A thymoma is a type of thymic tumor which is rarely malignant that is frequently reported in adult patients. A number of thymoma‐related immune disorders are observed including autoimmune diseases, which suggests a strong connection between thymoma development and immunological mechanisms. Characterized by association with humoral and cellular immunodeficiency, thymoma patients are susceptible to opportunistic infections by environmental factors. Recent reports have suggested that viral infection may play a role in the etiological mechanisms of thymoma development associated with dysregulated immunity. In this review, we summarize the case reports and studies related to viral infection, such as CMV, EBV and HSV, that probably play a part in the pathogenesis of thymoma and related diseases. Furthermore, we demonstrate the underlying mechanisms by which viruses may induce the occurrence of thymoma with autoimmune diseases. Lastly, we discuss the potential application of antiviral therapy in the treatment of thymic diseases.

Objective By analyzing the perioperative, postoperative complications and long-term overall survival time, we summarized the 8-year experience of minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in a single medical center. Methods This retrospective follow-up study included 1023 consecutive patients with esophageal cancer who underwent MIE-McKeown between Mar 2013 and Oct 2020. Relevant variables were collected and evaluated. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed by Kaplan–Meier method. Results For 1023 esophageal cancer undergoing MIE-McKeown, the main intraoperative complications were bleeding (3.0%, 31/1023) and tracheal injury (1.7%, 17/1023). There was no death occurred during operation. The conversion rate of thoracoscopy to thoracotomy was 2.2% (22/1023), and laparoscopy to laparotomy was 0.3% (3/1023). The postoperative morbidity of complications was 36.2% (370/1023), of which anastomotic leakage 7.7% (79/1023), pulmonary complication 13.4% (137/1023), chylothorax 2.3% (24/1023), and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury 8.8% (90/1023). The radical resection rate (R0) was 96.0% (982/1023), 30-day mortality was 0.3% (3/1023). For 1000 cases with squamous cell carcinoma, the estimated 3-year and 5-year overall survival was 37.2% and 17.8% respectively. In addition, neoadjuvant chemotherapy offered 3-year disease-free survival rate advantage in advanced stage patients (for stage IV: 7.2% vs. 1.8%). Conclusions This retrospective single center study demonstrates that MIE-McKeown procedure is feasible and safe with low perioperative and postoperative complications’ morbidity, and acceptable long-term oncologic results.

Purpose Explore the application value of pulmonary perfusion imaging and delayed imaging for evaluating pulmonary capillary permeability. Materials and methods After establishing a rat model of pulmonary contusion, changes in the metabolic index of technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin (99mTC-MAA) in the lungs of model rats were evaluated for two consecutive days. 99mTC-MAA metabolic indices of rat lungs with pulmonary contusion of varying severity (mild, moderate, and severe) were correlated with lung wet/dry weight ratio (W/D) and Evans blue extravasation. Finally, the method was validated in patients with pulmonary contusion and one healthy volunteer. Results The 99mTC-MAA metabolic index was 23.56% ± 2.44% in healthy control (HC) rat lung, 8.56% ± 3.42% immediately after lung contusion (d0), 8.35% ± 3.20% after 1 day (d1), and 17.45% ± 6.44% after 2 days (d2); indices at d0 and d1 were significantly higher than those at HC (P < 0.05). The metabolic index of 99mTC-MAA in lung had significant negative correlations with W/D (r = −0.8025; P = 0.0092) and Evans blue extravasation (r = −0.9356; P = 0.0002). Metabolic and oxygenation indices of 99mTC-MAA exhibited a significant positive linear correlation in patients with pulmonary contusion (r = 0.8925; P = 0.0416). Conclusion Pulmonary perfusion and delayed imaging of 99mTC-MAA have potential value for evaluating pulmonary capillary permeability.

Objective: To establish a novel mouse model of acute myocardial injury induced by hypobaric hypoxia and improve the relevant evaluation system. Methods: Using the plateau simulator made by our institute (which has e Chinese invention patent, patent number: ZL 2021 1 1517241. X), Babl/c mice were continuously exposed to the extreme altitude, low pressure and hypoxia environment for 0h-216h. PET/CT was used to evaluate the metabolic function of myocardial cells in mice by injecting 18F-FDG in vivo. the changes of cardiac function and morphology was observed in mice by cardiac ultrasound. FITC-BSA was injected into the tail vein to verify the leakage function of blood vessels in the heart tissue of mice. HE staining, Masson staining, CD163 and CD34 immunohistochemical staining get used to verify the degree of myocardial injury, fibrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration and angiogenesis in mice. Results: The myocardial metabolic function of Babl/c mice in hypobaric hypoxia environment was enhanced at the early stage of exposure, and then gradually weakened. With the extension of time, the heart rate gradually accelerated, the myocardial morphology changed significantly, the myocardial pathological changes and damage gradually increased, the role of vascular leakage gradually increased, the infiltration of inflammatory cells increased, and the myocardial fibrosis increased significantly.