Progression

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia in aging populations and is strongly associated with an increased risk of heart failure (HF) and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, early detection of HF among patients with AF remain inadequate in rural settings. This study aims to screen for HF among older adults with AF in rural China and to conduct long-term follow-up in order to observe the disease progression in patients with AF. This study will recruit at least 2,500 elderly individuals aged between 65 and 80 years, with confirmed diagnoses of AF, residing in rural areas. Participants will undergo HF screening using NT-proBNP testing and echocardiographic assessment. Additionally, data will be collected on electrocardiographic signals, seismocardiography, voice, and demographic characteristics. Following data collection, participants will be followed up every three months to monitor the incidence and progression of HF as well as the occurrence of adverse cardiovascular events.

This Phase II trial will evaluate progression-free survival after Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy to oligoprogressive (1-5) lesions in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients on any immune checkpoint inhibitor-containing regimen with last dose of systemic therapy within 3 months prior to trial enrollment.

Examine the association of chronic liver diseases (including hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma) with other systemic diseases by retrospectively analyzing the data from the Hospital Database of Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation.

This randomized controlled non-inferior trial prospectively enrolled patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Patients in the experimental group would receive radiotherapy with omission of the clinical target volume (CTV) for the primary tumor, while those in the control group would receive radiotherapy including CTV. The efficacy and toxicity of the two groups are compared to provide evidence for the radiotherapy of LS-SCLC. The target volume of LS-SCLC may be reduced by omitting CTV without increasing local recurrence but potentially reducing the dose to organs at risk and the side effects.

Appropriate and timely care during birth is critical to the survival and health of women and their babies. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) presented the Labour Care Guide (LCG) as the new recommended tool for monitoring birth and assessing progression, replacing the WHO partograph. This evidence-based guide was designed to ensure improved quality and safety of care, and to avoid unnecessary interventions during birth. The LCG was developed to be used in all settings globally, but it has only been tested in health facilities in South America, Asia and Africa, while it has not been tested in high-income settings. Implementing a new guideline for monitoring birth is a comprehensive operation that will affect both the national economy, health systems, and individual patients; therefore, further research on the possible advantages is needed before national enrolment. Hence, the trial proposed in this application is crucial to form the required foundation of knowledge. The trial will be conducted in labour wards at ten hospitals, covering all health regions in Norway, and the established Norwegian Research Network for Clinical Studies in Obstetrics (NORBIRTH), with dedicated local principal investigators, will provide a robust research environment. This trial will test the effect of the LCG. Results from this trial will provide knowledge needed to determine a future implementation of the LCG in Norway.

Everolimus is approved in many countries to treat patients with advanced/metastatic well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (NET), providing median progression-free survival times of approximately 12 months across different types of NET. However, it is can cause severe adverse effects. Phase I trial demonstrated that a dose of 5mg/day/week was sufficient to inhibit cell proliferation by blocking the mTOR pathway. This is a randomized, open-label, phase II near-equivalence clinical trial of oral everolimus 5 mg vs 10 mg oral/daily and continuously in patients with Grade 1 or Grade 2 metastatic NET, with tumor progression or intolerance to at least one line of treatment and with radiological disease progression within 6 months.

Tumor cell plasticity (TCP) is a conubium of processes which lead to re-activation of developmental programs correlating with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and ultimately leading to acquisition of stem cell properties and transdifferentiation potential. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms governing TCP in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), i.e. the most frequent lung cancer subtype. The investigators recently identified prognostic 7-miRNAs/10-mRNAs signatures which accurately identified aggressive LUAD among patients with early-stage disease (Stage I). Furthermore, the investigators showed that such tumors show TCP features i.e. mesenchymal and stem-cell traits, high-metastatic potential. Here, the investigators aim to explore by RNAseq and by immunophenotyping at a single-cell level (scRNAseq/AbSeq), the molecular features of aggressive LUAD to unveil the mechanisms triggering TCP. The investigators predict thier results will be relevant for the development of more effective therapeutic protocols for management of aggressive LUAD.

A single-center study on the effect of systemic/selective lymph node dissection on the prognosis of ground glass nodules smaller than 3cm and with components with consolidation/tumor ratio between 0.5-1

A prospective, two-center, single arm phase II clinical study to evaluate safety and effectiveness of ablation therapy in the treatment of lung cancer presenting as ground-glass nodules

A multiple-center study on the effect of different ways of lymph node dissection on the prognosis of less than 3cm ground glass nodules with more than solid components