Search

Summary: Background: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is required to screen for high‐risk varices (HRV) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially since overall survival rates have dramatically improved with new systemic therapies. Aim: To assess the Baveno VI and Baveno VII algorithms' ability to rule out HRV in hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐related HCC Methods: We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with HBV related, compensated cirrhosis and newly diagnosed HCC who underwent liver stiffness measurement, spleen stiffness measurement (SSM) using a 100‐Hz shear wave frequency, and EGD. Results: From September 2021 to August 2023, we enrolled 219 patients with HCC, with 107 (48.9%) Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) A, 28 (12.8%) BCLC B and 84 (38.3%) BCLC C, respectively. HRV prevalence was 28.8% (63/219). Baveno VI criteria safely (HRV missing rate, 3.2%) avoided 27.4% unnecessary EGDs, while the Baveno VII algorithm avoided 49.3% with HRV missing rate at 7.9% (5/63). The SSM ≤40 kPa avoided 47.5% of EGDs safely (HRV missing rate, 4.8%), significantly better than the Baveno VI criteria (p < 0.001) and comparable to the Baveno VII algorithm (p = 0.390). The SSM ≤40 kPa safely avoided EGDs in patient subgroups within Milan criteria, with portal vein tumour thrombosis or BCLC B/C or candidates for systemic therapy. Conclusions: We validated that the SSM ≤40 kPa using a 100‐Hz probe could safely eliminate more unnecessary EGDs than the Baveno VI criteria in patients with HBV‐related HCC. However, the efficacy of the Baveno VII algorithm in patients with HCC requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing cost-effective, efficient, and durable catalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) is the key for promoting large-scale H2 production through electrochemical water splitting. Herein, we report a facile method for fabricating an NiFe@NiCr-LDH catalyst toward alkaline OER. The electronic microscopy technique revealed that it has a well-defined heterostructure at the interface between the NiFe and NiCr phases. In 1.0 M KOH, the as-prepared NiFe@NiCr-LDH catalyst shows excellent catalytic performance, evidenced by an overpotential of 266 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 63 mV dec−1; both are comparable with the RuO2 benchmark catalyst. It also exhibits robust durability in long-term operation, manifested by a 10% current decay in 20 h, which is superior to that of the RuO2 catalyst. Such excellent performance is attributed to the interfacial electron transfer that occurs at the interfaces of the heterostructure, and the Fe(III) species facilitate the formation of Ni(III) species as active sites in NiFe@NiCr-LDH. This study offers a feasible strategy for preparing a transition metal-based LDH catalyst for OER toward H2 production and other electrochemical energy technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a promising technology for marine two-stroke engines satisfying the IMO Tier Ⅲ NO x regulation, the high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (HP-EGR) systems in multi-mode operation significantly redistribute the waste heat, thereby complicating the design and control of the waste heat recovery (WHR) systems. In this paper, a novel dual-pressure steam Rankine cycle (SRC) is proposed to recover multi-grade waste heat from marine engines in multi-mode operation. The HP-EGR system is designed on the 6EX340 engine, followed by the evaluation of waste heat distribution in multi-modes. Detailed thermodynamic and economic analyses of the designed SRC and the combined cycle power plant are then conducted. The results show that the thermal efficiency of the designed SRC is 8.1 %–13.3 % in Tier II mode, increasing to 10.1 %–15.7 % in Tier III mode, attributable to a 16 %–42 % increase in waste heat exergy. Considering typical propulsion profiles, the reduction in weighted average fuel consumption for the combined cycle power plant reaches up to 3.4 % in Tier II operation and 6.1 % in Tier III operation. When 12.5 % of sailing time is spent within ECAs, the combined cycle power plant is expected to yield up to 4 % in annual fuel cost savings. • HP-EGR multi-mode operation redistributes waste heat energy and exergy. • A novel dual-pressure SRC was proposed considering HP-EGR multi-mode operation. • Thermal efficiency of the designed SRC reaches up to 15.7 % in Tier Ⅲ operation. • Maximum weighted average BSFC reduction of 6.1 % is achieved for the proposed SRC. • The SRC in multi-mode operation yields up to 4 % in annual fuel cost savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Douyin APP is the short video APP with the largest number of users in China. