Information-incorporated sparse hierarchical cancer heterogeneity analysis.

Cancer heterogeneity analysis is essential for precision medicine. Most of the existing heterogeneity analyses only consider a single type of data and ignore the possible sparsity of important features. In cancer clinical practice, it has been suggested that two types of data, pathological imaging and omics data, are commonly collected and can produce hierarchical heterogeneous structures, in which the refined sub-subgroup structure determined by omics features can be nested in the rough subgroup structure determined by the imaging features. Moreover, sparsity pursuit has extraordinary significance and is more challenging for heterogeneity analysis, because the important features may not be the same in different subgroups, which is ignored by the existing heterogeneity analyses. Fortunately, rich information from previous literature (for example, those deposited in PubMed) can be used to assist feature selection in the present study. Advancing from the existing analyses, in this study, we propose a novel sparse hierarchical heterogeneity analysis framework, which can integrate two types of features and incorporate prior knowledge to improve feature selection. The proposed approach has satisfactory statistical properties and competitive numerical performance. A TCGA real data analysis demonstrates the practical value of our approach in analyzing data heterogeneity and sparsity.

Morbidity, Mortality, and Pathologic Outcomes of Transanal Versus Laparoscopic Total Mesorectal Excision for Rectal Cancer Short-term Outcomes From a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the morbidity, mortality, and pathologic outcomes of transanal total mesorectal resection (taTME) versus laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (laTME) among patients with rectal cancer with clinical stage I to III rectal cancer below the peritoneal reflection. BACKGROUND: Studies with sufficient numbers of patients allowing clinical acceptance of taTME for rectal cancer are lacking. Thus, we launched a randomized clinical trial to compare the safety and efficacy of taTME versus laTME. METHODS: A randomized, open-label, phase 3, noninferiority trial was performed at 16 different hospitals in 10 Chinese provinces. The primary endpoints were 3-year disease-free survival and 5-year overall survival. The morbidity and mortality within 30 days after surgery, and pathologic outcomes were compared based on a modified intention-to-treat principle; this analysis was preplanned. RESULTS: Between April 13, 2016, and June 1, 2021, 1115 patients were randomized 1:1 to receive taTME or laTME. After exclusion of 26 cases, modified intention-to-treat set of taTME versus laTME groups included 544 versus 545 patients. There were no significant differences between taTME and laTME groups in intraoperative complications [26 (4.8%) vs 33 (6.1%); difference, -1.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI), -4.2% to 1.7%; P =0.42], postoperative morbidity [73 (13.4%) vs 66 (12.1%); difference, 1.2%; 95% CI, -2.8% to 5.2%; P =0.53), or mortality [1 (0.2%) vs 1 (0.2%)]. Successful resection occurred in 538 (98.9%) versus 538 (98.7%) patients in taTME versus laTME groups (difference, 0.2%; 95% CI, -1.9% to 2.2%; P >0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Experienced surgeons can safely perform taTME in selected patients with rectal cancer.

Consistent estimation of the number of communities via regularized network embedding.

The network analysis plays an important role in numerous application domains including biomedicine. Estimation of the number of communities is a fundamental and critical issue in network analysis. Most existing studies assume that the number of communities is known a priori, or lack of rigorous theoretical guarantee on the estimation consistency. In this paper, we propose a regularized network embedding model to simultaneously estimate the community structure and the number of communities in a unified formulation. The proposed model equips network embedding with a novel composite regularization term, which pushes the embedding vector toward its center and pushes similar community centers collapsed with each other. A rigorous theoretical analysis is conducted, establishing asymptotic consistency in terms of community detection and estimation of the number of communities. Extensive numerical experiments have also been conducted on both synthetic networks and brain functional connectivity network, which demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method compared with existing alternatives.

HeteroGGM: an R package for Gaussian graphical model-based heterogeneity analysis.

