The progress of PET/MRI in clinical management of patients with pancreatic malignant lesions.

Recently, the morbidity and mortality of pancreatic cancer have been increasing year by year. Because of its deep anatomical location and because most presented patients often suffer from abdominal pain or jaundice, it is difficult to diagnose pancreatic cancer at an early stage, leading to late clinical stage and poor prognosis. integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) fusion imaging not only has the characteristics of high resolution and multi-parameter imaging of MRI, but also combines the high sensitivity and the semi-quantitative characteristics of PET. In addition, the continuous development of novel MRI imaging and PET imaging biomarkers provide a unique and precise research direction for future pancreatic cancer research. This review summarizes the value of PET/MRI in the diagnosis, staging, efficacy monitoring, and prognosis evaluation of pancreatic cancer, and prognosis for developing emerging imaging agents and artificial intelligence radiomics in pancreatic cancer.

Unique profile on the progress free survival and overall survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer in the Qujing area, Southwest China.

Background: China's southwestern region, Qujing, harbors a high incidence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and related mortality. This study was designed to reveal the impact of an immune-related prognostic signature (IRPS) on advanced NSCLC in the Qujing. Methods: Tissue specimens from an independent cohort of 37 patients with advanced NSCLC were retrospectively evaluated to determine the relationship between the IRPS estimated by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and clinical outcome. To compare the IRPS in tissue and the clinical outcomes between Qujing and non-Qujing populations, we analyzed datasets of 23 patients with advanced NSCLC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. In addition, an independent cohort (n=111) of blood specimens was retrospectively analyzed to determine the relationship between the IRPS and clinical outcome. Finally, we evaluated the utility of the blood IRPS in classifying 24 patients with advanced NSCLC who might benefit from immunotherapy. Results: In cohort 1, the Qujing population with tTMB-H (≥ 10 mutations/Mb) or KRAS mutations had shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.37, 0.14 to 0.97, P = 0.04; HR 0.23, 0.08 to 0.66, P < 0.01) and overall survival (OS) (HR 0.05, 0.01 to 0.35, P < 0.01; HR 0.22, 0.07 to 0.66, P < 0.01). In cohort 2 of the Qujing population, bTMB-H (≥ 6 mutations per Mb) and KRAS mutations were related to PFS (HR 0.59, 0.36 to 0.99, P = 0.04; HR 0.50, 0.26 to 0.98, P = 0.04) and OS (HR 0.58, 0.35 to 0.96, P = 0.03; HR 0.48, 0.25 to 0.93, P = 0.03). Notably, the Qujing population with bTMB-H had superior PFS (HR 0.32, 0.09 to 1.09, P = 0.01), OS (HR 0.33, 0.10 to 1.13, P < 0.01) and objective response rates (ORRs) (83.3% vs. 14.3% vs. 20.0%, P <0.01) to immunotherapy than other populations. Conclusions: These findings show that tTMB, bTMB and KRAS mutations appear to be independent validated IRPSs that predict the clinical outcomes of Qujing populations with advanced NSCLC and that bTMB may be used as a reliable IRPS to predict the clinical benefit from anti-PD-1 therapies among populations from Qujing with advanced NSCLC.

Biofilms possibly harbor occult SARS-CoV-2 may explain lung cavity, re-positive and long-term positive results.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been an increasing number of COVID-19 patients with cavitary or cystic lung lesions, re-positive or long-term positive nucleic acid tests, but the mechanism is still unclear. Lung cavities may appear at long time interval from initial onset of coronavirus infection, generally during the absorption phase of the disease. The main histopathological characteristic is diffuse alveolar damage and may have more severe symptoms after initial recovery from COVID-19 and an increased mortality rate. There are many possible etiologies of pulmonary cavities in COVID-19 patients and we hypothesize that occult SARS-CoV-2, in the form of biofilm, is harbored in the airway lacuna with other pathogenic microorganisms, which may be the cause of pulmonary cavities and repeated and long-term positive nucleic acid tests.

Effects of lipid emulsions on the formation of Escherichia coli-Candida albicans mixed-species biofilms on PVC.

Patients receiving lipid emulsions are at increased risk of contracting catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) in the clinic. More than 15% of CRBSIs are polymicrobial. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of lipid emulsions on the formation of Escherichia coli (E. coli)-Candida albicans (C. albicans) mixed-species biofilms (BFs) on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) surfaces and the underlying mechanism. Mixed-species BFs were produced by coculturing E. coli and C. albicans with PVC in various concentrations of lipid emulsions. Crystal violet staining and XTT assays were performed to test the mixed-species BF biomass and the viability of microbes in the BFs. The microstructures of the BFs were observed by an approach that combined confocal laser scanning microscopy, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and scanning electron microscopy. The study found that lipid emulsions could promote the formation of E. coli-C. albicans mixed-species BFs, especially with 10% lipid emulsions. The mechanism by which lipid emulsions promote mixed-species BF formation may involve significant upregulation of the expression of the flhDC, iha, HTA1, and HWP1 genes, which are associated with bacterial motility, adhesion, and BF formation. The results derived from this study necessitate strict aseptic precautions when handling lipid emulsions and avoiding the use of high concentrations of lipid emulsions for as long as possible.

Targeted silencing of TEM8 suppresses non­small cell lung cancer tumor growth via the ERK/Bcl­2 signaling pathway.

Non­small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common malignancies with high rates of mortality. Although great progress has been made with the development of novel immunotherapies and targeted therapeutic strategies, the 5­year total survival rate of lung cancer has remained unchanged over the past few decades. Therefore, more effective therapeutics are urgently needed. Tumor endothelial marker 8 (TEM8) is an integrin­like cell surface transmembrane protein that has been demonstrated to be upregulated in numerous cancer types and previously showed promise for targeted cancer therapy. However, the role of TEM8 in NSCLC remains poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of silencing TEM8 on expression and regulation of extracellular signal­regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 signaling pathways in NSCLC. In the present study, a lentiviral vector that encoded a short hairpin RNA targeting TEM8 was designed and transfected into Xuanwei Lung Cancer (XWLC)­05 lung cancer cells to silence TEM8 expression. Male BALB/c­nu/nu mice were then given subcutaneous injections in the right dorsal flank with XWLC­05 cells. Microvessel density was measured using an anti­CD34 antibody. The mRNA and protein levels of ERK1/2 and Bcl­2 in XWLC­05 cells or xenograft tumor tissues were detected by reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. TEM8 knockdown was found to significantly inhibit tumor growth and conferred an anti­angiogenic ability in vivo. Furthermore, TEM8 knockdown suppressed the expression of Bcl­2 mediated by ERK1/2 activity in XWLC­05 cells or tissues from mice with NSCLC. To conclude, these results suggest that the targeted silencing of TEM8 may serve as an effective method of treating NSCLC.