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the quality and reliability of short videos about cosmetic surgery on Douyin. Methods: In August 2022, we retrieved and screened 300 short videos related to cosmetic surgery from Douyin, extracted basic video information, encoded the content and identified the video source. The quality and reliability of short video information were evaluated using the DISCERN instrument. Results: A total of 168 short videos of cosmetic surgery were included in the survey, and the video sources included personal accounts and institutional accounts. Overall, the total proportion of institutional accounts (47/168, 27.98%) is significantly less than that of personal accounts (121/168, 72.02%); nonhealth professionals received the most praises, comments and even collections and reposts, while for‐profit academic organizations or institutions received the least. The DISCERN scores of 168 short videos of cosmetic surgery were 3.74–4.58 (average 4.22). Content reliability (p =.04) and overall short video quality (p =.02) are significantly different, but short videos published from different sources have no significant difference in treatment selection (p =.052). Conclusion: The overall information quality and reliability of short videos about cosmetic surgery on Douyin are satisfactory in China. Patient or Public Contribution: The participants were involved in developing research questions, study design, management and conduct, interpretation of evidence and dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yujun Tang, Yishi Lu, Yuan Chen and Lei Luo contributed equally to this work. Bars represent number of migrated cells. f Drug resistance (epirubicin) was evaluated in indicated cells by CCK-8 assay. g Phase-contrast images of sphere-forming assays of indicated cells. h Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of stemness markers. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this study is to investigate and analyze the effect of different application sequences of CO2 fractional laser and triamcinolone acetonide injection on the application effect of hypertrophic scar in one operation. Patients with hypertrophic scars who received CO2 lattice laser combined with triamcinolone acetonide injection from January 2021 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different initial operations, they were divided into CO2 FL-TA group and TA-CO2 FL group. The Vancouver Scar Scale score and scar thickness of the two groups before and after treatment were analyzed. The complications occurred in the two groups during the treatment period. The clinical efficacy of the two groups before and after the treatment was calculated. Before treatment, there was no difference in scar thickness and VSS score between the two groups (P > 0.05). After treatment, the above indexes in CO2 FL-TA group were significantly better than those in TA-CO2 FL group (P < 0.05); the incidence of adverse reactions in CO2 FL-TA group was 9.38%, which was significantly lower than that in TA-CO2 FL group (18.75%) (P < 0.05); the total effective rate of CO2 FL-TA group was 90.63%, which was significantly higher than that in TA-CO2 FL group (65.63%) (P < 0.05). In the process of combined CO2 fractional laser and triamcinolone acetonide injection in the treatment of hypertrophic scars, CO2 fractional laser treatment first, and then triamcinolone acetonide injection can reduce the number of treatments, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions, and achieve more satisfactory treatment effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cocoa consumption as a diet has been shown to improve cardiometabolic biomarkers for T2D, but results were inconsistent. A comprehensive search from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and The Cochrane Library to identify the randomised controlled trials investigating the impacts of cocoa products consumption on cardiometabolic biomarkers in T2D was performed up to December 2020. Twelve trials involving 9 long-term and 3 short-term studies were included. The cocoa products significantly decreased low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (WMD: −9.955 mg/dL, 95% CI: −17.408, −2.501, p = 0.009), triglyceride (WMD: −15.364 mg/dL, 95% CI: −23.383, −7.346, p < 0.001), blood glucose (WMD: −9.105 mg/dL, 95% CI: −15.022, −3.189, p = 0.003), and C-reactive protein (WMD: −0.978 mg/L, 95% CI: −1.687, −0.269, p = 0.007) in long-term. The results indicated the beneficial long-term effects of cocoa products intake on cardiometabolic biomarkers for T2D, especially on blood glucose, lipid metabolism (LDL-C and TG), and inflammation (CRP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a meta‐analysis on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy of Zingiberaceae on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus were searched systematically until October 18, 2021. Thirty‐four RCTs with 2154 patients met our inclusion. Pooled analysis indicated that Zingiberaceae can significantly improve body weight (BW) (WMD = −1.012, 95% CI: −1.673, −0.351, p =.003), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (WMD = −14.292, 95% CI: −18.588, −9.995, p <.001), glycosylated hemoglobin 1c (HbA1c) (WMD = −0.432, 