Prevalence, clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of oxyntic gland neoplasm: a single-center retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Oxyntic gland neoplasm (OGN) is a rare subtype of gastric cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence, clinicopathological features, effectiveness and safety of endoscopic treatment, as well as the prognosis of OGN.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients pathologically diagnosed with OGN at our hospital from November 1, 2019 to May 1, 2023.

RESULTS

A total of 36 patients with 45 lesions were identified, resulting in a disease frequency of 0.047% (36/76,832). The mean age was 55.0 ± 7.5 years, with a male-to-female ratio of about 1:1.12. Most lesions were ≤10 mm in size (84.4%), located in the upper third of the stomach (73.3%), exhibited slight elevation (75.5%), appeared whitish (55%), had dilated blood vessels on the surface (75.5%). 16 and 21 lesions were treated by precutting endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR-P) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), respectively. No significant differences were found between EMR-P and ESD in terms of en bloc resection rate (100% vs 100%, p = 1.000), complete resection rate (100% vs 90.5%, p = 0.495), and curative resection rate (93.8% vs 90.5%, p = 1.000). No complications such as bleeding and perforation were observed. No recurrence or metastasis was observed during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

OGN is a rare tumor with unique clinical, endoscopic, and pathological characteristics. EMR-P and ESD are deemed safe and effective for treating OGNs. The relatively faster and easier EMR-P seems at least non-inferior to ESD, especially for removal of smaller OGNs. The overall prognosis is favorable.

Comparative effectiveness and tolerability of targeted agents combined with chemotherapy in patients with HER2-positive gastroesophageal cancer: A network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer (GC) or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer with HER2 overexpression is highly invasive, with a poor prognosis. With the development of new targeted agents, which agents have ideal therapeutic effects must be determined. This network meta-analysis analyzed the effectiveness and tolerability of targeted agents combined with chemotherapy in HER2-positive GC/GEJ cancer.

METHODS

Public databases were searched from the date of inception to October 22, 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on targeted agent-related regimens for HER2-positive advanced GC or GEJ cancer were included. Subgroup analyses based on publication language, first-line treatment, second/third-line treatment, and HER2 staining intensity were performed.

RESULTS

In total, 13 articles were included. The trastuzumabderuxtecan (TraD) and pertuzumab plus trastuzumab and chemotherapy (PerTraChemo) regimens were considered to have high effectiveness but low tolerability. In the subgroup analysis, PerTraChemo still had high effectiveness with low tolerability as the first-line therapy. As the second- or third-line therapy, TraD and lapatinib plus chemotherapy (LapChemo) had high effectiveness and moderate tolerability. In terms of overall survival (OS) time, PerTraChemo had a relative advantage in the immunohistochemistry (IHC) 2+/in situ hybridization (ISH)+ population, whereas TraD, PerTraChemo, and trastuzumab plus chemotherapy (TraChemo) had a relative advantage in the IHC3+ population.

CONCLUSION

TraD had relative advantages as the second- or third-line therapy and in the IHC3 + population. PerTraChemo is a potential first-line therapy, but it requires further confirmation because the JACOB phase III clinical trial failed to confirm the superiority of PerTraChemo over TraChemo with regard to OS.

miRNA and piRNA expression profiles of breeder cock testes detected by next-generation sequencing

miRNAs are small non-coding regulatory RNAs that play key roles in diverse biological processes. In this study, we used the Solexa sequencing technique to profile miRNAs in breeder cock testes to illustrate their functions. A total of 663 co-expressed miRNAs and 3,180 co-expressed piRNAs were detected in three libraries. Based on Mir-X^™ miRNA qRT-PCR, three miRNAs representing low, medium and high expression levels according to the sequencing results were selected randomly to validate the miRNAs' expression profiles. Results suggested that the miRNA expression profiles data could represent actual miRNA expression levels. Moreover, target genes prediction of the co-expressed miRNAs and further Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were performed, which revealed that some candidate miRNAs were involved in the regulation of the spermatogenesis process, spermatozoa function and testicular metabolism. In conclusion, we provided a useful resource for further elucidation of the miRNAs' regulatory role in spermatogenesis, contributing to a preliminary database for functional and molecular mechanistic studies in testicular metabolism, spermatogenesis and other testes functions.

[Protective effect of compound bismuth and magnesium granules on aspirin-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the protective effect of compound bismuth and magnesium granules on aspirin-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats and its possible mechanism.

METHODS

Acute gastric mucosal injury model was developed with intraperitoneal injection of aspirin in Wistar rats. The rats were divided into normal control group, injury group, sucralfate protection group, compound bismuth and magnesium granules protection group and its herbal components protection group(each group 12 rats). In the protection groups, drugs as mentioned above were administered by gavage before treated with intraperitoneal injection of aspirin. To evaluate the extent of gastric mucosal injury and the protective effect of drugs, gastric mucosal lesion index, gastric mucosal blood flow, content of gastric mucosal hexosamine, prostaglandins (PG), nitric oxide(NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin (IL) -1, 2, 8 were measured in each group, and histological changes were observed by gross as well as under microscope and electron microscope.

RESULTS

Contents of hexosamine, NO, and PG in all the protection groups were significantly higher than those in the injury group (all P<0.01), and content of NO in the compound bismuth and magnesium granules group was significantly higher than that in the sucralfate group ((11.29±0.51) vs(10.80±0.36)nmol/ml, P<0.05). The gastric mucosal lesion index, contents of TNF, and IL-1, 2, 8 were significantly lower in all the protection groups than in the injury group (all P<0.01), and contents of IL-2 and IL-8 in the compound bismuth and magnesium granules group were significantly lower than those in the sucralfate group ((328.17±6.56) vs(340.23±8.05)pg/ml, P<0.01; (170.82±7.31) vs(179.31±7.80)pg/ml, P<0.05). Tissue injury and inflammatory reaction in all the protection groups were obviously mitigated compared with the injury group.

CONCLUSION

Compound bismuth and magnesium granules and its herbal components may have significant protective effect on aspirin-induced gastric mucosal injury.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in elderly patients: An analysis of 210 cases

AIM: To summarize the clinical features of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in elderly patients.

METHODS: The clinical data for 420 patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were treated at our hospital from January 2010 to January 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into two groups based on their age: elderly patients and young patients.

RESULTS: The rates of hematemesis and other diseases were significantly higher in the elderly patient group than in the young patient group (P < 0.01). The major cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding was peptic ulcer in both elderly and young patient group. The incidence of gastric ulcer and that of duodenal ulcer showed no significant difference in elderly patients (P > 0.05); however, the incidence of gastric ulcer was significantly lower than that of duodenal ulcer in young patients (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in elderly patients is associated with a higher risk of hematemesis, more complications, and a higher mortality rate.

Robust photonic band gap from tunable scatterers

We show theoretically and experimentally that photonic band gaps can be realized using metal or metal-coated spheres as building blocks. Robust photonic gaps exist in any periodic structure built from such spheres when the filling ratio of the spheres exceeds a threshold. The frequency and the size of the gaps depend on the local order rather than on the symmetry or the global long range order. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained in the microwave regime. Calculations show that the approach can be scaled up to optical frequencies even in the presence of absorption.