Survival of 48866 cancer patients: results from Nantong area, China.

Objective: This study aimed to provide a realistic observation of survival by major site for 48,866 cancer patients treated at a tertiary cancer hospital in a rural area of China. Methods: Patients with cancer registered between 2007 and 2017 in the Nantong rural area were followed up. The starting date for survival calculation was the date of the first diagnosis of cancer at the Nantong Tumor Hospital, and the closing date was December 31, 2020. Observed survival (OS) was analyzed according to ICD-10 site, sex, age, region, and hospitalization period using the life table method and compared using the Wilcoxon (Gehan) statistic. Results: The overall 5-year OS rate was 40.48% for all 48,866 patients, 30.19% for males, and 51.90% for females. The top five cancer sites, accounting for 60.51% of the total cases, were the esophagus, lung, stomach, liver, and cervix, with 5-year OS rates of 33.72%, 18.64%, 32.10%, 19.04%, and 71.51%, respectively. The highest 5-year OS was observed in the thyroid (87.52%) and the lowest was in the pancreas (6.37%). Survival was significantly higher in younger patients than in older patients, with 5-year OSs of 69.26% and 19.84% in those aged 20-29 and 90-99 years, respectively. Five-year OSs improved significantly from 39.35% in 2007-2011 to 41.26% in 2012-2017. Conclusion: Overall survival improved over the years, although the improvement at some sites was not significant. The observed survival varies from region to region, reflecting differences in the patterns of major sites, disparities in proportions of hospitalization, and demographic characteristics.

Establishment of a Chinese street rabies virus library and its application for detecting neutralizing activity.

BACKGROUND: The injection of rabies immune globulin (RIG) is of the utmost importance in the management of category III exposures to rabies-suspect animals. Because of the high cost and limited availability of existing RIG, one possible replacement for RIG is monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the rabies virus (RABV). Consequently, it is necessary to determine the neutralizing activity of the MAbs against rabies viruses, especially street rabies virus. However, the method to detect the neutralizing activity of MAbs against street rabies virus remains undefined. METHODS: To establish a method for detecting the neutralizing activity of MAbs against street rabies virus, we constructed a library consisting of 12 strains of street RABV from 11 provinces in China. Using this street RABV library and the Reed-Muench formula, we established a method for detecting the neutralizing titer of the MAbs. The reliability and repeatability of the method were evaluated by repeatedly measuring the neutralizing activity of a MAb and a post vaccination serum. RESULTS: A total of 12 strains of street RABV were chosen for inclusion in the street RABV library, which covered six Chinese lineages (China I-China VI) and grew to high titers in N2A cells (> 105 FFD50/ml). On the basis of the library, we constructed the method to detect the neutralizing activity of the MAbs. The results of repeatedly measuring the MAbs and positive serum showed excellent reliability and repeatability of the method established in this study. CONCLUSIONS: This study established a street RABV library reflecting the epidemiological features of Chinese rabies viruses, which provides a platform for detecting the neutralizing activity of MAbs against rabies viruses circulating in China.

Neutralizing Antibody Titer Test of Ebola Recombinant Protein Vaccine and Gene Vector Vaccine pVR-GP-FC.

OBJECTIVE: In previous studies, we immunized mice with Ebola recombinant protein vaccine and gene vector vaccine. Both stimulated high levels of humoral immunity. In this work, we constructed a pseudovirus containing Ebola membrane proteins to verify whether the two immunization strategies can induce neutralizing antibodies in mice. METHODS: A pseudovirus containing an Ebola virus membrane protein based on the HIV-1 viral gene sequence was constructed and evaluated using a known neutralizing antibody. The titer of the neutralizing antibody in the sera of mice immunized with the recombinant protein and the gene vector vaccine was examined using a neutralization test. RESULTS: Ebola pseudovirus was successfully prepared and applied for neutralizing antibody detection. Immunological experiments showed that recombinant protein GP-Fc and gene vaccine pVR-modGP-Fc had good immunogenicity. The titer of the bound antibody in the serum after 8 weeks of immunization in mice was more than 1:105, and the recombinant protein induced greater humoral immunity. The results of the neutralization test based on the Ebola pseudovirus system demonstrated that both vaccines induced production of protective antibodies, while the gene vaccine induced a higher titer of neutralizing antibodies. CONCLUSION: An Ebola pseudovirus detection system was successfully established and used to evaluate two Ebola vaccines. Both produced good immunogenicity. The findings lay the foundation for the development of new Ebola vaccines and screening for neutralizing monoclonal antibodies.