Concordance Study Between IBM Watson for Oncology and Clinical Practice for Patients with Cancer in China.

BACKGROUND: IBM Watson for Oncology (WFO), which can use natural language processing to evaluate data in structured and unstructured formats, has begun to be used in China. It provides physicians with evidence-based treatment options and ranks them in three categories for treatment decision support. This study was designed to examine the concordance between the treatment recommendation proposed by WFO and actual clinical decisions by oncologists in our cancer center, which would reflect the differences of cancer treatment between China and the U.S. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective data from 362 patients with cancer were ingested into WFO from April 2017 to October 2017. WFO recommendations were provided in three categories: recommended, for consideration, and not recommended. Concordance was analyzed by comparing the treatment decisions proposed by WFO with those of the multidisciplinary tumor board. Concordance was achieved when the oncologists' treatment decisions were in the recommended or for consideration categories in WFO. RESULTS: Ovarian cancer showed the highest concordance, which was 96%. Lung cancer and breast cancer obtained a concordance of slightly above 80%. The concordance of rectal cancer was 74%, whereas colon cancer and cervical cancer showed the same concordance of 64%. In particular, the concordance of gastric cancer was very low, only 12%, and 88% of cases were under physicians choice. CONCLUSION: Different cancer types showed different concordances, and only gastric cancers were significantly less likely to be concordant. Incidence and pharmaceuticals may be the major cause of discordance. To be comprehensively and rapidly applied in China, WFO needs to accelerate localization. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03400514. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: IBM Watson for Oncology (WFO) has begun to be used in China. In this study, concordance was examined between the treatment recommendation proposed by WFO and clinical decisions for 362 patients in our cancer center, which could reflect the differences of cancer treatment between China and the U.S. Different cancer types showed different concordances, and only gastric cancers were significantly less likely to be concordant. Incidence and pharmaceuticals may be the major causes of discordance. To be comprehensively and rapidly applied in China, WFO needs to accelerate localization. This study may have a significant effect on application of artificial intelligence systems in China.

[Retracted] Long noncoding RNA UCID sponges miR­152­3p to promote colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion via the Wnt/ß­catenin signaling pathway.

Following the publication of the above paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that there appeared to be matching data panels comparing between the Transwell invasion and migration assays shown in Figs. 2C and 5C; moreover, one of the data panels shown in Fig. 2D had previously appeared in a paper written largely by different authors (the author 'T­D Shan' was held in common) at different research institutes in the journal Oncotarget in 2016 [Shan T­D, Xu, J­H, Yu T, Li J­Y, Zhao L­N, Ouyang H, Luo S, Lu X­J, Huang C­Z, Lan Q­S et al: Knockdown of linc­POU3F3 suppresses the proliferation, apoptosis, and migration resistance of colorectal cancer. Oncotarget 7: 961­975, 2016]. Finally, an independent investigation of these data in the Editorial Office revealed that, in addition to the data shared between Figs. 2 and 5, there were overlapping data panels both within Fig. 5C and within the wound healing assay data shown in Fig. 3B. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article had already been published prior to its submission to Oncology Reports, and given the number of cases of overlapping data panels both within and between figures in the artce itself, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. After having been in contact with the authors, they did not agree with the decision to retract the paper. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Oncology Reports 44: 1194­1295, 2020; DOI: 10.3892/or.2020.7670].

Long noncoding RNA UCID sponges miR­152­3p to promote colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion via the Wnt/ß­catenin signaling pathway.

Research has shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant roles in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the role of lnc­UCID (lncRNA upregulating CDK6 by interacting with DHX9) in CRC remains largely unknown. In the present study, analyses revealed that lnc­UCID was markedly upregulated in CRC compared with that in normal specimens. Functional experiments showed that the depletion of lnc­UCID inhibited CRC cell invasion and migration significantly, while overexpression of lnc­UCID had the opposite effect. A candidate target of lnc­UCID, microRNA miR­152­3p, was identified using bioinformatic analysis. Moreover, in CRC tissue, we noted an inverse correlation between miR­152­3p and lnc­UCID expression levels. Overexpression and knockdown experiments revealed opposing roles for miR­152­3p and lnc­UCID, suggesting that lnc­UCID negatively regulates miR­152­3p. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that miR­152­3p directly targets lnc­UCID. The results suggest that lnc­UCID acts as an endogenous miRNA sponge, competing for miR­152­3p binding and thereby regulating the miRNA's targets. Overall, we propose that the lnc­UCID/miR­152­3p/Wnt/ß­catenin signaling axis represents a novel mechanism that explains the migration and invasion of CRC.

A novel elastic liposome for skin delivery of papain and its application on hypertrophic scar.

This study aims to investigate the therapeutic effects of papain elastic liposomes (PEL) on hypertrophic scar through topical application. PEL were prepared using the reverse-phase evaporation method and optimized by response surface methodology. The transdermal absorption of optimized PEL was tested by vertical Franz diffusion cells in vitro. The effects of PEL were investigated in rabbit model of hypertrophic scar in vivo, histological analysis and scar-related proteins were detected to reveal potential scar repair mechanism. The best formulation of PEL had EE (43.8±1.4%), particle size (100.9±2.2nm), PDI (0.037±0.003), zeta potential (-26.3±1.3mV), and DI (21.9±3.1). PEL gave the cumulative amounts and steady state fluxes in the receiver solution of 381.9±32.4µg/cm2, 11.4±1.5µg/cm2/h, and showed drug deposition in skin of 19.1±3.2% after 24h. After topical application, the scar elevation index, microvascular density, and collagen fiber were significantly decreased with regular arrangement. The expressions of TGF-ß1, P-Smad-3, P-NF-κB p65, and P-IKBa in hypertrophic scar were significantly down regulated in contrast with those in model group. PEL were proven as an excellent topical preparation for hypertrophic scar treatment.

Different antitumor immunity roles of cytokine activated T lymphocytes from naive murine splenocytes and from dendritic cells-based vaccine primed splenocytes: implications for adoptive immunotherapy.

AIM: The aim of the study is to explore the antitumor capacity of effector cells generated from murine splenocytes with sequential addition of a cocktail of cytokines and the possible contribution of dendritic cells to the antitumor capacity of these effector cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, anti-CD3 mAb and IL-2 were used to activate murine splenocytes either from naive mice (termed cytokine activated T cells, CAT) or from DC based vaccine primed mice (termed specific effector T cells, SET). The antitumor roles of SET and CAT were analyzed in murine L615 T lymphocytic leukemia. Both CAT and SET were CD4(+)-predominant phenotypically and didn't show any significant cytotoxicity against a variety of syngeneic and allogeneic target cell lines using 51Cr release assay. When injected in vivo in combination with CY, CAT can cure a large proportion of leukemia mice. The cured mice couldn't establish specific antitumor immunity. However, in contrast to the roles of CAT, SET show far superior antitumor efficacy on a per cell basis compared with CAT. Moreover, the SET cured mice developed tumor specific long term memory immunity which was sufficient to reject a subsequent otherwise lethal tumor cells rechallenge and was transferable to naive immunocompetent mice. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that there remain fundamentally different antitumor functions of CAT and SET which might be useful in the immunotherapy strategy choices.