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AIM: To investigate the incidence of preoperative dry eye and related factors in patients undergoing corneal refractive surgery to correct myopia. METHODS: A total of 141 patients with myopia who underwent corneal refractive surgery were surveyed by questionnaires, tear film break-up time (BUT) test, Schimer I test (SIt), corneal fluorescein staining (FL) test and diagnosed according to the currently recognized domestic diagnostic criteria for dry eye. Correlation analysis of factors such as age, gender, regular wearing of contact lens (CL), diopter (spherical equivalent), corneal thickness, and corneal curvature that may affect the onset of dry eye was carried out to clarify the main influencing factors. RESULTS: There were 64 patients (45.39%) diagnosed with dry eye. The male patients (20.31%) was significantly less than that of non-dry eye subjects (41.56%; χ2=7.260, P=0.007); the proportion of patients with dry eye wearing CL (81.25%) was significantly higher than that of non-dry eye subjects (51.95%; χ2=13.234, P

Background Due to negative results in clinical trials of postoperative chemoradiation for gastric cancer, at present, there is a tendency to move chemoradiation therapy forward in gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are currently recruiting subjects to investigate the effect of neo-adjuvant radiotherapy (NRT) in gastric and GEJ cancer. Large retrospective studies may be beneficial in clarifying the potential benefit of NRT, providing implications for RCTs. Methods We retrieved the clinicopathological and treatment data of gastric and GEJ adenocarcinoma patients who underwent surgical resection and chemotherapy between 2004 and 2015 from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We compared survival between NRT and non-NRT patients among four clinical subgroups (T1–2N−, T1–2N+, T3–4N−, and T3–4N+). Results Overall, 5272 patients were identified, among which 1984 patients received NRT. After adjusting confounding variables, significantly improved survival between patients with and without NRT was only observed in T3–4N+ subgroup [hazard ratio (HR) 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66–0.95; P = 0.01]. Besides, Kaplan-Meier plots showed significant cause-specific survival advantage of NRT in intestinal type (P P = 0.11) for T3–4N+ patients. In the multivariate competing risk model, NRT still showed survival advantage only in T3–4 N+ patients (subdistribution HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.64–0.93; P = 0.006), but not in other subgroups. Conclusions NRT might benefit resectable gastric and GEJ cancer patients of T3–4 stages with positive lymph nodes, particularly for intestinal-type. Nevertheless, these results should be interpreted with caution, and more data from ongoing RCTs are warranted.

Background and study aims The aim of the study was to evaluate short- and long-term outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for early gastric cancer (EGC) in China because no study has yet been conducted to confirm its effectiveness in EGC in China. Patients and methods A total of 570 EGC samples from 537 patients were collected for evaluation of en bloc, complete, and curative resection using ESD. Data from 302 patients with at least 3 years of active follow-up were collected for analysis of recurrence of EGC and occurrence of metachronous GC (MGC). Short- and long-outcomes of mixed-type and pure differentiated EGC were also compared. Results En bloc resection rates of 96.0 %, 98.7 %, and 95.2 %, complete resection rates of 91.2 %, 96.6 % and 90.8 %, and curative resection rates of 83.0 %, 96.2 % and 88.2 % were achieved in all EGCs included in the study, those with absolute indication, and those with expanded indication, respectively. As a long-term outcome, recurrence was observed in 1.3 % of patients, 3-year and 5-year recurrence rates being 0.7 % and 1.2 %, respectively. Thirteen patients (4.3 %) exhibited MGCs during follow-up, all of which were resected in a second ESD. Conclusions The effectiveness of ESD for EGC in China was confirmed, with satisfactory short- and long-term outcomes. With scheduled follow-up, the outcomes for mixed-type EGC can be similar to those for pure differentiated EGC after complete resection without development of lymphovascular invasion.

Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the role of different undifferentiated components in the lymph node metastasis (LNM) of early mixed gastric cancer. Methods A total of 1596 patients with EGC who underwent gastrectomy were divided into four types: pure differentiated (PD), pure poorly differentiated (Poorly D), pure signet ring cell carcinoma (SRC), and mixed. Mixed type was classified into four subtypes: differentiated-predominant type mixed with poorly differentiated component (MD-P), poorly differentiated-predominant type mixed with differentiated component (MP-D), differentiated-predominant type mixed with SRC component (MD-S), and poorly differentiated-predominant type mixed with SRC component (MP-S). We analyzed the clinicopathological differences between all types and the rates of LNM of patients fulfilling endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) criteria. Results LNM was more common in mixed (21.9%) than in PD (7.5%, P P P = 0.003). LNM in MD-S (7.4%, P = 1.000) was not higher than in PD. MP-S (24.5%) showed a higher rate of LNM than SRC (11.3%, P P = 0.681). For lesions satisfying ESD criteria, MD-S (0%, P = 1.000), and MD-P (5.9%, P = 0.12) did not have higher rates of LNM than PD (1.4%). Conclusion The presence of poorly differentiated component but not SRC increases the LNM rate of mixed type. ESD is recommended for the treatment of MD-S and MD-P consistent with ESD criteria.

OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate whether Chinese endoscopists without narrow-band imaging (NBI) experiences could achieve high accuracy in the real-time diagnosis of colorectal polyps using NBI International Colorectal Endoscopic (NICE) classification after web-based training. METHODS Altogether 15 endoscopists from five centers with no NBI experiences followed a short, web-based training program on the NICE classification and took web-based test. Their performances were compared with 15 matched experienced endoscopists with no NBI experience who received no NBI training. These 15 trained endoscopists then made real-time diagnoses of colorectal neoplasia. A logistic regression was used to assess potential predictors of diagnostic performance. RESULTS Compared with those who received no training, trained endoscopists achieved comparable overall accuracy (85.3% vs 83.1%, P = 0.408) and accuracy at a high-confidence level (87.0% vs 86.0%, P = 0.670), but had a higher confidence rate (86.1% vs 83.7%, P = 0.004) for the diagnosis of neoplasia. Real-time diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 94.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 91.5%-96.2%), 96.2% (95% CI 93.4%-97.9%) and 85.3% (95% CI 74.8%-92.1%) at high-confidence level. The high-confidence level was the strongest predictor of real-time diagnostic accuracy (odds ratio 12.66, P

AIM: To explore whether the same corneal curvature parameters and anterior chamber depth measured by Pentacam and VX120 have a good consistency and can replace each other. METHODS: This study enrolled 140 eyes of 70 patients ranging in age from 19 to 53y. All eyes underwent a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination including an anterior segment analysis with the VX120 system (Visionix-Luneau Technologies, Chartres, France) and Pentacam (Oculus Optikgerate GmbH) respectively. The comparison on corneal curvature parameters was done between Pentacam and VX120 using clustered signed rank test; the interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated for each parameter between Pentacam and VX120; the Bland-Altman plot of each parameter was supplemented. RESULTS: The anterior corneal curvature measured by VX120 was Ks: 44.00±1.78 D, KsAt: 89.45±22.18, Kf: 42.84±1.58 D, KfAt: 93.91±79.34; which measured by Pentacam was Ks: 43.80±1.82 D, KsAt: 91.17±21.40, Kf: 42.61±1.64 D, KfAt: 91.16±78.69. There was statistical difference between Pentacam and VX120 for anterior corneal curvature parameter (P

Objective Sessile serrated adenoma/polyps (SSA/P) are recognized as precancerous lesions in the colon and resemble hyperplastic polyps (HP). Definite endoscopic features under narrow band imaging (NBI) with or without magnification may help differentiate these two lesions. Our study aimed to identify specific endoscopic features of SSA/P by NBI. Methods A total of 199 patients with histopathologically proven colorectal SSA/P or HP after a polypectomy were enrolled. Magnifying and non-magnifying NBI pictures of 206 matching lesions were evaluated by one expert and two non-expert endoscopists using various endoscopic characteristics retrospectively. Results Multivariate analysis indicated that a clouded surface (odds ratio [OR] 6.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.72-15.44, P = 0.000) and dilated and branching vessels (DBV) (OR 7.95, 95% CI 3.71-17.02, P = 0.000) were significant endoscopic features for diagnosing SSA/P compared with HP. The combination of these two features could improve diagnostic specificity to 96%, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.749. However, it seemed that the presence of dark spots (OR 1.93, 95% CI 0.94-4.00, P = 0.075) was not a definite feature in differentiating these two lesions. Neither a mucus cap nor CP-II meshed capillary vessels showed statistical significance in differentiating SSA/P from HP (P = 0.590 and 0.293, respectively). Conclusions A clouded surface and DBV were two indicators for diagnosing SSA/P. Combining these two factors together under NBI with or without magnification achieved better diagnostic performance than when they were used alone.

Guidelines have differed in their opinion regarding the indications for endoscopic resection of gastric-neuroendocrine neoplasms (g-NENs) and duodenal-NENs (d-NENs). We examined the association between size and lymph node metastasis (LNM) to identify candidates most suitable for endoscopic resection. We identified 706 patients with T1/T2 g-NENs and 621 patients with T1/T2 d-NENs from the SEER database. The prevalence of LNM and risk factors associated with LNM were analyzed. LNM was present in 8.1% of patients with gastroduodenal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and 31.6% of patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that tumor size >10mm, greater invasion depth, and poor differentiation were independently associated with LNM. In addition, the percentage of g-NETs invading submucosa with LNM increased with tumor size (≤10 mm,3.9%;11–20 mm,8.6%;>20 mm,16.1%). However, in contrast to the low LNM risk in patients with small g-NETs (≤10 mm), we found that LNM rate exceeded 5% even for patients with small submucosal-infiltrating d-NETs. Among patients with nodal-negative g-NETs, the cause specific survival (CSS) was similar for those who received surgical resection and endoscopic resection. Among patients with d-NETs, the CSS was better for those who received endoscopic resection. In conclusion, patients with d-NETs had a higher probability of LNM than those with g-NETs. Endoscopic resection can be utilized for curative treatment of submucosa-infiltrating g-NETs and intramucosal d-NETs when the size is 10 mm or less. These results reinforce the need to search for LNM in lesions that are larger than 10 mm.

