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Open access

Ruixin Hu, Yanting Yuan, Chaolong Liu, Ji Zhou, Lixia Ji, and Guohui Jiang

In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the intestinal flora is out of balance and accompanied by leaky gut. The flora is characterized by an increase in mucus-degrading bacteria and a decrease in fiber-degrading bacteria. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), as the major fiber-degrading bacteria fermentation, not only ameliorate the leaky gut, but also activate GPR43 to increase the mass of functional pancreatic β-cells and exert anti-inflammation effect. At present, the gut microbiota is considered as the potential target for anti-diabetes drugs, and how to reverse the imbalance of gut microbiota has become a therapeutic strategy for T2DM. This review briefly summarizes the drugs or compounds that have direct or potential therapeutic effects on T2DM by modulating the gut microbiota, including biguanides, isoquinoline alkaloids, stilbene and C7N-aminocyclic alcohols.

Open access

Yang Lv, Xu Han, Chunyan Zhang, Yuan Fang, Ning Pu, Yuan Ji, Dansong Wang, Xu Xuefeng, and Wenhui Lou

Purpose

Chromogranin A (CgA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) are important markers for neuroendocrine tumors; however, the clinical value of combining these markers has not been well studied. In this study, we investigated the utility of each marker individually and in combination for patients with nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-pNETs).

Patients and Methods

In this study, NF-pNET patients and controls were recruited from December 2011 to March 2016; 784 serum samples from peripheral vein were collected. The clinical characteristics and biomarker values of all the individuals were recorded and analyzed. Tumor burdens were calculated by CT/MRI scan. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were constructed to assess the diagnostic predictive values; sensitivity and specificity were calculated to determine the cut-off value. Therapeutic responses reflected on the changes of the biomarkers’ concentration were assessed by the RECIST criterion. Clinical relations between the prognosis and the biomarker values were also analyzed. Statistical significance was defined as P value less than 0.05.

Results

Among the 167 NF-pNETs patients, 82 were males (49.1%) and the mean age was 50.0 (17.4). The mean CgA values of G1, G2 and G3 NF-pNENs were 75, 121 and 134 μg/L (P < 0.05), respectively. In NF-pNETs, CgA correlated with the WHO tumor grade (WHO G1 vs G2, P < 0.05); the linear regression relationships were found between the tumor burdens (both in pancreas and liver) and CgA concentration (P < 0.001); changes in CgA and NSE concentrations also reflect treatment response (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

CgA and NSE are important diagnostic and follow-up markers in patients with NF-pNETs. The combined monitoring of CgA and NSE possesses more accuracy than individual values of CgA and NSE at predicting prognosis and disease progression.

Open access

Yang Lv, Ning Pu, Wei-lin Mao, Wen-qi Chen, Huan-yu Wang, Xu Han, Yuan Ji, Lei Zhang, Da-yong Jin, Wen-Hui Lou, and Xue-feng Xu

Aim

We aim to investigate the clinical characteristics of the rectal NECs and the prognosis-related factors and construct a nomogram for prognosis prediction.

Methods

The data of 41 patients and 1028 patients with rectal NEC were retrieved respectively from our institution and SEER database. OS or PFS was defined as the major study outcome. Variables were compared by chi-square test and t-test when appropriate. Kaplan–Meier analysis with log-rank test was used for survival analysis and the Cox regression analysis was applied. The nomogram integrating risk factors for predicting OS was constructed by R to achieve superior discriminatory ability. Predictive utility of the nomogram was determined by concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve.

Results

In the univariate and multivariate analyses, tumor differentiation, N stage, M stage and resection of primary site were identified as independent prognostic indicators. The linear regression relationship was found between the value of Ki-67 index and the duration of OS (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the independent prognostic factors were added to formulate prognostic nomogram. The constructed nomogram showed good performance according to the C-index.

Conclusions

Contrary to WHO classification guideline, we found that the rectal NEC diseases are heterogeneous and should be divided as different categories according to the pathological differentiation. Besides, the nomogram formulated in this study showed excellent discriminative capability to predict OS for those patients. More advanced predictive model for this disease is required to assist risk stratification via the formulated nomogram.

Open access

Xu Han, Xuefeng Xu, Hongyun Ma, Yuan Ji, Dansong Wang, Tiantao Kuang, Wenchuan Wu, Bin Song, Gang Li, Gang Jin, and Wenhui Lou

Purpose

Emerging evidence suggests G3 pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) present heterogeneous morphology and biology. The 2017 WHO classification has introduced a new category of well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (WD-pNETs) G3, compared with poorly differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas (PD-pNECs) G3. We aim to analysis the demographics and outcomes of patients with resectable 2017 WHO G3 pNENs to facilitate the distinction between two entities.

