Current Status of Cognition and Clinical Practice of Refractory Cancer Pain in Shanghai: A Questionnaire Survey.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the current status of clinical practice of refractory cancer pain (RCP) among a sample of physicians specializing in cancer pain management in Shanghai. Methods: From 2019 to 2021, a questionnaire survey was conducted among physicians engaged in diagnosis and treatment of cancer pain through the questionnaire WJX network platform in Shanghai, China. Results: A total of 238 responses participated in the survey. This survey reports physicians' understanding and incidence rate of breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP). The choice of analgesics and satisfaction of analgesic effect were investigated. We also investigated doctors' knowledge of the diagnostic criteria for RCP and their tendency to choose analgesics. Oral immediate-release morphine and intravenous or subcutaneous morphine injection have been the common treatment approach for transient cancer pain exacerbations. The main barriers to pain management are lack of standardized treatment methods for RCP, lack of knowledge related to RCP, and single drug dosage form. Doctors believe the most necessary measures to improve the current situation of poor cancer pain control include improving medical staff's understanding and treatment techniques for RCP, updating treatment techniques and methods, and improving the configuration of drug types in medical institutions. Clinicians expect to improve understanding and treatment techniques through systematic training. Conclusion: Despite multiple available analgesic measures, the treatment of RCP remains challenging. Improving the understanding of medical staff towards RCP, improving treatment techniques, and increasing the accessibility of multiple drug types are important ways to improve the satisfaction of cancer pain management in the future.

Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer (2022 Edition).

Background: Primary liver cancer, of which around 75-85% is hepatocellular carcinoma in China, is the fourth most common malignancy and the second leading cause of tumor-related death, thereby posing a significant threat to the life and health of the Chinese people. Summary: Since the publication of Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer in China in June 2017, which were updated by the National Health Commission in December 2019, additional high-quality evidence has emerged from researchers worldwide regarding the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of liver cancer, that requires the guidelines to be updated again. The new edition (2022 Edition) was written by more than 100 experts in the field of liver cancer in China, which not only reflects the real-world situation in China but also may reshape the nationwide diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. Key Messages: The new guideline aims to encourage the implementation of evidence-based practice and improve the national average 5-year survival rate for patients with liver cancer, as proposed in the "Health China 2030 Blueprint."

CACA Guidelines for Holistic Integrative Management of Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Breast cancer is now the most common malignant tumor worldwide. About one-fourth of female cancer patients all over the world suffer from breast cancer. And about one in six female cancer deaths worldwide is caused by breast cancer. In terms of absolute numbers of cases and deaths, China ranks first in the world. The CACA Guidelines for Holistic Integrative Management of Breast Cancer were edited to help improve the diagnosis and comprehensive treatment in China. Methods: The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to classify evidence and consensus. Results: The CACA Guidelines for Holistic Integrative Management of Breast Cancer include the epidemiology of breast cancer, breast cancer screening, breast cancer diagnosis, early breast cancer treatment, advanced breast cancer treatment, follow-up, rehabilitation, and traditional Chinese medicine treatment of breast cancer patients. Conclusion: We to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in China through the formulation of the CACA Guidelines.

LncRNA ELF3-AS1 Promotes Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Invasion and Migration by Downregulating miR-212.

LncRNA ELF3-AS1 has been characterized as an oncogenic lncRNA in bladder cancer and oral cancer, whereas its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unknown. In this study, the authors observed that ELF3-AS1 was upregulated in NSCLC tissues in comparison with that in paired nontumor tissues collected from 68 NSCLC patients. High expression levels of ELF3-AS1 predicted the poor survival of NSCLC patients. Expression levels of miR-212 were inversely and significantly correlated with the expression levels of ELF3-AS1 across NSCLC tissue samples. In NSCLC cells, overexpression of ELF3-AS1 led to downregulated miR-212 and increased methylation of miR-212 gene. In addition, overexpression of ELF3-AS1 inhibited the role of miR-212 in suppressing cancer cell invasion and migration. Therefore, ELF3-AS1 is upregulated in NSCLC and promotes cancer cell invasion and migration by downregulating miR-212 through methylation.

Low expression of NR1H3 correlates with macrophage infiltration and indicates worse survival in breast cancer.

