Circulating tumor necrosis factor-α levels in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To synthesize data on circulating tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels between patients with histologically confirmed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (simple steatosis or non-alcoholic fatty liver [NAFL] and/or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis [NASH]) and controls. METHODS: We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. Fifty-six studies, published between 2003 and 2019, were finally included, reporting data from 5848 individuals (1634 controls and 4214 NAFLD patients). RESULTS: Higher circulating TNF-α levels were observed in NAFLD patients than controls (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.84; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.59-1.09), NAFL patients than controls (SMD 0.56; 95% CI 0.27-0.85), NASH patients than controls (SMD 0.93; 95% CI 0.64-1.22), and NASH than NAFL patients (SMD 0.31; 95% CI 0.16-0.46). There were only minimal changes in the comparisons between groups after excluding studies with morbidly obese populations (n = 11), or pediatric/adolescent populations (n = 6), or other than enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method of TNF-α measurement (n = 8). There was high heterogeneity among studies in all comparisons, which was not essentially affected after sensitivity analyses. The meta-regression analysis revealed that the male ratio was positively associated with TNF-α SMD in the comparison between patients with NASH and NAFL (beta = 0.809; 95% CI 0.052-1.566) and accounted for 36% (P = 0.037) of the heterogeneity in this pair of comparison. TNF-α SMD was not associated with age, body mass index, and alanine aminotransferase in any pair of comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating TNF-α levels were higher in patients with NAFLD compared with controls. Higher levels of circulating TNF-α were also associated with the severity of NAFLD.

Expression patterns and clinical implications of PDL1 and DLL3 biomarkers in small cell lung cancer retrospectively studied: Insights for therapeutic strategies and survival prediction.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, includes small cell lung cancer (SCLC), characterized by its aggressive nature and advanced disease at diagnosis. However, the identification of reliable biomarkers for SCLC has proven challenging, as no consistent predictive biomarker has been established. Nonetheless, certain tumor-associated antigens, including programmed death-ligand 1 (PDL1) and Delta-Like Ligand 3 (DLL3), show promise for targeted antibody-based immunotherapy. To ensure optimal patient selection, it remains crucial to comprehend the relationship between PDL1 and DLL3 expression and clinicopathological characteristics in SCLC. In this study, we investigated the expression patterns of PDL1 and DLL3 biomarkers in endobronchial samples from 44 SCLC patients, examining their association with clinical characteristics and survival. High PDL1 expression (>1%) was observed in 14% of patients, while the majority the SCLC patients (73%) exhibited high DLL3 expression (>75%). Notably, we found a positive correlation between high PDL1 expression (>1%) and overall survival. However, we did not observe any significant differences in the biomarkers expression concerning age, sex, disease status, smoking status, or distant metastases. Further subgroup analysis revealed that a high co-expression of both PDL1 (>1%) and DLL3 (100%) antigens was associated with improved overall survival. This suggests that SCLC expressing PDL1 and DLL3 antigens may exhibit increased sensitivity to therapy, indicating their potential as therapeutic targets. Thus, our findings provide novel insights into the simultaneous evaluation of PDL1 and DLL3 biomarkers in SCLC patients. These insights have significant clinical implications for therapeutic strategies, survival prediction, and development of combination immunotherapies.

Prognostic Value of Serum Biomarkers in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in Relation to Disease Progression.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this present study was to determine serum biomarker levels and their correlation with respiratory function and the clinical course of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 72 IPF patients, according to the ATS/ERS criteria, in whom antifibrotic treatment was initiated. Blood samples were taken, and serum biomarkers, such as KL-6, SP-D, CCL18, CXCL13, VEGF-A, IL-8, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, IGFBP-7 and ICAM-1 were measured using ELISA methodology. Pulmonary function tests (FVC, TLC, DLCO-% pred) were determined at baseline and after 12 and 24 months and analyzed in correlation with the biomarkers. RESULTS: The majority of patients (mean age 72 ± 6 years) were men (83%). The FVC and DLCO values at the 12-month follow-up were found to be statistically decreased in deceased patients (p < 0.05). The SP-D (p < 0.001) and the IGFBP-1 (p = 0.021) levels were found to be increased at the 1-year follow-up in deceased patients, and similarly, the SP-D (p = 0.005) and ICAM-1 (p = 0.043) levels at the 2-year follow-up. A chi-square test revealed that 70% of the category IV GAP index was found with cut-off elevated levels of a biomarker combination (KL-6, SP-D, VEGF-A) from the ROC curve analysis (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence, for the first time in a Greek population, of the possibility of using a combination of KL-6, SP-D, and VEGF-A serum levels along with the GAP index.

Eosinophilic Asthma, Phenotypes-Endotypes and Current Biomarkers of Choice.

Asthma phenotyping and endotyping are constantly evolving. Currently, several biologic agents have been developed towards a personalized approach to asthma management. This review will focus on different eosinophilic phenotypes and Th2-associated endotypes with eosinophilic inflammation. Additionally, airway remodeling is analyzed as a key feature of asthmatic eosinophilic endotypes. In addition, evidence of biomarkers is examined with a predictive value to identify patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma who may benefit from new treatment options. Finally, there will be a discussion on the results from clinical trials regarding severe eosinophilic asthma and how the inhibition of the eosinophilic pathway by targeted treatments has led to the reduction of recurrent exacerbations.

Epidemiology of lung cancer in Northern Greece: An 18-year hospital-based cohort study focused on the differences between smokers and non-smokers.

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer incidence, yet, in Greece, country-level registry-based data are limited. We have thus investigated the epidemiology of lung cancer and its trends in the George Papanikolaou Hospital, Northern Greece over 18 years (2000-2018). METHODS: We analyzed all the cases reported in the Bronchoscopy Unit of the Hospital for the period 2000-2018. In total, 15131 subjects (12300 males and 2831 females) that presented with a mass in the imaging, were submitted to bronchoscopy. Characteristics of patients such as age, sex, smoking history and occupation were collected. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: Among all subjects, a total of 5628 (37.2%; mean age: 65.85 ± 9.6 years) cases of primary lung cancer were identified with a male to female ratio of 2:1 (41.1% to 20.4%) (p<0.001). Squamous cell lung cancer was the most common type of lung cancer identified in this population (44%) with a higher proportion in males compared to females (p<0.001). Furthermore, adenocarcinoma was mostly observed in female non-smokers compared to males (p<0.001). The majority of lung cancer cases were identified in patients occupied with agriculture and livestock breeding (41.1%). The mean age at lung cancer diagnosis was 66.13 ± 9.19 years for the whole study population. Lung cancer cases observed with a higher mean of 43.93 ± 10.84 years of smoking compared to cancer-free patients with 39.64 ± 13.23 years of smoking (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Apart from smoking, demographic characteristics including age, sex and occupation appear to have an impact on lung cancer development in this population. Smoking history alone could not predict the development of lung cancer in the studied northern Greek population.