Laparoscopic vs open surgery for gastric cancer: Assessing time, recovery, complications, and markers.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Morbidity and mortality have increased in recent years, making it an urgent issue to address. Laparoscopic radical surgery (LRS) is a crucial method for treating patients with GC; However, its influence on tumor markers is still under investigation. AIM: To determine the effects of LRS on patients with GC and their serum tumor markers. METHODS: The data of 194 patients treated at Chongqing University Cancer Hospital between January 2018 and January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who underwent traditional open surgery and LRS were assigned to the control (n = 90) and observation groups (n = 104), respectively. Independent sample t-tests and χ2 tests were used to compare the two groups based on clinical efficacy, changes in tumor marker levels after treatment, clinical data, and the incidence of postoperative complications. To investigate the association between tumor marker levels and clinical efficacy in patients with GC, three-year recurrence rates in the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Patients in the observation group had a shorter duration of operation, less intraoperative blood loss, an earlier postoperative eating time, and a shorter hospital stay than those in the control group (P < 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding the number of lymph node dissections (P > 0.05). After treatment, the overall response rate in the control group was significantly lower than that in the observation group (P = 0.001). Furthermore, after treatment, the levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9, cancer antigen 72-4, carcinoembryonic antigen, and cancer antigen 125 decreased significantly. The observation group also exhibited a significantly lower incidence rate of postoperative complications compared to the control group (P < 0.001). Additionally, the two groups did not significantly differ in terms of three-year survival and recurrence rates (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: LRS effectively treats early gastric cancer by reducing intraoperative bleeding, length of hospital stays, and postoperative complications. It also significantly lowers tumor marker levels, thus improving the short-term prognosis of the disease.

An integrated electrochemical immunosensor based on Pd-Ir cubic nanozyme and Ketjen black for ultrasensitive detection of circulating tumor cells.

Ultrasensitive detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) holds significant clinical importance in monitoring metastasis and therapeutic outcomes. In this study, we have developed a novel electrochemical sensing model based on nanomaterials for highly sensitive and specific determination of CTCs. A gold electrode co-modified with Ketjin black (KB) and Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) exhibits exceptional conductivity. By conjugating palladium-iridium cubic nanozyme (Pd-Ir CNE) with antibodies, we have created a detection probe capable of catalyzing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), thereby amplifying the output signal and resulting in significantly enhanced current on the electrode for detecting CTCs. The constructed immunosensor has achieved a detection limit of 2 cell mL-1 for model MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, the as-constructed electrochemical immunosensor can accurately detect whole blood-spiked target CTCs, showing great promise for clinical applications in early cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene polymorphism affects cognitive function and neurofilament light chain level in patients with subcortical ischaemic vascular dementia.

Objective: To investigate the effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphism on cognitive function, neuroimaging and blood biological markers in patients with subcortical ischaemic vascular dementia (SIVD). Methods: A total of 81 patients with SIVD were included. According to their BDNF gene polymorphism, the participants were divided into the Val/Val (n = 26), Val/Met (n = 35), and Met/Met (n = 20) groups. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and multimodal brain MRI scan were performed. MRI markers for small vessel disease were visually rated or quantitatively analysed. Moreover, 52 patients were further evaluated with blood marker assays, including amyloid beta (Aß), phosphorylated tau at threonine-181 (P-tau181), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), total tau (T-tau) and neurofilament light chain (NfL). Results: There were no significant differences in demographics, disease duration or MRI markers of small vessel disease between the three groups. Compared with the Val/Val and Val/Met groups, the Met/Met group showed worse performance in the verbal fluency test and higher levels of plasma NfL. Conclusion: The rs6265 polymorphism of the BDNF gene is associated with semantic language fluency in patients with SIVD. The Met genotype may be a risk factor for cognitive impairment and neuronal injury.

An intron SNP rs807185 in ATG4A decreases the risk of lung cancer in a southwest Chinese population.

Autophagy acts as a double-edged sword in cancer. Over the years, there has been growing evidence of the involvement of autophagy-related genes (ATGs) in the etiology and progression of cancer. Importantly, lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and represents the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in developing countries. The genomic variant has emerged as an important factor in the risk of lung cancer. Here, we hypothesize that the intron single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of rs807185 in ATG4A is associated with the risk of lung cancer. In this case-control study, we genotyped the SNP rs807185 with PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Our data suggest that the variant A allele frequency of rs807185 in controls is higher than that in cases (37.7 vs. 24.9%, P=0.006). The adjusted odds ratio is 1.989 (95% confidence interval 1.223-3.236). Compared with the wild T allele, the variant A allele of rs807185 in ATG4A is associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer (adjusted odds ratio=0.605, 95% confidence interval 0.456-0.803, P<0.001). Furthermore, stratified analysis in a recessive model suggests that the homozygous variant genotype (AA) of rs807185 could decrease the risk of lung cancer in smoking or nonsmoking groups. In conclusion, the variant of intron SNP rs807185 in ATG4A is associated significantly with a decreased risk of lung cancer in a southwest Chinese population. The results show that the variant rs807185 of ATG4A might be a protective factor for lung cancer.