Efficacy of multi-groove silicone drains in single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery and their effect on C-reactive protein: a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a multi-groove silicone drain in single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery and its effect on postoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 122 surgical cases who underwent standard lobectomy and lymph node dissection for primary lung cancer between May 2020 and December 2020. A total of 62 patients received 19-F multi-groove silicone drains (experimental group) and 60 patients received 24-F conventional chest drains (control group). According to the different thoracic drainage approaches, the clinical efficacy in the perioperative period, postoperative complications, and postoperative serum CRP levels were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: In this study, thoracic drainage volume, the average visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores in incisions, the rate of primary healing at the site of incisions, and the pulmonary infection rate in the multi-groove silicone drain group were significantly lower than those in the conventional chest drain group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the average hospital stay time, arrhythmia rates, and chest tube removal time between the 2 groups. At postoperative day 1, the levels of serum CRP in the 2 groups were further increased (P>0.05), and the comparison between the 2 groups showed that the levels of serum CRP in the multi-groove silicone drain group at 72 h after the operation were significantly lower than those in the conventional drain group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that a multi-groove silicone drain is feasible and relatively safe in single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery for most patients. However we should take cautious in those patients with higher susceptibility of postoperative active bleeding. In patients undergoing lung cancer surgery in the clinical treatment process, the use of a multi-groove silicone drain can improve the quality of life of patients. Due to a small number of included studies and unclear bias, the above results should be verified by high-quality, large-sample randomized controlled studies. KEYWORDS: Video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery; multi-groove silicone drains; conventional chest drains.

Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics regulate the intestinal microbiota differentially and restore the relative abundance of specific gut microorganisms.

Fermented milk is an effective carrier for probiotics, the consumption of which improves host health. The beneficial effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on gut dysbiosis have been reported previously. However, the way in which specific probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics regulate intestinal microbes remains unclear. Therefore, the probiotics Lactobacillus rhamnosus AS 1.2466 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus ATCC 11842 and the prebiotics xylooligosaccharide and red ginseng extracts were fed to mice to determine their effects on the intestinal microbiota. Then, mice were administered xylooligosaccharide and L. rhamnosus (synthesis) by gavage, and the number of L. rhamnosus was determined in the intestine at different times. The results show that probiotics and prebiotics can quickly reduce the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, inhibit harmful bacteria (such as Klebsiella and Escherichia coli), and accelerate the recovery of beneficial intestinal microorganisms (such as Lactobacillus). In a complex intestinal microecology, different probiotics and prebiotics have different effects on specific intestinal microorganisms that cannot be recovered in the short term. In addition, after 20 d of intragastric xylooligosaccharide addition at 0.12 g/kg of body weight, L. rhamnosus colonization in the mouse ileum was 7.48 log cfu/mL, which was higher than in the low-dose group, prolonging colonization time and increasing the number of probiotics in the intestine. Therefore, this study demonstrated that probiotics and prebiotics can promote the balance of intestinal microbiota by regulating specific microbes in the intestine, and the effects of a suitable combination of synbiotics are beneficial, laying the foundation for the development of new dairy products rich in synbiotics.

LncRNA as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in bladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer is one of the most common urinary malignancies, and has a high recurrence rate and poor outcomes. In order to identify novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for bladder cancer, we conducted a meta-analysis to analyze the association between long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression and survival in bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched literature from databases using our inclusion and exclusion criteria. STATA 14.0 software was used to analyze the data from collected studies and to construct the forest plots. A different effect size was selected for each meta-analysis. RESULTS: After selection, 30 articles were found to be eligible. The present meta-analysis contains data from 13 articles about clinicopathological characteristics, six articles about diagnosis, and 16 articles about prognosis. In the present study, we found that many lncRNAs could function as potential diagnostic and prognostic markers in bladder cancer. Among these findings, UCA1 was expected to be a diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer, while the aberrant expression of HOTAIR and GAS5 was associated with poor disease-free survival/recurrence-free survival/disease-specific survival. CONCLUSION: Overall, the present study is the first meta-analysis to assess the association between expression of lncRNAs and clinical value in patients with bladder cancer. LncRNAs hold promise as novel diagnostic and prognostic markers in bladder cancer.

