Prognosis and survival analysis of patients with pancreatic cancer: retrospective experience of a single institution

Background The overall survival of patients with pancreatic cancer is extremely low. Despite multiple large-scale studies, identification of predictors of patient survival remains challenging. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic factors for pancreatic cancer. Methods The clinical data of 625 patients with pancreatic cancer treated at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2013 to December 2017 were collected. Results Of 625 patients, 569 were followed from 1 to 75 months. The median overall survival was 9.3 months. The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 37.8%, 15.1%, and 10.5%, respectively. Cox proportional hazards model indicated that baseline carbohydrate antigen 199 level, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, operative procedure, lymph node metastasis, number of distant organ metastasis, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors of patients with pancreatic cancer. Baseline carbohydrate antigen 199 level, degree of weight loss, operative procedure, lymph node metastasis, number of distant organ metastasis, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors of pancreatic head cancer subgroup. Baseline carbohydrate antigen 199 level, carcinoembryonic antigen level, total bilirubin level, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, peripancreatic invasion, number of distant organ metastasis, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors of the pancreatic body/tail cancer subgroup. Conclusions Higher carbohydrate antigen 199 levels, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, lymph node metastasis and distant organ metastasis predict a poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer. Early detection, early radical surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy are needed to improve prognosis for this deadly disease.

Meta-analysis of the diagnostic performance of serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 for the detection of gallbladder cancer

Introduction Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is a well-studied tumor marker, yet its diagnostic value for gallbladder cancer remains unclear. The present meta-analysis was conducted to validate the role of serum CA19-9 for the detection of gallbladder cancer. Methods A systematic search of digital databases was conducted, complemented by additional hand-searching. Studies that reported serum CA19-9 for the differentiation of gallbladder cancer cases from non-gallbladder cancer controls were considered eligible. Results A total of 27 studies involving 4300 subjects were included. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve in diagnosing gallbladder cancer were 0.70 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63–0.76), 0.92 (95% CI: 0.88–0.94), and 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86–0.92), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood rate, negative likelihood rate, and diagnostic odds rate were 8.30 (95% CI: 5.84–11.69), 0.33 (95% CI: 0.27–0.41), and 25.13 (95% CI: 5.83–39.89), respectively. Meta-regression analysis revealed that there was significantly lower sensitivity (0.69, 95% CI: 0.61–0.77) and specificity (0.91, 95% CI: 0.87–0.95) when CA19-9 was used for the differentiation of gallbladder cancer cases from benign biliary diseases. A better specificity of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.90–0.96) was reached in the setting of a sample size ≥100. Conclusions Serum CA19-9 can be a potential candidate marker for the detection of gallbladder cancer, which maintains moderate sensitivity and good specificity. Attention should be paid to the control type and sample size, which may affect its diagnostic accuracy. Also, results should be interpreted with caution due to significant heterogeneity primarily caused by different thresholds between included studies.

Application value of the treatment of breast cancer bone metastases with radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance

Background To investigate the application value of the treatment of breast cancer bone metastases with radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance. Methods A total of 90 patients with breast cancer admitted to our hospital from January 2017 to January 2018 were selected as the research objects and were divided into control group and experimental group according to random grouping, with 45 cases in each group. Conventional treatment was used in the control group, while the treatment of radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance was used in the experimental group. The clinical efficacy, pain intensity and levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carcinoembryonic antigen 153 (CA153), carbohydrate antigen (CA125) in the two groups were compared. Results As for the pain intensity, it was evidently lower in the experimental group after treatment than that in the control group (P < 0.05); as for the total effective rate, it was obviously higher in the experimental group after treatment than that in the control group (P < 0.05); as for the levels of CEA, CA153 and CA125, the data in the experimental group after treatment were much lower than the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance can effectively improve the effect of the treatment of breast cancer bone metastases. It has curative efficacy and it is worth promoting and using.

