Luteolin (Lu) is one of the flavonoids with anticancer activity, but its poor water solubility limits its use clinically. In this work, we used monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) (MPEG-PCL) micelles to encapsulate Lu by a self-assembly method, creating a water-soluble Lu/MPEG-PCL micelle. These micelles had a mean particle size of 38.6 ± 0.6 nm (polydispersity index = 0.16 ± 0.02), encapsulation efficiency of 98.32% ± 1.12%, and drug loading of 3.93% ± 0.25%. Lu/MPEG-PCL micelles could slowly release Lu in vitro. Encapsulation of Lu in MPEG-PCL micelles improved the half-life (t ½ ; 152.25 ± 49.92 versus [vs] 7.16 ± 1.23 minutes, P = 0.007), area under the curve (0-t) (2914.05 ± 445.17 vs 502.65 ± 140.12 mg/L/minute, P = 0.001), area under the curve (0-∞) (2989.03 ± 433.22 vs 503.81 ± 141.41 mg/L/minute, P = 0.001), and peak concentration (92.70 ± 11.61 vs 38.98 ± 7.73 mg/L, P = 0.003) of Lu when the drug was intravenously administered at a dose of 30 mg/kg in rats. Also, Lu/MPEG-PCL micelles maintained the cytotoxicity of Lu on 4T1 breast cancer cells (IC50 = 6.4 ± 2.30 µg/mL) and C-26 colon carcinoma cells (IC50 = 12.62 ± 2.17 µg/mL) in vitro. These data suggested that encapsulation of Lu into MPEG-PCL micelles created an aqueous formulation of Lu with potential anticancer effect.

BackgroundAt present, chemotherapy is still the primary treatment for advanced biliary tract carcinoma, but it is challenging to balance the efficacy and side effects. Network meta-analysis (NMA) is a better way to identify the protocol, and the advantage is that it can be combined with direct and indirect evidence to judge the best treatment regimens. Therefore, we conducted NMA on the searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs).MethodsNMA was conducted regarding the searched RCTs by comparing progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective remission rates (ORRs), and adverse events (AEs) of different chemotherapy protocols.ResultsWe screened 24 studies that met the inclusion criteria for further analysis. Compared with other regimens, the best supportive care (BSC) or FUFA protocol has a worse OS. Folfox4, GEMOX+erlotinib, and C+GEMOX can improve patients’ PFS compared with BSC. Patients receiving GP+cediranib protocol have higher ORRs. There was reduced neutropenia grade ≥3 when adopting GP+cediranib, GS, C+GEMOX, RAM+GP, and MER+GP than when using FUFA protocol. The probability of vomiting of XELOX is lower than that of GEM+XELOX. There is a lower diarrhea incidence of XELOX than that of GEMOX+erlotinib. The results of cluster grade analysis illustrated that GEMOX+erlotinib owned a higher ORR and a higher surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) of neutropenia and vomiting but also had a lower SUCRA of diarrhea and fatigue. Meanwhile, both GEMOX and C+GEMOX have a better ORR and a higher AE SUCRA.ConclusionThe NMA demonstrated that chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy has better efficacy and lower incidence of AEs than chemotherapy alone.

Background Solitary fibrous tumour (SFT) is a mesenchymal tumour of fibroblastic type, and it develops in almost any part of the human body. However, according to previous studies, the occurrence of intravascular SFTs is extremely rare. Case presentation We reported a case of intravascular SFT in a 67-year-old woman who has been experiencing swelling and pain in the right leg for 2 months. Computed tomography venography scan revealed a well-defined mass obstructing the inferior vena cava (IVC). Surgical resection was performed, and histopathologic and immunohistochemical results were consistent with SFT. Further, next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis was performed, and results revealed two tumour-related gene mutations (deletion of PMS2 and variation of ESR1 [L536P]). The patient did not receive any adjuvant therapy, and no signs of tumour progression were observed during the 6-month follow-up. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this study first presented about SFT arising from the IVC and carried out an NGS analysis to validate the molecular mechanism of such condition.