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Zi-Hao Li,1,* Jia-Yi Li,2,* Yong-Jie Zhu,1,3,* Lei Dai,3,* Zuo-Tao Wu,3 Ju-Sen Nong,4 Ting Zhuo,5 Fu-Li Li,1 Ling-Yun He,1 Hong-Hua Liang,1 Feng-Ling Zang,1 Yong-Yong Wang,3 Ming-Wu Chen,3 Wei-Jia Huang,1 Jian-Bin Cao1 1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Liuzhou People’s Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi Medical University, Liuzhou, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Nephrology, Liuzhou People’s Hospital Affiliated to Guangxi Medical University, Liuzhou, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Pediatric Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Wei-Jia Huang; Jian-Bin Cao, Email huangbolin62@126.com; 18907722555@163.comBackground: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has high morbidity and mortality. Current studies indicate nucleoporin 107 (NUP107) is involved in the construction of nuclear pore complex, and NUP107 overexpression contributes to the growth and development in most types of cancers, but its effect in LUAD has not been elucidated.Methods: Differences in NUP107 expression were investigated using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and multiple Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data sets. Enrichment analysis were implemented to probe the NUP107 function. The association of NUP107 with the degree of immune cell infiltration was investigated by the TIMER database, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), and ESTIMATE. The association of NUP107 expression with tumor mutation burden (TMB), TP53, and immune checkpoint was analyzed. Single-cell RNA sequencing data were used to detect NUP107 expression in different cell clusters. Finally, we performed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to prove the difference of NUP107 expression.Results: NUP107 was overexpressed in LUAD and mainly expressed in cancer stem cell (CSC). Overexpression of NUP107 in LUAD suggested a poorer prognosis. Functional enrichment analysis pointed out that NUP107 was mainly linked to the regulation of cell cycle. Both immune cell infiltration and TMB were found to be in connection with NUP107. Cases in the group with high NUP107 expression had poorer immune infiltration, but had higher expression of immune checkpoints, TMB, and proportion of TP53 mutations.Conclusion: NUP107 is a sensitive diagnostic and prognostic factor for LUAD and may be involved in tumor progression through its effects on cell cycle and immune infiltration.Keywords: lung adenocarcinoma, nucleoporin 107, immune infiltration, tumor mutation burden, TP53, immune checkpoint

Yu-Xin Wang,1,* Feng-Lian Li,1,* Li-Xin Du,1 Jun-Fang Liu,2 Li-Gang Huo,1 Shu-Qing Li,3 Bin Tian1 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Hengshui Fifth People’s Hospital, Hengshui City, 053000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology, Hengshui Fifth People’s Hospital, Hengshui City, 053000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of cardiothoracic surgery, Hengshui Fifth People’s Hospital, Hengshui City, 053000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Feng-Lian LiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Hengshui Fifth People’s Hospital, No. 1638 Shengli West Road, Hengshui City, Hebei Province, 053000, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 318-2316645Email fenglianlidr@163.comObjective: The aim of this study was to quantify the expression of melanoma-antigen family A proteins (MAGE-A) and New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1) in breast cancer and establish the prognosis of breast cancer patients with MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 co-expression.Methods: A total of 122 patients with breast cancer were recruited for this study. Their clinicopathological data were collected retrospectively, and the MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 expressions in paraffin-embedded specimens from the 122 patients were evaluated using immunohistochemical analysis. In addition, the survival states of the patients were recorded.Results: Fifty-four patients (44.26%) were MAGE-A positive and 46 (37.70%) were NY-ESO-1 positive. Interestingly, 22 of the 46 NY-ESO-1-positive cases co-expressed MAGE-A. The expression of MAGE-A was positively associated with estrogen-receptor status (χ2 = 4.026, p = 0.045) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status (χ2 = 5.482, p = 0.019), while the expression of NY-ESO-1 was positively associated with p53 expression (χ2 = 4.541, p = 0.033). Of the 122 patients, the lowest survival rate was observed in patients with NY-ESO-1 (+)/MAGE-A (+), with a 5-year survival rate of 59.09% and a median survival of 97 months.Conclusion: The results showed that MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 were frequently expressed in breast cancer patients. The co-expression of MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 occurred in about 18% of these patients, and it may indicate a poor prognosis.Keywords: breast cancer, cancer/testis antigens, MAGE-A, NY-ESO-1, co-expression