THE ROLE OF DIAGNOSTIC OESOPHAGO-GASTRODUODENOSCOPY (OGD) AND COLONOSCOPY IN CANCER OF UNKNOWN PRIMARY

Objective: To study the role of gastrointestinal procedures, namely oesophago-gastroduodenoscopy (OGD) and colonoscopy, in helping to establish a definitive primary tumour site in cancer of unknown primary. Study Design: Prospective observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Lahore Pakistan, from Jan 2018 to Jan 2019. Methodology: A total of 115 patients included in the study were those, who underwent OGD and a colonoscopy for the diagnosis of a cancer of unknown primary. Data collected included demographics, baseline clinical characteristics, definitive diagnosis, tissue diagnosis and immune-histochemical stains. Primary outcome was the attainment of a definitive diagnosis via OGD and/or colonoscopy. Results: A total of 115 patients underwent a diagnostic gastrointestinal procedure. Of these 70 (61%) were males. Mean age was 63 ± 12.6 years (range 22-88 years). Abdominal pain comprised the most common presenting complaint, found in 61 (53%). The most common tissue diagnosis of the metastatic sites was adenocarcinoma 81 (70.45%). Tumour markers including carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 were checked in 90 (78.2%), 46 (40%) and 69 (60%) patients respectively. No patient reached a definitive diagnosis by means of OGD and/or colonoscopy. Conclusion: OGD and colonoscopy when done collectively as diagnostic procedures to look for a primary tumour, have no value in the evaluation of patients with cancer of unknown primary.

Diagnosis Value of Colposcope Combined with Serum Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen, Carbohydrate Antigen 125, and Carcinoembryonic Antigen for Moderate to Advanced Cervical Cancer Patients Treated with Modified Fuzheng Peiyuan Decoction

Objective. To explore the diagnosis value of colposcope combined with serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) for moderate to advanced cervical cancer patients treated with modified Fuzheng Peiyuan decoction. Methods. The clinical data of 43 moderate to advanced cervical cancer patients treated in Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from July 2018 to July 2019 were selected for the retrospective analysis, and 43 healthy women undergoing physical examination in our medical center in the same period were selected as the control group. The cervical cancer patients accepted the modified Fuzheng Peiyuan decoction treatment, the detection of SCC-Ag, CA125, and CEA and colposcope examination were performed to all research subjects, and the changes in indicators such as KPS scores and lesion perfusion parameters in cervical cancer patients before and after treatment were monitored, so as to analysis the clinical diagnosis value of combined diagnosis in treated patients. Results. After treatment, the mean KPS scores were greatly higher and various blood perfusion parameters of lesions and serum SCC-Ag, CA125, and CEA levels were remarkably lower than before ( P value <0.001 for all); the area under the curve of combined test was significantly larger than that of single test, and the sensitivity and specificity of the combined test were the highest; and after medication, the total incidence rate of toxic and side effects was 11.63%. Conclusion. Fuzheng Peiyuan decoction has significant effect in treating moderate to advanced cervical cancer, and colposcope combined with serum test presents more accurate and credible diagnosis results and has great significance for future treatment, which shall be promoted and applied.

Importance of Normalization of Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 in Patients With Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

BackgroundAlthough carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is an established prognostic marker for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients, the significance of elevated preoperative CA19-9 that normalized after resection remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether elevated preoperative CA19-9 that normalized after curative resection had an impact on prognosis among patients with ICC.MethodsPatients who underwent curative resection for stage I to III ICC between 2009 and 2018 were identified. Patients were categorized into three cohorts: normal preoperative CA19-9, elevated preoperative CA19-9 but normalized postoperative CA19-9, and persistently elevated postoperative CA19-9. Overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and hazard function curves over time were analyzed.ResultsA total of 511 patients (247 [48.3%] male; median age, 58 years) were included. Patients with elevated preoperative CA19-9 (n = 378) were associated with worse RFS and OS than those with normal preoperative CA19-9 (n = 152) (both p &lt; 0.001). Patients with persistently elevated postoperative CA19-9 (n = 254) were correlated with lower RFS and OS than the combined cohorts with normal postoperative CA19-9 (n = 257) (both p &lt; 0.001). The hazard function curves revealed that the risk of recurrence and mortality peaked earlier and higher in the elevated postoperative CA19-9 group than the other 2 groups. Multivariate analyses identified persistently elevated, rather than normalized, postoperative CA19-9 as an independent risk factor for shorter RFS and OS in ICC.ConclusionsElevated preoperative serum CA19-9 that normalizes after curative resection is not an indicator of poor prognosis in ICC. Patients with persistently elevated postoperative CA19-9 are at increased risk of recurrence and death.

