Impact of antithrombotic drugs on the accuracy of fecal occult blood testing for advanced colorectal neoplasia screening: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The current meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether antithrombotic drug use would affect the diagnostic accuracy of fecal occult blood testing for advanced colorectal neoplasia. METHODS: Articles published between 2000 and 2019 were systematically retrieved and screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria by two reviewers independently. Pooled analyses were conducted with a fixed-effect model if no apparent heterogeneity (I2 ≥ 50%) was found between studies; otherwise, the random effects model would be used. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were also conducted using Review Manager 5.3. RESULTS: Pooled analysis revealed that aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were associated with a decrease in the positive predictive value of fecal occult blood testing for advanced colorectal neoplasia screening, with a RR of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84-0.94) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.84-0.93, p<0.001) respectively. Subgroup analysis based on data limited to high-quality studies, fecal immunochemical testing, or in Caucasians also showed that the use of aspirin/NSAID drugs decreased the accuracy for advanced colorectal neoplasia screening. CONCLUSION: Aspirin/NSAIDs and direct oral anticoagulants rather than warfarin may decrease the diagnostic accuracy of fecal occult blood testing for advanced colorectal neoplasia screening.

Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis and Validation of the Prognostic Value of RBM10 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: RBM10's function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has rarely been addressed. We intend to explore the prognostic significance and therapeutic meaning of RBM10 in HCC in this study. Methods: Multiple common databases were integrated to analyze the expression status and prognostic meaning of RBM10 in HCC. The relationship between RBM10 mRNA level and clinical features was also assessed. Multiple enrichment analyses of the differentially expressed genes between RBM10 high- and low- transcription groups were constructed by using R software (version 4.0.2). A Search Tool for Retrieval of Interacting Genes database was used to construct the protein-protein interaction network between RBM10 and other proteins. A tumor immune estimation resource database was employed to identify the relationship between RBM10 expression and immune cell infiltrates. The prognostic value of RBM10 expression was validated in our HCC cohort by immunohistochemistry test. Results: The transcription of RBM10 mRNA was positively correlated with tumor histologic grade (p < 0.001), T classification (p < 0.001), and tumor stage (p < 0.001). High transcription of RBM10 in HCC predicted a dismal overall survival (p = 0.0037) and recurrence-free survival (p < 0.001). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, Gene Ontology, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis all revealed that RBM10 was involved in the regulation of cell cycle, DNA replication, and immune-related pathways. Tumor immune estimation analysis revealed that RBM10 transcription was positively related to multiple immune cell infiltrates and the expressions of PD-1 and PD-L1. Conclusion: RBM10 was demonstrated to be a dismal prognostic factor and a potential biomarker for immune therapy in HCC in that it may be involved in the immune-related signaling pathways.

Safety and Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation for Solitary Hepatocellular Carcinoma (3-5 cm): a Propensity Score Matching Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: We aim to investigate the safety and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (3-5 cm) in comparison with surgical resection. METHODS: Included in this study were 388 patients with primary and solitary hepatocellular carcinoma, of whom 196 patients underwent surgical resection and the other 192 patients received radiofrequency ablation. Clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, post-treatment complications, hospital stay, and financial expenditures between the two groups were compared retrospectively. RESULTS: The result of propensity score matching and subgroup analysis showed that the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival were comparable in patients with tumors of 3-4 cm in diameter between surgical resection and radiofrequency ablation groups. However, when the tumor size exceeded 4 cm in diameter, surgical resection exhibited a superior long-term prognosis compared with radiofrequency ablation. Nevertheless, hepatectomy was associated with high occurrences of postoperative complications, long hospital stay, and high hospitalization cost as compared with radiofrequency ablation. Further analysis of the relationship between tumor size and pathological features of hepatocellular carcinoma showed that tumors larger than 4 cm were positively correlated with a high rate of microvascular invasion and satellite nodule formation. CONCLUSION: For solitary hepatocellular carcinoma of 3-4 cm in diameter, radiofrequency ablation could achieve a comparable prognosis with a low incidence of post-treatment complications and low hospitalization costs, while surgical resection is recommended for solitary hepatocellular carcinoma tumors of 4-5 cm in diameter when long-term prognosis is considered.

Value of counting positive PHH3 cells in the diagnosis of uterine smooth muscle tumors.

