【Abstract】Objective To find out if apoptosis is induced after intra-radiotherapy and its effects on pericarcinomal tissue. Methods From 1994 to 1998, 44 patients with unresectable liver cancer received 32P-GMS intra-radiotherapy. After 2 to 6 months the tumors in 3 cases could be resected and we used this cases as the treatment group. We use 4 patients with resectional HCC of same age, diseased region, differentiated but without anyother therapy as the control group. The TUNEL staining was used to stain the resected tissue, and the apoptosis index was counted. Results The apoptosis index of carcinoma was 29%～34%, average (31±16)% in the treatment group and that of the control group was 4%～6%, average (5±12.2)%. The apoptosis index of pericarcinomal tissue was 27%～37%, average (35±11)% in the treatment group and that of the control group was 0.3%～5%, average (4.1±3.3)%. Conclusion 32P-GMS intra-radiotherapy can enhance the apoptosis of HCC and its adjacent tissue.
Objective To investigate the prognostic differences and decision-making role in postoperative radiotherapy of four molecular subtypes in pT1-2N1M0 stage breast cancer. Methods The clinicopathological data of 1526 patients with pT1-2N1M0 breast cancer treated at West China Hospital of Sichuan University between 2008 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. χ2 test was used to compare the clinicopathological features among patients with different molecular subtypes. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test were used to draw the survival curves and compare the overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) among patients with different molecular subtypes. Cox regression model was used to determine the influencing factors of OS of patients after radical mastectomy. Results Among the 1526 patients with pT1-2N1M0 breast cancer, there were 674 cases (44.2%) of Luminal A subtype, 530 cases (34.7%) of Luminal B subtype, 174 cases (11.4%) of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her-2) overexpression subtype, and 148 cases (9.7%) of triple-negative subtype. The 5-year OS rates of Luminal A, Luminal B, Her-2 overexpression and triple negative patients were 98.6%, 94.3%, 95.5% and 91.2%, respectively (χ2=11.712, P=0.001), and the 5-year BCSS rates were 99.3%, 94.6%, 95.5% and 92.5%, respectively (χ2=18.547, P<0.001). Multiple Cox regression analysis showed that menstrual status [hazard ratio (HR)=0.483, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.253, 0.923), P=0.028] and whether endocrine therapy [HR=2.021, 95%CI (1.012, 4.034), P=0.046] were prognostic factors for the 5-year OS rate of breast cancer patients after radical mastectomy (P<0.05). However, it failed to reveal that Luminal subtypes and postoperative radiotherapy were prognostic factors for the 5-year OS rate (P>0.05). Conclusions In pT1-2N1M0 breast cancer patients, the 5-year OS rate and 5-year BCSS rate in triple-negative patients are the lowest. The relationship between Luminal classification, postoperative radiotherapy and survival in patients after radical mastectomy needs further study in the future.
Objective To evaluate the strategy of chemoradiotherapy following endoscopic R0 resection for esophageal cancer in M3-T1b stage. Methods There were 45 esophageal cancer patients with M3-T1b stage with endoscopic R0 resection followed by additional chemoradiotherapy from ECETC (Esophageal Cancer Endoscopic Therapy Consortium) as a trial group with 34 males and 11 females at age of 61.37±7.14 years. There were 90 patients with esophagectomy from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center as a control group with 63 males and 27 females at age of 61.04±8.17 years. Propensity score match (1:2) was used to balance the factors: gender, age, position, depth of invasion and lymphovascular invasion (LVI), which may influence the outcomes. Overall survival (OS) rate, relapse free survival (RFS) rate, and local recurrence rate were compared between the two groups. Result There was no statistical difference (HR=2.66 with 95%CI 0.87 to 8.11, P=0.179) in terms of OS rate between the two groups. One, two and three years overall survival rate of patients in the control group was 93%, 86%, and 84%, respectively. Nobody died in the trial group within 3 years after surgery. The RFS rate between the two groups didn’t significantly differ (HR=1.48, 95% CI 0.66 to 3.33, P=0.389). One, two and three years RFS rate of patients in the contorl group was 87%, 78%, and 76%, respectively, while 97%, 93%, and 73% in the trial group, respectively. The local recurrence rates between the two groups didn’t significantly differ either ( HR=0.53, 95%CI 0.13 to 2.18, P=0.314). One, two and three years local recurrence rate of patients in the control group was 5%, 6% and 6%, respectively, while 0%, 0% and 21% in the trial group, respectively. Conclusion Similar outcomes are found regarding OS, RFS and local recurrence rates between the two groups. The strategy of endoscopic R0 resection followed by additional chemoradiotherapy has prospect for the treatment of esophageal cancer in M3-T1b stage. And this kind of therapy may be provided for those with risk factors or can not tolerate surgery.