BACKGROUND Ultrasound guidance has become a standard method for detection of nerve structures in regional anesthesia. During ultrasound-guided blockade, to identify anatomical structures is crucial but can be challenging. In clinical practice, we find a wide difference in the visibility score of the sciatic nerve (SN) through different approaches. This study aimed to compare SNB through the anterior and above-knee lateral approach in terms of identification ease, performance efficacy, and safety. METHODS Patients scheduled for below-knee surgery were randomized to either receive SNB using the above-knee lateral approach (Group L, n=27) or the anterior approach (Group A, n=26). The primary outcome was the visibility score of SN. Secondary outcomes included the time taken to identify the SN, nerve depth, success rate of SN identification, number of needle passes, time to elicit foot flexion, needle depth, and occurrence of SNB complications. Additionally, the sensory block onset and analgesia duration were assessed. RESULTS We included 53 adult patients. Compared with Group A, Group L showed a higher SN visibility score [3.25 (3.17, 3.67) vs. 2.50 (1.86, 2.68), P

Many studies have shown that histology of a colorectal lesion or even whether endoscopic resection is suitable for a suspected colorectal cancer could be accurately diagnosed by careful observation before treatment [1–6]. The morphological parameters observed under white light endoscopy could help in delineating the risk of invasion and the depth of invasion. It has been reported that expansion appearance, deep and irregular depression surface, folds converging toward the tumor, non-lifting sign, submucosal mass-like elevation or large nodule, and depression in laterally spreading tumors (LSTs) are risk factors for deep invasion [1–6].

A large LST-G approximately sized 4 × 3 cm was found in the rectum near the anus. We used magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging to carefully observe this lesion. Under magnifying endoscopy, it showed with regular tubular pattern with regular vessels, which was classified as JENT 2A. Also, positive regular WOS was observed. Finally, we considered it colorectal tubular adenoma and it could be resected with ESD. ESD was performed from the anal direction to the proximal direction and it was successfully dissected. Final histopathology was tubular adenoma.

This work seeks the development and validation of radiomics signatures from nonenhanced computed tomography (CT, NE‐RS) to preoperatively predict the malignancy degree of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and the comparison of these signatures with those from contrast‐enhanced CT. A dataset for 370 GIST patients was collected from four centers. This dataset was divided into cohorts for training, as well as internal and external validation. The minimum‐redundancy maximum‐relevance algorithm and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm were used to filter unstable features. (a) NE‐RS and radiomics signature from contrast‐enhanced CT (CE‐RS) were built and compared for the prediction of malignancy potential of GIST based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). (b) The radiomics model was also developed with both the tumor size and NE‐RS. The AUC values were comparable between NE‐RS and CE‐RS in the training (.965 vs .936; P = .251), internal validation (.967 vs .960; P = .801), and external validation (.941 vs .899; P = .173) cohorts in diagnosis of high malignancy potential of GISTs. We next focused on the NE‐RS. With 0.185 selected as the cutoff of NE‐RS for diagnosis of the malignancy potential of GISTs, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for diagnosis high‐malignancy potential GIST was 90.0%, 88.2%, and 92.3%, respectively, in the training cohort. For the internal validation set, the corresponding metrics are 89.1%, 94.9%, and 80.0%, respectively. The corresponding metrics for the external cohort are 84.6%, 76.1%, and 91.0%, respectively. Compared with only NE‐RS, the radiomics model increased the sensitivity in the diagnosis of GIST with high‐malignancy potential by 5.9% (P = .025), 2.5% (P = .317), 10.5% (P = .008) for the training set, internal validation set, and external validation set, respectively. The NE‐RS had comparable prediction efficiency in the diagnosis of high‐risk GISTs to CE‐RS. The NE‐RS and radiomics model both had excellent accuracy in predicting malignancy potential of GISTs., A dataset for 370 GIST patients was collected from four centers and was divided into cohorts for training, as well as internal and external validation. The minimum‐redundancy maximum‐relevance (mRMR) algorithm, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm were used to filter unstable features. The area under the curve (AUC) values were comparable between radiomics signatures from non‐enhanced CT (NE‐RS) and radiomics signatures from enhanced CT (CE‐RS) in the three cohorts in diagnosis of high malignancy potential of GISTs. With 0.185 selected as the cut‐off of NE‐RS for diagnosis of the malignancy potential of GISTs, accuracy for diagnosis high‐malignancy potential GIST was 89%, 85% for the internal validation and external validation cohort. Compared with only NE‐RS, the radiomics model with combination of radiomic signature and tumor size, had increased accuracy of 91%, 89% for the internal validation and external validation cohort. The NE‐RS and radiomics model both had excellent accuracy in predicting malignancy potential of GISTs.

Background: There existed limited evidence about prognosis of young-onset early colorectal cancer (ECRC). In the present study, we aimed to compare prognosis between patients with young-onset ECRCs and patients with conventional ECRCs.Method: Patients with surgically resected, histologically diagnosed ECRCs were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Young-onset ECRC was defined as ECRC occurring in patients aged

Background: Log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) classification showed superiority over 8th edition N staging in predicting survival of small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) patients. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Tumor, LODDS, and Metastasis (TLM) staging of SBA. Methods: Totally 1789 SBA patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 1988–2010, 437 patients from SEER database between 2011–2013 and 166 patients from multicenters were categorized into development, validation and test cohort, respectively. The TLM staging was developed in the development cohort using Ensemble Algorithm for Clustering Cancer Data (EACCD) method. C-index was used to assess the performance of the TLM staging in predicting cancer-specific survival (CSS) and was compared with the traditional 8th edition TNM staging. Findings: Four-category TLM staging designed for the development cohort showed higher discriminatory power than TNM staging in predicting CSS in the development cohort (0.682 vs. 0.650, P