SUMMARY: Heterogeneity is a hallmark of many complex human diseases, and unsupervised heterogeneity analysis has been extensively conducted using high-throughput molecular measurements and histopathological imaging features. 'Classic' heterogeneity analysis has been based on simple statistics such as mean, variance and correlation. Network-based analysis takes interconnections as well as individual variable properties into consideration and can be more informative. Several Gaussian graphical model (GGM)-based heterogeneity analysis techniques have been developed, but friendly and portable software is still lacking. To facilitate more extensive usage, we develop the R package HeteroGGM, which conducts GGM-based heterogeneity analysis using the advanced penaliztaion techniques, can provide informative summary and graphical presentation, and is efficient and friendly. AVAILABILITYAND IMPLEMENTATION: The package is available at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=HeteroGGM. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Gaussian graphical model-based heterogeneity analysis via penalized fusion.

Heterogeneity is a hallmark of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and many other complex diseases. This study has been partly motivated by the unsupervised heterogeneity analysis for complex diseases based on molecular and imaging data, for which, network-based analysis, by accommodating the interconnections among variables, can be more informative than that limited to mean, variance, and other simple distributional properties. In the literature, there has been very limited research on network-based heterogeneity analysis, and a common limitation shared by the existing techniques is that the number of subgroups needs to be specified a priori or in an ad hoc manner. In this article, we develop a penalized fusion approach for heterogeneity analysis based on the Gaussian graphical model. It applies penalization to the mean and precision matrix parameters to generate regularized and interpretable estimates. More importantly, a fusion penalty is imposed to "automatedly" determine the number of subgroups and generate more concise, reliable, and interpretable estimation. Consistency properties are rigorously established, and an effective computational algorithm is developed. The heterogeneity analysis of non-small-cell lung cancer based on single-cell gene expression data of the Wnt pathway and that of lung adenocarcinoma based on histopathological imaging data not only demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed approach but also lead to interesting new findings.

Hierarchical cancer heterogeneity analysis based on histopathological imaging features.

In cancer research, supervised heterogeneity analysis has important implications. Such analysis has been traditionally based on clinical/demographic/molecular variables. Recently, histopathological imaging features, which are generated as a byproduct of biopsy, have been shown as effective for modeling cancer outcomes, and a handful of supervised heterogeneity analysis has been conducted based on such features. There are two types of histopathological imaging features, which are extracted based on specific biological knowledge and using automated imaging processing software, respectively. Using both types of histopathological imaging features, our goal is to conduct the first supervised cancer heterogeneity analysis that satisfies a hierarchical structure. That is, the first type of imaging features defines a rough structure, and the second type defines a nested and more refined structure. A penalization approach is developed, which has been motivated by but differs significantly from penalized fusion and sparse group penalization. It has satisfactory statistical and numerical properties. In the analysis of lung adenocarcinoma data, it identifies a heterogeneity structure significantly different from the alternatives and has satisfactory prediction and stability performance.

Gene-environment interaction identification via penalized robust divergence.

In high-throughput cancer studies, gene-environment interactions associated with outcomes have important implications. Some commonly adopted identification methods do not respect the "main effect, interaction" hierarchical structure. In addition, they can be challenged by data contamination and/or long-tailed distributions, which are not uncommon. In this article, robust methods based on γ$\gamma$ -divergence and density power divergence are proposed to accommodate contaminated data/long-tailed distributions. A hierarchical sparse group penalty is adopted for regularized estimation and selection and can identify important gene-environment interactions and respect the "main effect, interaction" hierarchical structure. The proposed methods are implemented using an effective group coordinate descent algorithm. Simulation shows that when contamination occurs, the proposed methods can significantly outperform the existing alternatives with more accurate identification. The proposed approach is applied to the analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) triple-negative breast cancer data and Gene Environment Association Studies (GENEVA) Type 2 Diabetes data.

Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision: Short-term Outcomes of 1283 Cases from a Nationwide Registry in China.

