Preliminary results of SBRT treatment of pulmonary oligometastasis from head and neck tumors / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To preliminarily evaluate the efficacy and safety of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for pulmonary oligometastatic tumors from head and neck carcinoma.Methods:Clinical data of 24 patients with pulmonary oligometastasis from head and neck carcinoma undergoing SBRT in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from January 2014 to May 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan- Meier method. Results:Among the 24 patients, 12 cases were diagnosed with nasopharyngeal origin and 12 cases of non-nasopharyngeal origin. A total of 34 pulmonary metastatic lesions were treated with SBRT. The median follow-up time was 19.5 months. Thirteen cases developed new lesions after SBRT, and 9 of them occurred within 1 year after SBRT treatment. The actual 1-year local control rate was 95%. The median progression-free survival was 15.2 months, and the 1-and 2-year progression-free survival were 59% and 46%, respectively. The 2-and 3-years overall survival rate at were 71% and 51% fter lung metastasis, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the patients with primary lesions located in nasopharynx and disease-free interval of more than 1 year had survival advantage. No more than grade 3 radiation-induced injury was observed in the whole cohort after SBRT, and the incidence of mild radiation-induced injury was 13%.Conclusions:SBRT is safe and effective in the treatment of pulmonary oligometastatsis from head and neck carcinoma, and it may be more effective for patients with primary tumors located in nasopharynx.

Effects of oral nutritional supplement on short-term nutritional status and treatment tolerance in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients receiving chemoradiotherapy / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To explore the impact of oral nutritional supplements in the local advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients receiving chemoradiotherapy. Methods From 2016 to 2018, we prospectively collected 114 patients into our study, including intervention group ( n=58) and control group ( n=56) . Patients in the intervention group were given oral nutritional supplements from the beginning of radiotherapy, while the control group patients were receiving usual diet care. We collected data of weight, hematological index and nutrition related information before, during and after treatments. Results All patients experienced weight loss during radiotherapy. The declining trend was more obvious in intervention group but with no statistical difference ( P>0.05) . Radiotherapy interruption was lower, completion rate of 2 cycles of concurrent chemotherapy was higher( 78% vs 64%, P=0.02) and level of total serum protein and albumin was more stable ( P=0.003, 0.001) in the intervention group. No difference was found in acute toxicities between the two groups ( P>0.05) . During the treatment period, the nutrition risk screening score declined, more patients with NRS 2002 ≥3 in the control group than the intervention group ( P<0.05) , while no statistically significant difference was found in PG-SGA between the two groups ( P>0.05 ) . Conclusions Oral nutritional supplements can improve treatment tolerance and keep the stability of serum protein level, nevertheless, it has no obvious advantage in maintenance of weight and short-term nutritional status

Paranasal Sinus Invasion in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma after Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic significance of paranasal sinus invasion for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its suitable position in the T classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 695 patients with previously untreated, biopsy-proven, non-metastatic NPC that was treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The incidence of paranasal sinus invasion was 39.4% (274 of 695 patients). Multivariate analysis showed that paranasal sinus invasion was an independent negative prognostic factor for local failure-free survival (LFFS) (p < 0.05). According to the eighth American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system, 275 patients were classified as T3 classification. Of these, 78 patients (28.4%) developed paranasal sinus invasion (T3b) and 197 (71.6%) didn't (T3a). The estimated 5-year LFFS and overall survival (OS) rates for the patients with T3b and T3a classification were 88.6% versus 95.0% (p=0.047), and 84.5% versus 93.3% (p=0.183), respectively. The estimated 5-year LFFS and OS rates for the patientswith T4 classificationwere 89.5% and 83.2%,whichwere similarwith the outcomes of patients with T3b classification. CONCLUSION: MRI-determined paranasal sinus invasion is an independent prognostic factor of NPC treated by IMRT. Paranasal sinus invasion is recommended to classify as T4 classification in the 8th AJCC staging system for NPC.