Background and aim: To construct proper and externally validate cut-off points for log odds of positive lymph nodes scheme (LODDS) staging scheme in colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients and methods: The X-tile approach was used to find the cut-off points for the novel LODDS staging scheme in 240,898 patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database and externally validated in 1,878 from the international multicenter cohort. Kaplan-Meier plot and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were performed to investigate the role of the novel LODDS classification. Results: The prognostic cut-off values were determined as -2.18, and -0.23 (P< 0.001). Patients had 5-year cancer-specific survival rates of 83.8%, 57.4% and 24.4% with increasing LODDS (P< 0.001) in the SEER database. Five-year overall survival rates were 77.2%, 55.0% and 26.7% with increasing LODDS (P< 0.001) in the external international multicenter cohort. Multivariate survival analysis identified both the LODDS classification, the patient's age, the T category, the M status, and the tumor grade as independent prognostic factors in both two independent databases. The analyses of the subgroup of patients stratified by tumor location (colon or rectum), number of retrieved lymph node (< 12 or ≥ 12), TNM stage III, lymph node-negative also confirmed the LODDS as independent prognostic factors (P< 0.001) in both two independent databases. Conclusions: The novel LODDS classification was an independent prognostic factor for patients with CRCs and should be calculated for additional risk group stratification with pN scheme.

Background and Aim To develop and validate radiomic prediction models using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) to preoperatively predict Ki-67 expression in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Method A total of 339 GIST patients from four centers were categorized into the training, internal validation, and external validation cohort. By filtering unstable features, minimum redundancy, maximum relevance, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) algorithm, a radiomic signature was built to predict the malignant potential of GISTs. Individual nomograms of Ki-67 expression incorporating the radiomic signature or clinical factors were developed using the multivariate logistic model and evaluated regarding its calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness. Results The radiomic signature, consisting of 6 radiomic features had AUC of 0.787 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.632–0.801], 0.765 (95% CI 0.683–0.847), and 0.754 (95% CI 0.666–0.842) in the prediction of high Ki-67 expression in the training, internal validation and external validation cohort, respectively. The radiomic nomogram including the radiomic signature and tumor size demonstrated significant calibration, and discrimination with AUC of 0.801 (95% CI 0.726–0.876), 0.828 (95% CI 0.681–0.974), and 0.784 (95% CI 0.701–0.868) in the training, internal validation and external validation cohort respectively. Based on the Decision curve analysis, the radiomics nomogram was found to be clinically significant and useful. Conclusions The radiomic signature from CE-CT was significantly associated with Ki-67 expression in GISTs. A nomogram consisted of radiomic signature, and tumor size had maximum accuracy in the prediction of Ki-67 expression in GISTs. Results from our study provide vital insight to make important preoperative clinical decisions.

Background Current methods of lymph node (LN) staging are controversial in predicting the survival of SBA. We aimed to develop an alternative LN-classification-based nomogram to individualize SBA prognosis. Methods Based on the data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database of patients diagnosed with SBA between 2004 and 2014, we identified the cut-off points for the number of LNs examined and the number found to be metastatic using the K-adaptive partitioning (KAPS) algorithm. Using metastatic LNs, a nomogram predicting the survival of SBA was derived, internally and externally validated, and measured by calibration curve, C-index, and decision curve analysis (DCA), and compared to the 8th TNM stage. Results A total of 1516 patients were included. The cut-off of 17 was the optimal examined LN number. For metastatic LN numbers, the cut-off points were 0, 2, and 8. The C-index for the nomogram was higher than the 8th TNM staging (internal: 0.734; 95% CI, 0.693 to 0.775 vs. 0.677; 95% CI, 0.652 to 0.702, P 8 metastatic LNs and set the least examined LN number to 17. A nomogram based on this staging showed great clinical usability than TNM staging for predicting the survival of SBA patients., Highlights • The least examined number of lymph nodes was 16 in small bowel adenocarcinoma patients. • A new 4-level metastatic LNs staging was recommended: N0, no metastasis; N1, 1–2 LNs; N2, 3–8 LNs and N3, >8 LNs. • A nomogram with new staging showed great clinical usability than TNM staging for predicting survival of SBA patients. The number of examined and metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) is correlated inversely with survival of patients with small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA). However, there was no verdict on the number of examined LNs and current staging of metastatic LNs was controversial in predicting survival of SBA. In this study, based on survival data of 6440 adults diagnosed SBA, we modified the examined LN number of 16 and introduced a new 4-level metastatic LN staging. Based on this new staging, we developed and validated a nomogram with greater clinical usability than traditional TNM staging for predicting survival of SBA patients.

