Medicine
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Meta Analysis
Clinical efficacy and safety of stem cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis: A meta-analysis.
We performed a meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of stem cell therapy as a clinical treatment of knee osteoarthritis. This meta-analysis is expected to provide evidence of the efficacy of stem cell therapy, which is currently controversial, as a conservative treatment for knee osteoarthritis. ⋯ Stem cell therapy is certainly superior to traditional treatments in the conservative treatment of KOA; it considerably reduces pain with no obvious additional side effects.
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Although the early detection and treatment of non-metastatic esophageal cancer has improved, these patients' prognoses are still poor. Most patients with radical treatment for esophageal cancer will relapse in 3 years, and the best treatment strategy after recurrence has not been uniformly accepted. Multiform treatments may be beneficial to recurrent patients. ⋯ The emergence of ICIs promotes the treatment of esophageal cancer to a new era. Our observations suggest that patients for whom schedule to receive anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (anti-PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunotherapy may require genomic testing to predict whether tumors respond to ICIs. In this case, we also present the predictors for the efficacy of targeted immunotherapy. At present, no matter which predictor of PD-L1 expression, tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL), a single predictor may be unconvincing and cannot accurately estimate the efficacy of immunotherapy. Multiplex detecting methods and combined biomarkers may provide new strategies. Consensus need to be reached in order to be widely applied in future studies.
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Meta Analysis
Prognostic role of the pretreatment C-reactive protein/albumin ratio in gastric cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
In recent years, several studies have investigated the prognostic role of the pretreatment C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) in gastric cancer and yielded conflicting results. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the prognostic role of the pretreatment CAR in gastric cancer. ⋯ A high pretreatment CAR was significantly associated with poor survival for patients with gastric cancer. The prognostic significance of the pretreatment CAR in gastric cancer is need to be confirmed by clinical trials of large sample size.
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Meta Analysis
Metformin therapy and cognitive dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis and systematic review.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction. The relationship between metformin therapy and cognitive function in patients with T2D is unknown. Therefore, we determined the relationship between metformin therapy and cognitive function in patients with T2D using a meta-analysis. ⋯ Metformin significantly improved cognitive dysfunction in patients with T2D. Sulfonylureas also improved cognitive dysfunction. Thiazolidinediones had no significant effect on cognitive dysfunction. The use of insulin aggravated cognitive dysfunction. Metformin improved cognitive dysfunction more significantly in patients in the Americas and Europe than in Asia.