Publications by authors named "Zong-Tao Chai"
Neuromedin B receptor (NMBR) is a prototypical class A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that plays a crucial role in histamine-independent itch transmission. However, the mechanisms underlying NMBR's selectivity and activation remain poorly understood. Herein, we utilized multiple replica molecular dynamics simulations, Markov state model (MSM), and community network analysis to explore how NMBR interacts with its two orthosteric ligands namely NMB30 and GRP(14-27) and the distinct activation mechanisms of NMBR.
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- Early and late recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) shows different outcomes, and determining the early recurrence timeframe is crucial, particularly for patients with microvascular invasion (MVI).
- The study analyzed 292 patients to establish the early recurrence interval and confirmed the results with an additional 421 patients using survival analysis techniques, identifying MVI as a significant risk factor.
- Findings suggest that for HCC patients with MVI, a 13-month period post-surgery is a practical early recurrence cutoff, and adjuvant TACE treatment during this time can improve survival rates compared to surgery alone.
Article Synopsis
- - The study evaluated a combined treatment approach for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), using transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), antiangiogenic therapy, and PD-1 inhibitors.
- - Results from 39 patients showed an objective response rate of 35.9% and a disease control rate of 74.4%, with median overall survival at 14 months and progression-free survival at 9.2 months.
- - Most patients (87.2%) experienced treatment-related adverse events, primarily hypertension and decreased albumin levels, but there were no treatment-related deaths in this cohort.
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on comparing the long-term outcomes of liver resection (LR) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated by bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT).
- Analysis included 145 HCC patients with BDTT, where the LR group showed significantly longer overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) than the TACE group both before and after statistical adjustment for other factors.
- The conclusion emphasizes that if surgery is an option, liver resection is a more effective treatment for improving prognosis in HCC patients with BDTT compared to TACE.
Background: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a risk factor of post-hepatectomy tumor recurrence for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The patterns, treatments, and prognosis have not been documented in HCC patients with MVI.
Methods: A multicenter database of patients with HCC and MVI following resection was analyzed.
Background: The presence of hepatic vein tumor thrombus (HVTT) is a major determinant of survival outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. This study compared survival outcomes between liver resection (LR) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in HCC patients with HVTT.
Methods: Data from patients who underwent LR or IMRT for HCC with HVTT at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.
Background: Microvascular invasion (MVI) adversely affects long-term survival in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to examine the association between preoperative type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with incidences of MVI and prognosis in HBV-related HCC after liver resection (LR).
Material And Methods: Data of HBV-related HCC patients who underwent LR as an initial therapy from four hospitals in China were retrospectively collected.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between preoperative international normalized ratio (INR) levels and the occurrence of portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, highlighting its implications for patient outcomes.
- It included 2,207 HCC patients, noting that those in the Low INR group had a higher incidence and more severe forms of PVTT compared to Normal and High INR groups.
- The findings show that patients with Low INR experienced significantly worse recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) rates post-liver resection, suggesting that INR levels could be a critical factor for predicting prognosis in these patients.
Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is one of the most serious forms of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vessel metastasis and has a poor survival rate. However, the molecular mechanism of PVTT has not yet been elucidated. In this study, the molecular mechanism of AXL expressed in tumor-derived endothelial cells (TECs) in vessel metastasis was investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA stable and reliable animal model for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus.
Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int
February 2022
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzed the long-term survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), focusing on the influence of splenomegaly and splenectomy on outcomes after liver resection.
- Out of 716 HCC patients, 140 had splenomegaly, and the study found that splenomegaly was linked to poorer overall and recurrence-free survival compared to those without it.
- Patients who underwent splenectomy for splenomegaly showed significantly better survival rates than those who did not, highlighting the potential benefits of splenectomy in improving long-term outcomes for these patients.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the impact of bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) on the long-term survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after surgery.
- It analyzed data from 15 studies and found that patients with BDTT had higher levels of certain biomarkers and exhibited more aggressive cancer characteristics compared to those without BDTT.
- Additionally, the overall survival rates for patients with BDTT were significantly lower at 1, 3, and 5 years post-surgery, suggesting that BDTT may serve as an important prognostic factor for HCC patients.
Background: The optimal surgical modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) remains controversial, especially regarding deciding whether to perform concurrent bile duct resection (BDR).
Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus databases were systematically searched from inception to February 2020, in order to compare overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates of HCC patients with BDTT who had either received hepatectomy with extrahepatic bile duct resection (BDR group) or hepatectomy without bile duct resection (NBDR group). Relevant outcomes were extracted by two investigators.
A new classification for hepatocellular carcinoma with hepatic vein tumor thrombus.