BACKGROUND: Transanal total mesorectal excision is a promising surgical procedure for mid to low rectal cancer. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the short-term outcomes of Chinese patients treated with transanal total mesorectal excision. DESIGN: This was an observational study using data from an online registry system. SETTING: Study participants were recruited from 40 different centers across 15 provinces in China. PATIENTS: Patients with either benign or malignant rectal disease who underwent transanal total mesorectal excision procedure and were registered in the Chinese Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision Registry Collaborative from May 2010 to November 2019 were included. INTERVENTION: Patients underwent transanal total mesorectal excision. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were the postoperative complications and pathological outcomes. RESULTS: In total, 1283 patients, comprising 888 men (69.2%) and 395 women (39.8%) with a median age of 61 (22-92) years and a median BMI of 23.6 (14.5-46.3) kg/m2, were analyzed. Among 40 participating centers, the average number of registered cases was 32.1±34.7, and 12 centers (30%) registered >40 cases in the registry. Among 849 patients with rectal cancer who underwent laparoscopic-assisted transanal total mesorectal excision, the conversion rate was 0.5% in the abdominal phase and 1.9% in the perineal phase. Three patients reported urethral injury (0.5%). The postoperative complication rate and the anastomotic leakage incidence were 18.4% and 5.8%. The quality of the total mesorectum excision specimens was found to be complete in 81.9% of patients. In addition, the positive circumferential resection margin rate was 2.8%. LIMITATIONS: The primary limitation of this registry study was the high percentage of missing data (10.8% overall), and, for some of the analyzed variables, up to 35% of the data was missing. Postoperative complications were not monitored after discharge, resulting in a lower morbidity rate than the 30-day morbidity rate reported in other studies. CONCLUSIONS: The short-term outcomes of patients who underwent transanal total mesorectal excision procedures in China were acceptable. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B414. EXCISIN TOTAL DEL MESORRECTO POR VA TRANSANAL RESULTADOS A CORTO PLAZO DE CASOS DE UN REGISTRO NACIONAL EN CHINA: ANTECEDENTES:La excisión total del mesorrecto por vía transanal es un procedimiento quirúrgico prometedor para el cáncer de recto medio y bajo.OBJETIVO:Determinar los resultados a corto plazo de los pacientes chinos tratados con escisión mesorrectal total transanal.DISEÑO:Estudio observacional con datos de un sistema de registro en línea.AJUSTE:Los participantes del estudio fueron reclutados en 40 centros diferentes en 15 provincias de China.PACIENTES:Se incluyeron pacientes con enfermedad rectal benigna o maligna que se sometieron a una cirugía de excisión total del mesorrecto por vía transanal y que se registraron en el Registro Colaborativo de Excisión Total del Mesorrecto por vía Transanal en China desde mayo de 2010 hasta noviembre de 2019.INTERVENCIÓN:Excisión total delmesorrecto por vía transanal.PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE RESULTADO:Complicaciones postoperatorias y resultados patológicos.RESULTADOS:Fueron analizados un total de 1.283 pacientes, que comprendían 888 hombres (69,2%) y 395 mujeres (39,8%) con una mediana de edad de 61 (22-92) años y una mediana de índice de masa corporal de 23,6 (14,5-46,3) kg / m2. Entre los 40 centros participantes, el promedio de casos registrados fue de 32,1 ± 34,7, y 12 centros (30%) inscribieron > 40 casos en el registro. Entre 849 pacientes con cáncer de recto que se sometieron a excisión total del mesorrecto pééor vía transanal asistida por laparoscopia, la tasa de conversión fue del 0,5% en la fase abdominal y del 1,9% en la fase perineal. Tres pacientes refirieron una lesión uretral (0,5%). La tasa de complicaciones posoperatorias y la incidencia de fuga anastomótica fueron del 18,4% y el 5,8%, respectivamente. La calidad de las muestras de excisión total del mesorrecto se evaluó como completa en el 81,9% de los pacientes. Además, la tasa de margen de resección circunferencial positiva fue del 2,8%.LIMITACIONES:La principal limitación del presente estudio de registros fue el alto porcentaje de datos faltantes (10,8% en general), y para algunas de las variables analizadas, faltaba hasta el 35% de los datos. Las complicaciones postoperatorias no fueron verificadas después del alta, lo que resultó en una tasa de morbilidad más baja que la tasa de morbilidad a 30 días informada en otros estudios.CONCLUSIONES:Los resultados a corto plazo de los pacientes que se sometieron al procedimiento de excisión total del mesorrecto por vía transanal en China fueron aceptables. Consulte Video Resumen en http://links.lww.com/DCR/B414. (Traducción-Dr. Xavier Delgadillo).

