Background To evaluate the aqueous humor (AH) levels of cytokines in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients and cataract patients. Methods Thirty-eight POAG patients and 26 cataract patients were recruited. Peripheral blood (PB) was collected from each subject. The POAG group was divided into 2 subgroups according to the severity of visual field defects. The cutoff point of the mean deviation (MD) of the visual field was -12 dB. AH was obtained at the time of anterior chamber puncture during cataract or glaucoma surgery by using a 27-gauge needle attached to a microsyringe. AH and PB levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-β2) and IL-4 were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Postoperative intraocular pressures (IOPs) of POAG patients were recorded during the follow-up period. Results TNF-α and TGF-β2 showed significantly higher AH levels in the POAG group than in the cataract group (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively). For the POAG group, preoperative IOPs were significantly positively correlated with AH levels of TNF-α (r2 = 0.129, P = 0.027) and TGF-β2 (r2 = 0.273, P = 0.001). AH levels of TGF-β2 were significantly different among cataract patients, POAG patients with MD> -12 dB and POAG patients with MD≤ -12 dB (P = 0.001). AH levels of TNF-α were significantly positively associated with IOP reduction after trabeculectomy (P = 0.025). AH and PB levels of cytokines were not related to the long-term success of trabeculectomy. Conclusion The levels of TNF-α and TGF-β2 showed different profiles in POAG patients and cataract patients. AH levels of TGF-β2 were correlated with the severity of glaucomatous neuropathy in POAG patients. The findings suggest possible roles for cytokines in the pathogenesis and development of POAG.

Purpose. To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of inpatients who underwent surgery for glaucoma at Tianjin Eye Hospital from 2013 to 2017. Methods. All glaucoma inpatients who underwent surgery at Tianjin Eye Hospital from 2013 to 2017 were evaluated. The relationships of age and sex with different types of glaucoma were analyzed. The differences in the prevalence and family history of glaucoma among patients with different systemic diseases were compared. Additionally, the effects of different surgical methods for primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) were compared. Results. A total of 4539 patients with glaucoma were retrospectively analyzed. The most prevalent type was PACG (60.15%), followed by secondary glaucoma (SG, 25.53%), POAG (7.6%), uncontrollable intraocular pressure (IOP) after antiglaucoma surgery (4.71%), mixed glaucoma (MG, 10%), and congenital glaucoma (CG, 0.9%). The main surgical methods were phacoemulsification (phaco), phacotrabeculectomy (phaco-trab), and trabeculectomy (trab). The rate of phaco-trab increased, while that of trab decreased. The proportion of women in the PACG group was higher than those in the POAG and SG groups, and there was a pronounced tendency for family clustering ( P < 0.001 ), while in the POAG and SG groups, the proportions of men and those with diabetes were higher ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusions. In Tianjin Eye Hospital from 2013 to 2017, the main type of glaucoma was PACG. Female sex and a family history of glaucoma were risk factors for PACG, while male sex and hyperglycemia were risk factors for POAG and SG. Among the antiglaucoma surgery methods, the proportion of phaco-trab increased, while the proportion of trab decreased.

This study was carried out to investigate cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a potential biomarker for colorectal cancer diagnosis.Patients with colorectal cancer (n = 25) who had not undergone surgery, and 35 patients with postoperative colorectal cancer were enrolled. Peripheral blood samples were collected from the colorectal cancer subjects (experimental group), and also from 30 healthy volunteers (control group). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to determine cfDNA concentration and integrity in each group. The cfDNA levels of the two groups were analyzed to determine the relationship between the cfDNA and the clinical features of colorectal cancer patients. The receiver operator curve (ROC) was used to analyze sensitivity and specificity of cfDNA, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen 199 (CA199) and cancer antigen 125 (CA125). cfDNA concentration and cfDNA integrity in patients with colorectal cancer before surgery were significantly higher than those in patients with colorectal cancer after surgery, and cfDNA concentration of colorectal cancer patients after surgery was also significantly higher than that of the healthy control group, but the integrity was not significantly different from the control group. There was no significant correlation between cfDNA concentration/integrity and gender, age, disease stage, tumor location, tumor differentiation, and expressions of cancer antigen 153 (CA153), neuron specific enolase (NSE) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) in colorectal cancer patients before or after surgery. However, there was a significant correlation between the expression levels of CEA/CA125 and concentration of cfDNA. The CA199 expression level was significantly correlated with cfDNA integrity. The sensitivity and specificity of cfDNA and integrity were higher than those used for traditional tumor biomarker detection. cfDNA concentration is significantly increased in serum of colorectal cancer patients. Thus, it may serve as a potential indicator of colorectal cancer.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using indocyanine green (ICG) near-infrared (NIR) imaging during lymphadenectomy for oesophageal cancer.MethodsEighty-seven patients with primary oesophageal cancer were enrolled in this study. All the enrolled patients received an endoscopic injection of ICG between 40 min and 23 h before surgery. Nodal dissection during surgery was performed under fluorescence imaging visualisation, with the NIR signal shown in purple. ICG+ or ICG− nodes were recorded station by station and were microscopically evaluated.ResultsEndoscopic peritumoral ICG injection was successfully performed in all patients. Major post-surgery complications included wound infection, pleural effusion, dysphonia, pneumonia and anastomotic fistula. No patients experienced ICG-related adverse events. A total of 2,584 lymph nodes were removed, and the mean number of lymph nodes for each patient was 29.70 ± 9.24. Most of the removed nodes (97.83%) were ICG+, and 3.32% of the ICG+ nodes were metastatic. No metastatic nodes were ICG− or belonged to an ICG− lymph node station. The time from ICG injection to surgery did not affect the number of harvested lymph nodes.ConclusionsThe use of ICG-NIR imaging during oesophageal cancer surgery can enhance the visualisation of lymph nodes during surgery. It is a feasible, safe and helpful technique for lymphadenectomy.

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