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This system differentiated solid breast nodules with relatively high accuracy and helped inexperienced operators to avoid misdiagnoses. Because the neural network is trainable, it could be optimized if a larger set of tumor images is supplied.

From our preliminary experience, R-NSM and IBR with Gel implant is a safe procedure, with good cosmetic results, and could be a promising new technique for breast cancer patients indicated for mastectomy.

The incidence of thromboembolic disease after foot and ankle surgery could be higher than that previously reported particularly if a patient has certain risk factors. Prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to establish the true incidence of thromboembolic disease after foot and ankle surgery and to define the indications for routine thromboprophylaxis.

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This study presents a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system with textural features for classifying benign and malignant breast tumors on medical ultrasound systems. A series of pathologically proven breast tumors were evaluated using the support vector machine (SVM) in the differential diagnosis of breast tumors. The proposed CAD system utilized facile textural features, i.e., block difference of inverse probabilities, block variation of local correlation coefficients and auto-covariance matrix, to identify breast tumor. An SVM classifier using the textual features classified the tumor as benign or malignant. The proposed system identifies breast tumors with a comparatively high accuracy. This can help inexperienced physicians avoid misdiagnosis. The main advantage of the proposed system is that the training and diagnosis procedure of SVM are faster and more stable than that of multilayer perception neural networks. With the expansion of the database, new cases can easily be gathered and used as references. This study dramatically reduces the training and diagnosis time. The SVM is a reliable choice for the proposed CAD system because it is fast and excellent in ultrasound image classification.

BackgroundElectrocautery applications in surgical operations produce evasive odorous smoke in the cleanest operation rooms. Because of the incomplete combustion of electrical current in the tissues and blood vessels during electrocautery applications, electrocautery smoke (ES) containing significant unknown chemicals and biological forms is released. The potential hazards and cancer risk should be further investigated from the perspective of the occupational health of surgical staff.MethodsThe particle number concentration and the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ES were thoroughly investigated in 10 mastectomies to estimate the cancer risk for surgical staff. The particle number concentration and gaseous/particle PAHs at the surgeons’ and anesthetic technologists’ (AT) breathing heights were measured with a particle counter and filter/adsorbent samplers. PAHs were soxhlet-extracted, cleaned, and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.ResultsAbundant submicron particles and high PAH concentrations were found in ES during regular surgical mastectomies. Most particles in ES were in the size range of 0.3 to 0.5 μm, which may potentially penetrate through the medical masks into human respiration. The average particle/gaseous phase PAH concentrations at the surgeon’s breathing height were 131 and 1,415 ng/m3, respectively, which is 20 to 30 times higher than those in regular outdoor environments. By using a toxicity equivalency factor, the cancer risk for the surgeons and anesthetic technologists was calculated to be 117 × 10-6 and 270 × 10-6, respectively; the higher cancer risk for anesthetic technologists arises due to the longer working hours in operation rooms.ConclusionsThe carcinogenic effects of PAHs in ES on the occupational health of surgical staff should not be neglected. The use of an effective ES evacuator or smoke removal apparatus is strongly suggested to diminish the ES hazards to surgical staff.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive histological subtype with limited treatment options and a worse clinical outcome compared with other breast cancer subtypes. Doxorubicin is considered to be one of the most effective agents in the treatment of TNBC. Unfortunately, resistance to this agent is common. In some drug-resistant cells, drug efflux is mediated by adenosine triphosphate-dependent membrane transporter termed adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, which can drive the substrates across membranes against concentration gradient. In the tumor microenvironment, upon interaction with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), tumor cells exhibit altered biological functions of certain gene clusters, hence increasing stemness of tumor cells, migration ability, angiogenesis, and drug resistance. In our present study, we investigated the mechanism of TNBC drug resistance induced by adipose-derived MSCs. Upon exposure of TNBC to MSC-secreted conditioned medium (CM), noticeable drug resistance against doxorubicin with markedly increased BCRP protein expression was observed. Intracellular doxorubicin accumulation of TNBC was also decreased by MSC-secreted CM. Furthermore, we found that doxorubicin resistance of TNBC was mediated by IL-8 presented in the MSC-secreted CM. These findings may enrich the list of potential targets for overcoming drug resistance induced by MSCs in TNBC patients.