Medicine
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Few studies directly compare efficacy and toxicity among lobaplatin, nedaplatin and cisplatin concurrently with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Totally 141 treatment-naïve NPC without distant metastasis receiving IMRT concurrent with cisplatin or nedaplatin or lobaplatin were retrospectively enrolled. Their response rate, toxicity and long-term survival were compared. ⋯ Economic cost was significant less in lobaplatin group. Cisplatin, nedaplatin and lobaplatin are equally effective when used concurrently with IMRT in NPC. Lobaplatin and nedaplatin have potential to be alternatives to cisplatin in terms of less severe acute side-effects and economic cost.
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Case Reports
Apatinib combined with temozolomide treatment for pseudoprogression in glioblastoma: A case report.
Glioblastoma is the most common malignant tumor of the central nervous system, which originates from glial cells and corresponding precursors. Due to its strong invasion and rapid growth, the prognosis of patients after treatment is very poor and easy to relapse. ⋯ Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy with apatinib and temozolomide are effective to treat the patients with pseudoprogression in glioblastoma.
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The proportion of poorly controlled hypertensives still remains high in the general African population. This is largely due to therapeutic inertia (TI), defined as the failure to intensify or modify treatment in a patient with poorly controlled blood pressure (BP). The objective of this study was to identify the determinants of TI. ⋯ The random-effects model performed better in predicting high-risk patients with TI than the classical logistic model (P value < .001). Our study showed a high TI score in patients followed in cardiology in Burkina Faso. Reduction of the TI score through targeted interventions is necessary to better control hypertension in our cohort patients.
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Observational Study
The risk factors of the occurrence of inguinal hernia in ESRD patients receiving dialysis treatment: An observational study using national health insurance research database.
With the quickly growing population of patients receiving dialysis treatment in Taiwan in recent years, concerns about whether more incidence of inguinal hernia exists in dialysis patients are increasing. In Taiwan, peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) are the 2 most common dialysis types. Therefore, the relationship between dialysis type and inguinal hernia occurrence needs to be evaluated and compared. ⋯ If the patients received PD and shifted to HD later, the risk of hernia was 5 times (aHR = 4.98, 95% CI = 2.29-10.85) than patients with HD. Patients with ESRD receiving PD or PD-HD shift were risk factors of inguinal hernia occurrence. The results may help clinicians increase the alert of possible risk factors and complications at the beginning of dialysis treatment in patients with ESRD.
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Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, because its discovery time is in the late stage of the disease, so it is important to develop HNSCC biomarkers to achieve the purpose of early detection and treatment. Fatty acid desaturase 3 (FADS3), the third member of the FADS family, is involved in sphingolipid biosynthesis. Here, we for the first time investigated FADS3 expression in HNSCC, as well as its potential biological function, prognostic value and its impact on the immune system. ⋯ Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that FADS3 is related to inhibition of amino acid metabolism. CIBERSORT analysis showed high FADS3 expression correlates with reduced levels of B cells. FADS3 is a marker of HNSCC, and high expression of FADS3 is associated with poor prognosis of HNSCC.