Multicenter investigation of bowel evacuation function after transanal total mesorectal excision for mid-low rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) procedure on the postoperative bowel evacuation function of patients with low rectal cancer. METHODS: Bowel evacuation function was investigated in 316 patients with rectal cancer after taTME in 18 hospitals in China. Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score, Wexner score, and EORTC QLQ-C30 were used for functional evaluation. The association between perioperative risk factors and LARS score was determined by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence rate of no LARS, minor LARS, and major LARS in patients after taTME was 39.9%, 28.2%, and 31.9%, respectively. The two most frequently reported symptoms of LARS after taTME were bowel clustering (72.8%) and fecal urgency (63.3%). Patients with major LARS had significantly higher Wexner score and worse global health status and financial difficulties according to the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire than those without major LARS. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy was an independent risk factor of major LARS occurrence after taTME (OR: 3.503, P = 0.044); existing preoperative constipation (OR: 0.082, P = 0.040) and manual anastomosis (OR: 4.536, P = 0.021) were favorable factors affecting bowel evacuatory function within 12 months after taTME, but for patients whose follow-up time was longer than 12 months, postoperative chemoradiotherapy (OR: 8.790, P = 0.001) and defunctioning stoma (OR: 3.962, P = 0.010) were independent risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The bowel evacuation function after taTME is acceptable. Perioperative chemoradiotherapy, anastomotic method, and preoperative constipation are factors associated with bowel dysfunction after taTME.

Real-Time Experience of Abrocitinib for the Treatment of Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid: A Case Report.

Background: Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP), a rare autoimmune vesiculous and erosive disorder, may affect multiple mucous membranes, with the oral cavity being the most commonly affected site. Its treatment depends on the site(s) of mucosal involvement and disease severity. Patients and Methods: A 62-year-old female patient with MMP that predominantly involved the oral cavity strongly rejected systemic corticosteroid or immunosuppressive agents and was successfully treated with abrocitinib, a highly selective JAK-1 inhibitor with a good safety profile. Results: The case demonstrated good efficacy and safety profile of abrocitinib for the treatment of MMP with predominant oral involvement. Conclusion: Abrocitinib is a promising agent for the treatment of MMP with oral involvement.

In Vivo Microwave-Induced Thermoacoustic Endoscopy for Colorectal Tumor Detection in Deep Tissue.

Optical endoscopy, as one of the common clinical diagnostic modalities, provides irreplaceable advantages in the diagnosis and treatment of internal organs. However, the approach is limited to the characterization of superficial tissues due to the strong optical scattering properties of tissue. In this work, a microwave-induced thermoacoustic (TA) endoscope (MTAE) was developed and evaluated. The MTAE system integrated a homemade monopole sleeve antenna (diameter = 7 mm) for providing homogenized pulsed microwave irradiation to induce a TA signal in the colorectal cavity and a side-viewing focus ultrasonic transducer (diameter = 3 mm) for detecting the TA signal in the ultrasonic spectrum to construct the image. Our MTAE, system combined microwave excitation and acoustic detection; produced images with dielectric contrast and high spatial resolution at several centimeters deep in soft tissues, overcome the current limitations of the imaging depth of optical endoscopy and mechanical wave-based imaging contrast of ultrasound endoscopy, and had the ability to extract complete features for deep location tumors that could be infiltrating and invading adjacent structures. The practical feasibility of the MTAE system was evaluated i n vivo with rabbits having colorectal tumors. The results demonstrated that colorectal tumor progression could be visualized from the changes in electromagnetic parameters of the tissue via MTAE, showing its potential clinical application.

