Prostate cancer (PCa) has a high incidence among older men. Until now, there are no immunological markers available to predict PCa patients' survival. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the immunological characteristics of PCa.

Purpose: To examine diagnostic performance of qualitative shear wave elastography (SWE) for evaluation of status of axillary lymph nodes (ALN) in comparison with conventional ultrasonograghy (US) and quantitative SWE parameters. Methods: A total of 118 patients were enrolled, who were all scheduled for breast cancer surgery and core needle biopsy. Conventional US and SWE were performed before biopsy. Based on qualitative evaluation of each ALN, the SWE images were classified into four color patterns: Color Pattern 1: homogeneous; Color Pattern 2: filling defect within lymph node (LN); Color Pattern 3: homogeneous within LN with a localized colored area at the margin; and Color Pattern 4: filling defect within LN with a localized colored area at the margin. The diagnostic performances of the three methods were compared. Results: There were 60 metastatic nodes and 61 benign nodes in the 121 ALNs. Benign ALNs were presented as Color Pattern 1 while metastatic ALNs usually were presented as Color Pattern 2 to 4 (p < 0.05). The AUC of qualitative SWE classification was 0.983, higher than that of quantitative SWE parameters and conventional US (p<0.05). The highest diagnostic performance, with AUC of 0.998, could be achieved if both conventional US and qualitative SWE were applied. Conclusion: The qualitative SWE classification of ALNs proposed in our study exhibited better diagnostic performance than quantitative SWE parameters and conventional US, especially for differentiating metastatic ALNs from benign reactive ALNs. More accurate diagnosis could be reached with this new method and unnecessary biopsy might be avoided in the meantime.

USP13 is significantly amplified in over 20% of lung cancer patients and critical for tumor progression. However, the functional role of USP13 in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains largely unclear. In this study, we found that the deubiquitinase USP13 is highly expressed in SCLC tumor samples and positively associated with poor prognosis in multiple cohorts. In vitro and in vivo depletion of USP13 inhibited SCLC cancer stem cells (CSCs) properties and tumorigenesis, and this inhibitory effect was rescued by reconstituted expression of wide type (WT) USP13 but not the enzyme-inactive USP13 mutant. Mechanistically, USP13 interacts with fatty acid synthase (FASN) and enhances FASN protein stability. FASN downregulation suppresses USP13-enhanced cell renewal regulator expression, sphere formation ability, and de novo fatty acids biogenesis. Accordingly, we found FASN expression is upregulated in surgical resected SCLC specimens, positively correlated with USP13, and associated with poor prognosis of SCLC patients. More importantly, the small molecule inhibitor of FASN, TVB-2640, significantly inhibits lipogenic phenotype and attenuates self-renewal ability, chemotherapy resistance and USP13-mediated tumorigenesis in SCLC. Thus, our study highlights a critical role of the USP13-FASN-lipogenesis axis in SCLC cancer stemness maintenance and tumor growth, and reveals a potential combination therapy for SCLC patients.