95% CI: −0.607, −0.257, p <.001), serum insulin (WMD = −2.036, 95% CI: −2.857, −1.216, p <.001), homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) (WMD = −0.886, 95% CI: −1.375, −0.398, p <.001), high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C) (WMD = 0.850, 95% CI: 0.018, 1.682, p =.045), triglyceride (TG) (WMD = −17.636, 95% CI: −27.121, −8.151, p <.001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (WMD = −0.642, 95% CI: −1.148, −0.137, p =.013), C‐reactive protein (CRP) (WMD = −0.623, 95% CI: −1.061, −0.186, p =.005), tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) (WMD = −3.020, 95% CI: −4.327, −1.712, p <.001), and interleukin 6 (IL‐6) (WMD = −1.147, 95% CI: −1.887, −0.406, p =.002). The supplementation of Zingiberaceae may be an effective adjunctive therapy in management of T2DM and prevention cardiovascular complications by decreasing BW, improving blood glucose control, insulin resistance, lipid profiles (HDL‐C and TG), blood pressure (DBP), and reducing inflammation (CRP, TNF‐α, and IL‐6). Practical applications: Approximately half of the deaths of individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) are attributable to cardiovascular disease (CVD), and individuals with T2DM have a two‐fold increased risk of cardiovascular mortality than healthy individuals. Currently, T2DM is mainly treated with hypoglycemic medication such as sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, meglitinides, and biguanides. Nevertheless, most of them with long‐term usage could cause side effects, including hypoglycemia and gastrointestinal troubles. Several species of the Zingiberaceae family are used in traditional herbal medicines, which have been widely used in traditional and complementary medicine. Proving the potential benefits of Zingiberaceae on T2DM and its cardiovascular complications has positive clinical implications for the use of this practical herb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circulating tumour cells (CTCs), especially mesenchymal CTCs, are important determinants of metastasis, which leads to most recurrence and mortality in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of CTC colonisation in pre-metastatic niches. Methods: Detection and classification of CTCs in patients were performed using the CanPatrol™ system. A lentiviral vector expressing Prrx1-targeting shRNA was constructed to generate a stable HCC cell line with low expression of Prrx1. The effect of Prrx1 knockdown on stemness, migration, and drug resistance of the cell line was assessed, including involvement of SDF-1/CXCR4 signalling. Promising clinical applications of an inhibitor of STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation, C188–9, and specific blockade with CXCR4 antibody were explored. Results: The number of mesenchymal CTCs in blood was closely associated with tumour recurrence or metastasis. Pre-metastatic niche-derived SDF-1 could downregulate Prrx1, which induced the stemness, drug resistance, and increased expression of CXCR4 in HCC cells through the STAT3 pathway in vitro. In vivo, mice bearing tumours of Prrx1 low-expressing cells had significantly shorter survival. In xenograft tumours and clinical samples, loss of Prrx1 was negatively correlated with increased expression of CXCR4 in lung metastatic sites compared with that in the primary foci. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that decreased expression of Prrx1 stimulates SDF-1/CXCR4 signalling and contributes to organ colonisation with blood CTCs in HCC. STAT3 inhibition and specific blockade of CXCR4 have clinical potential as therapeutics for eliminating organ metastasis in advanced HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of cloud computing and deep learning makes the intelligent modes of applications widespread in various fields. The identification of Raman spectra can be realized in the cloud, due to its powerful computing, abundant spectral databases and advanced algorithms. Thus, it can reduce the dependence on the performance of the terminal instruments. However, the complexity of the detection environment can cause great interferences, which might significantly decrease the identification accuracies of algorithms. In this paper, a deep learning algorithm based on the Dense network has been proposed to satisfy the realization of this vision. The proposed Dense convolutional neural network has a very deep structure of over 40 layers and plenty of parameters to adjust the weight of different wavebands. In the kernel Dense blocks part of the network, it has a feed-forward fashion of connection for each layer to every other layer. It can alleviate the gradient vanishing or explosion problems, strengthen feature propagations, encourage feature reuses and enhance training efficiency. The network's special architecture mitigates noise interferences and ensures precise identification. The Dense network shows more accuracy and robustness compared to other CNN-based algorithms. We set up a database of 