This paper reports the one-pot synthesis of perfluorocarbon microbubbles with crosslinked shells of poly(acrylic acid) and phospholipid that boast excellent ultrasound contrast enhancement, enhanced loading capacity, and the ability to retain or release their contents through variation in the level of ultrasound exposure.

Purpose The aim of this study is to identify the prognostic factors of distant metastasis (DM) after induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC). Materials and Methods A total of 321 patients with HNC who underwent IC followed by CRT treated between January 2005 and December 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. IC consisted of three courses of docetaxel (70 mg/m 2 ) and cisplatin (75 mg/m 2 ) every three weeks, followed by radiotherapy of 66-70 Gy/2 Gy per fraction/5 fractions per week concurrent with weekly cisplatin (40 mg/m 2 ). Tumor/nodal stage, primary site, tumor differentiation, lower neck node involvement (level IV, VB, and supraclavicular regions), number of concurrent chemotherapy cycles, overall duration of radiotherapy, and response to IC were assessed as potential prognostic factors influencing DM and survival outcome. Results The five-year loco-regional recurrence and DM rates were 23.6% and 18.2%. N stage, overall duration of radiotherapy, lower neck node involvement, and response to IC were significant factors for DM. With a median follow-up period of 52 months (range, 4 to 83 months), the 5-year progression-free, DM-free, and overall survival rates were 41.2%, 50.7%, and 55.1%, respectively. Lower neck node involvement (p=0.008) and poor response to IC (p < 0.001) showed an association with significantly inferior DM-free survival. Conclusion Even with the addition of IC, the DM rate and survival outcome were poor when metastatic lower neck lymph nodes were present or when patients failed to respond after receiving IC.

SUVPLN is a statistically significant prognostic factor of PALN recurrence and survival after definitive CCRT for pelvic node-positive SCC of the uterine cervix.

Introduction This study compared the frequency and severity of depressive disorders in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) before and during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic using the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised (K-CESD-R) and the Korean version of the Profile of Mood States (K-POMS) depression, and further determined predictors of current depressive disorders in the patients during the pandemic. Methods Of the 61 patients with AAV who participated before the pandemic, 8 patients were transferred to other hospitals, 3 patients died, and 2 patients refused to participate in this study. Finally, 48 patients participated in this study. Depression disorders were defined as K‑CESD-R ≥ 16. Results When comparing the patterns of mental health between patients with AAV before and during the pandemic, no change in K‑CESD‑R or K‑POMS subscale scores was observed. Among AAV-related indices, regardless of the pandemic, the short-form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) mental component score (MCS) and physical component score (PCS) were significantly correlated with K‑CESD‑R and could predict current depressive disorders. When the cut-off of Birmingham vasculitis activity score (BVAS) for depressive disorders was obtained by the receiver operator characteristic curve, it significantly predicted current depressive disorders in patients with AAV during the pandemic, unlike those before the pandemic. Conclusion We verified that SF-36 MCS and PCS could predict current depressive disorders, regardless of the pandemic, and furthermore, we demonstrated for the first time that BVAS was a predictor of current depressive disorders in patients with AAV during the pandemic unlike those before the pandemic. Supplementary Information The online version of this article (10.1007/s00393-022-01233-1) includes Figure S1 and Table S1.