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) activation, inducing an immune-excluded microenvironment. Consistently, mice with deletion of Ascl2 specifically in the intestine (Villin-Cre+, Ascl2 flox/flox, named Ascl2 CKO) revealed fewer activated CAFs and higher proportions of infiltrating CD8+ T cells; We further intercrossed Ascl2 CKO with ApcMin/+ model suggesting that Ascl2-deficient expression in intestinal represented an immune infiltrating environment associated with a good prognosis. Together, our findings indicated ASCL2 induces an immune excluded microenvironment by activating CAFs through transcriptionally activating TGFB, and targeting ASCL2 combined with ICIs could present a therapeutic opportunity for MSS CRCs.

Research advances in cartilage stem cells markers and induced differentiation.

Cartilage stem cells (CSCs) are cells that self-proliferate, have surface antigen expression, and have multidirectional differentiation potential in the articular cartilage. CSCs, as an ideal source of stem cells, has a good application prospect in stem cell therapy. This article reviews the CSCs markers, cartilage differentiation signaling pathway, and clinical treatment of osteoarthritis.

Changes of Hypocretin (Orexin) System in Schizophrenia: From Plasma to Brain.

Hypocretin (also called orexin) regulates various functions, such as sleep-wake rhythms, attention, cognition, and energy balance, which show significant changes in schizophrenia (SCZ). We aimed to identify alterations in the hypocretin system in SCZ patients. We measured plasma hypocretin-1 levels in SCZ patients and healthy controls and found significantly decreased plasma hypocretin-1 levels in SCZ patients, which was mainly due to a significant decrease in female SCZ patients compared with female controls. In addition, we measured postmortem hypothalamic hypocretin-1-immunoreactivity (ir), ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypocretin-1 levels, and hypocretin receptor (Hcrt-R) mRNA expression in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) in SCZ patients and controls We observed a significant decrease in the amount of hypothalamic hypocretin-1 ir in SCZ patients, which was due to decreased amounts in female but not male patients. Moreover, Hcrt-R2 mRNA in the SFG was decreased in female SCZ patients compared with female controls, while male SCZ patients showed a trend of increased Hcrt-R1 mRNA and Hcrt-R2 mRNA expression compared with male controls. We conclude that central hypocretin neurotransmission is decreased in SCZ patients, especially female patients, and this is reflected in the plasma.

Anti-inflammatory effect of up-regulated microRNA-221-3p on coronary heart disease via suppressing NLRP3/ASC/pro-caspase-1 inflammasome pathway activation.

OBJECTIVE: As some evidence has demonstrated the role of microRNA-221 (miR-221) on coronary heart disease (CHD), the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of miR-221-3p on CHD via regulating NLRP3/ASC/pro-caspase-1 inflammasome pathway. METHODS: Sixty CHD patients and 60 healthy controls were collected to detect the expression of miR-221-3p, NLRP3, ASC, pro-caspase-1 in peripheral blood and the contents of related factors in serum. The rats model of CHD was injected with miR-221-3p agomir or miR-221-3p antagomir to explore its functions in miR-221-3p, NLRP3, ASC and pro-caspase-1 expression, electrocardiogram data, cardiomyocytes apoptosis, myocardial injury, inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress of CHD rats. RESULTS: MiR-221-3p declined and NLRP3, ASC and pro-caspase-1 raised in CHD. Up-regulated miR-221-3p reduced the change value of J-point and T-wave, decreased NLRP3, ASC and pro-caspase-1 expression, suppressed apoptosis in cardiomyocytes, as well as suppressed myocardial injury, inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress in CHD rats. CONCLUSION: This study highlights that up-regulated miR-221-3p suppresses the overactivation of NLRP3/ASC/pro-caspase-1 inflammasome pathway and has an anti-inflammatory effect in CHD. Thus, miR-221-3p may serve as a potential target for the treatment of CHD.

Survival outcomes following laparoscopic vs open surgery for non-metastatic rectal cancer: a two-center cohort study with propensity score matching.

