Diagnosis and Management of Radiation Necrosis in Patients With Brain Metastases

The use of radiotherapy, either in the form of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT), remains the cornerstone for the treatment of brain metastases (BM). As the survival of patients with BM is being prolonged, due to improved systemic therapy (i.e., for better extra-cranial control) and increased use of SRS (i.e., for improved intra-cranial control), patients are clinically manifesting late effects of radiotherapy. One of these late effects is radiation necrosis (RN). Unfortunately, symptomatic RN is notoriously hard to diagnose and manage. The features of RN overlap considerably with tumor recurrence, and misdiagnosing RN as tumor recurrence may lead to deleterious treatment which may cause detrimental effects to the patient. In this review, we will explore the pathophysiology of RN, risk factors for its development, and the strategies to evaluate and manage RN

Targeted gene sanger sequencing should remain the first-tier genetic test for children suspected to have the five common X-linked inborn errors of immunity

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.To address inborn errors of immunity (IEI) which were underdiagnosed in resource-limited regions, our centre developed and offered free genetic testing for the most common IEI by Sanger sequencing (SS) since 2001. With the establishment of The Asian Primary Immunodeficiency (APID) Network in 2009, the awareness and definitive diagnosis of IEI were further improved with collaboration among centres caring for IEI patients from East and Southeast Asia. We also started to use whole exome sequencing (WES) for undiagnosed cases and further extended our collaboration with centres from South Asia and Africa. With the increased use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), we have shifted our diagnostic practice from SS to WES. However, SS was still one of the key diagnostic tools for IEI for the past two decades. Our centre has performed 2,024 IEI SS genetic tests, with in-house protocol designed specifically for 84 genes, in 1,376 patients with 744 identified to have disease-causing mutations (54.1%). The high diagnostic rate after just one round of targeted gene SS for each of the 5 common IEI (X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) 77.4%, Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) 69.2%, X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (XCGD) 59.5%, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID) 51.1%, and X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (HIGM1) 58.1%) demonstrated targeted gene SS should remain the first-tier genetic test for the 5 common X-linked IEI.The Hong Kong Society for Relief of Disabled Children and Jeffrey Modell Foundation.http://www.frontiersin.org/Immunologyam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Accuracy of 18F-flurodeoxyglucosepositron emission tomography/computed tomography in the staging of newly diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background. The specific role of 18F-flurodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in staging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains to be validated. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to assess the accuracy of staging FDG-PET/CT for newly diagnosed NPC. Methods. We searched various biomedical databases and conference proceedings for relevant studies. We determined the pooled sensitivities and specificities, diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) and constructed summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves using the hierarchical regression model. Results. 15 relevant studies including 851 patients were identified. Five addressed primary tumor (T), nine addressed regional lymph nodes (N) and seven addressed distant metastasis (M). The combined sensitivity estimate for FDG-PET/CT in T classification was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59-0.95). For N classification, combined sensitivity was 0.84 (95% CI 0.76-0.91), specificity was 0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.97), DOR was 82.4 (23.2-292.6) and Q*-index was 0.90. For M classification, the combined sensitivity estimate was 0.87 (95% CI 0.74-1.00), specificity was 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-1.00), DOR was 120.9 (43.0-340.0) and Q*-index was 0.89. Conclusion. FDG-PET/CT showed good accuracy in N and M but not T classification for newly diagnosed NPC. FDG-PET/CT, together with Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the nasopharynx, should be part of the routine staging investigation

One-dimensional metal-organic nanowires-derived catalyst of carbon nanobamboos with encapsulated cobalt nanoparticles for oxygen reduction

