Elevated soluble CD163 predicts renal function deterioration in lupus nephritis: a cohort study in Eastern China

Objective This study investigated the association between soluble scavenger receptor differentiation antigen 163 (sCD163) and the severity and prognosis of renal injury in lupus nephritis (LN). Methods Serum sCD163 levels in 121 Eastern Chinese patients with LN who underwent renal biopsy were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Clinical data were collected, and the glomerular filtration rate and disease activity score of lupus were calculated. Pathological classification was performed, and renal pathological scores were assessed by the activity index (AI) and chronic index (CI). Kaplan–Meier survival curves were drawn to evaluate prognosis. Results The pathological classification, AI and CI scores in the high sCD163 group were increased. The sCD163 levels were positively correlated with serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, AI scores and CI scores and negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that the incidence of renal endpoint events was increased in the high sCD163 group compared with the normal sCD163 group. Conclusion The serum sCD163 level correlates with the severity of LN and is an important indicator of poor renal prognosis in patients with LN.

Novel Image Features of Optical Coherence Tomography for pathological classification of lung cancer: results from a prospective clinical trial

Background This study aimed to explore the characteristics of Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging for differentiating between benign and malignant lesions, and different pathological types of lung cancer in bronchial lesions, and to preliminarily evaluate the clinical value of OCT. Methods Patients who underwent bronchoscopy biopsy and OCT between February 2019 and December 2019 at the Chinese PLA General Hospital were enrolled in this study. White-light bronchoscopy (WLB), auto-fluorescence bronchoscopy (AFB) and OCT were performed at the lesion location. The main characteristics of OCT imaging for the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions and the prediction of the pathological classification of lung cancer in bronchial lesions were identified and their clinical value was evaluated. Results A total of 135 patients were included in this study. The accuracy of OCT imaging for differentiating between benign and malignant bronchial lesions was 94.1%, which was significantly higher than that of AFB (67.4%). For the OCT imaging of SCC, adenocarcinoma and small cell lung cancer the accuracies were 95.6%, 94.3% and 92%, respectively. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of OCT were higher than those of WLB. In addition, these main OCT image characteristics are independent influencing factors for predicting the corresponding diseases through Logistic regression analysis between the main OCT image characteristics in the study and the general clinical features of patients(p༜0.05). Conclusion As a non-biopsy technique, OCT can be used to improve the diagnosis rate of lung cancer and promote the development of non-invasive histological biopsy.

Evaluation of Angiogenesis and Pathological Classification of Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma by Dynamic MR Imaging for E-Healthcare

For staging cholangiocarcinoma and determining respectability, MR is an accurate noninvasive method which provides size of tumor and vascular patency information. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is a noninvasive inspection method for evaluating the vascular structure and functional characteristics of tumor tissue. However, some limitations should be noted about the technology. At present, the technology cannot be used alone, which is just an assisted method during the conventional MRI examination. 50 ECC patients, admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital between 2016 and 2019, were selected as research subjects. They were classified pathologically according to the Steiner classification system. After image processing, regions of interest (ROIs) were selected from the image to measure the rate constant (Kep), extravascular space volume fraction (Ve), and tissue volume transfer constant (Ktrans). There were 15 cases with highly differentiated carcinoma, 23 cases with moderately differentiated carcinoma, and 12 cases with lowly differentiated carcinoma. Non-VEGF expression was noted in 21 cases, with low expression noted in 15 cases, moderate expression noted in 14 cases, and no high expression case noted. The relevant parameters in the dynamic MRI image can quantitatively reflect the angiogenesis and pathological classification of ECC, which is suggested in the clinical treatment of ECC. The Ktrans, Kep, and Ve values of the ECC patients were all not associated with the pathological classification, with no significant difference ( P < 0.05 ). Besides, due to the fact that the patient cannot completely hold his breath, the air leak reduces the image quality.

Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of gastrointestinal vascular tumours

To evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of gastrointestinal vascular tumours. By reviewing the information from the electronic medical record system and pathology database of Hangzhou First People's Hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Jiaxing First People’s Hospital from June 2008 to December 2019, 31 patients pathologically diagnosed with vascular tumours were included in this study. The age of onset, sex differences, clinical manifestations, imaging and endoscopic characteristic manifestations, pathological characteristics, treatment methods and prognosis were analysed. The pathological classification was haemangiolymphangioma, haemangioma, and lymphangioma in 8, 14, and 9 cases, respectively. The age of onset was 44–66 years, with no significant difference according to sex (P = 0.583); 32.26% (10/31) of patients had no noticeable symptoms, 37.5% (12/31) of patients had gastrointestinal bleeding, and 6.45% (2/31) of patients, all with lymphangioma, had intestinal obstruction. The lesions were located in and below the duodenum. Endoscopy showed colour differences. Both endoscopic and surgical treatments were safe and effective. The mean survival time was 57.06 ± 35.64 months. Regarding vascular tumours without typical symptoms, the main pathological classification is haemangioma. Vascular tumours are often clinically identified because of bleeding or obstruction and can be treated with endoscopy or surgery. Clinical follow-up is recommended because no invasive manifestations or instances of recurrence were observed.