TW37 enhances the pro-apoptosis and anti-migration ability of gefitinib in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

B cell leukemia-2 (Bcl-2) plays important roles in the development of tumor and drug resistance. The growth of tumor cells can be inhibited by downregulating the abnormal expression of Bcl-2 protein. TW37, an effective inhibitor of Bcl-2 protein, has now been widely studied in many tumors. In our study, it was found that TW37 exerted a significant effect on the proliferation, apoptosis and migration of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer cells. Bcl-2 is also a key downstream factor of many signaling pathways such as Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). TW37 enhanced the inhibition of tumorigenesis by gefitinib, an EGFR-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor drug. Moreover, TW37 can promote apoptosis ability by inhibiting the phosphorylation level of EGFR protein in H1975 cells. Overall, TW37 enhances the pro-apoptosis and anti-migration ability of gefitinib in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

MicroRNA-23a/24-2/27a as a potential diagnostic biomarker for cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

An increasing number of studies have proven that microRNAs play an important role in the occurrence, development and prognosis of various types of cancer. As a vital gene cluster, the microRNA (miR)-23a/24-2/27a cluster may be an important marker for predicting cancer prognosis and tumor progression. A search was conducted through PubMed, Medline and the Cochrane Library to identify studies investigating the association between the miR-23a/24-2/27a cluster and cancer, and the identified related studies were included in the present meta-analysis. The strength of the association was assessed by hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI). A total of 21 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that a high level of miR-23a exerted a significant effect on overall survival (OS) (HR=2.33, 95% CI: 1.18-4.58; P=0.014), but not on disease-free survival (DFS)/recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR=1.13, 95% CI: 0.37-3.44; P=0.836). There was an obvious statistically significant association between OS and the expression of miR-24 (HR=2.49, 95% CI: 1.84-3.37; P=0.000), particularly in the digestive system (pooled HR=2.99, 95% CI: 2.17-4.13, P=0.000). In addition, the result suggested a statistically significant association between the expression of miR-27a and OS (pooled HR=1.89, 95% CI: 1.32-2.69; P=0.001), as well as DFS/RFS/progression-free survival (HR=2.19, 95% CI: 1.29-3.70; P=0.003), particularly in renal cell carcinoma (HR=2.30, 95% CI: 1.16-4.67; P=0.017). A subgroup analysis by ethnicity, cancer type and statistical methodology was performed. There was no obvious publication bias. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the miR-23a/24-2/27a cluster may be a useful marker for predicting cancer prognosis and tumor progression.

Effect of TW37 on the growth of H1975 EGFR­TKI­resistant lung cancer cells and its underlying mechanisms.

Previous studies have suggested that the B­cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl­2) inhibitor, TW37, may induce apoptosis of the non­small cell lung cancer cell line, H1975/epidermal growth factor receptor­tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR­TKI), which exhibits secondary resistance to EGFR­TKI. However, the effects of TW37 on H1975/EGFR­TKI cells remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of TW37 on the growth of H1975/EGFR­TKI cells and explore the underlying mechanisms. An in vitro study was performed, whereby H1975/EGFR­TKI cells were treated with serially increasing concentrations of TW37. MTT, flow cytometry, migration and transwell invasion assays were preformed to investigate the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of H1975/EGFR­TKI cells, respectively. In addition, reverse transcription­polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of apoptosis­associated factors, respectively. An enzyme­linked immunosorbent assay was performed to detect phosphatidylinositol [3,4,5] tris­phosphate (PIP3) expression. The results suggested that the mRNA and protein expression levels of Bcl­2 were significantly decreased in TW37­treated cells when compared with the untreated control group. Following treatment with TW37, the proliferation, migration and invasion ability of H1975/EGFR­TKI cells decreased in a dose­dependent manner, while the percentage of apoptotic cells increased. In addition, the results demonstrated that TW37 reduced the expression of PIP3 and the phosphorylation of AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT) in H1975/EGFR­TKI cells in a dose­dependent manner. In conclusion, TW37 inhibited H1975/EGFR­TKI cell growth and induced cell apoptosis potentially via suppression of AKT signaling pathway activation.