Background: Nuclear receptor NR1H3 is a key regulator of macrophage function and lipid homeostasis. Here, we aimed to visualize the prognostic value and immunological characterization of NR1H3 in breast cancer. Methods: The expression pattern and prognostic value of NR1H3 were analyzed via multiple databases, including TIMER2, GEPIA2 and Kaplan-Meier Plotter. TISIDB, TIMER2 and immunohistochemical analysis were used to investigate the correlation between NR1H3 expression and immune infiltration. GO enrichment analysis, KEGG analysis, Reactome analysis, ConsensusPathDB and GeneMANIA were used to visualize the functional enrichment of NR1H3 and signaling pathways related to NR1H3. Results: We demonstrated that the expression of NR1H3 was significantly lower in breast cancer compared with adjacent normal tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed shorter overall survival in basal breast cancer patients with low NR1H3 expression, and poorer prognosis of relapse-free survival in breast cancer patients with low NR1H3 expression. NR1H3 was mainly expressed in immune cells, and its expression was closely related with infiltrating levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in breast cancer. Additionally, univariate and multivariate analysis indicated that the expression of NR1H3 and the level of macrophage infiltration were independent prognostic factors for breast cancer. Gene interaction network analysis showed the function of NR1H3 involved in regulating of innate immune response and macrophage activation. Moreover, NR1H3 may function as a predictor of chemoresponsiveness in breast cancer. Conclusion: These findings suggest that NR1H3 serves as a prognostic biomarker and contributes to the regulation of macrophage activation in breast cancer.

Value of Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome differentiation in predicting the survival time of patients with advanced cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively study the accuracy of the palliative prognostic index (PPI) survival prediction model combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation. METHODS: The PPI survival prediction model was used to predict survival time. Patients' real survival time was recorded. The survival time was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the logrank method was used to test the difference. RESULTS: The average PPI survival prediction score of 227 patients was 5.83 (95% CI: 5.29-6.37). There was a significant difference in the real-life period between the different PPI groups (P < 0.05). PPI group I (predicted survival of > 6 weeks) showed the highest predictive sensitivity and PPI group II (predicted survival of 3-6 weeks) showed the highest predictive specificity. According to TCM syndrome differentiation, 82 cases (36% ) were diagnosed with liver and kidney Yin deficiency (type IV). The actual survival time of type IV patients was significantly shorter than that of other types of patients (mean: 21.85 vs 28.70, P = 0.007). In group I, the median survival time of type IV patients and other types was 25 and 34 d, respectively (P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of PPI prediction were improved in group II by TCM syndrome differentiation. For patients in group III whose predicted survival time was < 3 weeks, the specificity of PPI survival prediction was higher in type IV patients. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the PPI predictive tool for survival rate has important value. TCM syndrome differentiation and typing has certain significance for further classification and survival prediction.

Chemotherapy and targeted therapy near the end of life affects aggressiveness of palliative care.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the difference in quality indicators for chemotherapy or targeted therapy for patients with cancer in their last month of life. METHODS: A total of 585 patients who had received targeted therapy or palliative chemotherapy (PCT) from April 2007 to December 2018 at the Department of Integrated Therapy of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were included in this retrospective study. The patients' social demographic and clinical data were collected, and variables judged to be independent predictors of PCT or targeted therapy were selected for univariate and multivariate analyses of differences. RESULTS: Treatment with PCT was independently associated with age (P<0.001) and performance status (PS) (P<0.001). Treatment with targeted therapy was independently associated with PS (P<0.001). Patients who received continued chemotherapy or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within the last month of life were subjected to more intensive treatment in comparison with those who did not know when they were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in the last month of life (P<0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that lung cancer was independently associated with targeted therapy (P<0.001), and admission to the ICU was independently associated with PCT (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In the last month of life, approximately 14.9% of patients with cancer received PCT, which conformed to international recommendations. Lower CPR rates and admission to the ICU were positively correlated with targeted therapy versus those who received chemotherapy at the end of life (EOL).

