Personal comorbidities and their subsequent risks for liver,gallbladder and bile duct cancers

Many environmental risk factors for hepatobiliary cancers are known but whether they are associated with specific cancer types is unclear. We present here a novel approach of assessing standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of previously diagnosed comorbidities for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), gallbladder cancer (GBC), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and ampullary cancer. The 13 comorbidities included alcohol and nonalcohol related liver disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, gallstone disease, viral and other kinds of hepatitis, infection of bile ducts, hepatic and other autoimmune diseases, obesity and diabetes. Patients were identified from the Swedish Inpatient Register from 1987 to 2018, and their cancers were followed from 1997 onwards. SIRs for HCC were 80 to 100 in men and women diagnosed with hepatitis C virus and they were also >10 in patients diagnosed with hepatitis B virus, other kind of hepatitis, hepatic autoimmune disease and nonalcohol related liver disease. Many of these risks, as well as alcohol related liver disease, were either specific to HCC or were shared with intrahepatic CCA. For GBC, CCA and ampullary cancer infection of bile ducts was the main risk factor. Gallstone disease, nonhepatic autoimmune diseases and diabetes were associated with all hepatobiliary cancers. The limitations of the study include inability to cover some rare risk factors and limited follow-up time. Many of the considered comorbidities are characterized by chronic inflammation and/or overt immune disturbance in autoimmune diseases. The results suggest that local chronic inflammation and a related immune disturbance is the carcinogenic trigger for all these cancers.     

Correction to: Effect of JAK inhibitors on high- and low-density lipoprotein in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Clinical Rheumatology -     

多功能套针浮刺疗法治疗神经根型颈椎病——一项随机对照观察研究＊

目的 评价多功能套针浮刺疗法对神经根型颈椎病的临床疗效。方法 选取256例神经根型颈椎病患者，按随机数字表法分为观察组与对照组各128例。观察组应用多功能套针浮刺疗法进行干预，对照组为常规针刺治疗。两组患者均治疗7天。分别于治疗前后观察两组患者的简化McGill疼痛问卷（SF-MPQ）、国际标准颈椎功能障碍指数（NDI）和田中靖久颈椎病症状20分法量表评分，并于治疗结束后3个月观察复发率。结果 两组患者治疗后的SF-MPQ量表评分、NDI量表评分及田中靖久颈椎病症状20分法评分与治疗前相比均有改善（P<0.05），且观察组优于对照组（P<0.05）；两组患者于治疗后3个月随访，SF-MPQ量表评分与治疗后相比均有改善，且观察组优于对照组（P<0.05）；观察组临床疗效总有效率为96.88%，愈显率为81.25%；对照组总有效率为78.13%，愈显率为46.88%，观察组优于对照组（P<0.05）。结论 应用多功能套针浮刺疗法治疗神经根型颈椎病临床疗效显著，见效较快，可有效降低其复发率，且作用稳定，效果持久，值得临床推广应用。     

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hospital attendance of patients with primary cervical cancer in Heilongjiang,China

Information regarding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on cervical cancer in mainland China is lacking. We explored its impact on the hospital attendance of patients with primary cervical cancer. We included 1918 patients with primary cervical cancer who initially attended Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital between January 23, 2019, and January 23, 2021. Attendance decreased by 31%, from 1135 in 2019 to 783 in 2020, mainly from January to June (𝜒² = 73.362, P < .001). The percentage of patients detected by screening decreased from 12.1% in January-June 2019 to 5.8% in January-June 2020 (𝜒² = 7.187, P = .007). Patients with stage I accounted for 28.4% in 2020 significantly lower than 36.6% in 2019 (𝜒² = 14.085, P < .001), and patients with stage III accounted for 27.1% in 2020 significantly higher than 20.5% in 2019 (𝜒² = 11.145, P < .001). Waiting time for treatment was extended from 8 days (median) in January-June and July-December 2019 to 16 days in January-June (𝜒² = 74.674, P < .001) and 12 days in July-December 2020 (𝜒² = 37.916, P < .001). Of the 179 patients who delayed treatment, 164 (91.6%) were for the reasons of the healthcare providers. Compared to 2019, the number of patients in Harbin or non-Harbin in Heilongjiang Province and outside the province decreased, and cross-regional medical treatment has been hindered. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted cervical cancer patient attendance at the initial phase. These results are solid evidence that a strategy and mechanism for the effective attendance of cervical cancer patients in response to public health emergencies is urgently needed.     

Principles of environmentally-sustainable anaesthesia: a global consensus statement from the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists

The Earth’s mean surface temperature is already approximately 1.1°C higher than pre-industrial levels. Exceeding a mean 1.5°C rise by 2050 will make global adaptation to the consequences of climate change less possible. To protect public health, anaesthesia providers need to reduce the contribution their practice makes to global warming. We convened a Working Group of 45 anaesthesia providers with a recognised interest in sustainability, and used a three-stage modified Delphi consensus process to agree on principles of environmentally sustainable anaesthesia that are achievable worldwide. The Working Group agreed on the following three important underlying statements: patient safety should not be compromised by sustainable anaesthetic practices; high-, middle- and low-income countries should support each other appropriately in delivering sustainable healthcare (including anaesthesia); and healthcare systems should be mandated to reduce their contribution to global warming. We set out seven fundamental principles to guide anaesthesia providers in the move to environmentally sustainable practice, including: choice of medications and equipment; minimising waste and overuse of resources; and addressing environmental sustainability in anaesthetists’ education, research, quality improvement and local healthcare leadership activities. These changes are achievable with minimal material resource and financial investment, and should undergo re-evaluation and updates as better evidence is published. This paper discusses each principle individually, and directs readers towards further important references.     

Mesenchymal neoplasms with NTRK and other kinase gene alterations

Kinase alterations are increasingly recognised as oncogenic drivers in mesenchymal tumours. Infantile fibrosarcoma and the related renal tumour, congenital mesoblastic nephroma, were among the first solid tumours shown to harbour recurrent tyrosine kinase fusions, with the canonical ETV6::NTRK3 fusion identified more than 20 years ago. Although targeted testing has long been used in diagnosis, the advent of more robust sequencing techniques has driven the discovery of kinase alterations in an array of mesenchymal tumours. As our ability to identify these genetic alterations has improved, as has our recognition and understanding of the tumours that harbour these alterations. Specifically, this study will focus upon mesenchymal tumours harbouring NTRK or other kinase alterations, including tumours with an infantile fibrosarcoma-like appearance, spindle cell tumours resembling lipofibromatosis or peripheral nerve sheath tumours and those occurring in adults with a fibrosarcoma-like appearance. As publications describing the histology of these tumours increase so, too, do the variety kinase alterations reported, now including NTRK1/2/3, RET, MET, RAF1, BRAF, ALK, EGFR and ABL1 fusions or alterations. To date, these tumours appear locally aggressive and rarely metastatic, without a clear link between traditional features used in histological grading (e.g. mitotic activity, necrosis) and outcome. However, most of these tumours are amenable to new targeted therapies, making their recognition of both diagnostic and therapeutic import. The goal of this study is to review the clinicopathological features of tumours with NTRK and other tyrosine kinase alterations, discuss the most common differential diagnoses and provide recommendations for molecular confirmation with associated treatment implications.