// Qing-Wei Zhang 1, * , Xiao-Lu Lin 1, 5 * , Chi-Hao Zhang 2, * , Chen-Yue Tang 3, * , Xin-Tian Zhang 1, * , La-Mei Teng 1, 4, * , Zhi-Zheng Ge 1 and Xiao-Bo Li 1 1 Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ministry of Health, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Disease, Shanghai 200001, China 2 Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Baoshan 201999, Shanghai, China 3 Department of Gastroenterology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200000, China 4 Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Liqun Clinical Medicine College, The Second Military Medical University, Liqun Hospital, Shanghai 200001, China 5 Department of Digestive Endoscopy, Provincial Clinic Medical College, Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Zhi-Zheng Ge, email: zhizhengge@aliyun.com Xiao-Bo Li, email: lxb_1969@163.com Keywords: esophageal cancer, marital status, SEER, OS, CSS Received: February 22, 2017 Accepted: April 04, 2017 Published: July 22, 2017 ABSTRACT Background and aims: Multiple studies have shown that marital status is associated with the survival of various types of cancer patients. However, there has not been adequate evidence of the association between marital status and the survival of patients with esophageal cancer (EC). We aimed to investigate the effect of marital status on survival of EC patients. Methods: We identified 15,598 EC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Meanwhile, propensity scores for marital status, which were calculated for each patient using a nonparsimonious multivariable logistic regression model, were used to match 6,319 unmarried patients with 9,279 married patients. We performed Kaplan–Meier analysis and multivariate Cox regression to analyze the association between marital status and the overall survival (OS) and EC cause-specific survival (CSS) of EC patients before matching and after matching. Results: We matched 2,986 unmarried patients with 2,986 married patients. Unmarried patients had poorer OS than married patients before matching (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18–1.27; P < 0.0001) and after matching (HR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.13–1.27; P < 0.0001) and poorer CSS than married patients before matching (HR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.16–1.26; P < 0.0001) and after matching (HR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.10–1.24; P < 0.0001). Further analysis showed that among different unmarried patients, widowed patients had the poorest OS (HR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.38–1.55; P < 0.0001) and CSS (HR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.34–1.52; P < 0.0001) compared with married patients. Conclusions: Unmarried EC patients had poorer survival rates than married EC patients. Meanwhile, widowed patients with EC had the highest risk of death compared with single, married, and divorced patients.

Background and aims Magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (M-NBI) has been widely used in the differential diagnosis of deep submucosal colorectal cancers (dSMCs) from superficial submucosal cancers (sSMCs) and intramucosal neoplasms. We aimed to pool the diagnostic efficacy of M-NBI and compare it with that of magnifying chromoendoscopy (M-CE) in diagnosing colorectal dSMC. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify eligible studies. Meeting abstracts were also searched. A bivariate mixed-effects binary regression model was used in the meta-analysis to calculate the pooled diagnostic efficacy of M-NBI and compare it with that of M-CE in the diagnosis of dSMC. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were conducted to explore sources of heterogeneity. Results We included 17 studies: 14 full texts and 3 meeting abstracts. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) in diagnosing dSMC were 74 % (66 % – 81 %; I2 = 84.6 %), 98 % (94 % – 99 %; I2 = 94.4 %), and 0.91 (0.88 – 0.93), respectively, for M-NBI. The pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUC (95 %CI) were 84 % (76 % – 89 %; I2 = 76.9 %), 97 % (94 % – 99 %; I2 = 90.2 %), and 0.97 (0.95 – 0.98), respectively, for M-CE. M-NBI had lower sensitivity (P Conclusions M-NBI and M-CE had comparable specificities in diagnosing dSMC, but the sensitivity of M-NBI was slightly lower than that of M-CE.

Background Superficial colorectal cancer (SCRC) is defined as colorectal cancer (CRC) confined to the mucosa or submucosa. Endoscopic resection (ER) is widely used to resect differentiated SCRC from patients without lymph node metastasis (LNM). However, it is unclear whether ER is suitable for use with patients with differentiated early-onset SCRC because early-onset CRC is more aggressive. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between age of CRC onset and LNM. Materials and Methods We retrieved data for patients with surgically resected differentiated-type SCRCs from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Rate of LNM was compared among patients aged 18–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and ≥70 years. The association between age and LNM was further examined using multivariate logistic regression. Results We retrieved 34,506 records of differentiated SCRCs from the SEER database, including 667 patients aged 18–39 years, 2,385 aged 40–49, 8,075 aged 50–59 years, 9,577 aged 60–69 years, and 13,802 aged ≥70 years. Rates of LNM were 15.74%, 14.13%, 10.67%, 8.07%, and 6.76% for patients aged 18–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and ≥70 years, respectively. We found an inverse correlation between age at diagnosis and risk of LNM from the univariate analysis (p < .001). Compared with patients aged 18–39, the odds ratios with 95% confidence interval (CI) for patients aged 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and ≥70 years were 0.90 (0.71–1.15, p = .376), 0.69 (0.56–0.87, p = .001), 0.54 (0.43–0.68, p < .001), and 0.47 (0.38–0.60, p < .001), respectively. Conclusion In differentiated SCRCs, younger age at diagnosis was associated with higher risk of LNM. Implications for Practice Endoscopic resection (ER) is widely used to resect differentiated superficial colorectal cancer (SCRC) without lymph node metastasis (LNM). However, no study has ever investigated risk of LNM of early-onset SCRC compared with average onset SCRC to explore whether ER is suitable for early-onset SCRC. To the authors' knowledge, this population-based study is the first study to find inverse correlation between age at diagnosis and risk of LNM in differentiated SCRCs. This finding indicates that ER may not be suitable for young patients with differentiated SCRC. Because the 30-day operative mortality after surgery is higher but the risk of LNM is lower in older patients compared with younger patients, ER for differentiated SCRCs may be advantageous over surgery for older patients.