The diagnosis of uterine smooth muscle tumors including leiomyosarcomas (LMS), smooth muscle tumors of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP), bizarre (atypical) leiomyoma (BLM), mitotically active leiomyoma (MAL) and leiomyoma (LM) depends on a combination of microscopic features, such as mitoses, cytologic atypia, and coagulative tumor cell necrosis. However, a small number of these tumors still pose difficult diagnostic challenges. The assessment of accurate mitotic figures (MF) is one of the major parameters in the proper classification of uterine smooth muscle tumors. This assessment can be hampered by the presence of increased number of apoptotic bodies or pyknotic nuclei, which frequently mimic mitoses. Phospho-histone H3 (PHH3) is a recently described immunomarker specific for cells undergoing mitoses. In our study, we collected 132 cases of uterine smooth muscle tumors, including 26 LMSs, 16 STUMPs, 30 BLMs, 30 MALs and 30 LMs. We used mitosis specific marker PHH3 to count mitotic indexes (MI) of uterine smooth muscle tumors and compared with the mitotic indexes of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). There is a positive correlation with the number of mitotic figures in H&E-stained sections and PHH3-stained sections (r=0.944, P<0.05). The ratio of PHH3-MI to H&E-MI has no statistically significant difference in each group except for LMs (P>0.05). The counting value of PHH3 in LMSs have significantly higher than STUMPs, BLMs, MALs and LMs (P<0.001) and the counting value of PHH3 is 1.5±0.5 times of the number of mitotic indexes in H&E. To conclude, our results show that counting PHH3 is a useful index in the diagnosis of uterine smooth muscle tumors and it can provide a more accurate index instead of the time-honored mitotic figure counts at a certain ratio.

[Morphological features of the fimbria of the fallopian tube in pelvic serous adenocarcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the serous lesions of the fimbria of the fallopian tube in patients with pelvic serous adenocarcinoma and investigate its significance in the serous carcinogenesis. METHODS: To observe the morphological features of the fimbria of the fallopian tube in 43 cases of pelvic serous adenocarcinoma (31 cases of ovarian carcinoma and 12 cases of peritoneal carcinoma). Immunohistochemical examination of p53 expression was performed on samples of 69 fallopian tubes of 40 cases. RESULTS: Fimbria carcinoma was identified in 44 tubes in 31 of 43 cases. Fourteen of the carcinoma foci were ≤ 5 mm. In 68.3% of the fimbria carcinomas demonstrated involvement of the mucosa. Twenty eight tubes of 20 cases exhibited intraepithelial carcinoma. Twenty three of 44 tubes of the fibria carcinomas showed fimbria adherence and unclear appearance. The early histological changes of the fimbria epithelium included proliferation of local secretory cells, homogeneity, and straightening of the mucous folds. Clusters of tumor epithelial cells or single gland with atypical features floated between mucosal folds were found in 71.4% of the fimbria with intraepithelial carcinoma. The positive expression rate of p53 in the fimbria carcinomas and the fimbria intraepithelial carcinomas were 86.4% and 60.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Fimbria carcinomas is an important component in pelvic serous adenocarcinomas. The fimbria intraepithelial carcinoma is also very common among the cases of pelvic serous adenocarcinoma. The fimbria may be an important primary site of pelvic serous adenocarcinomas.

[Atypical endometriosis: a clinicopathologic study of 163 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinicopathologic features of atypical endometriosis (AEM) and to discuss the relationship between AEM and tumors. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of 163 cases of AEM, which were retrieved from the Department of Pathology files at the Tianjin Central Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital between Jan 2004 and Dec 2006. The pathologic changes of AEM including its glandular epithelium, stroma, background and the conditions coexisting with tumor were observed. RESULTS: The AEM accounted for 4.38% (163/3724) of the endometriosis (EM) cases. Of 172 AEM foci of 163 patients, 168 were in the ovary, and the other 4 were in the fallopian tube, cervix and uterine serosa respectively. The rate of ovarian AEM was 6.81% of endometriosis. AEM associated with tumour was found in 26 cases (15.95%) and among 27 of ovarian AEM, 15 were malignant, 9 borderline and 3 benign. The AEM epithelia were mainly arranged in the form of surface epithelium. They present with characteristic features of moderate to marked pleomorphism, epithelial tufting and bud structures by microscopy. The walls of AEM cyst were presented with three layers of epithelium, endometrioid stroma and fibrosis-collagen. The endometrioid stroma were usually thin in contrast to the fibro-collagen tissue, which was often thick with scarred background. The transformation from AEM to tumor was found in most of the malignant tumors (14/15, 93%). CONCLUSIONS: AEM lesions hold some features of both EM and tumor, which may have a relatively higher potential for tumorigenesis and canceration. The process of damage and repair in EM foci during a long course may play a role in the development of EM into AEM and finally into tumor.