Aim: This study aimed to report the efficacy and safety of trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus lenvatinib and camrelizumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 22 patients with advanced HCC from March 2018 to December 2019. All the patients received comprehensive treatment with TACE plus lenvatinib followed by camrelizumab. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated and analysed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Treatment response and adverse events (AEs) were also evaluated.Results: The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) for the whole cohort were 68.2 and 100% at the first month and 72.7 and 95.5% at the third month, respectively. The median OS was 24 months (95% CI, 20.323–27.677 months), and the median PFS was 11.4 months (95% CI, 8.846–13.954 months). The majority of treatment-related adverse reactions were mild or moderate, except for 4 that developed to grade 3–4 (3 reactions of grade 3, 1 reaction of grade 4). No deaths or other serious adverse reactions occurred.Conclusion:Trans-arterial chemoembolization plus lenvatinib and camrelizumab shows good results incontrolling tumour progression and prolonging median OS in patients with advanced HCC.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of endogenous noncoding RNAs that are demonstrated to be potent regulators in the development of various types of human cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the present study, the level of circRNA-HIPK3 were measured by Taq-man based quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis in both NSCLC patient specimens and cells, which showed that circRNA-HIPK3 was upregulated in both NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), migration and flow-cytometry assays indicated that circRNA-HIPK3 participated in the regulation of the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of NSCLC cells. MiR-193a expression was increased by circHIPK3 silencing. We then showed that miR-149 interacts with FOXM1 by binding to the 3ʹuntranslated region (UTR). Further, ectopic overexpression of miR-149 by transfecting miR-149 mimics significantly inhibited growth, migration and invasion of HSCLCs, which was found to be mediated through FOXM1. Moreover, miR-149 overexpression decreases the viability and proliferation of HSCLCs. Therefore, our data suggest that circHIPK3 regulates the function of NSCLCs through miR-149-mediated FOXM1 expression regulation, potentially providing a novel insight into the pathogenesis of NSCLC.

Growing evidence has indicated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a pivotal role as functional RNAs in diverse cancers. However, most circRNAs involved in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remain undefined, and the underlying molecular mechanisms mediated by circRNAs are largely unclear. Here, we screened human circRNA expression profiles in ESCC tissues and found significantly increased expression of hsa_circ_0000277 (termed circPDE3B) in ESCC tissues and cell lines compared to the normal controls. Moreover, higher circPDE3B expression in patients with ESCC was correlated with advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and dismal prognosis. Functional experiments demonstrated that circPDE3B promoted the tumorigenesis and metastasis of ESCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, bioinformatics analysis, a dual-luciferase reporter assay, and anti-AGO2 RNA immunoprecipitation showed that circPDE3B could act as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by harboring miR-4766-5p to eliminate the inhibitory effect on the target gene laminin α1 (LAMA1). In addition, LAMA1 was significantly upregulated in ESCC tissues and was positively associated with the aggressive oncogenic phenotype. More importantly, rescue experiments revealed that the oncogenic role of circPDE3B in ESCC is partly dependent on the miR-4766-5p/LAMA1 axis. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis combined with validation experiments showed that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) activation was involved in the oncogenic functions of the circPDE3B–miR-4766-5p/LAMA1 axis in ESCC. Taken together, we demonstrate for the first time that the circPDE3B/miR-4766-5p/LAMA1 axis functions as an oncogenic factor in promoting ESCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by inducing EMT, implying its potential prognostic and therapeutic significance in ESCC.

Twenty-four MMS patients undergoing STA-MCA bypass received CTP pre- and post-surgery. Cerebral haemodynamics improved on the surgical side post-surgery on CTP maps. rCBF might have a better correlation with patency of the bypass artery. CTP can evaluate cerebral perfusion changes in MMS patients after cerebral revascularization.