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The clinical significance of the combination of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is unclear. This study investigated the predictive value of pretreatment NLR (pre-NLR) combined with pretreatment PLR (pre-PLR) for the survival and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 765 patients with non-metastatic NPC from two hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. The pre-NLR-PLR groups were as follows: HRG, high pre-NLR and high pre-PLR. MRG, high pre-NLR and low pre-PLR or low pre-NLR and high pre-PLR. LRG, neither high pre-NLR nor high pre-PLR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify the cutoff-value and discriminant performance of the model. We compared survival rates and factors affecting the prognosis among different groups. The 5-year overall survival (OS), local regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) of NPC patients in HRG were significantly poorer than those in MRG and LRG. The pre-NLR-PLR score was positively correlated with T stage, clinical stage, ECOG, and pathological classification. Multivariate cox regression analysis showed that pre-NLR-PLR scoring system, ECOG, pre-ALB, pre-CRP and pre-LMR were independent risk factors affecting 5-year OS, LRRFS and DMFS. The ROC curve showed that area under the curve (AUC) values of pre-NLR-PLR of 5-year OS, LRRFS and DMFS were higher than those of pre-NLR and pre-PLR. pre-NLR-PLR is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of NPC. The pre-NLR-PLR scoring system can be used as an individualized clinical assessment tool to predict the prognosis of patients with non-metastatic NPC more accurately and easily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy and chemotherapy (CT) have been used to treat recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (R/M-NPC), with demonstrated survival benefits and good safety. However, whether combination therapy is superior to CT alone remains unclear. We summarized the existing evidence comparing the effectiveness and toxicities of ICI combined with CT versus CT alone.Online databases was conducted for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to November 1, 2023. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were the primary endpoint. Objective response rates (ORRs) and adverse events (AEs) were the secondary endpoint.Three randomized controlled trials (Capture-1st, JUPITER-02, and RATIONALE-309) were included. First-line ICI therapy combined with CT showed significant improvement in PFS (hazard ratio[HR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval[CI]: 0.44–0.64), OS (HR, 0.63;95%CI: 0.49–0.81) and ORRs (odds ratio[OR], 1.79;95%CI: 1.30–2.46), when compared with CT alone. AEs ≥ grade 3 during treatment and treatment-related deaths were not significantly different between the two groups.In patients with R/M-NPC, ICI therapy combined with CT showed improved ORRs, PFS, and OS, with similar safety as CT alone.Methods: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy and chemotherapy (CT) have been used to treat recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (R/M-NPC), with demonstrated survival benefits and good safety. However, whether combination therapy is superior to CT alone remains unclear. We summarized the existing evidence comparing the effectiveness and toxicities of ICI combined with CT versus CT alone.Online databases was conducted for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to November 1, 2023. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were the primary endpoint. Objective response rates (ORRs) and adverse events (AEs) were the secondary endpoint.Three randomized controlled trials (Capture-1st, JUPITER-02, and RATIONALE-309) were included. First-line ICI therapy combined with CT showed significant improvement in PFS (hazard ratio[HR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval[CI]: 0.44–0.64), OS (HR, 0.63;95%CI: 0.49–0.81) and ORRs (odds ratio[OR], 1.79;95%CI: 1.30–2.46), when compared with CT alone. AEs ≥ grade 3 during treatment and treatment-related deaths were not significantly different between the two groups.In patients with R/M-NPC, ICI therapy combined with CT showed improved ORRs, PFS, and OS, with similar safety as CT alone.Results: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy and chemotherapy (CT) have been used to treat recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (R/M-NPC), with demonstrated survival benefits and good safety. However, whether combination therapy is superior to CT alone remains unclear. We summarized the existing evidence comparing the effectiveness and toxicities of ICI combined with CT versus CT alone.Online databases was conducted for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to November 1, 2023. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were the primary endpoint. Objective response rates (ORRs) and adverse events (AEs) were the secondary endpoint.Three randomized controlled trials (Capture-1st, JUPITER-02, and RATIONALE-309) were included. First-line ICI therapy combined with CT showed significant improvement in PFS (hazard ratio[HR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval[CI]: 0.44–0.64), OS (HR, 0.63;95%CI: 0.49–0.81) and ORRs (odds ratio[OR], 1.79;95%CI: 1.30–2.46), when compared with CT alone. AEs ≥ grade 3 during treatment and treatment-related deaths were not significantly different between the two groups.In patients with R/M-NPC, ICI therapy combined with CT showed improved ORRs, PFS, and OS, with similar safety as CT alone.Conclusions: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy and chemotherapy (CT) have been used to treat recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (R/M-NPC), with demonstrated survival benefits and good safety. However, whether combination therapy is superior to CT alone remains unclear. We summarized the existing evidence comparing the effectiveness and toxicities of ICI combined with CT versus CT alone.Online databases was conducted for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to November 1, 2023. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were the primary endpoint. Objective response rates (ORRs) and adverse events (AEs) were the secondary endpoint.Three randomized controlled trials (Capture-1st, JUPITER-02, and RATIONALE-309) were included. First-line ICI therapy combined with CT showed significant improvement in PFS (hazard ratio[HR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval[CI]: 0.44–0.64), OS (HR, 0.63;95%CI: 0.49–0.81) and ORRs (odds ratio[OR], 1.79;95%CI: 1.30–2.46), when compared with CT alone. AEs ≥ grade 3 during treatment and treatment-related deaths were not significantly different between the two groups.In patients with R/M-NPC, ICI therapy combined with CT showed improved ORRs, PFS, and OS, with similar safety as CT alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the largest water conservancy and hydropower project in China, the Three Gorges Reservoir is a weak seismic activity area before impoundment, but the frequency of earthquakes increases significantly after impoundment. The spatial density scanning method was used to obtain the characteristics of spatio-temporal earthquake distribution in the reservoir area during loading and unloading processes. The results show that the frequencies of earthquakes during the loading and unloading processes were higher than that during the low-water-level operation period, which is well explained by the acoustic emission test results. The seismic b-value, fractal dimension D, and spatial correlation length SCL can be used together to indicate stress criticality. To analyze the impacts of reservoir water loading and unloading on seismicity in the reservoir area, time-scan analyses were performed on the b-value, D-value, and SCL of earthquakes near the Zigui segment and the Badong segment. Previous studies argued that the time-varying characteristics of b-values do not hold predictive significance for earthquakes in the M4.0–6.2 range. However, our study found that the time-varying characteristics of b-values are of predictive significance for earthquakes around M4.0. These seismic parameters decrease significantly before moderate earthquakes but at different rates in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The up locus determining fruit orientation was fine-mapped into a region with a physical length of ~169.51 kb on chromosome P12 in pepper. Capana12g000958, encoding a developmentally regulated G protein 2, was proposed as the strongest candidate via sequence comparison and expression analysis. Fruit orientation is an important horticultural and domesticated trait, which is controlled by a single semi-dominant gene (up) in pepper. However, the gene underlying up locus has not yet been identified. In this study, the previously detected major QTL UP12.1 was firstly verified using a backcross population (n = 225) stem from the cross of BB3 (C. annuum) and its wild relative Chiltepin (C. annuum var. glabriusculum) using BB3 as the recurrent parent. Then, a large BC1F2 population (n = 1827) was used for recombinant screening to delimit the up locus into an interval with ~ 169.51 kb in length. Sequence comparison and expression analysis suggested that Capana12g000958, encoding a developmentally regulated G protein 2, was the most likely candidate gene for the up locus. There is no difference within the coding sequences of Capana12g000958 between BB3 and Chiltepin, while a SNP in the upstream of Capana12g000958 showed a complete correlation with the fruit orientation among a panel of 40 diverse pepper inbred lines. These findings will form a basis for gene isolation and reveal of genetic mechanism underlying the fruit orientation domestication in pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]