Although major depression, characterized by a pro-inflammatory profile, genetically overlap with autoimmune disease (AD) and the perinatal period involve immune system adaptations and AD symptom alterations, the bidirectional link between perinatal depression (PND) and AD is largely unexplored. Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate the bidirectional association between PND and AD. Using nationwide Swedish population and health registers, we conducted a nested case-control study and a matched cohort study. From 1,347,901 pregnancies during 2001–2013, we included 55,299 incident PND, their unaffected full sisters, and 10 unaffected matched women per PND case. We identified 41 subtypes of AD diagnoses recorded in the registers and compared PND with unaffected population-matched women and full sisters, using multivariable regressions. Women with an AD had a 30% higher risk of subsequent PND (95% CI 1.2–1.5) and women exposed to PND had a 30% higher risk of a subsequent AD (95% CI 1.3–1.4). Comparable associations were found when comparing exposed women with their unaffected sisters (nested case-control OR: 1.3, 95% CI 1.2–1.5, matched cohort HR: 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6), and when studying antepartum and postpartum depression. The bidirectional association was more pronounced among women without psychiatric comorbidities (nested case-control OR: 1.5, 95% CI 1.4–1.6, matched cohort HR: 1.4, 95% CI 1.4–1.5) and strongest for multiple sclerosis (nested case-control OR: 2.0, 95% CI 1.6–2.3, matched cohort HR: 1.8, 95% CI 1.0–3.1). These findings demonstrate a bidirectional association between AD and PND independent of psychiatric comorbidities, suggesting possibly shared biological mechanisms. If future translational science confirms the underlying mechanisms, healthcare providers need to be aware of the increased risk of PND among women with ADs and vice versa.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a high risk of early recurrence after curative resection. Patients and Methods: Patients from multiple centres were divided into postoperative adjuvant TACE with (n=57) or without (n=142) TKI administration groups. The disease-free survival (DFS) curve was depicted by the Kaplan–Meier method, and the difference between the two groups was tested using the log rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors for DFS. Additionally, three propensity score analyses were performed to minimise the potential confounding factors to facilitate a more reliable conclusion. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. Results: The 1-and 2-year DFS rates of the TACE plus TKI treatment group were 45.5% and 34.9%, respectively, which were significantly better than those of the TACE alone group (26.8% and 18.3%, respectively). Multivariate analysis identified adjuvant TACE plus TKI treatment as an independent prognostic factor for DFS (hazard ratio: 0.611, 95% confidence interval: 0.408– 0.915, P=0.017). Further analysis based on the various propensity score methods yielded similar results. Subgroup analysis showed that patients with tumour diameter ≥ 5 cm, tumour number < 3, absence of hepatic vein tumour thrombus and bile duct tumour thrombus, ruptured tumours, and stage IIIB could benefit more from TACE plus TKI treatment (all P< 0.05). Some patients (33.33%) experienced grade ≥ 3 AEs in the TACE plus TKI group. Conclusion: TACE plus TKI treatment can reduce the incidence of early recurrence with tolerable adverse events in HCC patients at high risk of recurrence after hepatectomy and may be an appropriate option in postoperative anti-recurrence treatment.

Background: Serum amyloid A (SAA) has been associated with the development and prognosis of cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of integration of pretreatment SAA–EBV DNA (S‐D) grade and comparison with the TNM staging system in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The S‐D grade was calculated based on the cut‐off values of serum SAA and EBV DNA copy numbers which were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. We evaluated the prognostic value of pretreatment SAA, EBV DNA and S‐D grade on overall survival (OS) of NPC patients. We also evaluated the predictive power of S‐D grade with TNM staging system using 4 indices: concordance statistics (C‐index), time‐dependent ROC (ROCt) curve, net reclassification index (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI).Results: A total of 304 NPC patients were enrolled in this study. Multivariate analysis showed that TNM stage (P = 0.007), SAA (P = 0.013), and EBV DNA (P = 0.033) were independent prognostic factors in NPC. The S‐D grade was divided into S‐D grade 1, S‐D grade 2, and S‐D grade 3, which had more predictive accuracy for OS than TNM staging according to all 4 indices.Conclusions: We found that the S‐D grade could be used as a new tool to predict the OS in NPC patients.

A mild, radical cascade cyclization of N-arylacrylamides with diselenides for the preparation of oxindoles via iodine oxidation is disclosed that provides an environmentally friendly process for the construction of C–Se bonds. Twenty-five examples of N-arylacrylamide substrates were investigated, and excellent yields were achieved. The tandem cyclization of acrylamide with diphenyl disulfide was also applicable under the same conditions.