BACKGROUND?>: Laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer is commonly performed in China. However, compared with open surgery, the effectiveness of laparoscopic surgery, especially the long-term survival, has not been sufficiently proved. METHODS?>: Data of eligible patients with non-metastatic rectal cancer at Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University and Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine between 2012 and 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Long-term survival outcomes and short-term surgical safety were analysed with propensity score matching between groups. RESULTS: Of 430 cases collated from two institutes, 103 matched pairs were analysed after propensity score matching. The estimated blood loss during laparoscopic surgery was significantly less than that during open surgery (P = 0.019) and the operative time and hospital stay were shorter in the laparoscopic group (both P < 0.001). The post-operative complications rate was 9.7% in the laparoscopic group and 10.7% in the open group (P = 0.818). No significant difference was observed between the laparoscopic group and the open group in the 5-year overall survival rate (75.7% vs 80.6%, P = 0.346), 5-year relapse-free survival rate (74.8% vs 76.7%, P = 0.527), or 5-year cancer-specific survival rate (79.6% vs 87.4%, P = 0.219). An elevated carcinoembryonic antigen, <12 harvested lymph nodes, and perineural invasion were independent prognostic factors affecting overall survival and relapse-free survival. CONCLUSIONS?>: Our findings suggest that open surgery should still be the priority recommendation, but laparoscopic surgery is also an acceptable treatment for non-metastatic rectal cancer.

Initial Experience of Dual-Port Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Single-Arm Study.

INTRODUCTION: Dual-port laparoscopic gastrectomy (DPLG) has been widely performed in recent years for treating gastric cancers. The present study reports our initial experience of dual-port laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (DPLDG). METHODS: From November 2016 to August 2018, 38 consecutive patients underwent DPLDG in our center. The observational outcomes included 30-day morbidity and mortality rates, time to first flatus, time to first oral liquid diet, time to first oral semiliquid diet, time to drainage tube removal, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, postoperative 4-day recovery rate, additional analgesic use, hospital stay and cosmetic benefits. RESULTS: Mean operative time was 191.6 ± 44.4 min, mean intra-operative blood loss was 39.8 ± 48.7 ml, and the mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 38.3 ± 13.7 nodes. One case was converted to five-port laparoscopic surgery, and no intraoperative complications occurred in any of the cases. The mean time to postoperative first flatus was 45.3 ± 18.0 h. The mean time to intake of an oral liquid diet was 56.7 ± 30.4 h. The mean time to drainage tube removal was 97.9 ± 52.3 h. The mean VAS scores for the 3 days after surgery were 2.3 ± 0.7, 2.0 ± 0.6 and 1.6 ± 0.5, respectively. A total of 81.6% of the enrolled patients met the postoperative 4-day recovery standard, and 15.8% of patients received additional analgesics. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 6.0 ± 2.0 days. No deaths were observed, and the 30-day morbidity rate was 13.2%. CONCLUSION: DPLDG is a feasible and safe procedure for experienced surgeons with acceptable short-term outcomes, reduced invasiveness and good cosmetic effects.

Interleukin-17-Producing Neutrophils Link Inflammatory Stimuli to Disease Progression by Promoting Angiogenesis in Gastric Cancer.

Purpose: Elevated levels of neutrophils have been associated with poor survival in various cancers, but direct evidence supporting a role for neutrophils in the immunopathogenesis of human cancers is lacking.Experimental Design: A total of 573 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR were performed to analyze the distribution and clinical relevance of neutrophils in different microanatomic regions. The regulation and function of neutrophils were assessed both in vitro and in vivoResults: Increased neutrophil counts in the peripheral blood were associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. In gastric cancer tissues, neutrophils were enriched predominantly in the invasive margin, and neutrophil levels were a powerful predictor of poor survival in patients with gastric cancer. IL17+ neutrophils constitute a large portion of IL17-producing cells in human gastric cancer. Proinflammatory IL17 is a critical mediator of the recruitment of neutrophils into the invasive margin by CXC chemokines. Moreover, neutrophils at the invasive margin were a major source of matrix metalloproteinase-9, a secreted protein that stimulates proangiogenic activity in gastric cancer cells. Accordingly, high levels of infiltrated neutrophils at the invasive margin were positively correlated with angiogenesis progression in patients with gastric cancer.Conclusions: These data provide direct evidence supporting the pivotal role of neutrophils in gastric cancer progression and reveal a novel immune escape mechanism involving fine-tuned collaborative action between cancer cells and immune cells in the distinct tumor microenvironment. Clin Cancer Res; 23(6); 1575-85. ©2016 AACR.