1600 Raman spectra consisting of 32 different types of liquid chemicals. They are detected using different postures as examples of interfered Raman spectra. In the 50 repeated training and testing sets, the Dense network can achieve a weighted accuracy of 99.99%. We have also tested the RRUFF database and the Dense network has a good performance. The proposed approach advances cloud-enabled Raman spectra identification, offering improved accuracy and adaptability for diverse identification tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Blepharoplasty is a typical complex structural system, which involves many factors and the interaction among them. Therefore, it is the basis of controlling the occurrence of medical complications in blepharoplasty to clarify the hierarchical relationship of various risk factors and find out the key risk factors. Methods: On the basis of identifying the risk factors for quality management of blepharoplasty by means of literature research, questionnaire survey and expert interview, the risk factor model of blepharoplasty quality management were analyzed and constructed. The relationship between the risk factors and the degree of influence on the risk factors was studied using Decision‐Making Trialand Evaluation Laboratory and Interpretative Structural Modeling Method, and the hierarchical structure model of the risk factors for blepharoplasty quality management was obtained. Results: Six levels of risk factors in quality management of blepharoplasty were identified and classified, and the causal attributes among risk factors were determined. Six key risk factors in quality management of double eyelid surgery were determined according to centrality, and finally the above risk factors were divided into three categories: direct cause, excessive cause, and essential cause. Conclusions: This study realizes the comprehensive risk factor analysis of the complex system of quality management of blepharoplasty, which can provide reference for plastic surgeons to make safety decisions of blepharoplasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the effect of absorbable collagen thread and cosmetic suture technique on scar inhibition after emergency facial trauma in children, and to explore the application value of absorbable collagen thread in emergency facial trauma. Methods: Children who received emergency treatment of facial trauma in plastic surgery department from January 2021 to January 2022 were analysed retrospectively, and were divided into absorbable collagen thread group and non‐absorbable nylon thread group. The general data, scar appearance and local symptoms of the two groups were analysed, and the scar appearance was scored by scar beauty rating scale and non‐inferiority test was analysed statistically. Results: A total of 632 children with facial trauma were included in this study, including 458 patients with absorbable collagen thread and 174 patients with non‐absorbable nylon thread. The SCAR score of the absorbable collagen thread group (3.03 ± 1.57) was similar to that of the non‐absorbable nylon thread group (2.98 ± 2.39) (95% confidence interval), and the final scar outcome score was not statistically different (P > 0.05). All families of the patients were satisfied with the results of the procedure, 95% very satisfied. Conclusion: The use of absorbable collagen thread and cosmetic suture technique to treat the wounds of children with facial emergency trauma, resulted in good wound healing, little scar expansion, low incidence of erythema and pigment abnormality, no obvious surgical trace, and no scar hypertrophy or atrophy. The overall impression was good, the pain of stitch removal was avoided for children's patients, and the satisfaction of family members was high. Cosmetic suture technique with absorbable sutures is worthy of clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The glandular fluid secreted by apocrine sweat glands is decomposed by parasitic bacteria on the skin surface and releases a bad smell called axillary osmidrosis. Objective: To evaluate the effect of power‐assisted rotary cutter with negative pressure suction through small incision for axillary osmidrosis. Methods: From January 2017 to January 2022, 647 patients with axillary osmidrosis underwent power‐assisted rotary cutter with negative pressure suction through small incision surgery to treat for axillary osmidrosis. The operation time (min), intraoperative bleeding (ml) and recovery time (days) were counted. Three months after operation, the amount of underarm sweat, the disappearance of underarm hair, the incidence of operation, the effective rate of operation, and the satisfaction of operation results were evaluated by questionnaire. Results: There were no postoperative complications except five cases of mild axillary pigmentation after 3 months. All patients evaluated good odor elimination. No patient was rated as average or poor. No recurrence. Conclusion: Power‐assisted rotary cutter with negative pressure suction