Revolutionizing sphincter preservation in ultra-low rectal cancer: exploring the potential of transanal endoscopic intersphincteric resection (taE-ISR): a propensity score-matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: With the optimization of neoadjuvant treatment regimens, the indications for intersphincteric resection (ISR) have expanded. However, limitations such as unclear surgical field, impaired anal function, and failure of anal preservation still exist. Transanal total mesorectal excision can complement the drawbacks of ISR. Therefore, this study combined these two techniques and proposed transanal endoscopic intersphincteric resection (taE-ISR), aiming to explore the value of this novel technique in anal preservation for ultra-low rectal cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four high-volume centres were involved. After 1:1 propensity score-matching, patients with ultra-low rectal cancer underwent taE-ISR ( n =90) or ISR ( n =90) were included. Baseline characteristics, perioperative outcomes, pathological results, and follow-up were compared between the two groups. A nomogram model was established to assess the potential risks of anal preservation. RESULTS: The incidence of adjacent organ injury (0.0% vs. 5.6%, P =0.059), positive distal resection margin (1.1% vs. 8.9%, P =0.034), and incomplete specimen (2.2% vs. 13.3%, P =0.012) were lower in taE-ISR group. Moreover, the anal preservation rate was significantly higher in taE-ISR group (97.8% vs. 82.2%, P =0.001). Patients in the taE-ISR group showed a better disease-free survival ( P =0.044) and lower cumulative recurrence ( P =0.022) compared to the ISR group. Surgery procedure, tumour distance, and adjacent organ injury were factors influencing anal preservation in patients with ultra-low rectal cancer. CONCLUSION: taE-ISR technique was safe, feasible, and improved surgical quality, anal preservation rate and survival outcomes in ultra-low rectal cancer patients. It held significant clinical value and showed promising application prospects for anal preservation.

A high-efficient excitation-detection thermoacoustic imaging probe for breast tumor detection.

BACKGROUND: Microwave-induced thermoacoustic (TA) imaging (MTAI) is a promising alternative to biomedical imaging due to its high resolution, deep imaging depth, and minimal biohazard. To provide images of different anatomical regions and apply them to different clinical scenarios, the development of miniaturized portable TA probes is imperative. PURPOSE: This study is aimed to propose a highly efficient handheld non-reflective microwave-acoustic coaxial TA probe to advance the translation of MTAI for the clinical use. METHODS: The TA probe integrates a hollowed microwave antenna with a forward radiating uniform microwave field and a linear ultrasonic transducer array which is placed in the hole in the middle of the antenna that has almost no effect on the microwave distribution. The integrated probe was evaluated for properties, including the excitation efficiency of the microwave and the reception efficiency of the acoustic signal. Finally, an isolated EMT6 cell tumor was embedded in a sheep mammary gland to simulate the natural breast tumor environment, and the tumor was detected with the proposed MTAI probe to evaluate its practical feasibility. RESULTS: Compared with the previous TA imaging probe, it has improved the detection efficiency of TA signals by up to 41%, contributing to an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the image. The proposed TA probe successfully detected tumors embedded in the breast with a contrast ratio 3.27 times higher than the surrounding tissue in phantom experiments. CONCLUSION: The proposed TA probe with the features of microwave illumination and ultrasonic detection of coaxial, avoiding TA signal attenuation due to reflection, enables high-efficient TA signal excitation and detection. The proposed TA probe is essential for improving the excitation and detection efficiency of TA signals, and increasing the flexibility of the probe, providing a bright future for the clinical application of MTAI technology.