Risk factors for pulmonary complications following laparoscopic gastrectomy: A single-center study.

The risk factors associated with postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) following laparoscopic gastrectomy have not been well studied. We sought to identify the risk factors for PPCs following gastric cancer surgery.A retrospective analysis was performed on all gastric cancer patients in a prospective database who underwent a laparoscopic gastrectomy from 2004 to 2014. The potential risk factors for PPCs were evaluated.PPCs occurred in 6.8% (83/1205) of patients and included pneumonia in 56 (67.5%) patients, pleural effusion in 26 (31.3%) patients, and pulmonary embolism in 1 (1.2%) patient. The multivariate analysis identified the following significant risk factors for PPCs: advanced age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.043, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.021%, 1.066%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR = 17.788, 95% CI = 2.618%, 120.838%), total gastrectomy (OR = 2.781, 95% CI = 1.726%, 4.480%), time to first diet (OR = 1.175, 95% CI = 1.060%, 1.302%), and postoperative hospital stay (OR = 1.015, 95% CI = 1.002%, 1.028%). The risk factors for pneumonia included advanced age (OR = 1.036, 95% CI = 1.010%, 1.063%), total gastrectomy (OR = 3.420, 95% CI = 1.960%, 5.969%), and time to first diet (OR = 1.207, 95% CI = 1.703%, 1.358%). Only pancreatectomy was a risk factor for pleural effusion (OR = 9.082, 95% CI = 2.412%, 34.206%).The frequency of PPCs in patients with gastric cancer who underwent laparoscopic surgery was relatively high. Patients with cardiac and pulmonary comorbidities and those who undergo total gastrectomy and combined resection should be considered at high risk.

Staging laparoscopy improves treatment decision-making for advanced gastric cancer.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical value of staging laparoscopy in treatment decision-making for advanced gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: Clinical data of 582 patients with advanced GC were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent staging laparoscopy. The strength of agreement between computed tomography (CT) stage, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) stage, laparoscopic stage, and final stage were determined by weighted Kappa statistic (Kw). The number of patients with treatment decision-changes was counted. A χ(2) test was used to analyze the correlation between peritoneal metastasis or positive cytology and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Among the 582 patients, the distributions of pathological T classifications were T2/3 (153, 26.3%), T4a (262, 45.0%), and T4b (167, 28.7%). Treatment plans for 211 (36.3%) patients were changed after staging laparoscopy was performed. Two (10.5%) of 19 patients in M1 regained the opportunity for potential radical resection by staging laparoscopy. Unnecessary laparotomy was avoided in 71 (12.2%) patients. The strength of agreement between preoperative T stage and final T stage was in almost perfect agreement (Kw = 0.838; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.803-0.872; P < 0.05) for staging laparoscopy; compared with CT and EUS, which was in fair agreement. The strength of agreement between preoperative M stage and final M stage was in almost perfect agreement (Kw = 0.990; 95% CI: 0.977-1.000; P < 0.05) for staging laparoscopy; compared with CT, which was in slight agreement. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size (≥ 40 mm), depth of tumor invasion (T4b), and Borrmann type (III or IV) were significantly correlated with either peritoneal metastasis or positive cytology. The best performance in diagnosing P-positive was obtained when two or three risk factors existed. CONCLUSION: Staging laparoscopy can improve treatment decision-making for advanced GC and decrease unnecessary exploratory laparotomy.

Evaluation of epithelial-mesenchymal transitioned circulating tumor cells in patients with resectable gastric cancer: Relevance to therapy response.