Surgical treatment and prognosis of Borrmann type IIII( gastric cancer involving the whole stomach / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the surgical treatment and prognosis of Borrmann type IIII( gastric cancer involving the whole stomach.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinicopathological characteristics and survival data of 223 patients with Borrmann type IIII( gastric cancer involving the whole stomach (defined as the tumor infiltrating 3 regions of the stomach) receiving surgical treatment at the Department of Abdominal Surgery of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital between January 2002 and December 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. The survival time of patients with different clinicopathological features and different treatment methods was compared. Cox regression was used to analyze the independent prognostic factors.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Two hundred and twenty-three patients with Borrmann type IIII( gastric cancer involving the whole stomach accounted for 24.0% (223/930) of all Borrmann type IIII( gastric cancer cases undergoing surgical resection at the same period. There were 147 males and 76 females with an average age of 57.8 years. All the patients underwent total gastrectomy. Of these patients, radical resection was performed in 149 cases(66.8%) and palliative resection in 74 cases (33.2%). Combined organ resection was performed in 43 patients (19.3%), including 25 splenectomies, 6 pancreatic body and tail plus spleen and transverse colon resections, 2 transverse colon plus spleen resections, 2 right colon resections, 2 transverse colon resections, 2 ovariectomies, 1 partial jejunal resection, 1 pancreatoduodenectomy, 1 pancreatic tail plus transverse colon resection, and 1 partial pancreatectomy. Postoperative complications occurred in 28 patients(12.6%), including 10 patients with combined organ resection. Esophagojejunal fistula was the most frequent complication, accounting for 39.3%(11/28). Perioperative mortality occurred in 3 patients (1.3%). Thirty-nine patients underwent preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (clinical stage: cT4aN0M0 in 1 patient, cT4bN1-2M0 in 12 patients, cT4aN1-2M0 in 20 patients, and cT4aN3M0 in 6 patients). Among these 39 patients, post-chemotherapeutic degenerative response was detected in 25 postoperative pathological specimens (64.1%), radical resection was performed in 21 patients (53.8%), distant metastasis was observed in 7 patients (17.9%) and peritoneal metastasis was found in 17 patients (43.6%) during operation. The average maximal tumor diameter was 13.2 cm (range from 6 to 22). Histological types included 23 moderate-poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas (10.3%), 146 poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas (65.5%), 41 signet ring cell carcinomas (18.4%), 11 mucinous adenocarcinomas(4.9%), 1 squamous cell carcinoma (0.4%) and 1 undifferentiated carcinoma (0.4%). Tumor-infiltrating duodenum was found in 57 patients (25.6%) and tumor-infiltrating esophagus in 132 patients (59.2%). The positive margin was found in 66 patients (29.6%): upper margin in 35 patients (15.7%), lower margin in 22 patients (9.9%), and both margins in 9 patients(4.0%). Immunohistochemical positive HER2(3+) was detected in 4 patients (1.8%). Tumor infiltrating into serosa(T4a) was found in 197 patients (88.3%) and infiltrating into adjacent organ (T4b) in 26 patients(11.7%). One hundred and forty-three cases (64.1%) had lymphatic or venous invasion, 187 (83.9%) had neural invasion, and 35 (15.7%) had cancer nodules. Of 149 patients undergoing radical resection, 5 patients were stage II(b, 9 patients were III(a, 20 patients were III(b and 115 patients were III(c. Of 145 patients(65.0%) undergoing postoperative chemotherapy, the average cycles of chemotherapy was 3.6 (median 3 cycles) and only 69 patients (47.6%) completed 4 cycles or more. Patients were followed up for 1-102 months (average 17.3 months). The median overall survival time was 13.8 months and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rate was 57.9%, 14.1% and 6.8% respectively. The median survival time of the 149 cases with radical resection was 16.7 months and the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate was 67.5%, 16.5% and 8.4% respectively; the median survival time of the 74 cases with palliative resection was 10.3 months and the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate was 42.6%, 8.5% and 1.7% respectively, whose differences were statistically significant (all P=0.000). Multivariate analysis showed that tumor staging (P=0.005), radical resection (P=0.009), lymphatic or venous invasion (P=0.017) and postoperative chemotherapy (P=0.001) were independent prognostic factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Surgical treatment for Borrmann type IIII( gastric cancer involving the whole stomach is safe. Radical resection can improve the prognosis though the overall survival is poor.</p>

Dose analysis of hippocampus in T3,T4nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To analyze the exposed dose of hippocampus(HC)of T3,T4nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy(IMRT). Methods The bilateral HCs were delineated and were divided into head(HH),body(HB)and tail(HT)for 62 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with IMRT.The dose parameters of HC were then analyzed. Results The mean dose of left and right HC was(1 127±704)cGy,(1 173±762)cGy. The mean dose of left HH,HB and HT was(1 732±1029)cGy,(820±632)cGy,(423±366)cGy(P=0.000);while the mean dose of right HH, HB and HT was(1 985±1101)cGy,(837±531)cGy,(432±343)cGy(P=0.000).The exposed dose and the volume exposed in different dose of HH were obviously higher than those of HB and HT.The dose parameters of HH,HB and HT decreased in turn. The involvement of sphenoid sinus,ethmoid sinus and cavernous sinus correlated with high exposed dose of HC. Conclusions The exposed dose of HH,HB and HT was different in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with IMRT.The exposed dose of HH was the highest,which should be emphasized especially. The involvement of sphenoid sinus,ethmoid sinus and cavernous sinus suggest high exposed dose of HC.