Successful Treatment of Granulomatous Rosacea by JAK Inhibitor Abrocitinib: A Case Report.

Granulomatous rosacea (GR) is a rare inflammatory skin disease characterized by persistent, hard, yellow, brown, red, or flesh-colored papules, plaques, or nodules on the face. Limited data are available on patients treated for GR, with only case reports and case series published. Herein, we describe the case of a 53-year-old woman who presented to the hospital with persistent red to brown and pink patches on both cheeks accompanied by a burning sensation for one month. Histopathological examination of a cutaneous biopsy revealed granulomatous inflammation in focal areas. Both acid-fast and Periodic acid-Schiff staining were negative. The patient was diagnosed with GR based on her clinical presentation and laboratory test results. She was treated with abrocitinib, a JAK-1 inhibitor, for 20 weeks. This resulted in substantial improvement in her rash and the associated burning sensation. Subsequent follow-up visits indicated no adverse effects or relapses. Additionally, a literature review was conducted to compare with the current case, which concluded that abrocitinib is a viable treatment option for GR, exhibiting a relatively high safety profile with minimal side effects.

A Case of Perioral Dermatitis Successfully Treated with Abrocitinib.

Perioral dermatitis (POD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that primarily affects females between the ages of 16 and 45. Conventional therapies face the challenge of limited efficacy and a high recurrence rate. In this report, we present the case of a 26-year-old male patient with POD who was successfully treated using the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, abrocitinib. This treatment exhibited both good efficacy and safety. Abrocitinib, as a JAK inhibitor, holds promise as a potential therapy for cases of POD that might be resistant to conventional therapies.

Facial Merkel cell carcinoma in a patient with diabetes and hepatitis B: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic inflammatory disorders are at a higher risk of developing aggressive Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Diabetes is a common chronic inflammatory disease that is possibly associated with MCC; however, there are still no reports on the association between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and MCC. Whether there is an association between these three diseases and the specific mechanisms behind their effects is worth further research in the future. CASE SUMMARY: We herein report a rare case of MCC with extracutaneous and nodal invasion in an Asian individual with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic HBV infection, but no immunosuppression or other malignancies. Such cases are uncommon and have rarely been reported in the literature. A 56-year-old Asian male presented with a significant mass on his right cheek and underwent extensive resection combined with parotidectomy, neck lymphadenectomy, and split-thickness skin grafting. Based on the histopathological findings, a diagnosis of MCC involving the adipose tissue, muscle, nerve, and parotid gland with lymphovascular invasion was made. Subsequently, he received radiotherapy with no adverse reactions. CONCLUSION: MCC is a rare, aggressive skin cancer with frequent local recurrence, nodal invasion, and metastasis, which usually arises in older people of the white race. Patients with chronic inflammatory disorders are at a higher risk of developing aggressive MCC. The diagnosis can be confirmed with histology and immunohistochemistry. For localized MCC, surgery is the preferred treatment option. However, for advanced MCC, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have proven to be effective. In cases where chemotherapy is not effective or in the advanced stages of MCC, immune therapy plays an important role in treatment. As with any rare disease, the management of MCC remains an enormous challenge for clinicians; thus, follow-up should be individualized and future progress needs multidisciplinary collaborative efforts. Furthermore, physicians should include MCC in their list of possible diagnoses when they come across painless, rapidly growing lesions, particularly in patients with chronic HBV infection or diabetes, as these patients are more susceptible to the development of this condition and it tends to be more aggressive in them.

Reasonable Collocation of Two Different Functional 3D Laparoscopes May Improve the Efficiency of Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision Surgery Using a Synchronous Two-Team Approach?

