The Effect of Exercise on Cardiotoxicity in Women with Breast Cancer Receiving Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women with a 5-year survival over 90%. However, anthracycline-based chemotherapy causes significant cardiotoxicity often requiring discontinuation of chemotherapeutic regimen among breast cancer survivors. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of exercise training in mitigating anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity among women with breast cancer. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The outcomes of interest were left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), global longitudinal strain (GLS), early to atrial filling velocity (E/A) ratio, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), and cardiac output (CO). We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) to assess the risk of bias in individual studies. RESULTS: We identified a total of 596 articles with 5 trials included in the final analysis. Exercise training was associated with an increase in VO2 max compared with no exercise training (mean difference, 3.95 [95% CI, 0.63-7.26]; I2 = 99.68%). Other cardiovascular outcomes such as LVEF (mean difference, 1.76 [95% CI, -1.95 to 5.46]; I2 = 99.44%), GLS (mean difference, 0.30 [95% CI, -0.49 to 1.10]; I2 = 96.63%), E/A ratio (mean difference, 0.05 [95% CI, -0.05 to 0.15]; I2 = 94.16%), and CO (mean difference, 0.38 [95% CI, -0.91 to 1.66]; I2 = 99.73%) are similar between patients who underwent exercise training and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise was associated with an improvement in maximal oxygen uptake among women with breast cancer receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy.

Vesicoureteral reflux is associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease: A nationwide cohort study.

The association between vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) risk remains unestablished. We investigated the incidence of CKD in children with VUR in Taiwan and evaluated whether they had a higher risk of CKD than the general population. A nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted among children with VUR identified using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000 to 2013. VUR was defined according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. We identified the children with VUR and randomly selected comparison children according to a 1:1 ratio, matching them by age, gender, index year and comorbidity using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database. In total, 8648 children with VUR and 8648 comparison children were included. All children were followed from the study date until a diagnosis of CKD, termination of insurance, or the end of 2013. Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed to compare the hazard ratios for CKD between the 2 cohorts. Incident cases of CKD were identified. After adjustment for potential confounders, the study cohort was independently associated with a higher risk of CKD (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.78; 95% confidence interval, 2.10-7.18). This population-based cohort study indicated that children with VUR have a higher risk of CKD than those without VUR.

A CARE-compliant article: a case report of possible association between recurrence of multiple evanescent white dot syndrome and the Herpesviridae family.

RATIONALE: Multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) is a self-limited multifocal chorioretinopathy that typically affects otherwise healthy young females in the second to fourth decades of life. Current understanding of the pathophysiology of MEWDS is still limited. One of the possible underlying causes is an infectious etiology. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 24-year-old female with recurrent episodes of typical MEWDS ocular manifestation was observed over 2 years. Viral-specific antibody serologic tests showed evidence of exposure to the Herpesviridae family during the acute stage of MEWDS in the first and recurrent episodes. DIAGNOSES: MEWDS was diagnosed by the clinical findings and ancillary testing results of fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography and electroretinogram. The laboratory serology data was positive for varicella-zoster virus (VZV) immunoglobulin M (IgM) in the first episode and exhibited high Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) elevated immunoglobulin G (IgG) titer in the recurrent episode. INTERVENTIONS: Due to the self-limited nature of MEWDS, we observed the clinical course without intervention. OUTCOMES: During acute onset of MEWDS, serologic data for VZV IgM antibody was positive in the first episode. Two years later, the patient had recurrent episodes of MEWDS in the contralateral eye. Serologic study showed highly elevated IgG titer (1:160) of Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen (EB-VCA) in the acute stage. The follow-up paired serum virus serology test showed that the prior EB-VCA IgG titer decreased fourfold to 1:40 in the recovery stage. LESSONS: Recurrence of MEWDS may be associated with acute systemic infection of the Herpesviridae family or virus-induced autoimmune inflammatory reaction.