Tumor-Specific miRNA Signatures in Combination with CA19−9 for Liquid Biopsy-Based Detection of PDAC

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is considered one of the most aggressive malignancies and has high mortality and poor survival rates. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover non-invasive biomarkers for early detection before PDAC reaches the incurable stage. We hypothesized that liquid biopsy of PDAC-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEs) containing abundant microRNAs (miRNAs) could be used for early diagnosis of PDAC because they can be selectively enriched and because they are biologically stable. We isolated PDEs by immunocapture using magnetic beads, and we identified 13 miRNA candidates in 20 pancreatic cancer patients and 20 normal controls. We found that expression of five miRNAs, including miR−10b, miR−16, miR−155, miR−429, and miR−1290, was markedly higher in PDEs. Furthermore, the miRNA signatures along with serum carbohydrate antigen 19−9 (CA19−9) were optimized by logistic regression, and the miRNA signature and CA19−9 combination markers (CMs) were effective at differentiating PDAC patients from normal controls. As a result, the CMs represented a high sensitivity (AUC, 0.964; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 80%) and a high specificity (AUC, 0.962; sensitivity, 85.71%; specificity, 100%). These findings suggest that five miRNAs expressed in PDEs and CA19−9 are valuable biomarkers for screening and diagnosis of pancreatic cancer by liquid biopsy.

The Value of CT-based Radiomics Nomogram in Differential Diagnosis of Different Histological Types of Gastric Cancer

Purpose: To establish and verify a nomogram based on computed tomography (CT) radiomics analysis to predict the histological types of gastric cancer preoperatively for patients with surgical indications.Methods: A sum of 143 patients with gastric cancer in Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital from January 2019 to December 2020 (differentiated type: 46 cases; undifferentiated type: 97 cases) were included into this retrospective study, and were randomly divided into training (n=99) and test cohort (n=44). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO) was used for feature selection while the multivariate Logistic regression method was used for radiomics model and nomogram building. The area under curve(AUC) was used for performance evaluation in this study.Results: The radiomics model got AUCs of 0.755 (95%CI, 0.650-0.859) and 0.71 (95%CI,0.543-0.875) for histological prediction in the training and test cohorts, respectively. The radiomics nomogram based on radiomics features and Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) achieved an AUC of 0.777 (95%CI:0.679-0.875) in the training cohort with 0.726 (95%CI:0.559-0.893) in the test cohort. The calibration curve of the radiomics nomogram also showed good results. The decision curve analysis(DCA) shows that the radiomics nomogram is clinically practical.Conclusion: The radiomics nomogram established and verified in this study showed good performance for the preoperative histological prediction of gastric cancer, which might contribute to the formulation of a better clinical treatment plan.

Carbohydrate Antigen 125: A Biomarker at the Crossroads of Congestion and Inflammation in Heart Failure

Because heart failure (HF) is more lethal than some of the common malignancies in the general population, such as prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women, there is a need for a cost-effective prognostic biomarker in HF beyond natriuretic peptides, especially concerning congestion, the most common reason for the hospitalisation of patients with worsening of HF. Furthermore, despite diuretics being the mainstay of treatment for volume overload in HF patients, no randomised trials have shown the mortality benefits of diuretics in HF patients, and appropriate diuretic titration strategies in this population are unclear. Recently, carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125, a well-established marker of ovarian cancer, emerged as both a prognostic indicator and a guide in tailoring decongestion therapy for patients with HF. Hence, in this review the authors present the molecular background regarding the role of CA125 in HF and address valuable clinical aspects regarding the relationship of CA125 with both prognosis and therapeutic management in HF.