One-dimensional (1D) metal-organic nanostructures hold great promise for preparing various 1D carbon/metal derivatives toward various electrocatalysis including oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); but it is challenging to synthesize them. Herein, 1D cobalt(Co)-metal-organic nanowires are prepared using the complex of Co2+ and 1, 2, 4-triazole. Direct carbonization of the as-prepared nanowires affords a well-defined structure of Co nanoparticles encapsulated inside the bamboo-liked 1D carbon nanostructure, i.e., carbon nanobamboos (Co@CNB). Owing to the outstanding electronic transport in bamboo-liked carbon structure, strong electronic coupling between the N-doped carbon and Co nanoparticles, the Co@CNB catalyst exhibits an excellent ORR performance comparable to the commercial Pt/C in alkaline solution. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the Co@CNB can strengthen the adsorption of all adsorbates (O*, OH* and OOH*) compared with a carbon nanotube, benifical for oxygen protonation and thus enhancing the ORR activity. Moreover, it is possible to outperform Pt intrinsically if the curvature of carbon shell is high enough in Co@CNB. Lastly, the zinc-air battery (ZAB) fabricated with Co@CNB as the cathode catalyst shows a higher peak power density and better cycling durability than those of the ZAB with Pt/C; suggesting the great potential of Co@CNB as efficient electrocatalysts for metal-air batteries.National Research Foundation (NRF)Accepted versionThis work was supported by Nanyang Technological University under NAP award (M408050000) and Singapore Ministry of Education Tier 1 program (2018-T1-001-051). Part of this work was conducted within the Delta-NTU Corporate Lab for Cyber-Physical Systems with funding support from Delta Electronics Inc. and the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under the Corp Lab@University Scheme. J.X. acknowledges the financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21802124, 91845103, and 91945302), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDB36030200), and the Liaoning Revitalization Talents program (No. XLYC1907099), and the fund of the State Key Laboratory of Catalysis in DICP (No. N-19-13), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2018YFA0704503)

Palliative Radiotherapy for Bladder cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

10.1080/0284186X.2021.1880025Acta Oncologica6005635-64

Photovoltaic-powered supercapacitors for driving overall water splitting: a dual-modulated 3D architecture

Due to the growing demand for clean and renewable hydrogen fuel, there has been a surge of interest in electrocatalytic water-splitting devices driven by renewable energy sources. However, the feasibility of self-driven water splitting is limited by inefficient connections between functional modules, lack of highly active and stable electrocatalysts, and intermittent and unpredictable renewable energy supply. Herein, we construct a dual-modulated three-dimensional (3D) NiCo2O4@NiCo2S4 (denoted as NCONCS) heterostructure deposited on nickel foam as a multifunctional electrode for electrocatalytic water splitting driven by photovoltaic-powered supercapacitors. Due to a stable 3D architecture configuration, abundant active sites, efficient charge transfer, and tuned interface properties, the NCONCS delivers a high specific capacity and rate performance for supercapacitors. A two-electrode electrolyzer assembled with the NCONCS as both the anode and the cathode only requires a low cell voltage of 1.47 V to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline electrolyte, which outperforms the state-of-the-art bifunctional electrocatalysts. Theoretical calculations suggest that the generated heterointerfaces in NCONCS improve the surface binding capability of reaction intermediates while regulating the local electronic structures, which thus accelerates the reaction kinetics of water electrolysis. As a proof of concept, an integrated configuration comprising a two-electrode electrolyzer driven by two series-connected supercapacitors charged by a solar cell delivers a high product yield with superior durability.Ministry of Education (MOE)Nanyang Technological UniversityPublished versionThis study was supported by a NAP award (M408050000) from Nanyang Technological University and the Singapore Ministry of Education Tier 1 program (2018‐T1‐001‐051). This study was also supported by the JST‐ERATO Yamauchi Materials Space‐Tectonics Project (JPMJER2003)

Diagnosis and Management of Radiation Necrosis in Patients With Brain Metastases

10.3389/fonc.2018.00395FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY

Palliative radiotherapy for gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

10.18632/oncotarget.15554ONCOTARGET81525797-2580

Discordance of epidermal growth factor receptor mutation between primary lung tumor and paired distant metastases in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PurposeTo evaluate the rate of discordance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation between primary lung tumor and paired distant metastases in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).MethodsWe performed a meta-analysis of 17 studies (518 cases) assessing discordance rates of EGFR mutation in primary tumors and paired distant metastases. We performed subgroup analyses based on EGFR mutation status in primary tumor (mutant or wildtype), site of distant metastasis (bone, central nervous system (CNS) or lung/ pleural), methods of testing (direct sequencing or allele-specific testing) and timing of metastasis (synchronous or metachronous).ResultsThe overall discordance rate in EGFR mutation was low at 10.36% (95% CI = 4.23% to 18.79%) and varied widely between studies (I2 = 83.18%). The EGFR discordance rate was statistically significantly higher in bone metastases (45.49%, 95% CI = 14.13 to 79.02) than CNS (17.26%, 95% CI = 7.64 to 29.74; P = 0.002) and lung/ pleural metastases (8.17%, 95% CI = 3.35 to 14.85; P ConclusionThe overall discordance rate in EGFR mutation between primary lung tumor and paired distant metastases in NSCLC is low, although higher discordance rates were observed in bone metastases compared with CNS and lung/pleural metastases. Future studies assessing the impact of EGFR mutation discordance on treatment outcomes are required