Clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of ascending, descending and mixed types of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the non-endemic areas of china: A propensity score matching analysis

Radiomics and Deep Learning in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Review

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a common head and neck malignancy with distinct clinical management compared to other types of cancer. Precision risk stratification and tailored therapeutic interventions are crucial to improving the survival outcomes. Artificial intelligence, including radiomics and deep learning, has exhibited considerable efficacy in various clinical tasks for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. These techniques leverage medical images and other clinical data to optimize clinical workflow and ultimately benefit patients. In this review, we provide an overview of the technical aspects and basic workflow of radiomics and deep learning in medical image analysis. We then conduct a detailed review of their applications to seven typical tasks in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, covering various aspects of image synthesis, lesion segmentation, diagnosis, and prognosis. The innovation and application effects of cutting-edge research are summarized. Recognizing the heterogeneity of the research field and the existing gap between research and clinical translation, potential avenues for improvement are discussed. We propose that these issues can be gradually addressed by establishing standardized large datasets, exploring the biological characteristics of features, and technological upgrades.

Dehydrocostus Lactone Reduced Malignancy of HepG2 Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Down-Regulation of the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

We studied the effect of dehydrocostus lactone (DHL) on the biological characteristics of HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The inhibition of cell viability by different concentrations of DHL (10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 μmol/liter) was measured using MTT test. As the determined half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) was 20.33 μmol/liter, DHL in a concentration of 20 μmol/liter was used in further experiments. Cell proliferation, migration, invasion ability, and apoptosis were assessed by Ki-67 immunofluorescence, Transwell assay, and TUNEL analysis. The level of p-AKT protein was determined by Western blotting. DHL significantly inhibited the viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 cells in comparison with the control group, and induced cells apoptosis. DHL down-regulated the expression of p-AKT protein in the HepG2 cells in comparison with the control group. PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activator 740Y-P could block the above-mentioned effects of DHL. Thus, DHL inhibits the malignancy of HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells via down-regulation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Nomogram Based on Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte and Platelet Score to Predict Overall Survival in Patients with T3-4N0-1 Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Purpose

There is still uncertainty regarding the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) based on hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocytes, and platelets (HALP) score. The aim of this study was to build and verify a nomogram using HALP score to investigate the prognostic value of NPC and identify low-risk patients in T3-4N0-1 NPC to guide treatment options.

Patients and methods

A total of 568 NPC patients with stage T3-4N0-1M0 were recruited in the study, who were given either concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) or induction chemotherapy (IC) plus CCRT. The prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) were picked by Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to generate a nomogram, which appraised by discrimination, calibration and clinical utility. Patients were stratified according to risk scores calculated by the nomogram, and compared to the 8th TNM staging system using the Kaplan-Meier methods.

Results

Multivariate analysis showed that TNM stage, Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV DNA), HALP score, lactate dehydrogenase-to-albumin ratio (LAR) and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) were independent prognostic indicators for OS, and these factors contained in the nomogram. The nomogram demonstrated a significant enhancement over the 8th TNM staging system in terms of assessing OS (C-index, 0.744 vs 0.615 in the training cohort, P < 0.001; 0.757 vs 0.646 in the validation cohort, P = 0.002). Calibration curves displayed good agreement and the stratification in high-risk and low-risk groups resulted in a significant divergence of Kaplan-Meier curves for OS (P < 0.001). In addition, the decision analysis (DCA) curves confirmed satisfactory discriminability and clinical utility.

Conclusion

The HALP score was an independent prognostic factor for NPC. The prognostic function of the nomogram for T3-4N0-1 NPC patients was more accurate compared to the 8th TNM system, facilitating personalized treatment planning.