Xing-Xi Pan,1 Li-Hua Tong,1 Yong-Fa Chen,1 Fei-Long Li,1 Wu-Bing Tang,1 Ya-Jie Liu,2 Wen Yang11Department of Oncology, Nanhai Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University, Foshan, Guangdong 528200, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Oncology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518036, People’s Republic of ChinaObjective: This study aimed to establish a simplified T classification based on the 8th edition of the Union for International Cancer Control/American Joint Committee on Cancer (UICC/AJCC) staging system for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods: In total, 325 patients with NPC were included in this study. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging, and the staging criteria were recorded. These patients were subjected to staging with the 8th edition of the UICC/AJCC staging system for NPC.Results: Involvement of the oropharynx, nasal cavity, adjacent soft tissue (medial pterygoid, lateral pterygoid, and prevertebral muscles), cervical vertebra, orbit, and hypopharynx were always accompanied by other equivalently or more advanced T-stage classifications. All cases with involvement of the paranasal sinuses showed skull base erosion. The majority of cases with involvement of the pterygoid structure showed skull base erosion.Conclusion: According to the simplification principle, the following new T classification based on the 8th edition of the UICC/AJCC staging system was established: T1, tumor confined to nasopharynx, or beyond the nasopharynx without parapharyngeal involvement; T2, tumor with extension to the parapharyngeal space; T3, tumor with infiltration to bony structures at the skull base; T4, tumor with intracranial extension, involvement of the cranial nerves or parotid gland, and/or extensive soft tissue infiltration beyond the lateral surface of the lateral pterygoid muscle. Validation with a large series of patients is needed.Keywords: nasopharyngeal cancer, TNM staging system, T classification

Jinfang Ma,1 Jinping Zheng,1 Nanshan Zhong,1 Chunxue Bai,2 Haoyan Wang,3 Juan Du,4 Fenglei Li,5 Yanwei Chen,6 Zhe Shi,7 Xin Li,8 Pingyan Chen9 1State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Liwan Hospital of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanshan People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First People’s Hospital, Huizhou, People’s Republic of China; 8Department of Respiratory Medicine, China Resource and Wisco General Hospital, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 9Department of Biostatistics, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China Purpose: Recurrence of acute exacerbations has a major impact on patients with COPD. Therefore, effective prevention and treatment of exacerbation is crucial in the management of COPD, especially for patients with moderate to severe disease. This study evaluated the effectiveness of YuPingFeng granule administration in preventing exacerbation and improving symptom score, as well as its long-term (1 year) safety profile, in patients with COPD. Patients and methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled study of 240 patients from eight centers in China. Participants were eligible if they had mild to severe COPD as defined by Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, had a history of at least two COPD exacerbations or one hospitalization within the previous year, and had remained clinically stable for over 4 weeks before the study. They were randomly assigned to receive 5 g of YuPingFeng or placebo, three times per day, for 1 year. The primary end point was the exacerbation rate over 1 year, and the analysis was by intention to treat. Secondary end points included symptom score, which was assessed by COPD assessment test (CAT) score and safety profiles. This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn; registration number: ChiCTR-IPR-15007023). Results: The YuPingFeng group had a significantly lower exacerbation rate than the placebo group (1.15 vs 1.55; risk ratio=0.677 [95% CI 0.531–0.863]; P=0.002) and a significantly reduced risk of second exacerbation (95% CI 0.326–0.772; P=0.002). After treatment, the mean change in the CAT score in the YuPingFeng group (-4.41±7.01) differed significantly from that in the placebo group (-2.49±5.31; P=0.001). YuPingFeng was well tolerated. Conclusion: YuPingFeng granules can be considered as a treatment option for COPD; this treatment prevents acute exacerbations of COPD and has a good safety profile. Keywords: COPD, exacerbation, treatment, YuPingFeng