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Background and objective Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are commonly occurred in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, evidence of irAEs derived from the Chinese population is relatively lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and outcomes of irAEs in Chinese patients with lung cancer after receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Methods Clinical and follow-up data from lung cancer patients who received at least one time of ICIs from January 2018 to September 2021 at Huadong Hospital, Fudan University were included. Statistical descriptions and Kaplan-Meier method were used to analyze the overall incidence of irAEs, as well as the incidence and outcomes of each type of irAEs. Results 135 patients were included in the study. 106 patients (78.5%) presented at least one type of irAEs, and the median time to first irAEs onset was 28 d. Most irAEs occurred at early time after treatment, and most irAEs were mild-moderate and reversible. 57 patients (42.2%) died at the study cutoff. The mortality rate of severe irAEs was 12.6% (n=17), and among them 7 patients (41.2%) died of pneumonitis. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) time of the total population was 505 d (95%CI: 352-658) and 625 d (95%CI: 491-759), respectively. Patients who presented any irAEs achieved a longer PFS than those who did not (median PFS: 533 d vs 179 d, P=0.037, HR=0.57), while patients who presented skin toxicities achieved a longer OS than patients who did not (median OS: 797 d vs 469 d, P=0.006, HR=0.70). Conclusion In real-world settings, irAEs in lung cancer patients were commonly observed, with pneumonitis as the most common fatal irAEs. In addition, patients who presented any irAEs may tend to achieve a longer PFS.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The majority of cases, the diagnosis is made at an advanced stage. The prognosis is poor with a 5-year survival rate less than 16% and the median overall survival 1 year or so. In recent years, research has focused on the potential role of new biological factors involved in the carcinogenic process. It’s well known that thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) was a special lineage-survival oncogene in lung cancer according to recent researches. It has become apparent that TTF-1 expression has biological and clinical functions in the opposite direction that act in tumor progression. Herein, we summarize the role of this transcription factor in the development, diagnosis, and prognosis of lung cancer in the hope of providing insights into the utility of TTF-1 as a novel biomarker of lung cancer.

Background The effective evaluation of scientific and technological achievements in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is of great significance in promoting the innovative development of TCM. Previous evaluations of scientific and technological achievements in TCM often used a generalized evaluation method, leading to problems such as inappropriate indicators and limited dimensions, which is not conducive to reflecting the multiple values of achievements in a scientific and comprehensive way. Consequently, there is an urgent need to establish categorized and multi-dimensional evaluation index system for the evaluation of scientific and technological achievements in TCM in the new period. Objective To establish a scientific, categorized, reliable and comprehensive evaluation index system that reflects the principles of TCM and highlights its unique advantages aiming at the scientific and technological achievements in TCM, in accordance with the contemporary requirements for scientific and technological evaluation in China. Methods This study began in November 2022 and was completed in May 2023. A preliminary index framework was developed through literature review and focus group discussions. Delphi expert consultation was then conducted over two rounds to determine the evaluation indexes and points. The hierarchical analysis method was used to calculate the weight of each index. Results The final evaluation index system of scientific and technological achievements in TCM clinical research comprised 10 threshold indicators, 4 primary indicators, 17 secondary indicators, and 17 evaluation points. After testing, the positive coefficient of experts in both rounds of Delphi method implementation was 100%, the authority coefficient was 0.94 and 0.93, respectively. The Kendall's W consistency test for each level of indicators yielded two-tailed significance (P