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Objective:To compare the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy vs. concurrent chemoradiotherapy on the target volume and organs at risk for locally advanced bulky (>4 cm) cervical cancer. Methods:From March 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021, 146 patients pathologically diagnosed with cervical cancer were selected and randomly divided into two groups using random number table method: the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) + concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) group ( n=73) and CCRT group ( n=73). Patients in the NACT+CCRT group received 2 cycles of paclitaxel combined with cisplatin NACT, followed by CCRT, the chemotherapy regimen was the same as NACT. In the CCRT group, CCRT was given. Statistical description of categorical data was expressed by rate. The measurement data between two groups were compared by Wilcoxon rank-sum test for comparison of two independent samples, and the rate or composition ratio of two groups was compared by χ2 test. Results:Before radiotherapy, GTV in the NACT+CCRT group was (31.95±25.96) cm 3, significantly lower than (71.54±33.59) cm 3 in the CCRT group ( P<0.01). Besides, CTV and PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were also significantly lower compared with those in the CCRT group (both P<0.05). In terms of target volume dosimetry, D 100GTV, D 95CTV, V 100GTV, V 100CTV and V 95PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were significantly higher than those in the CCRT group (all P<0.05). The complete remision (CR) rates in the NACT+CCRT and CCRT groups were 86.3% and 67.6%, with statistical significance between two groups ( P<0.01) . Regarding organs at risk, NACT+CCRT group significantly reduced the dose to the bladder, rectum, small intestine and urethra compared with CCRT group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:NACT can reduce the volume of tumors in patients with large cervical masses, increase the radiation dose to tumors, reduce the dose to organs at risk, and make the three-dimensional brachytherapy easier. Therefore, NACT combined with CCRT may be a new choice for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer with large masses.
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Objective:To investigate the optimal bladder filling volume in the 3D brachytherapy of postoperative cervical cancer.Methods:Totally 111 early cervical cancer patients with positive incisal margins or insufficient safety boundaries were included. The normal saline 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 ml were filled into their bladders, and accordingly six groups were determined, and 66, 69, 66, 69, 72, 56 person-times in each group, respectively. The CT-based simulation positioning was performed. According to the ICRU 89 report, high-risk clinical target volume and organs at risk such as bladder and rectum were delineated. The Oncentra planning system was used to prepare the treatment program. The high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV), D90, and the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of organs at risk under different volumes were recorded. Results:Compared to the 60 ml group, the volume and dosage of HR-CTV in the groups of 50, 70, 80, 90, and 100 ml had no significant difference ( P>0.05). The D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of the bladder and rectum of patients in these groups significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant ( tbladder = 3.21, 5.83, 2.89, 12.95, 7.96, Pbladder = 0.031, 0.010, 0.041, 0.000, 0.001; trectum = 2.94, 4.66, 2.53, 5.89, 4.13, Prectum = 0.037, 0.024, 0.049, 0.005, 0.028). The pairwise comparison among these groups except for the 60 ml group showed that the volume and dosage of HR-CTV and the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of bladder and rectum had no significant difference ( P > 0.05). Moreover, the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of sigmoid colon and small intestine of these groups had no significant difference ( P > 0.05). Conclusions:In the 3D brachytherapy of postoperative early cervical cancer, a bladder filling volume of 60 ml can ensure the volume and dose of HR-CTV and can protect the bladder and rectum compared with other filling volumes.