Background Marital status proves to be an independent prognostic factor in a variety of cancers. However, its prognostic impact on gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms (G-NEN) has not been investigated. Methods We identified 3947 G-NEN patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Meanwhile, propensity scores for marital status were used to match 506 unmarried patients with 506 married patients. We used Kaplan–Meier method and multivariate Cox regression to analyse the association between marital status and the overall survival (OS) and G-NEN cause-specific survival (CSS) before matching and after matching. Results Married patients enjoyed better OS and CSS, compared with divorced/separated, single, and widowed patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that unmarried status was associated with higher mortality hazards for both OS and CSS among G-NEN patients. Additionally, widowed individuals had the highest risks of overall (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35–1.81, P P = 0.02) compared to other unmarried groups in both males and females. Furthermore, unmarried status remained an independent prognostic and risk factor for both OS (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.19–1.90, P = 0.001) and CSS (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.10–2.05, P = 0.01) in 1:1 propensity score-matched analysis. Conclusion Marital status was an independent prognostic factor for G-NEN. Meanwhile, widowed patients with G-NEN had the highest risk of death compared with single, married, and divorced/separated patients.

Background: Immunotherapy could trigger durable response in advanced gastric cancer, but it only benefits a minority of patients. Aims: To propose a robust molecular classification of gastric cancer microenvironment to identify ideal candidates for tailoring effective immunotherapy. Methods: A training cohort of 375 gastric cancer samples with RNAsequencing data were analysed. We virtually microdissected tumour, stromal, and immune cell gene expression patterns employing a nonnegative matrix factorization algorithm. These expression patterns were annotated using immune- and stromal-related gene signatures. Validation of immunogenomic classification was performed across six microarray datasets of 1,406 samples. Results: We found approximately half of gastric cancer samples to have higher immune cell infiltrates, PD-L1 expression, markers of cytolytic activity, and fewer copy number aberrations (all P < 0.05). We termed this group of tumours the Immune Class, which incorporated two components, namely Immune Activation and Immunosuppressive Subtype, according to immunosuppressive or activated microenvironment. Immune Activation Subtype was associated with improved survival in multivariate survival analysis and shared similar genomic characteristics with responders of anti-PD-1 therapy. Immunosuppressive Subtype featured high immune infiltration, stromal enrichment, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signalling pathway activation, which might be suitable for antiPD-L1 and anti-TGF-β combined therapy. Conclusions: We proposed and independently validated three reproducible immune molecular subtypes of gastric cancer, which may provide implications for patient selection of immunotherapy. Funding Statement: This work was supported by grants from the Incubating Program for Clinical Research and Innovation of Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Grant No. PYMDT-001), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No. 16441906903), Three-year action plan for Shin Kang of Shanghai (16CR4005A). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: Not required.

Background: The prognostic roles of three common lymph node staging schemes, number of positive lymph nodes (pN), lymph node ratio (LNR) and log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) in small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) are unclear. We assessed their prognostic ability in SBA. Methods: A total of 2128 patients diagnosed with SBA between 1988 and 2010 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and 186 patients from 15 hospitals in France and China were identified. We evaluated the prognostic ability of the schemes in both continuous and stratified patterns using R2, Harrell's C, and time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. Findings: For continuous pattern, the LODDS had a better capacity of discrimination and higher accuracy of prognosis than pN and LNR. Similarly, the stratified LODDS classification had a better performance of discrimination and higher accuracy of prognosis than the pN and LNR classification. The multivariable model using the LODDS classification also showed superiorly predictive accuracy and discriminatory capacity to those of the 7th and, 8th TNM node and LNR classification. These results were fully validated in an independent international multicentre cohort. Interpretation: The LODDS scheme showed a better prognostic performance than the LNR or pN schemes in patients with SBA regardless of continuous or stratified pattern. The LODDS scheme could serve as an auxiliary to lymph node staging systems in future revisions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) manual. Fund: This work was funded by the Zhejiang Province Natural Science Fund of China. Keywords: Small bowel adenocarcinoma, Log odds of positive lymph nodes, Lymph node ratio, Number of positive lymph nodes, Prognosis, Multicentre cohort

With the wide application of endoscopic resection for early gastric cancer (EGC) by not only Asian endoscopists but also those from Western countries, reviews on standardized treatment processes before and after endoscopic resection are nevertheless lacking. In this article we provide a narrative review of studies on the selection of appropriate EGC for endoscopic resection and the follow-up strategies for those with histologically confirmed EGC after endoscopic resection. EGC should be comprehensively assessed before endoscopic resection, including its exact margin, invasive depth and risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM). While the curative resection status of EGC may be evaluated after endoscopic resection based on the newly developed eCura system, although this needs to be further verified. Surveillance with endoscopy and computed tomography scan is necessary for patients with an EGC level A or B. An additional endoscopic resection is recommended for patients with a level-C1 EGC. For patients with a level-C2 EGC, close follow-up is suggested for low-risk tumors of level C2 and additional surgery for those at high risks. Further postoperative strategy is suggested based on comprehensive assessment of the risk of LNM, patient's quality of life and wishes.

