Efficacy and safety of docetaxel plus S-1-based therapy in gastric cancer: a quantitative evidence synthesis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of docetaxel plus S-1-based therapy in gastric cancer treatment. Methods: PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials on docetaxel plus S-1-based therapy in the treatment of gastric cancer from the establishment of the database to 1 September 2022. Relevant studies were included per pre-defined eligibility criteria, and two researchers independently screened and assessed the included literature using Review Manager v5. Outcome measures and statistics related with efficacy and safety profiles were extracted from the included studies, and Stata v15.1 was used for pooled analysis. Results: Objective response rate (odds ratio = 2.34, 95% CI = [1.32, 4.13], p = 0.003), relapse-free survival (HR = 0.68, 95% CI = [0.58, 0.79], p < 0.001), progression-free survival (HR = 0.81, 95% CI = [0.68, 0.96], p = 0.016), and overall survival (HR = 0.86, 95% CI = [0.79, 0.95], p = 0.002) of docetaxel plus S-1-based therapy (DS-based therapy) in gastric cancer treatment were better than those of the non-DS-based therapy. However, DS-based therapy was associated with increased risk of certain adverse drug effects, such as alopecia, leukopenia, and oral mucositis. Further studies are warranted to validate the efficacy superiority of DS-based versus non-DS-based regimens as per our trial sequential analysis findings. Conclusion: DS-based therapy significantly improves patients' clinical outcomes in gastric cancer, albeit at the cost of increased toxicity. Further RCTs are needed to confirm the efficacy superiority of DS-based regimens.

CXCL12 and CXCR4 polymorphisms and expressions in peripheral blood from patients of hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To determine if CXCL12 (rs1801157) and CXCR4 (rs2228014) polymorphisms are associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility, and detect their expressions in peripheral blood. METHODS: 206 HCC patients, 252 chronic hepatitis B patients, 221 liver cirrhosis patients and 275 healthy volunteers were recruited. Genes CXCL12 and CXCR4 were amplified and genotyped. Their expression in peripheral blood were detected. RESULTS: CXCL12 rs1801157 and CXCR4 rs2228014 polymorphisms were associated with increased susceptibility of HCC, and genotypes GA/AA and CT/TT may be risk factors of HCC (all p < 0.05). Expressions of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in peripheral blood from HCC patients increased significantly (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: CXCL12 and CXCR4 polymorphisms may be risk factors for HCC, and they may be potential HCC markers.

Huge giant cell tumor of the sacrum: A case report.

The current report describes the case of a 29-year-old female with a sacral giant cell tumor (GCT) during pregnancy. Originally, the patient presented with severe pain in the lumbosacral region, radiating posterolaterally from the lumbar spine into the bilateral thigh and subsequently, into the bilateral crus posterolaterally. Plain X-rays, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed osteolytic destruction of the sacrococcygeal bones and a huge soft-tissue mass with features of a chordoma. The patient underwent a partial en bloc sacrectomy (partial S1 and completely below) and curettage for tumors located at the sacroiliac joint and underlying left ilium, with bilateral internal iliac arteries ligated to control intraoperative hemorrhage. The patient's bilateral S2 nerve roots were killed. The diagnosis of conventional GCT was determined based on the histopathological examination of the resected specimen. Urinary and bowel functions were recovered by exercising.

Expression of NF-κB and osteopontin of synovial fluid of patients with knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the significance of osteopontin and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) expression in patients with knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to measure the Osteopontin (OPN) and NF-κB concentration of knee joint synovial fluid of patients with knee osteoarthritis and trauma fractures, and analyze the relationship between the expressiones of them. RESULTS: OPN and NF-κB expression at the mRNA and protein levels of patients with knee osteoarthritis were significantly higher than the control group. the result showed statistical significance (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between the OPN levels in synovial fluid of patients with knee osteoarthritis and NF-κB expression levels (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The high expression of OPN and NF-κB are closely related to occurrence and development of knee osteoarthritis.

Enhancement of signal-to-noise level by synchronized dual wavelength modulation for light emitting diode fluorimetry in a liquid-core-waveguide microfluidic capillary electrophoresis system.

The signal-to-noise level of light emitting diode (LED) fluorimetry using a liquid-core-waveguide (LCW)-based microfluidic capillary electrophoresis system was significantly enhanced using a synchronized dual wavelength modulation (SDWM) approach. A blue LED was used as excitation source and a red LED as reference source for background-noise compensation in a microfluidic capillary electrophoresis (CE) system. A Teflon AF-coated silica capillary served as both the separation channel and LCW for light transfer, and blue and red LEDs were used as excitation and reference sources, respectively, both radially illuminating the detection point of the separation channel. The two LEDs were synchronously modulated at the same frequency, but with 180 degrees -phase shift, alternatingly driven by a same constant current source. The LCW transferred the fluorescence emission, as well as the excitation and reference lights that strayed through the optical system to a photomultiplier tube; a lock-in amplifier demodulated the combined signal, significantly reducing its noise level. To test the system, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled amino acids were separated by capillary electrophoresis and detected by SDWM and single wavelength modulation, respectively. Five-fold improvement in S/N ratio was achieved by dual wavelength modulation, compared with single wavelength modulation; and over 100-fold improvement in S/N ratio was achieved compared with a similar LCW-CE system reported previously using non-modulated LED excitation. A detection limit (S/N=3) of 10nM FITC-labeled arginine was obtained in this work. The effects of modulation frequency on S/N level and on the rejection of noise caused by LED-driver current and detector were also studied.