Survivin, also known as baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis repeat‑containing 5, is a novel member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family. Survivin is highly expressed in tumors and embryonic tissues and is associated with tumor cell differentiation, proliferation, invasion and metastasis; however, survivin is expressed at low levels in normal terminally differentiated adult tissues. Meanwhile, the expression level of survivin is also a negative prognostic factor for patients with cancer. These unique characteristics of survivin make it an exciting potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment. This review will discuss the biological characteristics of survivin and its potential use as a treatment target to reduce cancer cell proliferation.

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are ectopic immune cell clusters formed in nonlymphoid tissues affected by persistent inflammation, such as in cancer and prolonged infections. They have features of the structure and function of secondary lymphoid organs, featuring central CD20⁺ B cells, surrounded by CD3⁺ T cells, CD21⁺ follicular dendritic cells, and CD68⁺ macrophages, with a complex vascular system. TLS formation is governed by lymphotoxin-α1β2, TNF, and chemokines like CCL19, CCL21, and CXCL13, differing from secondary lymphoid organ development in developing later in life at sites of chronic inflammation. Their role in enhancing immune responses, particularly in the context of cancer, makes them a focal point in immunotherapy. This review discusses recent advances in TLS assessment that involves complex gene expression signatures, histological analysis, artificial intelligence, and spatial omics. The presence and maturity of TLS are associated with better outcomes in various cancers, acting as a biomarker for immunotherapy effectiveness. This review explores the structure, formation, and role of TLS in disease prognosis, including their roles in immunotherapy and non-immunotherapy treatments, highlighting a need to develop novel techniques for precise characterization of TLS as well as their significance as predictive biomarkers beyond traditional biomarkers.

Background and aim: The association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been studied previously; however, the results remain controversial, which could be partly due to the different criteria used for defining MetS. We adopted five MetS criteria to provide better understanding of the association between H. pylori infection and MetS.Methods: Physical examination data of 100,708 subjects were obtained from January 2014 to December 2018. MetS was defined based on five criteria including: International Diabetes Federation (IDF), The Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel, Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III), Joint Statement of International Multi-Societies (JIS), Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS), and the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes in China (2017 edition)(CDS DM). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to elucidate the association between H. pylori infection and MetS and its components.Results: The prevalence of MetS defined assessed using IDF, ATP III, JIS, CDS and CDS DM criteria was 15.8%, 19.9%, 23.7%, 8.7% and 15.4%, respectively. In males, the prevalence of MetS assessed using the five criteria in H. pylori-positive group was higher than that in negative-group; however, in females, same results were obtained using the three international criteria. In males, the prevalence of all MetS components was found to be higher in the H. pylori-positive group than those in the negative group; however, in females, only the prevalence of dyslipidemia and waist circumferences exhibited significant differences. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that H. pylori infection in males was positively correlated with MetS. Additionally, H. pylori infection was found to be positively correlated with the waist circumference in the general population, and with hypertension and hyperglycemia in males.Conclusions: H. pylori infection was found to be positively associated with MetS in males in China.

Cancer remains a major burden globally and the critical role of early diagnosis is self-evident. Although various miRNA-based signatures have been developed in past decades, clinical utilization is limited due to a lack of precise cutoff value. Here, we innovatively developed a signature based on pairwise expression of miRNAs (miRPs) for pan-cancer diagnosis using machine learning approach. We analyzed miRNA spectrum of 15832 patients, who were divided into training, validation, test, and external test sets, with 13 different cancers from 10 cohorts. Five different machine-learning (ML) algorithms (XGBoost, SVM, RandomForest, LASSO, and Logistic) were adopted for signature construction. The best ML algorithm and the optimal number of miRPs included were identified using area under the curve (AUC) and youden index in validation set. The AUC of the best model was compared to previously published 25 signatures. Overall, Random Forest approach including 31 miRPs (31-miRP) was developed, proving highly efficient in cancer diagnosis across different datasets and cancer types (AUC range: 0.980-1.000). Regarding diagnosis of cancers at early stage, 31-miRP also exhibited high capacities, with AUC ranging from 0.961 to 0.998. Moreover, 31-miRP exhibited advantages in differentiating cancers from normal tissues (AUC range: 0.976-0.998) as well as differentiating cancers from corresponding benign lesions. Encouragingly, comparing to previously published 25 different signatures, 31-miRP also demonstrated clear advantages. In conclusion, 31-miRP acts as a powerful model for cancer diagnosis, characterized by high specificity and sensitivity as well as a clear cutoff value, thereby holding potential as a reliable tool for cancer diagnosis at early stage.

Male genital injuries are rare and only few of them are total penoscrotal degloving injuries. Though this kind of injury is not life-threatening, it could be psychologically devastating to patients if not treated appropriately. This report presents a case of total male genitalia degloving injury treated by sliding flap and skin graft, assisted by Vacuum Sealing Drainage. Via this therapeutic approach, the injured area was completely healed. Three months after surgery, there were still no scars that affected normal function of male genitalia.This approach, which has never been reported before, yields a satisfactory result for both aesthetic appearance and sexual functions.

Summary: The Chinese government has, in recent decades, implemented various administrative laws and regulatory policies to expedite cancer therapeutic development, boosting research and development pipelines for domestic pharmaceutical companies and clinical trials; however, China faces unique challenges given the high prevalence of certain cancer types and distinct disease burdens, some of which are frequently overlooked by international pharmaceutical companies. Given the substantial unmet need for China-specific cancer care, it is crucial to promote the development of innovative pharmaceutical and clinical research in China, with a particular emphasis on addressing tumors most prevalent in its population.