Background and Aims Limited evidence and contradictory results exist regarding the impact of Lauren type, namely diffuse and intestinal types, of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and prognosis for early gastric cancer (EGC). We aimed to compare LNM and prognosis between diffuse and intestinal type EGCs using comprehensive statistical analysis. Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify all patients with surgically resected, histologically diagnosed, intestinal or diffuse type EGC. Multivariate logistic regression, multivariate Cox regression, multivariate competing risk model, and propensity score matching were used to analyze association the Lauren type and LNM or prognosis. Results We identified 5593 EGCs from the SEER database, including 4376 intestinal types and 1217 diffuse types. No positive association was found between LNM and Lauren type (odds ratio, .93; 95% confidence interval [CI], .70-1.24; P = .62) after adjustment for other risk factors. Moreover, diffuse-type EGCs showed a similar prognosis to intestinal type EGCs in both multivariate Cox regression (HR [hazard ratio], .95; 95% CI, .77-1.18; P = .66) and the multivariate competing risk model (subdistribution HR [SHR], .99; 95% CI, .80-1.22; P = .926). Propensity score matching was used, and 733 diffuse types were matched with 733 intestinal types. We did not find any association between the Lauren type and LNM (odds ratio, .98; 95% CI, .71-1.37; P = .934) or prognosis in the univariate Cox regression (HR, .98; 95% CI, .76-1.26; P = .893) and univariate competing risk model (SHR, .98; 95% CI, .76-1.26; P = .893). Conclusions Diffuse-type EGC may have a comparable risk of LNM and prognosis to intestinal-type EGC. Nevertheless, these results should be carefully interpreted with caution when choosing endoscopic resection instead of surgery, because the treatment choice for EGC depends on the risk of lymphovascular invasion rather than LNM rate or prognosis.

Background Several node staging schemes have been proposed for colorectal cancer. The optimal system remains controversial. This study aims to compare three node staging schemes in predicting survival outcome in patients with colorectal cancer. Methods Patients with colorectal cancer were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and a Chinese patient cohort was used for independent validation. The prognostic performance of three node staging schemes was compared, involving a number-based scheme (pN), ratio-based scheme (rN) and log odds of positive lymph nodes scheme (LODDS). Prediction performance were assessed for overall performance using R2, discriminatory capacity using Harrell’s C statistic, Royston’s D statistic. After LODDS and rN were classified into three groups using the x-tile analysis, prediction capacity of these two classification was also compared with 7th N stage. Results There were 240 898 patients in the SEER database and 1316 in the Chinese cohort. LODDS scheme showed limited advantage in overall performance R2 (LODDS vs. rN vs. pN: 19.4% vs. 17.6% vs. 9.4%) and predictive accuracy with Harrell’s C statistic (LODDS vs. rN vs. pN: 0.727 vs. 0.719 vs. 0.712), Royston’s D statistic (LODDS vs. rN vs. pN: 4.01 vs. 4.13 vs. 3.83) than either pN or rN, for patients with colorectal cancer in SEER database. Results were validated in Chinese cohort, also showing that LODDS scheme still showed a limited advantage in predicting survival outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer (See table 1). Using x-tile method, patients were classified into three groups of LODDS as LODDS1. Conclusions Both LODDS, rN, and pN schemes had the similar discriminatory capacity and predictive accuracy. The LODDS, rN classification could also serve as an important reference for the tumour node metastasis (TNM) node classification.

Background: Alternative splicing (AS) is deemed as a pivotal mechanism for post-transcriptional modification and protein diversity. Multiple studies have shown that cancer-specific AS alterations influence clinical outcome. We aimed to profile prognostic alternative mRNA splicing for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Methods: RNA-sequencing data and clinical information of PDAC patients were downloaded from TCGA database, and the percent-spliced-in (PSI) data of AS was obtained from the SpliceSeq database. We selected overall survival (OS)-associated AS events using univariate Cox regression analysis. Gene functional enrichment analysis demonstrated the pathways enriched by survival-associated AS. Then, prognostic AS signatures were constructed for OS and chemoresistance prediction using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method. We also analyzed splicing factors (SFs) underlying regulation mechanisms by Pearson correlation and then built corresponding regulatory networks. Findings: After selection, 10354 AS events in 140 PDAC patients were profiled. We detected 677 OS-related AS events in 485 genes from Cox model. Computational algorithm results showed that RNA splicing-related pathways may be the potential mechanisms regulating poor prognosis. The AS signatures revealed high performance in predicting PDAC survival and gemcitabine chemoresistance. The area under of the ROC curve for AS-based predictor, constructed with significant survival-associated AS events, was 0.889 at 2000 days of OS. We identified prognostic SFs to build the AS regulatory network, which may be the underlying mechanism of AS events. Interpretation: Genome-wide prognostic AS signature was profiled in PDAC. We created AS-based models for OS and gemcitabine resistance, and revealed the regulatory splicing correlation networks. Funding Statement: This work was supported by grants from the Incubating Program for Clinical Research and Innovation of Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Grant No. PYMDT-001), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No. 16441906903), Three-year action plan for Shin Kang of Shanghai (16CR4005A). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

This study was performed to evaluate the prognostic effect of lymphadenectomy on outcomes in patients with resectable metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma (mCRC). We selected patients with mCRC from 2004 to 2013 from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database. Kaplan-Meier analysis, univariate Cox regression and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed to assess the clinical value of lymphadenectomy on overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS) of patients with resectable mCRC. A total 24178 eligible patients were included, 23056 (95.36%) of which received lymphadenectomy. Results showed that lymphadenectomy was an independent protective factor for survival of patients with mCRC overall [OS (HR: 0.86, 95%CI: 0.79-0.93, P=0.002) and CSS (HR: 0.85, 95%CI: 0.78-0.93, P