through small incision is an effective and ideal surgical method to reduce the complications and recurrence of axillary osmidrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorafenib is a first-line molecular-target drug for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and reducing sorafenib resistance is an important issue to be resolved for the clinical treatment of HCC. In the current study, we identified that ABCC5 is a critical regulator and a promising therapeutic target of acquired sorafenib resistance in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The expression of ABCC5 was dramatically induced in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells and was remarkably associated with poor clinical prognoses. The down-regulation of ABCC5 expression could significantly reduce the resistance of sorafenib to HCC cells. Importantly, activation of PI3K/AKT/NRF2 axis was essential for sorafenib to induce ABCC5 expression. ABCC5 increased intracellular glutathione (GSH) and attenuated lipid peroxidation accumulation by stabilizing SLC7A11 protein, which inhibited ferroptosis. Additionally, the inhibition of ABCC5 enhanced the anti-cancer activity of sorafenib in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate a novel molecular mechanism of acquired sorafenib resistance and also suggest that ABCC5 is a new regulator of ferroptosis in HCC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We demonstrated that postoperative mesenchymal circulating tumor cell (mCTC) in peripheral blood were independent risk factors for the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radical resection. However, few studies have been conducted on the efficacy and survival benefit of postoperative adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) for patients with mCTC-positive HCC. We evaluated the effect of PA-TACE on the prognosis of mCTC-positive/mCTC-negative HCC patients. Methods: A total of 261 HCC patients from February 2014 to December 2017 undergoing curative hepatectomy were included in this study. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates, overall survival (OS) rates, and prognostic factors were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazard model. Results: The results showed that 57.8% (59/102) mCTC-positive and 43.4% (69/159) mCTC-negative patients underwent PA-TACE. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that PVTT (HR 2.370; 95% CI, 1.535–3.660; P < 0.001), BCLC stage (B+C) (HR 3.871; 95% CI, 2.544–5.892; P < 0.001), mCTC (HR 1.414; 95% CI, 1.276–1.622; P < 0.001), and without PA-TACE (HR 1.724; 95% CI, 1.152–2.580; P = 0.008) were independent risk factors for poor RFS. Meanwhile, PVTT (HR 1.744; 95% CI, 1.261–2.412; P = 0.001), multinodularity (HR 1.416; 95% CI, 1.069–1.876; P = 0.015), mCTC (HR 1.612; 95% CI, 1.471–1.796; P < 0.001), and without PA-TACE (HR 1.311; 95% CI, 1.010–1.701; P = 0.042) were independent risk factors for poor OS. Both RFS (P = 0.004) and OS (P = 0.045) in mCTC-positive patients who received PA-TACE were significantly improved relative to those who underwent hepatic resection alone. Among 102 mCTC-positive patients, the mCTC-positive rate was significantly lower in patients treated with PA-TACE than in those treated with liver resection alone (46.4% vs. 88.4%, P = 0.031). No differences were observed in DFS and OS among the mCTC-negative patients with or without PA-TACE. Early recurrence was more likely to occur in patients without PA-TACE (P = 0.006). Conclusions: PA-TACE was a safe intervention and could effectively prevent tumor recurrence and improve the survival of mCTC-positive HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SAA was strongly associated with macrophages in SLE. • SAA might promote M1 macrophage differentiation by downregulating PHGDH. • Artesunate upregulated PHGDH to inhibit M1 macrophage differentiation induced by SAA. Clinical studies indicated that Serum Amyloid A (SAA) might be a promising biomarker for forecasting the activity, severity, and adverse prognosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Simultaneously, a positive correlation has been observed between macrophages, Th17 cells, and SLE disease activity, with both these immune cells being affected by SAA. Presently, the relationship between SAA and the aforementioned immune cell types in SLE remains to be elucidated. To discern the immune cell type most closely associated with SAA, we undertook a single-cell RNA sequencing data analysis via the GEO database. Subsequent results revealed a strong association between macrophages and SAA, a relationship further validated through flow cytometry of spleen macrophages in the MRL/lpr model. We discovered that SAA stimulate M1 macrophage differentiation along with the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1β. Our findings suggest that SAA may promote M1 macrophage differentiation via the downregulation of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH). Artesunate (ART), primarily utilized for