Trends in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma on the lip incidence and mortality in the United States, 2000-2019

Pancreatic mucinous adenocarcinoma has different clinical characteristics and better prognosis compared to non-specific PDAC: A retrospective observational study

Background

Pancreatic mucinous adenocarcinoma (PMAC) is a rare malignant tumour, and there is limited understanding of its epidemiology and prognosis. Initially, PMAC was considered a metastatic manifestation of other cancers; however, instances of non-metastatic PMAC have been documented through monitoring, epidemiological studies, and data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of PMAC and discern the prognostic differences between PMAC and the more prevalent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods

The study used data from the SEER database from 2000 to 2018 to identify patients diagnosed with PMAC or PDAC. To ensure comparable demographic characteristics between PDAC and PMAC, propensity score matching was employed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to analyse overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to determine independent risk factors influencing OS and CSS. Additionally, the construction and validation of risk-scoring models for OS and CSS were achieved through the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator-Cox regression technique.

Results

The SEER database included 84,857 patients with PDAC and 3345 patients with PMAC. Notably, significant distinctions were observed in the distribution of tumour sites, diagnosis time, use of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, tumour size, grading, and staging between the two groups. The prognosis exhibited notable improvement among married individuals, those receiving acceptable chemotherapy, and those with focal PMAC (p < 0.05). Conversely, patients with elevated log odds of positive lymph node scores or higher pathological grades in the pancreatic tail exhibited a more unfavourable prognosis (p < 0.05). The risk-scoring models for OS or CSS based on prognostic factors indicated a significantly lower prognosis for high-risk patients compared to their low-risk counterparts (area under the curve OS: 0.81-0.82, CSS: 0.80-0.82).

Conclusion

PMAC exhibits distinct clinical characteristics compared to non-specific PDAC. Leveraging these features and pathological classifications allows for accurate prognostication of PMAC or PDAC.

Analysis of Optimal Treatment Starting Time for Photothermal Therapy Through Analysis of Diffusion Behavior of Gold Nanoparticles

Introduction

Due to its distinct advantage of non-invasive application in treatment, photothermal therapy (PTT) is being studied by many researchers to reduce the need for surgical incisions. It is characterized by the injection of nanoparticles into biological tissue as photothermal agents (PTAs) which diffuse within the tissue. In this study, the diffusion behavior of various doses of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) injected into tumor tissues is analyzed and the effectiveness of PTT at each elapsed time after injection is confirmed by numerical analysis.

Methods

The diffusion behavior of AuNPs within biological tissues is assessed using the convection-diffusion equation, while the temperature distribution is determined using the Pennes bioheat transfer equation. In addition, the effect of the diffusion behavior of AuNPs on the effectiveness of PTT is quantitatively confirmed by analyzing the temperature distribution in the medium through the apoptotic variable. Numerical simulation parameters are selected with doses ranging from 100 to 400 μg/mL, elapsed time after injection from 1 min to 24 h, and laser power ranging from 0 to 1 W.

Results

After evaluating PTT's efficacy in every situation, it was discovered that a dosage of 100-300 μg/mL produced the best therapeutic result, with the highest impact occurring 12 hours after injection. In contrast, when the dosage was 400 μg/mL, the highest therapeutic effect was achieved after 18 hours post-injection. Additionally, it was discovered that the ideal laser power at each injection dose was 0.22, 0.14, 0.12, and 0.12 W, respectively.

Conclusion

The conditions required to achieve the optimal treatment effect at each dosage, presented here, are expected to accelerate the commercialization of PTT.

Trends in the incidence and survival of cancer in individuals aged 55 years and older in the United States, 1975-2019

BACKGROUND

In ageing societies such as the United States, evaluating the incidence and survival rates of cancer in older adults is essential. This study aimed to analyse the incidence and survival rates of cancer in individuals aged 55 years or older in the United States.

METHODS

This retrospective study (1975-2019) was conducted using combined registry data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Data from the 9, 12, and 17 Registries (Nov 2021 Sub) datasets were used.

RESULTS

In 2019, the incidence of cancer in individuals older than 55 years and the overall population was 1322.8 and 382.1 per 100,000 population, respectively. From 2000 to 2019, the incidence of cancer in individuals older than 55 years showed a decreasing trend, whereas their five-year survival rates showed an increasing trend. The incidence of cancer in the 75-79 and 80-84 year age groups was the highest among all age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of colon cancer declined significantly, whereas that of intrahepatic bile duct cancer increased considerably. These trends may be due to increased screening for cancers with high incidence rates and improved control of the risk factors for cancer. Rapid development of targeted therapy and immunotherapy combined with early tumour detection may be an important reason for the improved survival rates.