Preliminary clinical study of personalized neoantigen vaccine therapy for microsatellite stability (MSS)-advanced colorectal cancer.

Immunotherapy based on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has provided revolutionary results in treating various cancers. However, its efficacy in colorectal cancer (CRC), especially in microsatellite stability-CRC, is limited. This study aimed to observe the efficacy of personalized neoantigen vaccine in treating MSS-CRC patients with recurrence or metastasis after surgery and chemotherapy. Candidate neoantigens were analyzed from whole-exome and RNA sequencing of tumor tissues. The safety and immune response were assessed through adverse events and ELISpot. The clinical response was evaluated by progression-free survival (PFS), imaging examination, clinical tumor marker detection, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing. Changes in health-related quality of life were measured by the FACT-C scale. A total of six MSS-CRC patients with recurrence or metastasis after surgery and chemotherapy were administered with personalized neoantigen vaccines. Neoantigen-specific immune response was observed in 66.67% of the vaccinated patients. Four patients remained progression-free up to the completion of clinical trial. They also had a significantly longer progression-free survival time than the other two patients without neoantigen-specific immune response (19 vs. 11 months). Changes in health-related quality of life improved for almost all patients after the vaccine treatment. Our results shown that personalized neoantigen vaccine therapy is likely to be a safe, feasible and effective strategy for MSS-CRC patients with postoperative recurrence or metastasis.

No association between myeloperoxidase gene rs2333227 G>A polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease risk: a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

Evidence suggests that there is a close association between myeloperoxidase (MPO) gene rs2333227 G>A polymorphism with Alzheimer's disease (AD) susceptibility. We conducted a meta-analysis to explore the precise association between MPO rs2333227 G>A polymorphism and AD susceptibility. Online databases were searched and the relevant information was collected. Crudeodds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Trial sequential analysis (TSA), heterogeneity analyses, accumulative analyses, sensitivity analyses, and publication biasestests were performed. Overall, nine publications (ten independent case-controls) were included in this meta-analysis, involving 3260 participants. Pooled results revealed no significant association between MPO rs2333227 G>A polymorphism and AD susceptibility was observed. TSA showed that the present meta-analysis remained inconclusive due to insufficient evidence. In summary, the current meta-analysis indicated that the MPO rs2333227 G>A polymorphism may not be acausalfactor in the development of AD.

Nanomaterials and Aging.

As the proportion of the elderly population increases, more and more people suffer from aging-related diseases. Even if aging is inevitable, prolonging the time of healthy aging, delaying the progression of aging-related diseases, and the incidence of morbidity can greatly alleviate the pressure on individuals and society. Current research and exploration in the field of materials related to aging are expanding tremendously. Here, we present a summary of recent research in the field of nanomaterials relevant to aging. Some nanomaterials, such as silica nanomaterials (NMs) and carbon nanotubes, cause damage to the cells similar to aging processes. Other nanomaterials such as fullerenes and metalbased nanomaterials can protect the body from endogenous and exogenous harmful substances such as ROS by virtue of their excellent reducing properties. Another new type of nucleic acid nanomaterial, tetrahedral framework nucleic acids, works effectively against cell damage. This material selectively clears existing senescent cells in the tissue and thus prevents the development of the chronic inflammatory environment caused by senescent cells secreting senescence-associated secretory phenotype to the surroundings. We believe that nanomaterials have tremendous potential to advance the understanding and treatment of aging-related disorders, and today's research only represents the beginning stages.

Improved statistical fluctuation analysis for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with four-intensity decoy-state method.

Recently Zhang et al [ Phys. Rev. A95, 012333 (2017)] developed a new approach to estimate the failure probability for the decoy-state BB84 QKD system when taking finite-size key effect into account, which offers security comparable to Chernoff bound, while results in an improved key rate and transmission distance. Based on Zhang et al's work, now we extend this approach to the case of the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD), and for the first time implement it onto the four-intensity decoy-state MDI-QKD system. Moreover, through utilizing joint constraints and collective error-estimation techniques, we can obviously increase the performance of practical MDI-QKD systems compared with either three- or four-intensity decoy-state MDI-QKD using Chernoff bound analysis, and achieve much higher level security compared with those applying Gaussian approximation analysis.

A Novel Nomogram for Predicting Postsurgical Intra-abdominal Infection in Gastric Cancer Patients: a Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the relationship between intra-abdominal infection (IAI) and sarcopenia prospectively and to construct a nomogram to identify patients at a high risk of IAI. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of 682 consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent radical gastrectomy. The sarcopenia elements, including lumbar skeletal muscle index, handgrip strength, and gait speed, were measured before surgery. Factors contributing to IAI were determined through univariate and multivariate analysis. A nomogram consisting of the independent risk factors was constructed to quantify the individual risk of IAI. RESULTS: Of the 682 patients enrolled in this study, 132 patients were diagnosed with sarcopenia and 61 were diagnosed with IAI. Logistic analysis revealed that sarcopenia, tumor size, pathological type, and multivisceral resection were independent prognostic factors for IAI. The nomogram model for IAI was able to reliably quantify the risk of IAI with a strong optimism-adjusted discrimination (concordance index, 0.736). CONCLUSIONS: Sarcopenia is an independent predictor of IAI. Our nomogram was a simple and practical instrument to quantify the individual risk of IAI and could be used to identify patients at a high risk.

A quantified risk-scoring system and rating model for postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome in gastric cancer patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between obesity and postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome (PGS), and to construct a scoring system and a risk model to identify patients at high risk. METHODS: A total of 634 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical characteristics were evaluated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Logistic analysis was performed to determine the independent predictive indicators of PGS. A scoring system consisting of these indicators and a risk-rating model were constructed and evaluated via ROC curve analysis. RESULTS: Based on the ROC curves, the visceral fat area (VFA) cutoff value for PGS was 94.00. Logistic analysis showed that visceral obesity (VFA ≥ 94.00 cm2 ), the reconstruction technique, and tumor size were independent prognostic factors for PGS. The scoring system could predict PGS reliably with a high area under the ROC curve ([AUC] = 0.769). A high-risk rating had a high AUC (AUC I = 0.56, AUC II = 0.65, and AUC III = 0.77), indicating that the risk-rating model could effectively screen patients at high risk of PGS. CONCLUSIONS: Visceral obesity defined by VFA effectively predicted PGS. Our scoring system may be a reliable instrument for identifying patients most at risk of PGS.

Use of the combination of the preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and tumor characteristics to predict peritoneal metastasis in patients with gastric cancer.

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the predictive value of the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio for peritoneal metastasis in patients with gastric cancer and to construct an available preoperative prediction system for peritoneal metastasis. A total of 1080 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled in our study. The preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and other serum markers and objective clinical tumor characteristics were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curves. A logistic analysis was performed to determine the independent predictive indicators of peritoneal metastasis. A prediction system that included the independent predictive indicators was constructed and evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curves. Based on the receiver operating characteristic curves, the ideal platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio cutoff value to predict peritoneal metastasis was 131.00. The logistic analysis showed that the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio was an independent indicator to predict peritoneal metastasis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.599. When integrating all independent indicators (i.e., platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, invasion depth, lymphatic invasion, pathological type), the prediction system more reliably predicted peritoneal metastasis with a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.769). The preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio was an indicator that could be used to predict peritoneal metastasis. Our prediction system could be a reliable instrument to discriminate between patients with gastric cancer with and those without peritoneal metastasis.