Background: To investigate the effectiveness of two different functional three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopes in transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 106 patients undergoing taTME of rectal cancer at the Affiliated Nanchong Central Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College between August 2017 and July 2020. Fifty-seven patients used the flexible 3D laparoscope (FTDL) and 49 patients used the rigid 3D laparoscope (RTDL). Results: Transabdominal operation duration in the FTDL group was shorter than in the RTDL group (125.5 ± 52.6 minutes versus 148.8 ± 59.3 minutes, P = .034). However, transanal operation duration in the FTDL group was longer than in the RTDL group (77.3 ± 26.8 minutes versus 104.6 ± 34.1 minutes, P = .000). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the number of harvested lymph nodes, total operation duration, postoperative complications, postoperative hospitalization, and quality of mesorectal specimen (P > .05). Conclusion: Synchronous two-team approach can be widely used in taTME. Making full use of the respective advantages of the two 3D laparoscopes is beneficial to improve the efficiency of taTME surgery. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT03416699.

Portable Microwave-Acoustic Coaxial Thermoacoustic Probe With Miniaturized Vivaldi Antennas for Breast Tumor Screening.

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic (TA) imaging (MTAI), which exploits dielectric contrasts to provide images with high contrast and spatial resolution, holds the potential to serve as an additional means of clinical diagnosis and treatment. However, conventional MTAI usually uses large and heavy metal antennas to radiate pulsed microwaves, making it challenging to image different target areas flexibly. In this work, we presented the design and evaluation of a portable microwave-acoustic coaxial TA probe (51 mm × 63 mm × 138 mm) that can flexibly image the region of interest. The TA probe contains two miniaturized symmetrically distributed Vivaldi antennas (7.5 g) and a 128-element linear ultrasonic transducer. By adjusting the geometry of the antennas and the ultrasonic transducer, the TA probe's acoustic field and microwave field can be designed to be coaxial, which helps achieve homogeneous microwave illumination and high-sensitivity ultrasonic detection. The practical feasibility of the proposed probe was tested on an in vitro ewe breast and a healthy volunteer. The results demonstrate that the MTAI system with the proposed TA probe can visualize the anatomical structure of the breast tumor in ewe breast and a healthy volunteer breast with resolutions in hundreds of microns (transverse: 910 µm, axial: 780 µm) and an excellent signal-to-noise ratio can be obtained in deep adipose tissue (10 dB in 6 cm fat). The miniaturized portable TA probe takes a solid step forward in translating MTAI technology to clinical breast tumor diagnosis.

Two Cases of Laparoscopic Resection of Siewert Type II Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagogastric Junction Using a Transhiatal Approach and Complicated by Hemopericardium.

BACKGROUND Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction is located at the boundary of the distal esophagus and gastric cardia, and surgical resection is currently performed using open or laparoscopic methods. This report presents 2 cases of laparoscopic resection of Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction using a transhiatal approach, complicated by hemopericardium. CASE REPORT We present 2 patients diagnosed with Siewert type II esophagogastric junction cancer. A 67-year-old man had intermittent dull pain in the epigastrium without apparent cause for 10 months. A 69-year-old man had persistent dull pain in the middle and upper abdomen for more than 3 months and acid reflux after eating. Gastroscopy with pathological examination confirmed the diagnoses. The patients underwent laparoscopic transhiatal total gastrectomy according to the Japanese Gastric Cancer Treatment Guidelines 2018 (5th edition). Pathological analysis classified the cancers as T3N1M0 and T2N0M0, respectively. The patients' cases were complicated with hemopericardium 18 h and 23 h after surgery, respectively. The shared clinical symptoms of the patients included tachycardia and low blood pressure. Cardiovascular color Doppler ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) were used to identify the hemopericardium. Following emergent ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis and drainage, the vital signs of the patients improved. Both patients recovered well, and no other complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS Hemopericardium is a life-threatening complication for patients with esophageal-gastric junction cancer who undergo transhiatal laparoscopic surgery. Quick detection and intervention for postoperative hemopericardium following laparoscopic transhiatal total gastrectomy are important. Ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis and drainage is effective for the treatment of postoperative hemopericardium.