Objective To explore the safety of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy combined with sphincter-preserving operation in treatment of locally advanced low rectal cancer. Methods The clinical data of thirty-four patients admitted into our hospital between June 2007 and June 2009 with T3 and T4 low rectal cancer treated by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and sphincter-preserving operation were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Routine fraction of radiation was given with total dose of 40 Gy, five times a week, 2 Gy per fraction. Patients received oxaliplatin （150 mg/d1）, plus folinic (100 mg/d1-3) and 5FU (750 mg/d1-3) for total 1 cycles started from the 4th week of irradiation. Operation was performed 4 weeks after neoadjuvant therapy. Results After neoadjuvant therapy, all patients underwent surgical resection with average tumor size decreased by 41.2%, tumor T stage decreased in 67.6% （23/34) patients, and lymph nodenegative change rate was 58.8% (10/17). One patient had liver metastasis and one had local recurrence, but without stomal leak. And 88.2% (30/34) patients showed good function of sphincter. Conclusions Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in advanced lower rectal cancer patients has shown its efficacy in down-staging, which is safe without increasing operation complications when combined with sphincterpreserving surgery.
Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a newly discovered functional RNA different from messenger RNA, which can participate in the regulation of tumor occurrence and development. Studies have shown that ncRNA can participate in the regulation of radiotherapy response to gastric cancer, and its mechanism may be related to its influence on DNA damage repair, gastric cancer cell stemness, apoptosis, and activation of epidermal growth factor receptor signal pathway. This article summarizes the mechanism of ncRNA regulating the response of gastric cancer to radiotherapy, and looks forward to the potential clinical application of ncRNA in the resistance of gastric cancer to radiotherapy.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with total mesorectal excision （TME） in treatment for locally advanced lower rectal cancer. Methods The clinical data of 31 patients with locally advanced lower rectal cancer received concurrent chemoradiotherapy from January 2009 to December 2011 in this hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Conventional fraction radiotherapy with total dose 50 Gy and chemotherapy with mFOLFOX6 or CapeOX regimen were taken. The efficacy was assessed by recording results of clinical and pathological examination. The function of sphincter was also recorded. Results All 31 patients underwent TME operation. The complication morbidity and mortality was 12.9% （4/31） and 3.2% （1/31），respectively. As a result of the preoperative management，the tumor was reduced by an average of 21.9%， down-regulation of T stage was observed in 48.4% （15/31） patients，the frequency of lymph node metastasis decreased from 83.9% （26/31） to 38.7% （12/31）. Pathological complete response was observed in 5 patients （16.1%） and the total response rate was 74.2% （23/31），grade 3/4 toxicity was occurred in 2 （6.5%） patients. 84.6% （22/26） of patients underwent sphincter preservation surgery reserved good function of sphincter. Conclusions Preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with TME in treatment for locally advanced lower rectal cancer is effective and safe，which can lead to pathological complete response，decrease the tumor stage and the rate of lymph node metastasis，and can also increase the efficacy of operation.
ObjectiveTo understand the biological behavior of primary squamous cell carcinoma of thyroid (PSCCT), and provide references for its clinical diagnosis and treatment.MethodThe latest domestic and foreign reports of PSCCT were collected and analyzed.ResultsIn the diagnosis of PSCCT, the possibility of metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma to thyroid should be excluded. It often presented with hoarseness, local obstruction, and the median survival time was about 12 months. The treatment mainly relies on complete surgical resection.ConclusionPrimary squamous cell carcinoma of thyroid is a rare disease with rapid disease progression, poor overall prognosis and limited therapeutic options.
Intensity-modulated radiotherapy planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma is very complex. The quality of plan is often closely linked to the experience of the treatment planner. In this study, 10 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients at different stages were enrolled. Based on the scripting of Pinnacle3 9.2 treatment planning system, the computer program was used to set the basic parameters and objective parameters of the plans. At last, the nasopharyngeal carcinoma intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans were completed automatically. Then, the automatical and manual intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans were statistically compared and clinically evaluated. The results showed that there were no significant differences between those two kinds of plans with respect to the dosimetry parameters of most targets and organs at risk. The automatical nasopharyngeal carcinoma intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans can meet the requirements of clinical radiotherapy, significantly reduce planning time, and avoid the influence of human factors such as lack of experience to the quality of plan.
