Effects of postoperative treatment with chemotherapy and cellular immunotherapy on patients with colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND The outcome of surgical treatment for colorectal cancer(CRC)remains unsatis-factory and warrants further exploration and optimization.AIM To clarify the impact of chemotherapy plus cellular immunotherapy[dendritic cell-cytokine-induced killer(DC-CIK)cell immunotherapy]on patients after CRC surgery and to explore the mediating variables.METHODS A total cohort of 121 patients who underwent CRC surgery between January 2019 and April 2022 were selected.The sample comprised a control group of 55 pa-tients who received the XELOX chemotherapy regimen and a research group of 66 patients who received XELOX+DC-CIK immunotherapy.We performed compa-rative analyses of the clinical and pathological data of the two groups,including efficacy(2-year disease-free survival[DFS]rate),the incidence of adverse events(diarrhea,myelosuppression,gastrointestinal reactions,and peripheral neuritis),serum levels of tumor markers[carcinoembryonic antigens and carbohydrate an-tigens(CA)19-9 and CA242],and T-cell subsets[cluster of differentiation(CD)3+,CD3+CD4+,CD3+CD8+,natural killer(NK),and NK T cells].We also conducted preliminary univariate and mul-tivariate analyses of the variables that affected the efficacy of the treatments.RESULTS We found a significantly higher 2-year DFS rate of treatment efficacy in the research group than in the control group,with a statistically lower incidence of adverse events.Both groups showed a reduction in serum tumor markers after treatment but there was no marked intergroup difference.After treatment,the various T-cell subgroup indicators in the control group were significantly lower than those in the research group.The indices of T-cell subsets in the research group showed no significant change from preoperative levels.Univariate analysis revealed a significant correlation between TNM staging,tumor differentiation,and the rates of nonresponse to treatment in CRC patients after surgery.Multivariate results indicated that the treatment approach significantly affected the efficacy of postoperative CRC treatment.CONCLUSION We concluded that XELOX+DC-CIK immunotherapy for postsurgical CRC patients offers reduced rates of treatment-induced adverse events,extended 2-year DFS,enhanced immunity,and increased physiological antitumor responses.

Iron Bearing Minerals Flotation from Silica Sand Using Hydroxyl Surfactants

A technological clayey sandstone sample from Wadi Qena locality, Eastern Desert of Egypt, was directed to processing. Fine kaolin and clean silica sand were produced after intensive attrition scrubbing of the sample. To increase the quality of the produced silica, it was subjected to reverse anionic flotation to minimize its iron content. In this respect, conventional flotation tests using three anionic oxyhydryl surfactants namely: sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate, sodium naphtha sulphonate, and sodium dodecyl sulphate, were tried. Results showed a privilege action for sodium dodecyl sulphate to remove most of the iron oxide content of the sample. A statistical Box-Behnken design was constructed to optimize the process efficiency. It was shown that from a flotation feed contained 360 ppm Fe2O3 and 1190 ppm Al2O3, sand concentrate contained 29 ppm Fe2O3 and 564 ppm Al2O3, was produced. The optimum flotation conditions were 3.86 kg/t sodium dodecyl sulphate dose, 3.22 flotation pulp pH, 1226 rpm impeller speed, and 22.24 L/min airflow rate. Variables interaction effects results showed that flotation separation efficiency was significantly influenced by air flow rate and cell impeller speed of the process.