Low T3 syndrome as a predictor of poor prognosis in peripheral T-cell lymphomas.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the prognostic value of low T3 syndrome in peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs). METHODS: One hundred and seventy-four patients of newly diagnosed PTCLs were enrolled in the study. We performed statistical analysis based on the clinical data collected. RESULTS: Thirty-Six (20.69%) patients had low T3 syndrome at first admission. Results suggested that the patients with higher score of ECOG PS, International Prognostic Index (IPI) and Prognostic Index for T-cell lymphoma (PIT), bone marrow involvement and lower level of albumin tended to develop low T3 syndrome. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 10 months and 36 months, respectively, for all patients. Pre-existing low T3 syndrome was in correlation with worse PFS and OS. Patients with low T3 syndrome showed worse PFS (4 months vs 13 months, P = 0.0001) and OS (7 months vs 83 months, P < 0.0001) than patients without low T3 syndrome. IPI and PIT, respectively, combined with low T3 syndrome improved the ability to predict OS and PFS of PTCLs. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicated that low T3 syndrome may be a good candidate for predicting prognosis of peripheral T-cell lymphomas.

Prognostic value of POD18 combined with improved IELSG in primary central nervous system lymphoma.

PURPOSE: The International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG) score is widely used in clinical practice to stratify the risk of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) patients. Our study aims to confirm and improve the IELSG score in PCNSL patients based on Chinese populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 79 PCNSL patients were retrospectively analyzed. All patients treated with high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based therapy collected clinical data. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal cut-off values for the factors in IELSG score. Progression of disease (POD) at the most landmark time point was determine by Epanechnikov kernel and the area under the ROC curve (AUROC). Kaplan-Meier and multivariable regression methods were used to analyze survival data. Nomogram was generated for calculating the weight of each selected factor. RESULTS: The traditional IELSG score had no significant difference on OS and PFS except ECOG ≥ 2 and could not stratify the risk groups in PCNSL. The improved IELSG scoring system was established, which incorporated age ≥ 54 years, ECOG ≥ 2, deep brain structure, elevated CSF protein, and LDH/ULN > 0.75. On the other hand, POD18 was identified as a new powerful prognostic factor for PCNSL. In multivariate analysis, POD18 and the improved IELSG scoring system were independent prognostic factors for OS. Nomogram including the two significant variables showed the best performance (C-index = 0.828). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the IELSG score was improved and a new prognostic indicator POD18 was incorporated to construct a nomogram prognostic model, thereby further improving the predictive ability of the model.

Value of endorectal ultrasonography in the assessment of invasion staging of low rectal cancer with local progression after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy / Valor de la ultrasonografía endorectal en la evaluación de la estadificación de la invasión del cáncer rectal bajo con progresión local, después de administrar radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante

Abstract Although stages T3 and T4 rectal cancer can be reduced to T1 or T2 after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy, the accuracy of the endorectal ultrasonography (ERUS) for the post-radiochemotherapy evaluation of low rectal cancer has seldom been reported. We aimed to investigate the value of ERUS in the assessment of invasion staging in low rectal cancer with local progression, and the factors affecting its accuracy, after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy. A total of 114 patients administered with neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy for stages II and III low rectal cancer (local stage T3/T4) from February 2018 to December 2020 were enrolled in the study. The changes in local lesions were evaluated using ERUS before and after radiochemotherapy, and compared with the pathological T staging. The accuracy of post-neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy re-staging examined with ERUS was evaluated, and univariate analysis was used to identify the factors affecting the accuracy. After neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy, the blood flow distribution within the lesion significantly declined (P<0.05), the max length and max thickness of the longitudinal axis of the lesion were reduced (P<0.05), and the uT staging was decreased (P<0.05), when compared with lesions before the treatment. Compared with postoperative pathological T staging, the accuracies of ERUS in T1, T2, T3 and T4 stages were 11.11%, 28.57%, 27.27% and 100%, respectively. Univariate analysis indicated that review time of ERUS, post-operative T staging and Wheeler rectal regression stage were factors affecting the accuracy of ERUS re-staging. ERUS is more accurate for T4 re-staging, follow-up reviewed six weeks after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy and low regression tumors, with a high application value for the assessment of the efficacy of neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy for low rectal cancer.