Fusion-oncogenes are associated with increased metastatic capacity and persistent disease in pediatric thyroid cancers

Background: In 2014, data from a comprehensive multiplatform analysis of 496 adult papillary thyroid cancer samples reported by The Cancer Genome Atlas project suggested that reclassification of thyroid cancer into molecular subtypes, RAS-like and BRAF-like, better reflects clinical behavior than sole reliance on pathological classification. The aim of this study was to categorize the common oncogenic variants in pediatric differentiated thyroid cancer and investigate if mutation subtype classification correlated with the risk of metastasis and response to initial therapy in pediatric DTC. Methods: Somatic cancer gene panel analysis was completed on DTC from 131 pediatric patients. DTC were categorized into RAS-mutant (H-K-NRAS), BRAF-mutant (BRAF p.V600E) and RET/NTRK fusion (RET, NTRK1 and NTRK3 fusions) to determine differences between subtype classification in regard to pathological data (AJCC TNM) as well as response to therapy 1-year after initial treatment had been completed. Results: Mutation-based subtype categories were significant in most variables, including age at diagnosis, metastatic behavior, and the likelihood of remission at 1-year. Patients with RET/NTRK fusions were significantly more likely to have advanced lymph node and distant metastasis and less likely to achieve remission at one year than patients within RAS- or BRAF-mut subgroups. Conclusions: Our data supports that genetic subtyping of pediatric DTC more accurately reflects clinical behavior than sole reliance on pathological classification with patients with RET/NTRK fusions having worse outcomes than those with BRAF-mutant disease. Future trials should consider inclusion of molecular subtype into risk stratification.

Biliary Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: Analysis of Prognostic Factors and Development and Validation of a Nomogram

BackgroundFor this study, we explored the prognostic profiles of biliary neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) patients and identified factors related to prognosis. Further, we developed and validated an effective nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) of individual patients with biliary NENs.MethodsWe included a total of 446 biliary NENs patients from the SEER database. We used Kaplan-Meier curves to determine survival time. We employed univariate and multivariate Cox analyses to estimate hazard ratios to identify prognostic factors. We constructed a predictive nomogram based on the results of the multivariate analyses. In addition, we included 28 biliary NENs cases from our center as an external validation cohort.ResultsThe median survival time of biliary NENs from the SEER database was 31 months, and the value of gallbladder NENs (23 months) was significantly shorter than that of the bile duct (45 months) and ampulla of Vater (33.5 months, p=0.023). Multivariate Cox analyses indicated that age, tumor size, pathological classification, SEER stage, and surgery were independent variables associated with survival. The constructed prognostic nomogram demonstrated good calibration and discrimination C-index values of 0.783 and 0.795 in the training and validation dataset, respectively.ConclusionAge, tumor size, pathological classification, SEER stage, and surgery were predictors for the survival of biliary NENs. We developed a nomogram that could determine the 3-year and 5-year OS rates. Through validation of our central database, the novel nomogram is a useful tool for clinicians in estimating individual survival among biliary NENs patients.

The Expression of PD-L1 and B7-H4 in Thymic Epithelial Tumor and Its Relationship With Tumor Immune-Infiltrating Cells

BackgroundPD-L1 and B7-H4 have been reported to be expressed in various malignancies and are considered as promising prognostic factors and potential immunotherapy targets.MethodsWe analyzed the correlation between the expression of PD-L1 and B7-H4 transcriptomes and clinicopathological characteristics in 121 TET patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The immune-infiltration levels in the TET microenvironment were estimated using ssGSEA and quanTiseq algorithms. We collected 80 TET cases from 2008 to 2015. PD-L1、B7-H4、FOXP3 and CD163 protein expression in tumor tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry.ResultsTCGA database showed PD-L1 mRNA levels can predict the OS (P = 0.018) and DFS (P = 0.033) of TET patients. B7-H4 mRNA levels were positively related to the World Health Organization (WHO) pathological classification (P = 0.003) but not correlated with patient prognosis. Immune infiltration analysis showed PD-L1 is positively correlated with Tregs and M2 macrophages, B7-H4 is positively correlated with Tregs. Patients with high PD-L1 and Tregs or M2 macrophages, high B7-H4 and Tregs had a worse prognosis. Immunohistochemistry showed PD-L1 expression was positively correlated with the WHO pathological classification and Masaoka stage (P = 0.025, 0.003) and high PD-L1 expression can predict the poor OS of patients (P = 0.043); B7-H4 was also positively correlated with WHO pathological classification and Masaoka stage (P = 0.036, 0.049). However, B7-H4 expression did not correlate with patient prognosis. Evaluation of co-expression patterns showed TET patients with a high-grade WHO pathological classification harbored a 44.4% co-expression of PD-L1 and B7-H4. In addition, we found the expression level of PD-L1 is positively correlated with FOXP3 and CD163 (P = 0.004, P = 0.029) and B7-H4 is positively correlated with FOXP3 (P = 0.037). High PD-L1 combined with High FOXP3 and High CD163, High B7-H4 combined with High FOXP3 can be used to predict the poor prognosis of TET patients (P = 0.026, 0.031, 0.028, respectively).ConclusionPD-L1 and B7-H4 were related to the aggressiveness of TET and their expression level can indicate the suppressive immune microenvironment. Combined with FOXP3 and CD163, PD-L1 and B7-H4 can indicate a poor prognosis of TET.