Use of palliative chemotherapy near the end of life: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: For patients with metastatic cancer, treatment with palliative chemotherapy can lead to more aggressive end-of-life (EOL) care. This retrospective study aimed to assess the time from the last chemotherapy treatment to death and investigate the variables associated with the delivery of palliative chemotherapy near the end of life. METHODS: Data from patients who died from metastatic cancer after receiving palliative chemotherapy from April 2007 to June 2019 at the Department of Integrated Therapy of Fudan University, Shanghai Cancer Center were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate variables including the patient's age, Charlson comorbidities, caregivers, and the type of cancer. RESULTS: A total of 605 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 335 (58.7%) were treated with palliative chemotherapy during their last year of life and 16.2% were treated in their last month of life. Treatment with palliative chemotherapy in the last month was independently associated with age (P<0.001). In the last year of life, treatment with palliative chemotherapy differed significantly according to caregivers and age (P<0.001). The interval between the last chemotherapy treatment and death was the shortest for patients whose caregivers were adult children or those aged ≤50 years. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, palliative chemotherapy was used to treat 58.7% of patients in their last year, and 16.2% of patients in their last month, which is in line with international recommendations. In the last month, palliative chemotherapy was independently associated with age (P<0.001), whereas patients were more likely to receive palliative chemotherapy in their last year if their caregivers were adult children or if they were aged ≤50 years. Significant variations in EOL treatment strategies were observed according to caregivers and patient age during the last year of life.

Baicalein suppresses vasculogenic mimicry through inhibiting RhoA/ROCK expression in lung cancer A549 cell line.

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) refers to a new tubular network of the blood supply system with abundant extracellular matrix. VM is similar to capillaries but does not involve endothelial cells. As a traditional herbal medicine commonly used in China, baicalein possesses anti-inflammatory and lipoxygenase activities. However, the effects of baicalein on the process of VM formation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the underlying mechanisms have remained poorly understood. In this study, baicalein was found to inhibit the viability and motility of A549 cells and induced the breakage of the cytoskeletal actin filament network. In addition, baicalein significantly decreased the formation of VM and downregulated the expressions of VM-associated factors, such as VE-cadherin, EphA2, MMP14, MMP2, MMP9, PI3K and LAMC2, similar to the effects of ROCK inhibitors. Indeed, baicalein inhibited RhoA/ROCK expression in vitro and in vivo, suggesting the underlying mechanisms of reduced VM formation. Collectively, baicalein suppressed the formation of VM in NSCLC by targeting the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway, indicating that baicalein might serve as an emerging drug for NSCLC.

A validated LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of capivasertib in dog plasma: Application to its pharmacokinetics study.

In this study, a simple and reliable liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method was first developed for the determination of capivasertib in dog plasma with ipatasertib as internal standard. The plasma samples were deproteinated using acetonitrile. An Acquity BEH C18 column (1.7 µm, 2.1 × 50 mm) maintained at 40°C was used for chromatographical separation, with water containing 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as mobile phase. Multiple reaction monitoring transitions were m/z 429.2 > 135.1 for capivasertib and m/z 458.2 > 387.2 for ipatasertib, respectively. Excellent linearity was achieved in the concentration range of 1-1,000 ng/ml with a correlation coefficient of >0.9981. The lower limit of quantification was 1 ng/ml. The extraction recovery of capivasertib from dog plasma was >85.81% and no significant matrix effect was found. The intra- and inter-day precision was <9.58% and the accuracy ranged from -10.60% to 12.50%. The validated method was further applied to the pharmacokinetic study of capivasertib in dog plasma after single oral (5 mg/kg) and intravenous (1 mg/kg) administrations. The results revealed that capivasertib was rapidly absorbed into plasma with good bioavailability (47.04%) and low clearance.

Long Noncoding RNA SNHG10 Sponges miR-543 to Upregulate Tumor Suppressive SIRT1 in Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: Long noncoding RNA SNHG10 has been reported to promote the development of liver cancer. While by analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset we observed the downregulation of SNHG10 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to investigate the roles of SNHG10 in NSCLC. Materials and Methods: This study included 60 pairs of NSCLC and nontumor tissue samples collected from 60 NSCLC patients (males and females, 39-66 years, 50.9 ± 5.5 years). Gene expression was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Overexpression experiments were used to analyze gene interactions. Effects of cell transfections on cell proliferation were analyzed by performing CCK-8 cell proliferation assays. Results: We confirmed the downregulation of SNHG10 in NSCLC. In addition, low expression level of SNHG10 predicted the poor survival of NSCLC patients. SNHG10 can directly interact with miR-543, while overexpression of miR-543 failed to downregulate SNHG10. However, SNHG10 overexpression led to upregulation of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a downstream target of miR-543. Cell proliferation assay showed that SNHG10 and SIRT1 overexpression led to the decreased proliferation rate of NSCLC cells. In contrast, miR-543 over-expression played an opposite role and reduced the effects of SNHG10 and SIRT1 overexpression. Conclusions: In conclusion, SNHG10 sponges miR-543 to upregulate tumor suppressive SIRT1 in NSCLC to suppress cell proliferation.