Resumen Aunque el cáncer de recto en estadios T3 y T4 se puede reducir a T1 o T2 después de la radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante, rara vez se ha informado la precisión de la ecografía endorrectal (ERUS) para la evaluación posterior a la radioquimioterapia del cáncer de recto inferior. Nuestro objetivo fue investigar el valor de ERUS en la evaluación de la estadificación de la invasión en el cáncer de recto inferior con progresión local, después de la radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante y los factores que afectan su precisión. Se incluyeron en el estudio un total de 114 pacientes a los que se les administró radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante para el cáncer de recto inferior en estadios II y III (estadio local T3/T4), desde febrero de 2018 hasta diciembre de 2020. Los cambios en las lesiones locales se evaluaron mediante ERUS antes y después de la radioquimioterapia y se compararon con la estadificación patológica T. Se evaluó la precisión de la re-estadificación examinada con ERUS, después de la radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante y se utilizó un análisis univariado para identificar los factores que afectan su precisión. Después de la radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante, la distribución del flujo sanguíneo dentro de la lesión disminuyó significativamente (P<0,05), la longitud máxima y el espesor máximo del eje longitudinal de la lesión se redujeron (P<0,05) y la estadificación uT disminuyó (P<0,05), en comparación con las lesiones antes del tratamiento. En comparación con la estadificación T patológica posoperatoria, las precisiones de ERUS en las etapas T1, T2, T3 y T4 fueron del 11,11%, 28,57%, 27,27% y 100%, respectivamente. El análisis univariable indicó que el tiempo de revisión de ERUS, la estadificación T postoperatoria y la etapa de regresión rectal de Wheeler fueron factores que afectaron la precisión de la re-estadificación con ERUS. ERUS es más preciso para la re-estadificación de T4, el seguimiento seis semanas después de la radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante y en tumores de baja regresión, con un alto valor de aplicación para la evaluación de la eficacia de la radioquimioterapia neoadyuvante para el cáncer rectal bajo.

Development of a propidium monoazide-polymerase chain reaction assay for detection of viable Lactobacillus brevis in beer

ABSTRACT The spoilage of beer by bacteria is of great concern to the brewer as this can lead to turbidity and abnormal flavors. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of beer-spoilage bacteria is highly specific and provides results much faster than traditional microbiology techniques. However, one of the drawbacks is the inability to differentiate between live and dead cells. In this paper, the combination of propidium monoazide (PMA) pretreatment and conventional PCR had been described. The established PMA-PCR identified beer spoilage Lactobacillus brevis based not on their identity, but on the presence of horA gene which we show to be highly correlated with the ability of beer spoilage LAB to grow in beer. The results suggested that the use of 30 µg/mL or less of PMA did not inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from viable L. brevis cells. The minimum amount of PMA to completely inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from dead L. brevis cells was 2.0 µg/mL. The detection limit of PMA-PCR assay described here was found to be 10 colony forming units (CFU)/reaction for the horA gene. Moreover, the horA-specific PMA-PCR assays were subjected to 18 reference isolates, representing 100% specificity with no false positive amplification observed. Overall the use of horA-specific PMA-PCR allows for a substantial reduction in the time required for detection of potential beer spoilage L. brevis and efficiently differentiates between viable and nonviable cells.(AU)

Development of a propidium monoazide-polymerase chain reaction assay for detection of viable Lactobacillus brevis in beer

ABSTRACT The spoilage of beer by bacteria is of great concern to the brewer as this can lead to turbidity and abnormal flavors. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of beer-spoilage bacteria is highly specific and provides results much faster than traditional microbiology techniques. However, one of the drawbacks is the inability to differentiate between live and dead cells. In this paper, the combination of propidium monoazide (PMA) pretreatment and conventional PCR had been described. The established PMA-PCR identified beer spoilage Lactobacillus brevis based not on their identity, but on the presence of horA gene which we show to be highly correlated with the ability of beer spoilage LAB to grow in beer. The results suggested that the use of 30 µg/mL or less of PMA did not inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from viable L. brevis cells. The minimum amount of PMA to completely inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from dead L. brevis cells was 2.0 µg/mL. The detection limit of PMA-PCR assay described here was found to be 10 colony forming units (CFU)/reaction for the horA gene. Moreover, the horA-specific PMA-PCR assays were subjected to 18 reference isolates, representing 100% specificity with no false positive amplification observed. Overall the use of horA-specific PMA-PCR allows for a substantial reduction in the time required for detection of potential beer spoilage L. brevis and efficiently differentiates between viable and nonviable cells.

Development of a propidium monoazide-polymerase chain reaction assay for detection of viable Lactobacillus brevis in beer.

The spoilage of beer by bacteria is of great concern to the brewer as this can lead to turbidity and abnormal flavors. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of beer-spoilage bacteria is highly specific and provides results much faster than traditional microbiology techniques. However, one of the drawbacks is the inability to differentiate between live and dead cells. In this paper, the combination of propidium monoazide (PMA) pretreatment and conventional PCR had been described. The established PMA-PCR identified beer spoilage Lactobacillus brevis based not on their identity, but on the presence of horA gene which we show to be highly correlated with the ability of beer spoilage LAB to grow in beer. The results suggested that the use of 30µg/mL or less of PMA did not inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from viable L. brevis cells. The minimum amount of PMA to completely inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from dead L. brevis cells was 2.0µg/mL. The detection limit of PMA-PCR assay described here was found to be 10 colony forming units (CFU)/reaction for the horA gene. Moreover, the horA-specific PMA-PCR assays were subjected to 18 reference isolates, representing 100% specificity with no false positive amplification observed. Overall the use of horA-specific PMA-PCR allows for a substantial reduction in the time required for detection of potential beer spoilage L. brevis and efficiently differentiates between viable and nonviable cells.