malaria treatment, was shown to inhibit M1 macrophage differentiation and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels via upregulating the PHGDH expression, thereby attenuating the disease activity in SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wide-swath and high-resolution Thermal infrared (TIR) data are limited by the mutual constraint between swath and resolution. In this paper, we propose a whisk-broom imaging method with the long-linear-array (LLA) 4-stage TDI detector (a total of 2048 pixels along splicing direction) and high-precision one-dimensional scanning mirror to achieve 30 m resolution and 300 km swath. And it is being implemented in the first SDGs satellite (SATSAT-1) thermal infrared spectrometer (TIS). Specially, the integration time of whisk-broom imaging system is limited by the speed of scanning mirror, and the shorter integration time is a huge challenge to meet the requirement of high sensitivity and dynamic range. The HgCdTe detector has been improved in its annealing process to reduce dark current and noise, and the opto-mechanical system has been regulated at 195 K to reduce instrument self-emission. To address the limitations of small satellite resources, TIS is equipped with a highly integrated and lightweight design, weighing 247.5 kg and consuming 248 watts respectively. As a result of the complexity of imaging mechanisms and the low frequency of deep space observations, positioning error and radiometric calibration resources have increased, and geometric and radiometric calibration methods have been improved. On-orbit test results show that TIS is capable of detecting temperature differences with a NEdT (noise equivalent differential temperature) less than 0.08 K@300 K, an absolute radiometric accuracy of less than 1 K @ 300 K, and MTF of greater than 0.125. Presently, a collection of more than 201,856 scenes covering land and marine and some precious TIR datasets of planes and naval vessels have been obtained and provided for United Nations for the realization of SDGs goals. • An imaging method with long-linear-array detector and whisk-broom mirror is proposed. • Biweekly and every orbit radiometric calibration modes are effective. • A optimal pixel selection for 4-TDI detectors enhances TIS sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A growing body of research indicates that the monitoring of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may have great significance to the diagnosis of malignant tumors, assessment of condition, selection of treatment methods, and evaluation of prognosis and has a broad range of potential applications. However, the value of CTCs with different phenotypes in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and assessment of patient condition remains unclear.Methods: We collected 5 ml of peripheral blood from 176 patients who were found to have space-occupying lesions in the liver via B-ultrasound diagnosis at Zhujiang Hospital affiliated with Southern Medical University between August 2015 and October 2017 and used CanPatrol™ CTCs assay technology to isolate and count CTCs with different phenotypes in the patients' peripheral blood. This allowed analysis of the value of CTCs with different phenotypes in the diagnosis of HCC and assessment of BCLC stage.Results: We used CanPatrol™ CTCs assay technology to isolate different types of CTCs: epithelial CTCs (only stained for epithelial markers), mesenchymal CTCs (only stained for mesenchymal markers), mixed CTCs (stained for epithelial markers and mesenchymal markers), and total CTCs (all of the foregoing CTC phenotypes). Of 176 observed patients, 6 patients were finally diagnosed as other malignant tumor liver metastasis, 113 were diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma, and 57 were diagnosed as having nonmalignant liver diseases. Furthermore, we intend to evaluate the diagnostic value of different phenotype CTCs count in discrimination between hepatocellular carcinoma and nonmalignant liver diseases. We found that CTCs of all types were significantly more numerous in the peripheral blood of the HCC group patients than in the NLD group patients (P < 0.05). Furthermore, of the different types of CTCs, total CTCs had the greatest diagnostic value (AUC 0.774; 95% CI, 0.704-0.834). A further discovery was that the AUC values for total CTCs, AFP, and a combined model (combined use of total CTCs and AFP) were 0.774 (95%CI, 0.704-0.834), 0.669 (95%CI, 0.587-0.750), and 0.821 (95%CI, 0.756-0.886). Late-stage HCC patients (BCLC stage B-C) had a higher peripheral blood mesenchymal CTC count than early-stage patients (BCLC stage 0-A) (median:1 vs 0), and mesenchymal CTCs ≥ 1 was the cut-off value for the diagnosis of BCLC stage in HCC patients (sensitivity: 66.67%, specificity: 59.46%, Youden index: 0.26).Conclusions: Total CTCs are more effective than AFP in the diagnosis of HCC; combined use of total CTCs and AFP can enhance the sensitivity of HCC diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]