Divergent features of ERβ isoforms in triple negative breast cancer: progress and implications for further research

Estrogen receptor β (ERβ) was discovered more than 20 years ago. However, the extent and role of ERβ expression in breast cancer remain controversial, especially in the context of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). ERβ exists as multiple isoforms, and a series of studies has revealed an inconsistent role of ERβ isoforms in TNBC. Our recent results demonstrated contrasting functions of ERβ1 and ERβ2/β5 in TNBC. Additional research should be conducted to explore the functions of individual ERβ isoforms and develop targeted drugs according to the relevant mechanisms. Consequently, a systematic review of ERβ isoforms is necessary. In this review, we overview the structure of ERβ isoforms and detail what is known about the function of ERβ isoforms in normal mammary tissue and breast cancer. Moreover, this review highlights the divergent features of ERβ isoforms in TNBC. This review also provides insights into the implications of targeting ERβ isoforms for clinical treatment. In conclusion, this review provides a framework delineating the roles and mechanisms of different ERβ isoforms in TNBC and sheds light on future directions for basic and clinical research.

Prognostic effect of pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic kidney disease: Univariate and multivariate analyses of factors associated with survival

Background

Prognostic effect of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not fully clear yet, this study was designed to elucidate baseline characteristics of CKD patients with different severities of PH, the association between kidney indicators and PH severity, and survival factors in CKD patients with PH.

Methods

We extracted clinical data from electronic medical records of all patients diagnosed with PH in CKD from Jan 2016 to Dec 2020, and those with comorbid conditions causing PH were excluded. CKD stages were defined by estimated glomerular filtration rate thresholds. PH was defined as a systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) >35 mmHg estimated using echocardiograms. Demographics, clinical data, and test results were analyzed, and all-cause mortality data were obtained.

Results

A total of 137 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the participants was 60 (42.5, 67) years, the mean sPAP was 58 (51, 69.5) mmHg, and 40.9% of the patients were women. Moderate PH group had more patients undergoing dialysis and higher frequency of coronary heart disease. Moderate-severe PH group had higher parathyroid hormone levels and lower low-density lipoprotein levels. Severe PH group had better kidney function parameters and lower serum phosphorus levels. PH severity had no direct relationship with CKD stages. In the univariate analysis, age and PH severity influenced survival. Multivariate analysis also showed independent prognostic effects for age and sPAP. Kaplan-Meyer curve intuitively displayed the survival differences among CKD patients with different PH severity. Predictor values of nomogram identified from survival analyses enabled calculation of death probabilities for CKD with PH patients. Nomogram was validated by ROC analysis.

Conclusions

PH begins with early-stage CKD, and PH severity is not related to CKD progression. A higher pulmonary artery pressure and an older age are associated with an increased risk of death.

Prognostic Impact of Lymphadenectomy in Different Stages of Malignant Germ Cell Tumor of the Ovary Based on Propensity Score Matching

BACKGROUND

Lymphadenectomy has been widely used in the treatment of malignant germ cell tumor of the ovary (OGCT), which is a kind of ovarian cancers occurred mostly in young women and adolescent girls. But the clinical decision mainly depends on the doctor's experience without a well-defined guideline. This population-based study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of lymphadenectomy in different stages of malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary.

METHODS

Patients with known status of lymphadenectomy in different stages of OGCT were explored from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program database from 1973 to 2013. We used propensity score matching algorithm to reduce the selection bias between the two study groups. Survival curves, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model were applied to evaluate the prognostic impact of lymphadenectomy in different stages of OGCT.