Applying Chinese Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES) in ophthalmic consultations: An observational study.

OBJECTIVE: Apply Chinese VR-CoDES in ophthalmic setting and describe patients' worries and the doctor's responses. Explore cultural differences in coding. METHODS: 102 audio-taped consultations of 84 patients were coded by Chinese version of VR-CoDES. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to test inter/intra-rater reliability, and inductive content analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The ICCs of inter-rater reliability for cues/concerns and responses were 0.78 and 0.81, and intra-rater reliability were 0.87 and 0.99, respectively. Cues were more frequent than concerns and elicited often by patients. Explicit Reduce Space (ER) was the most frequent response. Interruptions and the doctor's repetitions were evident. Some expressions were not specified in the coding manual. Patients concerned about treatment effect (22 %), expenses (18 %), risk of operation (14 %), and pain (10 %). CONCLUSION: The Chinese VR-CoDES can be applied to clinical consultations in China. Ophthalmic patients often expressed cues which were frequently elicited by themselves. The ophthalmologist preferred to give ER response. Interruptions and the ophthalmologist's repetitions were difficult to code. More Chinese expressions should be collected to reduce cultural difference when coding. PRACTICE IMPLICATION: VR-CoDES will be helpful in doctor-patient communication and medical education. VR-CoDES should undergo cultural adaptions in China.

Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (2019 Edition).

BACKGROUND: Primary liver cancer, around 90% are hepatocellular carcinoma in China, is the fourth most common malignancy and the second leading cause of tumor-related death, thereby posing a significant threat to the life and health of the Chinese people. SUMMARY: Since the publication of Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer (2017 Edition) in 2018, additional high-quality evidence has emerged with relevance to the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of liver cancer in and outside China that requires the guidelines to be updated. The new edition (2019 Edition) was written by more than 70 experts in the field of liver cancer in China. They reflect the real-world situation in China regarding diagnosing and treating liver cancer in recent years. KEY MESSAGES: Most importantly, the new guidelines were endorsed and promulgated by the Bureau of Medical Administration of the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China in December 2019.

Referral Characteristics of Palliative Care Service in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in a Tertiary Cancer Center.

BACKGROUND: The American Society of Clinical Oncology recently recommends patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) should be offered palliative care services earlier. We sought to investigate the timing of palliative care referral of Chinese patients with NSCLC in our center. METHOD: Retrospective medical data including demographic characteristics and referral information were collected for analysis. Overall survival (OS) was calculated as the time since cancer diagnosis till patient's death. The time interval from palliative care (PC) referral to a patient's death (PC-D) was calculated. The PC-D/OS ratio was calculated to illustrate the comparison of the duration of PC in the overall length of disease. RESULTS: The mean age of 155 patients with advanced NSCLC was 62.83 years. Before referral to PC, 128 patients received anticancer treatment including surgeon (46.5%). Sixty-three (40.6%) patients died in palliative care unit. The median OS of 144 patients with end cutoff was 19 months (mean = 31.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 25.86-37.12). The median PC-D was 41 days (mean = 73.84, 95% CI = 60.37-87.40). The mean interval of PC-D/OS of 144 patients with definitely death time was 0.22 (SD: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.17-0.26). The median interval was 0.089. More than half of patients (n = 75, 51.8%) underwent PC less than 1% time (PC-D/OS < 0.1) of their whole disease course. Patients who were indigenous to Shanghai (P = .013) and who had brain metastasis (P = .072) had the potential longer PC-D/OS ratio. A high proportion of patients reported loss of appetite (92.8%) and fatigue (91.4%) at the initial of referral to PC. CONCLUSION: This retrospective study, in a population of patients with advanced NSCLC, gave detailed information about PC services in a tertiary cancer center.

C-Reactive Protein/Albumin Ratio Is an Independent Prognostic Predictor of Survival in Advanced Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care.