AIM: To evaluate the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in gastric cancer patients. METHODS: We detected tumor cells for expression of four epithelial (E(+)) transcripts (keratins 8, 18, and 19 and epithelial cell adhesion molecule) and two mesenchymal (M(+)) transcripts (Vimentin and Twist) by a quantifiable, dual-colorimetric RNA-in situ hybridization assay. Between July 2014 and October 2014, 44 patients with gastric cancer were recruited for CTC evaluation. Blood samples were obtained from selected patients during the treatment course [before surgery, after surgery and at the 6(th) cycle of XELOX based chemotherapy (about 6 mo postoperatively)]. RESULTS: We found the EMT phenomenon in which there were a few biphenotypic E(+)/M(+) cells in primary human gastric cancer specimens. Of the 44 patients, the presence of CTCs was reported in 35 (79.5%) patients at baseline. Five types of cells including from exclusively E(+) CTCs to intermediate CTCs and exclusively M(+) CTCs were identified (4 patients with M(+) CTCs and 10 patients with M(+) or M(+) > E(+) CTCs). Further, a chemotherapy patient having progressive disease showed a proportional increase of mesenchymal CTCs in the post-treatment blood specimens. We used NCI-N87 cells to analyze the linearity and sensitivity of CanPatrol(TM) system and the correlation coefficient (R(2)) was 0.999. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the EMT phenomenon was both in a few cells of primary tumors and abundantly in CTCs from the blood of gastric cancer patients, which might be used to monitor therapy response.

Laparoscopic vs open D2 gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.

AIM: To conduct a meta-analysis comparing laparoscopic (LGD2) and open D2 gastrectomies (OGD2) for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC). METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs comparing LGD2 with OGD2 for AGC treatment, published between 1 January 2000 and 12 January 2013, were identified in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Primary endpoints included operative outcomes (operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and conversion rate), postoperative outcomes (postoperative analgesic consumption, time to first ambulation, time to first flatus, time to first oral intake, postoperative hospital stay length, postoperative morbidity, incidence of reoperation, and postoperative mortality), and oncologic outcomes (the number of lymph nodes harvested, tumor recurrence and metastasis, disease-free rates, and overall survival rates). The Cochrane Collaboration tools and the modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale were used to assess the quality and risk of bias of RCTs and non-RCTs in the study. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore the incidence rate of various postoperative morbidities as well as recurrence and metastasis patterns. A Begg's test was used to evaluate the publication bias. RESULTS: One RCT and 13 non-RCTs totaling 2596 patients were included in the meta-analysis. LGD2 in comparison to OGD2 showed lower intraoperative blood loss [weighted mean difference (WMD) = -137.87 mL, 95%CI: -164.41--111.33; P < 0.01], lower analgesic consumption (WMD = -1.94, 95%CI: -2.50--1.38; P < 0.01), shorter times to first ambulation (WMD = -1.03 d, 95%CI: -1.90--0.16; P < 0.05), flatus (WMD = -0.98 d, 95%CI: -1.30--0.66; P < 0.01), and oral intake (WMD = -0.85 d, 95%CI: -1.67--0.03; P < 0.05), shorter hospitalization (WMD = -3.08 d, 95%CI: -4.38--1.78; P < 0.01), and lower postoperative morbidity (odds ratio = 0.78, 95%CI: 0.61-0.99; P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between LGD2 and OGD2 for the following criteria: reoperation incidence, postoperative mortality, number of harvested lymph nodes, tumor recurrence/metastasis, or three- or five-year disease-free and overall survival rates. However, LGD2 had longer operative times (WMD = 57.06 min, 95%CI: 41.87-72.25; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Although a technically demanding and time-consuming procedure, LGD2 may be safe and effective, and offer some advantages over OGD2 for treatment of locally AGC.

[Quality control of laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer].

As the improvement of technique and accumulation of experience in the past decade, the development of laparoscopic surgery has been in the advanced phase for the minimally invasive surgery for the management of gastric cancer. Even laparoscopic surgery has severaladvantages such as faster recovery courses and improved quality of life, however, surgical quality control for oncology must always be the most important consideration. The quality control system consists of accurate clinical staging, patient selection, intraoperative standard operating procedure, proper education and training course, data management for clinicopathologic information, and evidence-based studies.