In recent years, with the clinical application of minimally invasive surgical techniques and comprehensive preoperative treatment, the survival rate of locally advanced esophageal cancer has significantly improved. However, the treatment of metastatic esophagogastric cancer still relies mainly on systemic therapy, and immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has become a first-line treatment option, prolonging the survival of patients with metastatic esophageal cancer. Oligometastatic esophageal cancer is expected to bring survival benefits through systemic therapy combined with local treatment. The 2024 European clinical practice guidelines for oligometastatic esophagogastric cancer have been officially released, which standardize the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of oligometastatic esophageal cancer for further prospective studies. The authors interpret this guideline, especially by reviewing the clinical evidence of oligometastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, to provide reference for the diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic esophageal cancer in China.
Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer worldwide. On August 29, 2023, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) released the NCCN esophageal and esophagogastric junction cancers clinical practice guidelines in oncology (version 3. 2023). This article aims to highlight the key updates in treatment and follow-up recommendations between the version 3 and the version 2 in 2023, providing the latest guidance for the management of esophageal cancer in our country.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With the popularization of low-dose CT and the improvement of people’s awareness of physical examinations, the number of detected pulmonary nodules is gradually increasing, and there is a greater demand for standardized diagnostic and treatment guidelines. On April 23, 2024, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network updated its clinical practice guidelines for NSCLC to the version 5. Compared with the version 5 in 2023, the version 5 in 2024 updates focus on diagnostic evaluation, perioperative systemic therapy, treatment of advanced NSCLC, and molecular marker testing, which will be interpreted in this article with the aim of providing the latest guidance and reference for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in China.
“Chinese Guideline for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer （version-2022）” （China Liver Cancer Staging, Abbreviation “CNLC 2022”） was updated recently and the “Barcelona Clinical Liver Cancer Strategy for Prognosis Prediction and Treatment Recommendation: The 2022 update” （Abbreviation “BCLC 2022”） was also updated in December 2021. The similarities and differences of the two guidelines were interpreted. For the BCLC stage B and C, which are equivalent to CNLC stage Ⅱa and Ⅱb and CNLC stage Ⅲa, respectively, the recommendation of surgical treatment and radiation therapy are disparate in the CNLC 2022 and BCLC 2022. For the systematic treatment of advanced liver cancer, Atezolizumab-Bevacizumab, Renvatinib and Sorafenib were both recommended as the first-line medication in the two guidelines. However, the CNLC 2022 is more flexible than BCLC 2022, which provides more treatment options for Chinese liver cancer patients. It is worth paying attention to two important new concepts proposed in the BCLC 2022: stage migration during treatment and untreatable progression. The BCLC stage B was divided into three subgroups according to tumor burden and liver function and different clinical pathways were recommended in the BCLC 2022.
Lung cancer is the malignant tumor with the highest incidence rate in men and the highest mortality rate in men and women in China, and the incidence and mortality rates are still increasing. Lung cancer screening is an important initiative for early detection of lung cancer and improvement of prognosis. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) updates the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines for Lung Cancer Screening annually, and the 2023 V2 edition was released in May 2023. The guidelines are based on the latest research advances and high-level evidence-based medical evidence to establish screening criteria for lung cancer, especially for non-small cell lung cancer, which is the most common and highly regarded type of lung cancer, and has received widespread attention from physicians worldwide. In this article, the latest version of the guideline will be interpreted based on China's national situation and Chinese lung cancer screening guidelines, with the aim of providing an updated reference for lung cancer screening in China.
The Universal Definition and Classification of Heart Failure consensus has proposed the universal definition, classification and staging criteria of heart failure. The prevalence of heart failure is still increasing, and the phenotype of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is becoming more and more common. Neuro-endocrine antagonists are effective in treating patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, there is no effective drug that can improve the clinical prognosis of patients with HFpEF. The pathophysiological mechanism of HFpEF involves metabolic-inflammatory mechanism disorders, epicardial fat tissue accumulation, and coronary microvascular dysfunction. The exploratory treatment of these mechanisms requires further research to confirm whether it is beneficial to patients with HFpEF. In addition, the improvement of ejection fraction and the recovery of cardiac function in patients with HFrEF after treatment cannot interrupt the drug treatment of heart failure.
The “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obesity (2024 Edition)” was formulated by the National Health Commission in cooperation with multidisciplinary experts nationwide, and was formally released on October 17, 2024. As China’s first authoritative guideline for obesity, it comprehensively covers the etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, classification, staging, and related diseases of obesity. The guideline emphasizes the high risk of obesity-related diseases, and for the first time puts forward a standardized diagnosis and treatment pathway, sorting out various treatment options including lifestyle interventions, pharmacotherapy, metabolic/bariatric procedures, and traditional Chinese medicine treatments. At the same time, the guideline advocates the multi-disciplinary treatment model, which integrates expertise and methodologies from various disciplines to develop personalized treatments for patients. We interpreted and discussed the diagnostic assessment and multimodal management of obesity, so as to enhance readers’ understanding of the guideline and promote the standardization of evidence-based practices in obesity care.
“Definition and diagnostic criteria for clinical obesity” (referred to as the “Guideline”), jointly developed by The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission, was officially released on January 25, 2025. The Guideline presents a groundbreaking perspective by explicitly defining clinical obesity as a chronic disease and establishing a stratified diagnostic system. It mandates the combined use of anthropometric measurements and clinical assessments, promoting a shift in the diagnosis and treatment model from “body weight management” to comprehensive intervention focused on “body fat metabolism and organ function protection”. Through a systematic interpretation of the core content of the Guideline, including the definition of clinical obesity, key diagnostic criteria, criteria for differential diagnosis, and clinical significance, the document emphasizes the profound impact of the Guideline on the adjustment of medical insurance policies, the standardization of clinical practices, and the protection of patient rights, and aims to enhance the precision diagnosis and stratified management of obesity.
Recently, the National Cancer Center analyzed the disease burden and epidemiological trend of breast cancer based on the global population registration data, providing important reference for the prevention and control of breast cancer and health decision-making. Based on the current situation of prevention and control of breast cancer in China, this paper briefly interpreted the key points of the disease burden and trend of breast cancer.
In recent years, the diagnosis and management technology of type B aortic dissection (TBAD) has developed rapidly worldwide along with evidence-based medicine practice and clinical research data. But the standard clinical criteria are still limited. Based on this, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) established an expert group dominated by aortic surgeons to collate and analyze the comprehensive literature data of acute and chronic, complicated and uncomplicated TBAD. And then, the group formulated and officially released the clinical practice guidelines for TBAD in 2022. In this paper, we interpreted and analyzed the main contents of the guideline in combination with domestic research, in order to provide reference and help for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of TBAD at the present stage in China.
