Background
Several associations between microsatellite instability (MSI) and other clinicopathological factors have been reported in gastric cancer, but the results have been ambiguous. This ...systematic review and meta‐analysis investigated the relationship between MSI and overall survival and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with gastric cancer.
Methods
A systematic literature search of the PubMed, Cochrane and Ovid databases until 31 January 2016 was performed in accordance with the PRISMA statement. The articles were screened independently according to PICO (population, intervention, comparator, outcome) eligibility criteria. All eligible articles were evaluated independently by two reviewers for risk of bias according to the Quality In Prognosis Study tool.
Results
Overall, 48 studies with a total of 18 612 patients were included. MSI was found in 9·2 per cent of patients (1718 of 18 612), and was associated with female sex (odds ratio (OR) 1·57, 95 per cent c.i. 1·31 to 1·89; P < 0·001), older age (OR 1·58, 2·20 to 1·13; P < 0·001), intestinal Laurén histological type (OR 2·23, 1·94 to 2·57; P < 0·001), mid/lower gastric location (OR 0·38, 0·32 to 0·44; P < 0·001), lack of lymph node metastases (OR 0·70, 0·57 to 0·86, P < 0·001) and TNM stage I–II (OR 1·77, 1·47 to 2·13; P < 0·001). The pooled hazard ratio for overall survival of patients with MSI versus those with non‐MSI gastric cancer from 21 studies was 0·69 (95 per cent c.i. 0·56 to 0·86; P < 0·001).
Conclusion
MSI in gastric cancer was associated with good overall survival, reflected in several favourable clinicopathological tumour characteristics.
Microsatellite instabililty subgroup does better
Many industrial applications need supporting or shaping powdery zeolites. Since geopolymers can be considered the amorphous counterpart or precursors of crystalline zeolites, it is possible to ...promote zeolite crystallization inside the geopolymeric matrix by tuning pH, temperature and time of the geopolymerization reaction. In this paper, combining zeolite crystallization with a foaming process initiated by silicon, a multifunctional self-supporting zeolitic material has been obtained with pores ranging from the micro to the macro range. Geopolymerization and crystallization have been realized simultaneously curing the samples at specific temperature and humidity conditions. Every specimen obtained at curing time higher than two days, regardless relative humidity and silicon content, contained zeolite A LTA and X FAU as the only crystalline phases. Finally, the porosity generated by the foaming process promotes the zeolite nucleation mainly on the surfaces of the pores, whereas the struts remain amorphous.
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•Geopolymerization, crystallization and foaming have been realized simultaneously using mild operating condition.•The presence of geopolymeric backbone supports and shapes zeolitic powder.•Co-crystallization of LTA and FAU zeolites has been obtained tailoring the synthesis parameters.
In this paper fly ash based geopolymer mortars have been prepared and their thermal behavior evaluated in order to assess the suitability of fly ash based alkali-activated binders for thermal energy ...storage in solar thermal plants. Different parameters, such as binder/aggregate ratio, percentage of fly ash replaced by slag, temperature and curing time, have been changed and optimized using the Design Of Experiments (DOE) approach. In order to estimate the thermal cycling stability of geopolymeric mortars at elevated temperatures, mechanical strength and weight loss of each sample subjected to different thermal cycles in the temperature range 150–550 °C were evaluated. Finally, thermal conductivity of some of the mixtures, selected on basis of the thermal stability test results, have been measured.
Fly ash based geopolymeric mortars remained stable after each thermal treatment and specimens treated at elevated temperatures retained acceptable compressive strength. The thermal stability was preserved also after repeated thermal cycles, proving that fly ash based geopolymers are suitable materials for thermal energy storage concretes.
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•Fly ash based geopolymer mortars were proposed for thermal energy storage application.•Geopolymerization process parameters were optimized using DOE approach.•The thermal stability of the mortars was evaluated after repeated thermal cycles.•Fly ash based geopolymer mortars showed good thermal stability at elevated temperatures.
•Calcined sediments and potabilization sludge were used as geopolymer precursors.•Precast geopolymer paving bricks were produced after upscaling process.•Significant results were obtained for ...sustainable production of building materials.•The proposed recycling route is very advantageous for reservoir management.