Background: The C-reactive protein/albumin (CRP/Alb) ratio has been reported as a prognostic factor of survival for patients with a variety of cancers. However, its prognostic impact for advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care remains presently unknown. Objective: The present study assessed the prognostic value of the CRP/Alb ratio, and compared this with that of the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) and Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) in a cohort of advanced cancer patients receiving palliative therapy. Methods: The medical records of 262 eligible patients who died of advanced cancer from February 1, 2013 to December 30, 2017 in the palliative care unit of the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were retrospectively reviewed for the analysis. Results: The present results revealed that a CRP/Alb ratio ≥1.31 (hazard ratio [HR], 2.33 [1.78-3.05], p < 0.001) can predict poor prognosis through univariate analysis. In addition, the multivariate analysis revealed that CRP/Alb (HR, 2.09 [1.54-2.84], p < 0.001), GPS (HR, 1.81 [1.07-3.07], p < 0.001), and PPI (HR, 3.35 [2.25-4.99], p < 0.001) were all independent prognosis factors. To compare the discriminatory performance of the CRP/Alb ratio with that of other established prognostic indexes in palliative care settings, the c-statistics, integrated discriminatory improvement index, net reclassification index, and receiver operating characteristic curves were generated, and it was demonstrated that the CRP/Alb ratio (c-statistics, 0.64 [0.61-0.68]) was able to discriminate advanced cancer patients with different survivals, with analogous discriminatory ability as GPS (c-statistics, 0.63 [0.59-0.66]) and PPI (c-statistics, 0.64 [0.60-0.68]). Notably, the combination of multiple prognostic indexes exerted higher discriminatory ability, compared with any single predictive index (c-statistics, 0.69 [0.66-0.73], p < 0.001). Conclusions: The present study suggests that the CRP/Alb ratio is a promising prognostic factor in predicting cancer patient survival in palliative care settings. Incorporating both objective parameters and the subjective index may improve the prediction accuracy of prognosis.

Nomogram-based parameters to predict overall survival in a real-world advanced cancer population undergoing palliative care.

BACKGROUND: Although palliative care has been accepted throughout the cancer trajectory, accurate survival prediction for advanced cancer patients is still a challenge. The aim of this study is to identify pre-palliative care predictors and develop a prognostic nomogram for overall survival (OS) in mixed advanced cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 378 consecutive advanced cancer patients were retrospectively recruited from July 2013 to October 2015 in one palliative care unit in China. Twenty-three clinical and laboratory characters were collected for analysis. Prognostic factors were identified to construct a nomogram in a training cohort (n = 247) and validated in a testing cohort (n = 131) from the setting. RESULTS: The median survival time was 48.0 (95% CI: 38.1-57.9) days for the training cohort and 52.0 (95% CI: 34.6-69.3) days for the validation cohort. Among pre-palliative care factors, sex, age, tumor stage, Karnofsky performance status, neutrophil count, hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, uric acid, and cystatin-C were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS. Based on the 10 factors, an easily obtained nomogram predicting 90-day probability of mortality was developed. The predictive nomogram had good discrimination and calibration, with a high C-index of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.73-0.80) in the development set. The strong discriminative ability was externally conformed in the validation cohort with a C-index of 0.75. CONCLUSIONS: A validated prognostic nomogram has been developed to quantify the risk of mortality for advanced cancer patients undergoing palliative care. This tool may be useful in optimizing therapeutic approaches and preparing for clinical courses individually.

Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer in China (2017 Edition).

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (about 85-90% of primary liver cancer) is particularly prevalent in China because of the high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection. HCC is the fourth most common malignancy and the third leading cause of tumor-related deaths in China. It poses a significant threat to the life and health of Chinese people. SUMMARY: This guideline presents official recommendations of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China on the surveillance, diagnosis, staging, and treatment of HCC occurring in China. The guideline was written by more than 50 experts in the field of HCC in China (including liver surgeons, medical oncologists, hepatologists, interventional radiologists, and diagnostic radiologists) on the basis of recent evidence and expert opinions, balance of benefits and harms, cost-benefit strategies, and other clinical considerations. KEY MESSAGES: The guideline presents the Chinese staging system, and recommendations regarding patients with HCC in China to ensure optimum patient outcomes.