Methods

The multi-institutional retrospective cohort involving 57 surgically treated patients affected by 2017 WHO G3 pNENs were morphologically identified and clinically analyzed. Patients having WD-pNETs G3 and those having PD-pNECs G3 were compared.

Results

Thirty patients had WD-pNETs and 27 patients had PD-pNECs. The distributions of Ki-67 and mitotic count in patients with PD-pNECs or WD-pNETs showed remarkable disparities. ROC indicated cut-off value of Ki-67 was 45. PD-pNECs were more common in patients with elevated Ki-67 and mitotic count, advanced AJCC TNM stage, vascular invasion, regional lymph-node metastases, elevated NSE and decreased CgA levels compared with WD-pNETs (P < 0.05). The association between 2017 WHO G3 grade and TTR was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis indicated OS rates were associated with morphologic differentiation (WD-pNETs vs PD-pNECs), Ki-67, TNM staging, synchronous distant metastases, initial treatments, vascular invasion, regional lymph nodes metastases, mitotic count and age (P < 0.05). Multivariate analyses illustrated Ki-67, differentiation, TNM staging and vascular invasion were independent predictors (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

PD-pNECs G3 presented malignant biological behavior and dismal outcome compared with WD-pNETs G3. These findings challenge 2010 WHO classification and suggest the categorization can be improved by refined tumor grading.

Open access

Ling Sun, Wenwu Zhu, Yuan Ji, Ailin Zou, Lipeng Mao, Boyu Chi, Jianguang Jiang, Xuejun Zhou, Qingjie Wang, and Fengxiang Zhang

Objective

Post-treatment contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is associated with poor outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A lower free triiodothyronine (FT3) level predicts a poor prognosis of AMI patients. This study evaluated the effect of plasma FT3 level in predicting CI-AKI and short-term survival among AMI patients.

Methods

Coronary arteriography or percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in patients with AMI. A 1:3 propensity score (PS) was used to match patients in the CI-AKI group and the non-CI-AKI group.

Results

Of 1480 patients enrolled in the study, 224 (15.1%) patients developed CI-AKI. The FT3 level was lower in CI-AKI patients than in non-CI-AKI patients (3.72 ± 0.88 pmol/L vs 4.01 ± 0.80 pmol/L, P < 0.001). Compared with those at the lowest quartile of FT3, the patients at quartiles 2–4 had a higher risk of CI-AKI respectively (P for trend = 0.005). The risk of CI-AKI increased by 17.7% as FT3 level decreased by one unit after PS-matching analysis (odds ratio: 0.823; 95% CI: 0.685–0.988, P = 0.036). After a median of 31 days of follow-up (interquartile range: 30–35 days), 78 patients died, including 72 cardiogenic deaths and 6 non-cardiogenic deaths, with more deaths in the CI-AKI group than in the non-CI-AKI group (53 vs 25, P < 0.001). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that patients at a lower FT3 quartile achieved a worse survival before and after matching.

Conclusion

Lower FT3 may increase the risk of CI-AKI and 1-month mortality in AMI patients.

Open access

Qi Zhang, Hongshan Wang, Yanhong Xie, Suming Huang, Ke Chen, Botian Ye, Yupeng Yang, Jie Sun, Hongyong He, Fenglin Liu, Zhenbin Shen, Weidong Chen, Kuntang Shen, Yuan Ji, and Yihong Sun

A new subcategory, grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors, is incorporated into the grading system of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms in the 2017 WHO classification in order to differentiate grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors from neuroendocrine carcinomas. The 2019 WHO classification extends the concept of grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors to gastrointestinal high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms. However, there is still limited study focusing on the gastric grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors and gastric neuroendocrine carcinomas. We retrospectively enrolled 151 gastric high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms patients, who underwent radical resection from January 2007 to December 2015. Clinicopathologic and prognostic features were studied. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to verify the prognostic determinants found in the Zhongshan cohort. Neuroendocrine carcinomas showed a higher Ki67 index and higher mitotic count than grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors. We identified 109 (72.2%) patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas, 12 (7.9%) patients with grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors, and 30 (19.9%) patients with mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms. Although neuroendocrine carcinomas demonstrated higher Ki67 index (P = 0.004) and mitoses (P = 0.001) than grade 3 neuroendocrine tumors, their prognosis after radical resection did not demonstrate significant differences (P = 0.709). Tumor size, perineural invasion, and TNM stage were independent prognostic factors of gastric high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms.