The prognostic role of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio on overall survival in gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to summarize the previously published literature on the role of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on overall survival (OS) in patients with gastric cancer. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane library to identify eligible studies to review. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random-effects model. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed, and publication bias was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 28 studies comprising 15,617 patients with gastric cancer were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated that elevated PLR was associated with poor OS (HR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.24-1.51; P < 0.001). A significant publication bias was observed (Egger test, P = 0.036; Begg test, P = 0.017). After adjusting for publication bias using the trim and fill method, an adjusted pooled HR of 1.19 (95% CI: 1.08-1.33; P = 0.001) was observed. Subgroup analyses indicated an elevated PLR in retrospective studies. Studies conducted in Turkey, the UK, the USA, and Costa Rica; studies with a sample size of < 1000, with < 70% male patients, and with patients treated with chemotherapy; studies with PLR cutoff value of ≥200; and studies with lower quality as determined by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale all showed greater harmful effects on OS than their corresponding subsets (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An elevated PLR was associated with poor OS in patients with gastric cancer. These results might differ between studies due to differences in design, country of origin, sample size, sex proportion, treatment strategy, PLR cutoff value, and study quality.

Prognostic role of pretreatment thrombocytosis on survival in patients with cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis summarized the prognostic role of an elevated platelet count before treatment on survival outcomes in patients with cervical cancer. METHODS: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library electronic databases were systematically searched for studies reporting the effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of pretreatment thrombocytosis on survival from the database inceptions to December 2018. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were calculated using random-effects models. RESULTS: Nineteen retrospective studies that recruited 6521 patients with cervical cancer were eligible for this study. The summary results indicated that an elevated platelet count was significantly associated with a poor OS (HR 1.50; 95% CI 1.19-1.88; P = 0.001), PFS (HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.07-1.64; P = 0.010), and RFS (HR 1.66; 95% CI 1.20-2.28; P = 0.002). Sensitivity analysis indicated that the pooled PFS was variable after sequential exclusion of individual studies. The predictive value of pretreatment thrombocytosis on OS differed according to the publication year (P = 0.039), country (P = 0.013), and sample size (P = 0.029), and the role of pretreatment thrombocytosis on PFS could be affected by the study quality (P = 0.046). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicated that an elevated platelet count before treatment was associated with poor OS, PFS, and RFS. These results require further verification in large-scale prospective studies.

Impact of body posture change on peripherally inserted central catheter tip position in Chinese cancer patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the influence of body posture change on the peripherally inserted central catheter tip position in Chinese cancer patients. METHODS: A prospective observational trial was conducted in a tertiary cancer hospital from August to September 2018. After the insertion of peripherally inserted central catheter, chest X-ray films were taken to check the catheter tip in the upright and supine positions, respectively. The distance from the carina to the catheter tip was separately measured on both chest films by nurses. The primary study outcome was the distance and direction of the catheter tip movement. The secondary study outcome was to analyze the influence factors on the catheter tip movement. The third study outcome was to observe the related adverse events caused by the catheter tip movement. RESULTS: A total of 79 patients were included, the results showed that 61 moved cephalad, 14 moved caudally, and 4 did not move with body change from the supine to the upright position. When moved cephalad, the mean distance was 19.34 ± 11.95 mm; when moved caudally, the mean distance was -15.83 ± 8.97 mm. The difference between the two positions was statistically significant (p < 0.001). There was also a statistically significant difference between catheter tip movement direction and body mass index (p = 0.009) and height (p = 0.015). Two patients developed arrhythmias; no cardiac tamponade was found due to body posture change. CONCLUSION: The results of this work implied that the tips of the catheter tend to shift toward the cephalad with body change from the supine to the upright position. A study involving a larger sample size is needed to find more information in the future.

An efficient synthesis and antifungal evaluation of natural product streptochlorin and its analogues.

Streptochlorin, a small indole alkaloid isolated from marine Streptomyces sp., exhibits a wide range of potent biological activities. An efficient and economic synthetic protocol for streptochlorin has been developed and validated, 4 steps from indole in a total yield of 45%, and further applied for the synthesis of its analogues. Biological testing showed that most of the target compounds exhibited potential antifungal activity in the primary assays, especially compounds 6, 7 and 9c were the most active ones, representing effective activity against the phytopathogenic fungi screened in preliminary test and might be explored for the study of mode of action in the future.

High-density genetic linkage mapping in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.) based on SNP markers and major sex- and growth-related regions detection.

This paper describes the development of a high density consensus genetic linkage map of a turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.) family composed of 149 mapping individuals using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) developed using the restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing technique with the restriction enzyme, PstI. A total of 6,647 SNPs were assigned to 22 linkage groups, which is equal to the number of chromosome pairs in turbot. For the first time, the average marker interval reached 0.3958 cM, which is equal to approximately 0.1203 Mb of the turbot genome. The observed 99.34% genome coverage indicates that the linkage map was genome-wide. A total of 220 Quantitative Traits Locus (QTLs) associated with two body length traits, two body weight traits in different growth periods and sex determination were detected with an LOD > 5.0 in 12 linkage groups (LGs), which explained the corresponding phenotypic variance (R2), ranging from 14.4-100%. Among them, 175 overlapped with linked SNPs, and the remaining 45 were located in regions between contiguous SNPs. According to the QTLs related to growth trait distribution and the changing of LGs during different growth periods, the growth traits are likely controlled by multi-SNPs distributed on several LGs; the effect of these SNPs changed during different growth periods. Most sex-related QTLs were detected at LG 21 with a linkage span of 70.882 cM. Additionally, a small number of QTLs with high feasibility and a narrow R2 distribution were also observed on LG7 and LG14, suggesting that multi LGs or chromosomes might be involved in sex determination. High homology was recorded between LG21 in Cynoglossus semilaevis and turbot. This high-saturated turbot RAD-Seq linkage map is undoubtedly a promising platform for marker assisted selection (MAS) and flatfish genomics research.