Hepatobiliary Surg Nutr
December 2020
Background: Hepatic vein tumor thrombus (HVTT) is a significant poor risk factor for survival outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Currently, the widely used international staging systems for HCC are not refined enough to evaluate prognosis for these patients. A new classification for macroscopic HVTT was established, aiming to better predict prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) on the prognosis of patients undergoing liver resection (LR) for primary liver malignancies (PLC).
Methods: The recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients undergoing LR with and without PVTT for three primary liver malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and hepato-cholangio carcinoma (CHC) were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis.
Results: In total, 3775 patients with PLC who underwent LR were included in this study.
Critical Role of p38 in Spinal Cord Injury by Regulating Inflammation and Apoptosis in a Rat Model.
Spine (Phila Pa 1976)
April 2020
Study Design: To evaluate the effect of p38 pathway on spinal cord injury (SCI), a rat model of SCI was performed.
Objective: We determined the effect of p38 on SCI and SCI related inflammation, apoptosis, and autophagy.
Summary Of Background Data: SCI is a severe clinical problem worldwide.
Background: Microvascular invasion (MVI) predicts poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC patients with hypercoagulability are prone to develop thrombosis; however, the relationship between preoperative coagulability state, as reflected by the international normalized ratio (INR) level, and MVI remains unclear.
Methods: From January 2009 to December 2012, HCC patients who underwent R0 liver resection (LR) from four cancer centers entered into this study.
Background: The benefits of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with microvascular invasion (MVI) remain controversial. We compared the efficacy and safety of adjuvant TACE and hepatic resection (HR) alone for HCC patients with MVI.
Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, VIP, Wan Fang, and Sino Med databases were systematically searched to compare adjuvant TACE and HR alone for the treatment of HCC with MVI from inception to January 1, 2019.
Background: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a major determinant of survival outcome for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant Sorafenib (PA-Sorafenib) in HCC patients with MVI after R0 liver resection (LR).
Methods: The data of patients who underwent R0 LR for HCC with histologically confirmed MVI at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.
Article Synopsis
- The Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (EHBH) developed a scoring system to predict the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with microvascular invasion (MVI) after liver resection.
- The EHBH-MVI score was established after analyzing a training cohort and validating it with multiple cohorts, finding significant factors such as tumor size and α-fetoprotein levels that correlate with overall survival.
- This new scoring system proved to be more effective than four commonly used classification systems in assessing long-term outcomes for HCC patients post-surgery.
Background: The effect of microvascular invasion (MVI) on the postoperative long-term prognosis of solitary small hepatocellular carcinoma remains controversial. We compared the long-term outcomes of MVI-positive and MVI-negative groups of patients with solitary small hepatocellular carcinoma.
Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, VIP, Wan Fang, and Sino Med databases were systematically searched to compare the long-term outcomes of MVI-positive and MVI-negative groups of patients with solitary small hepatocellular carcinoma from inception to November 1, 2018.
Article Synopsis
- Vascular invasion significantly affects the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), prompting a study on the effectiveness of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) in patients with hepatic vein tumor thrombus (HVTT).
- The analysis included 319 patients who underwent liver resection (LR), with a comparison made between those receiving PA-TACE and those who did not; results showed that patients in the PA-TACE group had better overall survival and recurrence-free survival rates.
- However, the study found that while PA-TACE improved outcomes for patients with peripheral and major HVTT, it was not effective for those whose tumor thrombus extended to the inferior vena cava.
Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is a significant poor prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients with PVTT limited to a first-order branch of the main portal vein (MPV) or above could benefit from negative margin (R0) liver resection (LR). An Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (EHBH)/PVTT scoring system was established to predict the prognosis of HCC patients with PVTT after R0 LR and guide selection of subgroups of patients that could benefit from LR.
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- The study investigates the survival benefits of liver resection (LR) versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatic vein tumor thrombus (HVTT) or inferior vena cava tumor thrombus (IVCTT).
- A total of 276 patients were analyzed, showing that those who underwent LR had a median survival time of 4.7 months longer than those who received TACE before matching and 6.9 months longer after matching.
- The results indicate that LR offers better overall survival and disease-free survival compared to TACE, with the presence of portal vein tumor thrombus being a significant factor influencing these outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- The S100 protein family, particularly S100A12, plays a role in cancer pathology, but its significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was previously unclear.
- A study involving 139 HCC patients analyzed S100A12 expression through immunohistochemistry and found it primarily in immune cells within tumor stroma.
- High levels of S100A12 in intratumoral stroma were linked to worse patient outcomes, indicating it could be a valuable prognostic marker and a potential target for adjuvant therapy after surgery.