Objective To observe the macular morphological changes of choroidal melanoma with coherence tomography (OCT) after plaque radiotherapy (PRT). Methods A total of 48 patients (48 eyes) with choroidal melanoma who underwent125I PRT were enrolled in this study. All the patients were examined documenting OCT to get the image of macula. The macula of all the patients was not involved. The median visual acuity was 0.4plusmn;0.2, which ranged from 0.02 to 1.0. There were 18 eyes (37.5%) with retinal detachment, 12 eyes (25.0%) with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) changes, seven eyes (14.6%) with macular edema, epimacular membrane, detachment combined with edema, exudation and RPE changes, 11 eyes (22.9%) with normal macular structure. The median follow-up time was (10.4plusmn;5.9) months, which ranged from one to 24 months. The tumor control situation and visual acuity were observed in follow-up period. The same equipment and methods of OCT were used to return visit in follow-up period. The macular morphological changes at the final visit and its relationship with PRT and visual acuity were contrastively analyzed. Results All the patients had good control of tumor. The vision acuity improved in two eyes (4.2%), unchanged in 10 eyes (20.8%), and decreased in 36 eyes (75.0%). The differences of the visual acuity was statistically significant between before and after treatment (Z=-3.778,P＜0.05). There were 13 eyes (27.1%) with retinal detachment; nine eyes (18.8%) with RPE changes; 17 eyes (35.4%) with macular edema, detachment combined with edema, exudation and RPE changes; six eyes (12.5%) with proliferation, atrophy, detachment combined with edema, exudation and epimacular membrane;three eyes (6.3%) with normal macular structure. There were 15 patients (31.3%) with two or more abnormal macular morphology after PRT. Conclusions Retinal detachment, RPE changes, macular edema and exudation are common abnormal macular morphology after PRT. The incidence rate of abnormal macular morphology is increased. There are 31.3% patients with two or more abnormal macular morphology.
ObjectiveTo study the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in predicting and evaluating the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in the middle-low locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).MethodsThe patients were included prospectively who were clinically diagnosed as the LARC and were scheduled to undergo the NCRT and total mesorectal excision (TME) in the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital from February 2018 to November 2019. The routine MRI and DCE-MRI were performed before and after the NCRT, then the TME was performed. According to the score of tumor regression grade (TRG), the patients with TGR score of 0, 1 or 2 were classified as the response to NCRT group, and those with TRG score of 3 were classified as the non-response to NCRT group; in addition, the patients with TGR score of 0 or 1 were classified as the good-response group, with TRG score of 2 or 3 were classified as the poor-response group. The differences of quantitative perfusion parameters of DCE-MRI between two groups were compared, including the volume transfer constant (Ktrans), flux rate constant (Kep), and extravascular extracellular volume fraction (Ve) and the change rates of these parameters (ΔKtrans, ΔKep, and ΔVe).ResultsForty-one patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in this study, including 27 cases in the response to NCRT group and 14 cases in the non-response to NCRT group; 11 cases in the the good-response group and 30 cases in the poor-response group. ① The values of Ktrans before the NCRT and the ΔKtrans in the response to NCRT group were higher than those in the non-response to NCRT (P<0.05), while the other indexes had no significant differences between these two groups (P>0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) of Ktrans and ΔKtrans in predicting the efficacy of NCRT were 0.954 and 0.709, respectively. When the optimal thresholds of Ktrans and ΔKtrans were 0.122/min and –24.2%, the specificity and sensitivity were 85.7%, 96.3% and 100%, 51.7%, respectively. ② The Ktrans value in the good-response group was higher before NCRT and which was lower after NCRT as compared with the poor-response group (P<0.05). The absolute value of the the ΔKtrans and ΔKep in the good-response group were higher than those in the poor-response group (P<0.05). The other indexes had no significant differences between these two groups (P>0.05). The AUC of Ktrans before NCRT in predicting the efficacy of NCRT was 0.953. When the optimal thresholds of Ktrans before NCRT was 0.158 /min, the specificity and sensitivity were 88.7% and 90.9%, respectively. The AUC of ΔKtrans in predicting the efficacy of NCRT was higher than that of the ΔKep (0.952 versus 0.764, Z=2.063, P=0.039). When the optimal threshold of ΔKtrans was –38.8%, the specificity and sensitivity were 76.7% and 100%, respectively.ConclusionsDCE-MRI can predict and evaluate the effect of NCRT in patients with middle-low LARC, especially Ktrans and ΔKtrans (change rate before and after NCRT) have a high diagnostic efficiency.