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Objective To explore the predictive value of the expression of CD44v6 and EGFR on the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in stageⅡ-Ⅲ cervical cancer. Methods A total of 53 patients with stageⅡ-Ⅲ cervical cancer diagnosed by pathology were selected. All patients received two cycles of paclitaxel+platinum NACT. The pathological tissue samples of cervical tumors before NACT treatment were collected. The expression of CD44v6 and EGFR were detected by the immunohistochemical SP method, and we analyzed their predictive value of NACT in stageⅡ-Ⅲ cervical cancer. Results Among the 53 patients, 38 were in the NACT effective group (CR+PR), and 15 were in the NACT ineffective group (SD+PD). The expression of CD44v6 in the ineffective group was significantly higher than that in the effective group (P < 0.05). The expression of CD44v6 was significantly different in patients with CR, PR, and SD (P < 0.05). The AUC of CD44v6 to NACT effect on stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ cervical cancer was 0.74 (P < 0.05). The patients in the high expression group of CD44v6 had worse efficacy in NACT than those in the low expression group of CD44v6 (P < 0.05). Pearson test showed that CD44v6 and EGFR expression were correlated (R=0.34, P < 0.05). Conclusion High expression of CD44v6 may reduce the efficacy of NACT in stageⅡ-Ⅲ cervical cancer, suggesting that the expression of CD44v6 has a certain predictive value and clinical significance in the efficacy of paclitaxel+platinum NACT on cervical cancer. Moreover, CD44v6 is positively correlated with EGFR expression.
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Objective To compare the effect of different therapeutic methods upon the survival of stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ A cervical cancer patients with intermediate risk factors and explore the optimal treatment for patients with early-stage cervical cancer undergoing radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy.Methods Clinical data of 323 patients with the following intermediate risk factors of lymphovascular space invasion,depth of stromal invasion or tumor size ＞ 4 cm were retrospectively analyzed.The impact of observing (NT),chemotherapy (CT),radiotherapy (RT) and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) on survival was statistically compared.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to survival analysis,and log-rank test difference,Cox model was used to prognostic factor analysis.Results The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of all patients were 79.0％ and 84.8％.Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that TS＞ 4 cm and therapeutic method were the independent prognostic factors of PFS.The number of risk factors and therapeutic method were the independent prognostic factors of OS.In the whole group,both RT and CCRT could improve the prognosis of patients with no statistical significance (P＞0.05).In the subgroup analysis,for patients with a single intermediate risk factor (low risk group),CT could significantly prolong the PFS (P=0.026) rather the 5-year OS (P=0.692).Compared with NT and CT,RT and CCRT could improve the PFS and OS,whereas no statistical significance was noted between the RT and CCRT (both P＞0.05).For those with ≥2 risk factors (high risk group),CCRT could significantly prolong the PFS compared with CT (84.9％ vs.70％;P=0.006),but did not improve the OS (P=0.107).Compared with RT,CCRT could significantly improve the PFS and OS (both P＜0.05).Conclusion For patients with only one risk factor,RT can enhance the clinical prognosis.CCRT can improve the clinical prognosis of stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ A cervical cancer patients with ≥ 2 risk factors.
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Objective To explore the prognostic factors for the recurrence of vaginal stump of earlystage cervical cancer after radical hysterectomy and evaluate the effect on clinical prognosis.Methods Clinical data of stage Ⅰ-ⅡA cervical cancer patients undergoing radical hysterectomy in Guizhou Cancer Hospital from January,2007 to December,2016 were retrospectively analyzed.Results A total of 493 patients were enrolled and followed up until May 30,2018.Among them,96.6％(474/493) completed the follow-up.The median age was 45 years.Patients aged 40-50 years had a high incidence rate.In total,451 cases (91.48％) had no recurrence of vaginal stump.The average time without stump recurrence was 51.2 months and the median time without stump recurrence was 44.8 months.Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that pelvic external irradiation and brachytherapy were the independent prognostic factors for the recurrence of vaginal stump (P=0.000,0.000).Tumor size,lymph node metastasis and pelvic external irradiation were the independent prognostic factors for overall survival (P=0.045,0.022,0.000).Conclusions Pelvic external irradiation and brachytherapy play an extremely pivotal role in reducing the risk of vaginal stump recurrence after radical hysterectomy for patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ A cervical cancer.Tumor size,lymph node metastasis and pelvic external irradiation are the independent prognostic factors for overall survival of patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ A cervical cancer following radical hysterectomy.