The correlations between DNA methylation and polymorphisms in the promoter region of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene with postoperative recurrence in patients with thyroid carcinoma (TC).

BACKGROUND: This study aims at exploring the correlations between DNA methylation and polymorphisms in the promoter region of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene and postoperative recurrence in patients with thyroid carcinoma (TC). METHODS: A total of 312 patients diagnosed with TC were chosen for the study and categorized into recurrence (n = 75) and non-recurrence (n = 237) groups. The hTERT rs2736100 and rs2736098 polymorphisms were detected by performing polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. DNA methylation in the promoter region of hTERT gene was evaluated by pyrosequencing. A telephonic and/or outpatient follow-up was conducted for all patients. The correlations of DNA methylation and polymorphisms in the promoter region of hTERT with postoperative recurrence of TC patients underwent analysis. RESULTS: The patient in the recurrence group showed evidently different pathological types and tumor stages in comparison to the non-recurrence group. The GG genotype of hTERT rs2736100 might increase the recurrence risk of TC patients. No correlations between hTERT rs2736098 polymorphisms and recurrence risk were observed. Compared to the TT + TG genotype frequency, the rs2736100 GG genotype frequency increased in patients without multicentricity, patients with extrathyroidal invasion, patients with lymph node metastasis, patients with undifferentiated carcinoma, and patients in the III + IV stage. The recurrence group showed significantly higher DNA methylation level compared to the non-recurrence group. The DNA methylation level was closely associated to tumor stage and lymph node metastasis of TC patients in the recurrence group. CONCLUSIONS: The DNA methylation and rs2736100 polymorphisms in the promoter region of hTERT gene might be in correlation to postoperative recurrence of TC patients.

Development and validation of a deep-learning model for the detection of non-displaced femoral neck fractures with anteroposterior and lateral hip radiographs.

Background: Hip fractures, including femoral neck fractures, are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly population and are typically diagnosed using plain radiography. However, diagnosing non-displaced femoral neck fractures can be challenging due to their subtle appearance on hip radiographs. Previous deep-learning models have shown low accuracy in identifying these fractures on anteroposterior (AP) radiographs; however, no studies have used lateral radiographs. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of using deep-learning with both AP and lateral hip radiographs to automatically identify non-displaced femoral neck fractures. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with femoral neck fractures at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University. All the hip radiographs were reviewed, and cases of non-displaced femoral neck fractures were included in the study. Additionally, 439 participants with normal hip radiographs were also included in the study. A vision transformer (Vit) model was developed using 1,536 AP and lateral hip radiograph. The model's performance was compared to the performance of two groups of human observers: an expert group comprising orthopedic surgeons and radiologists, and a non-expert group, including emergency physicians and general practice doctors. We also carried out the external validation using two additional data sets to assess the generalizability of the model. Results: The Vit model showed exceptional performance in detecting non-displaced femoral neck fractures on paired AP and lateral hip radiographs, achieving a binary accuracy of 95.8% [95% confidence interval (CI): 94.9%, 96.8%] and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.988. Compared to the human observers, the model had a higher accuracy of 96.7% (95% CI: 93.9%, 99.5%) on the paired AP and lateral hip radiographs, while the accuracy of the expert group was 90.5% (95% CI: 85.7%, 95.2%). Further, the model maintained good performance during the external validation, with an AUC of 0.959 on the paired AP and lateral views. Conclusions: Our Vit model showed expert-level performance in identifying non-displaced femoral neck fractures on paired AP and lateral hip radiographs. This model has the potential to enhance diagnosis accuracy and improve patient outcomes by reducing the need for additional examinations and preoperative time.

Poor durability of lamivudine effectiveness despite stringent cessation criteria: a prospective clinical study in hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Lamivudine, a nucleoside analog, is commonly used for treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) but its durability of effectiveness after withdrawal is still uncertain. This study was designed to assess the durability of lamivudine treatment with stringent cessation criteria in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative patients and to explore potential predictive factors. METHODS: Sixty one HBeAg-negative CHB patients who had received lamivudine for at least 24 months and had maintained undetectable serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA plus normal alanine aminotransferase for ≥ 18 months before withdrawal were included. They were followed up monthly during the first 4 months and at 3-month or 6-month intervals thereafter. Relapse was defined as serum HBV DNA ≥ 10(4) copies/mL. RESULTS: Thirty one of 61 patients relapsed during follow-up, over 90% occurred within 18 months after lamivudine withdrawal. Cumulative relapse rates at months 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 were 26.2%, 43.6%, 49.7%, 52.1%, 56.1% and 56.1%, respectively. Cox regression revealed that age was the only predictive factor for relapse, with lower relapse rates found in younger patients. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) turned negative in eight patients, and none of them relapsed during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Effectiveness of lamivudine treatment is not durable in HBeAg-negative CHB patients even when stringent cessation criteria are adopted, with the exception of patients aged ≤ 20 years. The ideal end point of lamivudine treatment is clearance of serum HBsAg.

Comparison of Completion Thyroidectomy and Primary Total Surgery for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the complication rates between completion thyroidectomy and primary total thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). METHODS: PubMed, the Web of Knowledge, and the China Journal Net were searched for studies concerning the treatment of DTC published in 1990-2014. A meta-analysis was performed to compare the effects of different treatments. RESULTS: 7 studies with a total of 1,208 patients were included. There were no statistically significant differences regarding the presence of temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy, permanent RLN palsy, temporary hypocalcemia, permanent hypocalcemia, hematoma, and wound infection. CONCLUSIONS: Completion thyroidectomy can be performed with acceptable morbidity in select cases of DTC who could not be properly diagnosed perioperatively or who recurred after less than total thyroidectomy.

[Occurrence and predictive factors of hepatitis B virus polymerase YMDD variation among patients with chronic hepatitis B and liver cirrhosis during lamivudine therapy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence and the predictive factors of HBV polymerase YMDD variation among patients with chronic hepatitis B and liver cirrhosis during lamivudine therapy. METHODS: The clinical data and serial sera of 313 chronic HBV infected patients (249 chronic hepatitis B and 64 liver cirrhosis) treated with lamivudine were collected. YMDD variations were determined by mispairing PCR-RFLP assay. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: The cumulative rates of variation among patients with chronic hepatitis B and liver cirrhosis were 8.84% and 17.19%, 20.91% and 32.40%, 26.92% and 39.56%, 26.92% and 58.79% after 12, 24, 36 and 48 months of lamivudine treatment, respectively. The results of log-rank test and Cox's proportional hazard model analysis indicated that lamivudine monotherapy, low ALT level, high HBV DNA level, and the patients with liver cirrhosis at baseline were significantly related to an occurrence of YMDD variation. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that lower ALT and higher HBV DNA levels at baseline before lamivudine treatment, lamivudine monotherapy without combining alpha-interferon, and the patients with liver cirrhosis seem to be statistically significant for predicting the occurrence of YMDD variation.