Optical imaging in the second near infrared region (NIR‐II, 1000–1700 nm) provides higher resolution and deeper penetration depth for accurate and real‐time vascular anatomy, blood dynamics, and function information, effectively contributing to the early diagnosis and curative effect assessment of vascular anomalies. Currently, NIR‐II optical imaging demonstrates encouraging results including long‐term monitoring of vascular injury and regeneration, real‐time feedback of blood perfusion, tracking of lymphatic metastases, and imaging‐guided surgery. This review summarizes the latest progresses of NIR‐II optical imaging for angiography including fluorescence imaging, photoacoustic (PA) imaging, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The development of current NIR‐II fluorescence, PA, and OCT probes (i.e., single‐walled carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, rare earth doped nanoparticles, noble metal‐based nanostructures, organic dye‐based probes, and semiconductor polymer nanoparticles), highlighting probe optimization regarding high brightness, longwave emission, and biocompatibility through chemical modification or nanotechnology, is first introduced. The application of NIR‐II probes in angiography based on the classification of peripheral vascular, cerebrovascular, tumor vessel, and cardiovascular, is then reviewed. Major challenges and opportunities in the NIR‐II optical imaging for vascular imaging are finally discussed.

Background In China, gastric cancer (GC) ranks second in incidence and mortality. Over 80% of patients with GC were diagnosed at an advanced stage with poor clinical outcome. Chemotherapy was the mainstream treatment with limited benefit. Apatinib, an inhibitor of targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), has been approved for third-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer. However, the data of apatinib treatment in the real-world setting are limited. In this real-world study, we aimed to understand the current treatment pattern of apatinib, investigate the effectiveness and safety of apatinib in real-world settings, and explore the potential factors associated with the clinical outcomes. Methods This was a prospective, multicenter observational study in a real-world setting. Patients aged ≥18 years with histologic diagnosis of advanced GC were eligible for enrollment. The eligible patients received either apatinib monotherapy or apatinib plus chemotherapy by physician’s discretion. Apatinib treatment could be used as first-line, second-line, or third-line and above therapy. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), ORR, DCR, and safety profile. Results A total of 737 patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with apatinib were included in the FAS population. A total of 54.9% patients used apatinib monotherapy and 45.1% patients used apatinib combination therapy. A total of 44.1% patients received apatinib in first-line treatment, 28.2% in second-line, and 27.7% in third-line and above. In first-line treatment, the objective response rate (ORR) was 9.09% and 16.42% in apatinib monotherapy and combination therapy groups, and disease control rate (DCR) was 78.41% and 89.29%, respectively. Patients who received combination therapy achieved significantly longer median progression-free survival (mPFS; 6.18 vs 3.52 months, p <0.01) and median overall survival (mOS; 8.72 vs 5.92 months, p <0.01) compared with monotherapy. In second-line and third-line therapy, combination therapy showed a better trend in tumor response and survival outcomes compared with monotherapy. For all patients, apatinib combined with paclitaxel were associated with longer mPFS compared with other combinations (8.88 vs 6.62 months). Multivariate analysis showed that combination with paclitaxel ( p =0.02) and experience of apatinib-related specific AEs ( p <0.01) were independent predictors for PFS and OS. The safety profile was tolerable and no unexpected adverse events were reported. Conclusion In a real-world setting, apatinib showed a favorable effectiveness and safety profile in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Apatinib combination therapy, especially combined with paclitaxel, might lead to better survival benefit in first-line treat...

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X-inactive-specific transcript (XIST) is a 19 kb noncoding RNA which is oncogenic in many cancers including gastric cancer. It is reported that XIST contributes to gastric cancer cells resistant to cisplatin, but specific mechanisms governing this resistance remain unclear. We firstly examined the XIST level in gastric cancer cells and tumor specimens. We confirmed that XIST is overexpressed in gastric cancer cells and tumors, which further contributed to the poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. We also confirmed that high XIST level contributes to the cisplatin resistance in gastric cancer cells. Subsequently, we predicted microRNAs that have the potential to interact with XIST and found that Let-7b-5p may directly interact with XIST. We confirmed the direct interaction between XIST and Let-7b-5p and identified a negative correlation between the level of Let-7b-5p and XIST in gastric cancer tumors. Meanwhile, Let-7b-5p inhibitor treatment can partially rescued the effect of XIST-specific small interfering RNA on cell proliferation and apoptosis by regulating Aurora kinase B expression. XIST functions as an oncogene in gastric cancer which contributes to the cisplatin resistance by interacting with Let-7b-5p.