Theranostics
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Paclitaxel (PTX) has shown pleiotropic immunologic effects on the tumor microenvironment, and nanomicelle has emerged as a promising strategy for PTX delivery. However, the detailed mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Meanwhile, immunogenic cell death (ICD) is an effective approach to activate the immune system. ⋯ However, this antitumor immunity was hampered by highly expressed PD-1 on tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells and upregulated PD-L1 on both immune cells and tumor cells after nano-PTX treatment. Combination therapy with a low dose of nano-PTX and PD-1 antibodies elicited CD8+ T cell-dependent antitumor immunity and remarkably improved the therapeutic efficacy. Conclusions: Our results provide systemic insights into the immune-regulation ability of PTX to induce ICD, which acts as an inducer of endogenous vaccines through ICD effects, and also provides an experimental basis for clinical combination therapy with nano-PTX and PD-1 antibodies.
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Rationale: Biliary tract injury remains the most dreaded complication during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. New intraoperative guidance technologies, including near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence cholangiography with indocyanine green (ICG), are under comprehensive evaluation. Previous studies had shown the limitations of traditional NIR light (NIR-I, 700-900 nm) in visualizing the biliary tract structures in specific clinical situations. ⋯ Extrahepatic cholangiography using ICG in the NIR-II window obviously reduced background signal and enhanced penetration depth, providing more structural information and improved visualization of the bile duct or lesion location in simulated clinical scenarios, outperforming the NIR-I window imaging. Conclusions: The conventional clinically approved agent ICG is an excellent fluorophore for NIR-II bile duct imaging. Fluorescence cholangiography with ICG in the NIR-II window could provide adequate visualization of the biliary tract structures with increased resolution and penetration depth and might be a valid option to increase the safety of cholecystectomy in difficult cases.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has recently become a pandemic. As the sudden emergence and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 is endangering global health and the economy, the development of strategies to contain the virus's spread are urgently needed. At present, various diagnostic kits to test for SARS-CoV-2 are available for use to initiate appropriate treatment faster and to limit further spread of the virus. ⋯ In addition, institutions and companies worldwide are working tirelessly to develop treatments and vaccines against COVID-19. However, no drug or vaccine has yet been specifically approved for COVID-19. Given the urgency of the outbreak, we focus here on recent advances in the diagnostics, treatment, and vaccine development for SARS-CoV-2 infection, helping to guide strategies to address the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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Multicenter Study
Multicenter cohort study demonstrates more consolidation in upper lungs on initial CT increases the risk of adverse clinical outcome in COVID-19 patients.
Rationale: Chest computed tomography (CT) has been used for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) monitoring. However, the imaging risk factors for poor clinical outcomes remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the imaging characteristics and risk factors associated with adverse composite endpoints in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. ⋯ During the follow-up period, 64 (15%) patients had a composite endpoint. There was an association of older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.06; P = 0.003), larger consolidation lesions in the upper lung (Right: OR, 1.13; 95%CI: 1.03-1.25, P =0.01; Left: OR,1.15; 95%CI: 1.01-1.32; P = 0.04) with increased odds of adverse endpoints. Conclusion: There was an association of older age and larger consolidation in upper lungs on admission with higher odds of poor outcomes in patients with COVID-19.
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Pre-treatment survival prediction plays a key role in many diseases. We aimed to determine the prognostic value of pre-treatment Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) based radiomic score for disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with early-stage (IB-IIA) cervical cancer. Methods: A total of 248 patients with early-stage cervical cancer underwent radical hysterectomy were included from two institutions between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017, whose MR imaging data, clinicopathological data and DFS data were collected. ⋯ The Rad-score demonstrated better prognostic performance in estimating DFS (C-index, 0.753; 95% CI: 0.696-0.805) than the clinicopathological features (C-index, 0.632; 95% CI: 0.567-0.700). However, the combined model showed no significant improvement (C-index, 0.714; 95%CI: 0.642-0.784). Conclusion: The results demonstrated that MRI-derived Rad-score can be used as a prognostic biomarker for patients with early-stage (IB-IIA) cervical cancer, which can facilitate clinical decision-making.