Prognostic significance of preoperative lymphocyte to monocyte ratio in patients with signet ring gastric cancer

BACKGROUND The ratio of lymphocytes to monocytes(LMR)has been shown to be an effective predictor of gastric cancer prognosis.However,its predictive accuracy for signet ring gastric cancer is currently not well understood.AIM To evaluate the prognosis predictive accuracy of preoperative LMR in signet ring gastric cancer.METHODS A total of 212 signet ring gastric cancer patients admitted at the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University,Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery,from January 2012 to December 2016 were enrolled in the study.The prognosis predictive accuracy of preoperative LMR was explored based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic.Factors that significantly affect the survival of patients were identified using single factor analysis,and those that were independently associated with signet ring gastric cancer were identified through multivariate analysis.RESULTS The results of the single factor analysis revealed a strong correlation between the survival of signet ring gastric cancer patients and several factors,including tumor invasion(χ^(2)=49.726;P<0.001),lymph node metastasis(χ^(2)=30.269;P<0.001),pTNM stage(χ^(2)=49.322;P<0.001),surgical approach(χ^(2)=8.489;P=0.004),age(t=-2.213;P<0.028),carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA)(Z=-3.265;P=0.001),platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(Z=-2.196;P=0.028),LMR(Z=-2.226;P=0.026),ALB(t=3.284;P=0.001),prognostic nutritional index(t=-3.789;P<0.001)and FIB(Z=-3.065;P=0.002).Furthermore,the multivariate analysis further demonstrated that age(HR:0.563,95%CI:0.363-0.873),tumor invasion depth(HR:0.226,95%CI:0.098-0.520),pTNM stage(HR:0.444,95%CI:0.255-0.771),preoperative CEA level(HR:0.597,95%CI:0.386-8.790),and preoperative LMR level(HR:1.776,95%CI:1.150-2.741)were independent factors influencing the prognosis of signet ring gastric cancer.CONCLUSION In signet ring gastric cancer patients,a low preoperative LMR level predicts poor prognosis.The death risk ratio of the low LMR group compared to the high LMR group is 1.776.

COVID-19 in gastroenterology and hepatology:Lessons learned and questions to be answered

BACKGROUND Although coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)presents primarily as a lower respiratory tract infection,increasing data suggests multiorgan,including the gastrointestinal(GI)tract and liver,involvement in patients who are infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).AIM To provide a comprehensive overview of COVID-19 in gastroenterology and hepatology.METHODS Relevant studies on COVID-19 related to the study aim were undertaken through a literature search to synthesize the extracted data.RESULTS We found that digestive symptoms and liver injury are not uncommon in patients with COVID-19 and varies in different individuals.The most common GI symptoms reported are diarrhea,nausea,vomiting,and abdominal discomfort.Other atypical GI symptoms,such as loss of smell and taste and GI bleeding,have also been reported along with the evolvement of COVID-19.Liver chemistry abnormalities mainly include elevation of aspartate transferase,alanine transferase,and total bilirubin.It is postulated to be related to the binding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)virus to the angiotensin converting enzyme-2 receptor located on several different human cells.CONCLUSION Standardized criteria should be established for diagnosis and grading of the severity of GI symptoms in COVID-19 patients.Gastroenterology and hepatology in special populations,such as children and elderly,should be the focus of further research.Future long-term data regarding GI symptoms should not be overlooked.

Visceral adipose volume is correlated with surgical tissue fibrosis in Crohn’s disease of the small bowel

Background This study explored the diagnostic performance of visceral adiposity to predict the degree of intestinal inflammation and fibrosis.Methods The patients with Crohn’s disease(CD)who underwent surgical small bowel resection at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University(Guangzhou,China)between January 2007 and December 2017 were enrolled.We evaluated the intestinal imaging features of computed tomography enterography(CTE),including mesenteric inflammatory fat stranding,the target sign,mesenteric hypervascularity,bowel wall thickening,lymphadenopathy,stricture diameter,and maximal upstream diameter.We used A.K.software(Artificial Intelligence Kit,version 1.1)to calculate the visceral fat(VF)and subcutaneous fat(SF)volumes at the third lumbar vertebra level.Pathological tissue information was recorded.Diagnostic models were established based on the multivariate regression analysis results,and their effectiveness was evaluated by area under the curve(AUC)and decision curve analyses.Results Overall,48 patients with CD were included in this study.The abdominal VF/SF volume ratio(odds ratio,1.20;95%confidence interval,1.05–1.38;P=0.009)and the stenosis diameter/upstream intestinal dilatation diameter(ND)ratio(odds ratio,0.90;95%confidence interval,0.82–0.99;P=0.034)were independent risk factors for the severe fibrosis of the small intestine.The AUC values of the VF/SF ratio,the ND ratio,and their combination were 0.760,0.673,and 0.804,respectively.The combination of the VS/SF volume ratio and ND ratio achieved the highest net benefit on the decision curve.Conclusion The VF volume on CTE can reflect intestinal fibrosis.The combination of the VF/SF volume ratio and ND ratio of CD patients assessed using CTE can help predict severe fibrosis stenosis of the small intestine.