[Radiofrequency ablation combined with systemic chemotherapy in the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma with liver metastasis].

Objective: To determine the treatment efficacy of systemic chemotherapy combined with sequential CT-guided radiofrequency ablation (chemo-RFA) in the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with liver metastasis. Methods: A total of 427 NPC patients diagnosed with liver metastasis at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 2000 and December 2013 were enrolled. Of the patients, 340 cases were male, 87 cases were female, the median age was 45 years (range 18-80 years), all patients received systemic chemotherapy and part of them also received RFA treatment. Patients were evaluated for response every two cycles during systemic chemotherapy and then every three months until death. One-to-one matched pairs between chemo-RFA group with chemo-only group were generated using propensity score matching; survival analysis was further conducted. Results: Of all the enrolled patients, 56 patients (13.1%) received combined treatment, 371 patients (86.9%)received chemotherapy alone. After propensity score matching, 56 pairs of well-matched liver metastatic NPC patients were selected from different treatment groups. The 1-, 3-, 5- year overall survival (OS) rates for chemo-RFA group were 89.2%, 45.5% and 32.5% and chemo-only group were 77.1%, 27.5% and 4.8% respectively; the 1-, 3-, 5- year progression-free survival (PFS) rates for chemo-RFA group were 64.0%, 25.4% and 10.7% and chemo-only group were 44.1%, 5.5% and 5.5% respectively.The adjusted hazard ratio in OS and PFS of the choice for chemo-RFA approach to chemo-only was HR 0.43, 95% CI 0.25-0.73 and HR 0.44, 95% CI 0.28-0.71 respectively. Conclusion: CT-guided RFA combined with chemotherapy approach could improve the survival rate for NPC patients with liver metastasis.

Research on regionalised digital image slope monitoring methods.

The digital image correlation method is a high precision and non-contact ground deformation monitoring method, which is widely used in surface deformation monitoring. However, according to its principle, different surface characteristics have great influence on the monitoring results. In this paper, a regional digital image slope monitoring method is established to meet the monitoring requirements of different areas of the same slope. Firstly, the features of different regions in the image are identified according to the optical region detection, and then the deformation calculation method is matched according to the features of different regions. Finally, according to the binocular vision principle, the three-dimensional displacement of the slope is obtained. Taking a highway slope in Qinhuangdao as an example, we realised all-weather and full-field deformation monitoring of slope, and verified the applicability and feasibility of regional digital image slope monitoring method. The applicability of digital image correlation method in slope monitoring is improved.

Safety and Efficacy of Cryoballoon Ablation for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation in Diabetic Patients.

BACKGROUND: Cryoballoon based catheter ablation (CB-CA) is an established therapy for treatment of symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF). However, data about AF ablation using the CB in the diabetic population is sparse. The aim of this single center retrospective study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CB ablation in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) as compared to patients without DM. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between July 2015 and December 2017, 397 consecutive patients underwent CB-CA for AF. Forty-eight consecutive patients with DM (DM group, study group) were compared with propensity score-matched patients without DM (n=48, control group). All patients underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using the second-generation CB (CB2). The mean age in the DM group was 66.9±9.5 years and 69.5±8.8 in the non-DM group (p=0.18). During a follow-up of 12.7±5.1 months, single procedure success rate for the DM and the non-DM group was 68.7% and 70.8%, respectively (p=0.82). The most common complication was transient phrenic nerve palsy (4 DM group vs. 0 non-DM group, p=0.04). No severe complication such as procedure related deaths, atrio-esophageal fistula or cerebrovascular embolic events occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Our data strengthen the value of CB2 based ablation for the treatment of AF as an effective and safe procedure in DM patients, with similar success rates when compared with a non-DM population.