RESULTS

We included 1,996 OGCT patients in the study, and 818 (41%) of them had lymph node resection. Compared to the LND- group, patients with lymph node resection tended to be at stage II and III, had larger tumor sizes and diagnosed as dysgerminoma. The influence of diagnosis ages, marital status and tumor grades were significantly decreased by applying the propensity score matching. Lymphadenectomy-positive (LND+) group demonstrated significantly worse survival than the lymphadenectomy-negative (LND-) group in later stages (stage III, overall, P=0.027, cancerspecific, P=0.006; stage IV, overall, P=0.034, cancer-specific, P=0.037). While, both the overall and cancer-specific survival showed no significant differences between LND+ and LND- in stage I (overall, P=0.411, cancer-specific, P=0.876) and stage II (overall, P=12, cancer-specific, P=0.061). Univariate (overall, HR=1.497, CI=1.010-2.217, P=0.044; cancer-specific, HR=1.524, CI=1.067- 2.404, P=0.050) and multivariate (overall, HR=1.580, CI=1.046-2.387, P=0.030; cancer-specific, HR=1.661, CI=1.027-2.686, P=0.039) Cox proportional model both verified the association between the lymph node resection and better survival in the whole cohort.

CONCLUSION

Lymphadenectomy significantly increased the survival probability of OGCT patients in stage III and IV, but had no significant influence on early-stage patients (stage I and II), indicating lymphadenectomy should be performed in a stage-dependent manner in clinical utility.

Prognostic effect of a risk index model in postoperative non-small-cell lung cancer patients

Aim: Predicting the prognostic outcome of a single case among postoperative non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is difficult. We created a precise prognostic model to assess the condition and prognosis of postoperative NSCLC patients. Methods: We combined eight prognostic indicators (age, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, globulin, albumin-to-globulin ratio, tumor diameter, number of positive lymph nodes and number of dissected lymph nodes) to construct a new risk index (RI) model. Results: The best cut-off value was -1.86 (area under the curve: 0.719). The overall survival of postoperative NSCLC patients decreased as the RI increased (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This RI model can assist clinicians in screening high-risk groups and developing treatment and follow-up plans for postoperative NSCLC patients.

Robustness of testing procedures for confirmatory subpopulation analyses based on a continuous biomarker

With the advent of personalized medicine, clinical trials studying treatment effects in subpopulations are receiving increasing attention. The objectives of such studies are, besides demonstrating a treatment effect in the overall population, to identify subpopulations, based on biomarkers, where the treatment has a beneficial effect. Continuous biomarkers are often dichotomized using a threshold to define two subpopulations with low and high biomarker levels. If there is insufficient information on the dependence structure of the outcome on the biomarker, several thresholds may be investigated. The nested structure of such subpopulations is similar to the structure in group sequential trials. Therefore, it has been proposed to use the corresponding critical boundaries to test such nested subpopulations. We show that for biomarkers with a prognostic effect that is not adjusted for in the statistical model, the variability of the outcome may vary across subpopulations which may lead to an inflation of the family-wise type 1 error rate. Using simulations we quantify the potential inflation of testing procedures based on group sequential designs. Furthermore, alternative hypotheses tests that control the family-wise type 1 error rate under minimal assumptions are proposed. The methodological approaches are illustrated by a trial in depression.

Exploring the potential prognostic effect of various country-specific health service data on all-cause mortality using data from a large prospective study in schizophrenia

PURPOSE

To explore whether the presence of specific health services impact the time to death in schizophrenia.

METHODS

Cox's proportional hazard model was used to assess the effect of country-specific health care variables (total health care expenditure, public health care expenditure, number of hospital beds, number of physicians, and World Health Organization ranking) on time to death in schizophrenia patients from a large multinational study. Baseline patient characteristics (history of suicide attempts and monotherapy or polytherapy at the time of study entry) were also included in the model.

RESULTS

The number of physicians per 10,000 persons was the only health service variable associated with time to death. Each increase of one physician increased the hazard of dying by approximately 2% (95%CI, from 0.1 to 4.1%; p = 0.044) in Europe, whereas in Asia, it seemed to decrease the hazard of dying by approximately 3.6% (95%CI, from 9.9% decrease to 3% increase; p = 0.28). The effect of region as a function of the number of physicians indicated a turning point at 23 physicians per 10,000 persons: With fewer than 23 physicians per 10,000 persons, the risk of death was higher in Asia than that in Europe (hazard ratio > 1), whereas with more than 23 physicians per 10,000 persons, it was lower in Asia than that in Europe (hazard ratio < 1).

CONCLUSIONS

Some health services may have a significant prognostic effect on time to death in patients treated for schizophrenia, especially in Europe. The reasons for this need to be identified.