The building materials industry is facing relevant challenges in terms of sustainability requirements. The same challenge is expected for other anthropogenic activities such as reservoir management. In this study, in the light of industrial ecology approach, two wastes, namely clayey sediments and water potabilization sludge, generated through reservoir life cycle, were used in a synergistic way in the synthesis of sustainable geopolymer binders. In order to guarantee a productive equilibrium between the different yearly evolution of building materials demand and wastes production by the basin, precast materials have been regarded as optimum potential application. In this regard, calcination conditions, mix design and curing conditions were preliminarily optimized. Particularly, geopolymerization kinetics were evaluated by means of mechanical and microstructural characterization of pastes to assess the influence of early age curing conditions and mix design on the engineering performance and, afterwards, the product was upscaled to a typical precast concrete element. The whole set of results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed recycling route, revealing highly promising perspectives for further studies and broader application field.
Abstract Worldwide, gastric cancer represents the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Although the overall 5-year survival for resectable disease was more than 70% ...in Japan due to the implementation of screening programs resulting in detection of disease at earlier stages, in Western countries more than two thirds of gastric cancers are usually diagnosed in advanced stages reporting a 5-year survival rate of only 25.7%. Anyway surgical resection with extended lymph node dissection remains the only curative therapy for non-metastatic advanced gastric cancer, while neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapies can improve the outcomes aimed at the reduction of recurrence and extension of survival. High-quality research and advances in technologies have contributed to well define the oncological outcomes and have stimulated many clinical studies testing multimodality managements in the advanced disease setting. This review article aims to outline and discuss open issues in current surgical management of advanced gastric cancer.
Here we report the solid phase synthesis and characterization (LC-ESIMS, CD) of a cationic nucleobase-containing α-peptide, composed of both l-arginine residues and l-lysine-based nucleoamino acids ...sequentially present in the structure. The binding properties of this novel basic nucleopeptide towards nucleic acids were investigated by CD spectroscopy which revealed the ability of the thymine-containing oligomer to bind both adenine-containing DNA (dA
) and RNA (poly rA) molecules inducing high conformational variations in the nucleic acid structures. Moreover, the artificial oligonucleotide inhibited the enzymatic activity of HIV reverse transcriptase, opening the door to the exploitation of novel antiviral strategies inspired to this molecular tool.
Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancy worldwide with a prognosis less than 1 year in unresectable or metastatic disease. HER2 expression is the main biomarker to lead the addition of ...trastuzumab to first line systemic chemotherapy improving the overall survival in advanced HER2-positivegastric adenocarcinoma. The inevitable development of resistance to trastuzumab remains a great problem inasmuch several treatment strategies that have proven effective in breast cancer failed to show clinical benefit in advanced gastric cancer. In this review, we summarize the available data on the mechanisms underlying primary and secondary resistance toHER2-targeted therapy and current challenges in the treatment of HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer refractory to trastuzumab. Further, we describe the prognostic value of new non-invasive screening techniques, the current development of novel agents such us HER2 antibody–drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies, and the strategies with antitumor activity on going.
Background
Novel hormonal therapies have been recently investigated in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of ...novel hormonal therapies in non-metastatic CRPC.
Materials and methods
The primary outcome was metastasis-free survival (MFS). The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), time to PSA progression and safety. We planned a subgroup analysis according to the PSA doubling time (> 6 vs < 6 months), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (1 vs 0) and concomitant use of bone-targeting agent (yes vs no).
Results
Pooled analysis of novel hormonal therapies revealed significantly increased MFS compared with placebo (hazard ratio (HR): HR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.25–0.41;
p
< 0.00001). The subgroup analysis showed a statistically significant MFS advantage in favour of men with the lower ECOG performance status. Other secondary endpoints favoured the novel hormonal therapies. The relative risk (RR) of grade ≥ 3 adverse events and ≥ 3 hypertension was 1.31 and 1.39, respectively.
Conclusions
This study confirmed the efficacy and safety of the novel hormonal therapies in non-metastatic CRPC.
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