This study was aimed to determine the effect of the local tumor therapy on patients’ prognosis in the management of metastatic rectal cancer. Patients diagnosed with metastatic rectal cancer from 2004 to 2013 were selected from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database. Overall survival and cancer-specific survival were compared between the local treatment group and the nonlocal treatment group using Kaplan–Meier methods. Uni- and multivariate analyses were further performed to confirm or deny the results. The statistical approach of propensity score matching was conducted to avoid potential confounding factors. Of 6867 patients included in this analysis, 3971 (57.8%) received local therapy to the primary tumor and 2896 (42.2%) did not receive. Both univariable and multivariable analysis showed local therapy continued to be associated with an improvement in OS (HR 0.532; 95% CI 0.503–0.563, p

A Trend of Preference of Magnifying Chromoendoscopy to Narrow Band Imaging in Diagnosis of T1 Colorectal Cancer With Deep Invasion Could Be Observed

Targeted biopsy under the guidance of magnifying endoscopy with narrow band imaging (ME-NBI) has higher accuracy than endoscopic forceps biopsy (EFB) in the differential diagnosis of cancerous lesions from noncancerous lesions. The aims of this study were to validate diagnostic efficacy of targeted biopsy under the guidance of ME-NBI (MNTB) and further evaluate whether it is necessary to perform MNTB when combined with ME-NBI.This study prospectively analyzed 211 gastric lesions of suspected cancerous tissues. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of EFB, ME-NBI, MNTB, EFB plus ME-NBI, and MNTB plus ME-NBI for the diagnosis of cancerous lesions were determined, respectively. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity of EFB and MNTB, EFB plus ME-NBI, and MNTB plus ME-NBI were also compared, respectively.The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity with 95% confidence intervals were 68.2% (61.4-74.4%), 62.3% (54.1-69.9%), 84.2% (71.6-92.1%) for EFB, 75.4% (68.9-80.9%), 72.7% (64.9-79.4%), 82.5% (69.6-90.8%) for MNTB, 76.8% (70.4-82.2%), 73.4% (65.5-80.0%), 86.0% (73.7-93.3%) for ME-NBI, 82.0% (76.0-86.8%), 85.7% (79.0-90.6%), 71.9% (58.3-82.6%) for EFB plus ME-NBI, 84.8% (79.1-89.3%), 89.6% (83.4-93.8%), and 71.9% (58.3-82.6%) for MNTB plus ME-NBI, respectively. The sensitivity of MNTB was significantly higher than that of EFB (P=0.048). There was no significant difference in the sensitivity (P=0.307), specificity (P=1.000), and accuracy (P=0.337) between EFB plus ME-NBI and MNTB plus ME-NBI.Although MNTB has a higher diagnostic efficacy than EFB in the diagnosis of cancerous lesions, it may be not necessary to perform MNTB when combined with ME-NBI.

In the previous blackout, overload components out of operation often leaded to the expansion of the accident. One active defense substation domain strategy control system was proposed to prevent the N-1 contingencies to N-2 contingencies caused blackout. Through the substation elements states real time analysis , the active defense control strategy was created by learn from the principles and action messages of backup switching equipment, protection and automatic stability control devices. In order to keep the overall system stability, the active defense control strategy was completed by actively put in the standby element or quit part of the overload elements, to make the system into a new equilibrium state. Contrasting these control strategies by PSCAD/EMTDC simulation software, the results presented that this strategy could quickly change the “Close to collapse” zone into the stability states and the building program simple and practical.

In order to solve the problem of high intensity and low efficiency by manual labor during the polishing machining of mold free-form surface, this paper present a method for path generation of robot automatic polishing based on bounding box. Firstly, ascertain the location and direction of the mold by constructing a box that is most close to the mold. Secondly, generate the tool path by introducing the improved direction-parallel machining. Finally, by using Visual C++6.0 development tool, the algorithm discussed above has been implemented and a software for trajectory generation has been developed. The results show that the method can generate the tool path better along the surface contour and is simple, effective. Besides, the software supplies a visible trajectory for robot polishing so that the unreasonable points can be modified before machining.

In this paper, a velocity servo-based hybrid position/force control scheme for a grinding robot is presented. It simultaneously performs stable force control and exact position control along curved surface for a grinding robot. The force feedback loop changing the force to velocity, which will be used in the velocity servo-based robot, can control the force directly and has a faster response. The position feedback loop controls the grinding tool in a desired trajectory in Cartesian space. An overview of the control algorithm as well as the force data signal processing and the communication between force sensor and robot controller is described.

The constituting of diagnosis expert system and the basic theory of fault tree analysis were introduced at first. A model of combining fault tree with expert system was analyzed. It focused on the hydraulic excavator PC220-7 for Komatsu according to the hydraulic system breakdown of law and order was particularity. A method combined the fault tree analysis with an expert system based rules was adopted. It was expressed systematically expert knowledge by building a fault tree. According to the fault tree, a database of diagnostic rule can be automatically generated. Automatic diagnosis knowledge acquisition has become reality. A hydraulic system fault of excavator was given as an example to design an expert system with the function of complex reasoning and explanation. It provides a reference for hydraulic excavator of the use of management and fault maintenance personnel to solve excavator problems. It shows that this method has a good application in the future.