There are many therapeutic options for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but very limited options for unresectable HCC with a single lesion larger than 5 cm (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer [BCLC] stage A) or with 2–3 nodules beyond 5 cm (BCLC stage B). Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is considered the first-line treatment for these patients, and combination therapy has also been tried. However, the effectiveness of microwave ablation (MWA) combined with TACE in the treatment of the above tumors remains to be further confirmed. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to compare the effectiveness of combination therapy and TACE monotherapy on these patients. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Wan Fang electronic databases were retrieved to search for studies comparing combination therapy and TACE monotherapy, published between the earliest available date and August 20, 2019. A total of 20 articles (reporting 1736 patients) were included. Meta-analysis showed that, compared to TACE alone, TACE + MWA resulted in significantly higher 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival (OS) (1-year OS rate: RR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.28–1.44, P < 0.001; 2-year OS rate: RR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.40–1.74, P < 0.001 and 3-year OS rate: RR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.67–2.57, P < 0.001). Complete response, partial response, and objective response rates were significantly higher in TACE + MWA than those in TACE alone (P < 0.001). Meanwhile, publication bias and sensitivity analysis were performed and did not show statistical significance.

Biopsy has been used to diagnose thoracic diseases for more than a century. Percutaneous needle biopsy plays a crucial role in the diagnosis, staging, and treatment planning for tumors in the lungs, thoracic wall, hilum, and mediastinum. With the continuous improvement in imaging techniques, the range of clinical applications for percutaneous needle biopsy is also expanding. It has become important to improve Chinese professionals’ and technicians’ understanding of percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) in order to standardize operating procedures and to strengthen perioperative management. However, there is currently no Chinese expert consensus that provides systematic standardization and guidance for PTNB in clinical practice. The Committee of Chinese Society of Interventional Oncology (CSIO) of the Chinese Anti‐Cancer Association (CACA) initiated a Chinese multidisciplinary expert consensus on PTNB. The consensus includes image‐guided methods, indications, contraindications, multidisciplinary team recommendations, biopsy procedures, daytime/outpatient biopsy, complications, pathological examination, and management of negative results.

Purpose: P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which is highly expressed in liver cancer cells, is one of the obstacles for the treatment of cancer. In this study, we have prepared and characterized a kind of novel ICG&Cur@MoS₂ (ICG and Cur represent indocyanine green and curcumin, respectively) nanoplatform, which can achieve photothermal-photodynamic therapy and inhibit the P-gp effectively and safely. Methods: In this work, plenty of studies including drug release, acute toxicity, Western blot, real-time PCR, cell viability, therapeutic experiment in vivo, immunofluorescence and so on were conducted to test the antitumor potential of ICG&Cur@MoS₂ and the inhibitory effect of curcumin on P-gp. Results: The ICG&Cur@MoS₂ NPs exhibit an excellent photothermal effect and relatively low toxicity. Cell viability in the ICG&Cur@MoS₂ + NIR group was significantly lower than that in ICG@MoS₂ + NIR group (75.3% vs 81.2%, 59.0% vs 64.4%, 20.3% vs 27.5%, and 15.4% vs 22.3%) at the concentration of ICG at 0.5, 5, 25, 50 μg/mL (P< 0.05 at each concentration). Western blot, Q-PCR, and immunofluorescence assay indicate ICG&Cur@MoS₂ NPs can inhibit the P-gp effectively and safely. In vivo, the tumors in the ICG@MoS₂ + NIR group are significantly smaller than those in the MoS₂ + NIR group (95.0 vs 420.9 mm³, p< 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, we have successfully synthesized ICG&Cur@MoS₂ nanoparticles which can not only achieve PTT-PDT but also inhibit P-gp effectively. Our findings indicate that the PTT-PDT exhibits great potential in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Meanwhile, ICG&Cur@MoS₂ can effectively inhibit the expression of P-gp, which will enhance the PDT effect.

The preferred treatment for lung cancer is surgical resection, but a large number of patients are not suitable for surgical resection in clinic. CT-guided cryoablation and immunotherapy can play an important role in patients with advanced lung cancer who are ineligible for surgery. CT-guided cryoablation has been widely used in the clinical treatment of lung tumors due to its advantages of less trauma, fewer complications, significant efficacy and rapid recovery. Cryoablation can not only cause tumor necrosis and apoptosis, but also promote the release of tumor-derived autoantigens into the blood circulation, and stimulate the host immune system to produce a good anti-tumor immune effect against primary and metastatic tumors. Since the study of immune checkpoint inhibitors has proved that lung cancer can be an immunotherapeutic response disease, the relationship between cryoablation and immunotherapy of lung cancer has been paid more attention. Therefore, we reviewed the literature on cryoablation for lung cancer, as well as the research progress of cryoablation combined with immunotherapy.

Biliary-stent implantation has become an effective treatment for patients with malignant obstructive jaundice caused by hepatobiliary carcinoma. Stent restenosis due to tumor ingrowth is a common problem. In this study, we assessed a biodegradable form of magnesium (Mg) for its anticancer effect on hepatobiliary carcinoma, compared to the conventional stent material of titanium (Ti). The results showed that a Mg extract inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in human cholangiocarcinoma cells, while a Mg plate inhibited cell adhesion and destroyed the cytoskeleton in the process of biodegradation. In animal experiments with H22 tumor-bearing mice, Mg wires implanted in tumors exhibited an inhibitory effect on their growth compared with Ti wires. Fifteen days after implantation of metal wires, the mean tumor volume and weight in the Mg group were significantly smaller than in the Ti group. We observed the dynamic-degradation process of Mg wires in tumors and generation of H₂ gas via soft X-ray photography and scanning electron microscopy. Histopathological analyses showed that apoptosis of tumor cells around Mg wires significantly increased, expression of carbonic anhydrase 9 significantly decreased, and the upstream protein hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha also decreased to some extent. Taken together, these results indicated that biodegradable Mg had antitumor properties both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting its potential application as a novel material for biodegradable biliary stents.