Palliative Chemotherapy Near the End of Life in Oncology Patients.

BACKGROUND: Although palliative chemotherapy during end-of-life (EOL) care is used to relieve symptoms in patients with metastatic cancer, chemotherapy may lead to more aggressive EOL care. We evaluated the use of and variables associated with chemotherapy at EOL. METHODS: This study included data from patients who died from advanced cancer and underwent palliative chemotherapy between April 2007 and May 2017 at the Department of Palliative Care of Fudan University, Shanghai Cancer Center. Data were collected from hospital medical records. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the variables that independently predicted the use of palliative chemotherapy. RESULTS: Among the 542 patients in the study, 85 (15.7%) underwent palliative chemotherapy during the last month and 28 (5.2%) underwent it during the last 2 weeks of life. Age <59 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.51-2.61), performance status <3 (OR = 3.73, 95% CI: 1.46-4.67), and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (OR = 3.88, 95% CI: 3.01-5.34) were independently associated with the use of chemotherapy. The use of palliative chemotherapy during the last year of life differed significantly by patient age ( P < .001). CONCLUSION: The observed chemotherapy rates of 15.7% during the last month of life and 5.2% during the last 2 weeks of life are in line with international recommendations. This study showed that palliative chemotherapy is associated with more aggressive EOL care and indicates that younger patients and those with lower performance status are more likely to receive palliative chemotherapy. Significant variations in EOL treatment strategies among different age groups during the last year of life were also identified.

Neutrophil count and percentage: potential independent prognostic indicators for advanced cancer patients in a palliative care setting.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the count and percentage of neutrophils as prognostic indicators in advanced cancer patients undergoing palliative care. 378 consecutive patients receiving treatment at the palliative care unit of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center between July 2013 and October 2015 were reviewed. In 106 of these patients, the data were extended during the follow-up. The cut-off values selected for the neutrophil count and percentage were 8.0×109/L and 85%, respectively. Both a high pretreatment neutrophil count (HR = 1.828, 95% CI: 1.409∼2.371, P<0.001) and a high pretreatment neutrophil percentage (HR = 1.475, 95% CI: 1.106∼1.967, P=0.008) were independent prognostic factors for decreased overall survival. Furthermore, in the follow-up cohort of readmitted patients (n = 106), patients with a newly increased neutrophil count or percentage were respectively, 1.837 (95% CI: 1.096∼3.079) and 3.268 (95% CI: 1.848∼5.778) times more likely to have a poor prognosis compared with patients with low neutrophil conditions (P=0.021, P<0.001). In conclusions, both high pretreatment or newly increased count and percentage of neutrophils were confirmed as independent prognostic factors for adverse outcomes. These parameters may be used as stratification factors in identifying advanced cancer patients with poor prognosis in palliative care settings.

Lymphocyte count or percentage: which can better predict the prognosis of advanced cancer patients following palliative care?

BACKGROUND: The lymphocytes played an important role in the natural history of cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the prognostic value of lymphocyte count and percentage for survival in advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care. METHODS: A retrospective review of clinicopathological data from 378 consecutive advanced cancer patients and 106 extended follow-up patients treated with palliative care was conducted. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships of peripheral lymphocyte count (LC) and lymphocyte to white blood cell ratio (LWR) with overall survival (OS). RESULTS: The median values for pretreatment LC and LWR were 1.1 (IQR, 0.8 ~ 1.5 × 109/L) and 0.138 (IQR, 0.086 ~ 0.208). The median survival times across LWR quartiles were 19, 47, 79, and 101 days (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that patients in the highest quartiles of LC and LWR had an HR of 1.082 (95% CI 0.777 ~ 1.506, P = 0.642) and 0.466 (95% CI 0.328 ~ 0.661, P < 0.001), respectively, compared with patients in the lowest quartiles. Furthermore, only the dynamic changes of LWR were confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for overall survival during the follow-up (HR = 0.396, 95% CI 0.243 ~ 0.668; P = 0.001), as were primary tumor site and ECOG. No effect was observed for the dynamic changes of LC. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that measurement of the dynamic changes of LWR prior to treatment and during follow-up may represent a simple and new powerful prognostic factor for patients with advanced cancer, unlike measurement of LC. As a bedside marker of immune status, the prognostic role of LWR should be further evaluated in prospective studies.