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ObjectiveTo objectively evaluate the clinical efficacy of multiple therapies of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in low-prognosis patients who received antagonist protocol for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer （IVF-ET） again. MethodA total of 128 patients with kidney Yin deficiency， liver depression， and blood stasis who planned to receive antagonist protocol for IVF-ET in the West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University were enrolled and assigned into two groups by random number table method. The observation group （64 casces） was treated by oral administration of Chinese medicine decoction + enema of kidney-tonifying and blood-activating method + auricular point sticking + oral administration of dehydroepiandrosterone （DHEA）， while the control group （64 casces） was treated by only oral administration of DHEA. After treatment for three menstrual cycles， both groups received the antagonist protocol for IVF-ET. The TCM syndrome scores， basic sex hormone levels， antral follicle count （AFC）， the usage of gonadotropin （Gn）， endometrial receptivity indicators， embryo quality indicators， and pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups. ResultAfter treatment， the observation group showed decreased follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）/luteinizing hormone （LH） ratio， lowered level of estradiol （E2）， increased AFC， decreased amount and days of Gn usage， improved endometrial receptivity indicators （endometrial thickness on trigger and ET days， proportion of endometrial type A in endometrial types and the level of E2 on trigger day） and embryo quality indicators （the rates of mature follicles， fertilization， normal fertilization， and premium embryos）， and decreased TCM syndrome scores （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Moreover， the observation group had lower FSH/LH ratio， E2 level， and amount of Gn usage， higher AFC， poorer endometrial receptivity and embryo quality indicators， and lower TCM syndrome scores than the control group after treatment （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In addition， except for 3 cases of natural pregnancy， the observation group outperformed the control group in terms of improving the clinical pregnancy rates during initiation cycle and transplantation cycle and clinical pregnancy rate and decreasing biochemical pregnancy rate and early abortion rate （P<0.05）. ConclusionCombined therapies of TCM can alleviate the clinical symptoms， reduce TCM syndrome scores， reduce the Gn usage amount， improve the number and quality of embryos and endometrial receptivity， and coordinate the synchronous development of endometrium and embryo. In this way， they can increase the clinical pregnancy rate and reduce biochemical pregnancy rate and early abortion rate in the low prognosis patients with kidney yin deficiency， liver depression， and blood stasis who are undergoing IVF-ET again.
ABSTRACT
@# Immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, especially PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 blocking antibodies, has achieved surprising curative effects in advanced cancer patients. The US FDAhas approved ICB treatment for melanoma, small cell lung carcinoma, kidney carcinoma, and all solid tumors with microsatellite instability. However, with the expansion and deepening of pre-clinical trials and clinical applications in recent years, the limitations of ICB immunotherapy have gradually emerged. For example, even in well-responded tumor types, the effective rate of ICB therapy is only 20%-30%, and there are even cases with tumor progression and metastasis. Therefore, what factors determine or limit the effectiveness of ICB therapy? What kind of patients can benefit from it? Which biomarkers can be used for screening beneficiary patients, evaluating therapeutic outcomes and prognosis? The clarification of above issues will greatly promote the research in this field. In this review, based on the anti-tumor mechanism of ICB, we discuss the recent progress in this field, with an emphasis on the key factors restricting the efficacy of ICB treatment and the current combined therapeutic strategies with ICB, aiming to reveal which biomarkers can be used in the concomitant diagnosis of ICB therapy and the future application perspective of ICB combined therapies, to provide reference for the precision medicine of ICB anti-tumor therapy.
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Objective: To study the experience of famous old Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors of Jiangsu, Zhejiangand Shanghai in applying medicinal paste according to the deconstruction analysis of the medical cases formed by miningthe linked data of original cases on the basis of TCM features. Methods: To apply a deconstruction analysis to thesedoctors. medical cases with the quantifiable trend data on the data processing platform of Medcase. Results: This studycollected 472 medical visits, 250 pathogenesis elements, 400 therapies and 529 kinds of herbs. Conclusion: The medicinal pastes are applied by these famous doctors to treat commonly seen consumptive diseases, namely to intervenesub-health status. The chief core indications are lassitude, poor sleep, lumbar soreness and poor appetite; the relatedtongue and pulse conditions are thin or white tongue coating, red or pale tongue proper, and a thready or wiry pulse; thechief pathogenesis elements are deficiency of the liver and kidney, and deficiency of the spleen and kidney; thefrequently used herbs are Radix Astragali seu Hedysari, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Poria, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Radix Paeoniae, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Radix Rehmanniae Preparata, etc. The prescriptions for medicinal pastesare made by modifying several basic formulas including Sijunzi Decoction, Siwu Decoction, Bazhen Decoction, DangguiBuxue Decoction, Liuwei Dihuang Pills, and Shengmai Decoction. The common excipients for pastes are Ejiao, rockcandy, Guibanjiao, Lujiaojio, etc. The guide for making the pastes are combined therapies, such as regulating both qi andblood, tonifying both yin and yang, and treating both deficiency and excess.