Analysis of memory function and MRI changes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients after radiotherapy / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective To analyse the memory function and MRI changes in local-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients before-and after-radiation.Methods Clinical data,dosimetric data,digital span score and MRI of 14 cases with nasopharyngeal carcinom treated in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from November 2015 to August 2016 were retrospectively analysed.There were 1 case at T2 stage,7 cases at T3 and 6 at T4.They received IMRT or TOMO therapy concurrent with 2 cycles Nedaplatin after 2-3 cycles PF/TP induction chemotherapy.Results The IMRT dosimetric data of 9 cases were available.For hippocampus and temporal lobe,the mean volume was (15.17 ± 2.17) and (95.07 ± 12.26) cm3,respectively,while the mean dose was (1 154.06 ±771.63) and (1 306.61 ±603.69) Gy,and the max dose (3 797.61 ± 1 450.98) and (5 394.17 ± 982.28) Gy,respectively.The equivalent uniform dose (EUD) was (2 233.28 ±872.73) Gy for hippocampus and (3 113.11 ±603.69) Gy for temporal lobe.10 patients received digit span score before-and 3 months after-radiotherapy.The mean score of forward digit span was 8.8 ± 1.8 before radiation and 8.1 ± 1.59 at 3 months after radiation(P ＞ 0.05),while thatof backward digit span decreased from 6.2 ± 1.04 before radiation to 5.3 ± 2.36 at 3 months after radiation (t =3.25,P ＜ 0.05).9 patients' MRI were available.Volume reduction of temporal lobe was observed (t =4.57,P ＜ 0.01) by voxel-based morphometry (VBM).Conclusions Radiation-induced injury to hippocampus and temporal lobe is inevitable in local-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.There might be some connection between memory loss and temporal lobe volume atrophy after radiotherapy.Enrollment of larger sample analysis is expected.

Correlation between social support and quality of life in patients with breast cancer at different periods of treatment / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective@#To analyze the differences between the social support for breast cancer patients and healthy female, and to explore the correlation between social support and quality of life (QOL) in the patients.@*Methods@#From January 2013 to December 2014, 101 patients with operable breast cancer treated at Xinyu City People′s Hospital were recruited as the experimental group. They completed questionnaires in the preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods, respectively.101 healthy female volunteers recruited from the community were included as control group, whose age and level of education were matched with those of the experimental group.The general questionnaire including basic information, disease conditions and other projects, perceived social support scale (PSSS), quality of life of breast cancer patients (FACT-B) were applied to evaluate the general situation, social support and QOL of the subjects. The differences in PSSS scores between the experimental and control groups were compared. The correlation between PSSS score and FACT-B score in the experimental group was analyzed. SPSS 18.0 software was used for statistical analysis.@*Results@#The general situations of the experimental and control groups were comparable (all P>0.05). The rates of the total social support score ≥50 in the experimental and control groups were not significantly different (93.6% vs. 94.7%, P=0.067). Compared with that of the control group (23.2±4.8), the scores of family support in the experimental group in preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods were statistically higher (25.6±3.2, 24.2±4.2 and 24.0±3.4, respectively, P=0.034). The social support scores of patients with different demographic characteristics were different. Among the demographic characteristics, years of education and place of residence had the largest impact. The scores of social support in patients with longer education years and living in the urban area were higher than those with shorter education years and living in the rural areas (P<0.001). The scores of QOL among preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods in the experimental group were significantly different (all P<0.05). The patients gained the highest score of QOL in the preoperative period (110.7±5.1) and the lowest in the postoperative chemoradiotherapy period (95.3±18.1). The QOL of patients in the experimental group in preoperative, postoperative chemoradiotherapy and rehabilitation periods were all positively correlated with the overall social support (all P<0.01).@*Conclusions@#The QOL of breast cancer patients at different periods of treatment is positively correlated with the social support. The quality of life can be enhanced by improving the social support for the patients.

Preliminary results of the exposed dose of head,body and tail of the hippocampus in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To analyze the radiation doses to the head, body, and tail of the hippocampus in intensity-modulated radiotherapy(IMRT)for nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). Methods Ten NPC patients treated with IMRT were selected,and the head, body, and tail of both hippocampi were delineated on T1-weighted images. The doses to the hippocampus were then analyzed. WAIS-CR speech test results were tested by paired sample t-test. Results The mean doses to left and right hippocampi were 1 147±976 cGy and 1 011±602 cGy, respectively. The mean doses to the head, body, and tail of the left hippocampus were 1 739± 1 317 cGy, 890± 982 cGy, and 547± 688 cGy, respectively(P=0.042);the mean doses to the head,body,and tail of the right hippocampus were 1 691±942 cGy,744±483 cGy,and 531±603 cGy,respectively(P=0.002).The dose to the hippocampus decreased from the head to the tail, and the irradiated volume also decreased as the dose varied. Conclusions The dose to hippocampus decreases from the head to the tail in NPC patients treated with IMRT,which is worthy of attention.

Validation of T classifications in the 7th edition UICC staging system and recommendation of a simpliifed T classiifcations based on intensity-modulated radiotherapy / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:The application of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) has improved the local control rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma greatly, which changed the predictive value of T classiifca-tions of TNM staging system. This study aimed to validate the predictive effect of T classiifcations in the 7th Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) staging system and discuss the simpliifcation of T classiifcations.Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 641 primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients at our center from January 2007 to June 2011. We evaluated the predictive effect of T classiifcations by Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model.Results:The 5-year overall survival (OS), local relapse-free survival (LRFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) were 85.4%, 88.5%, 78% and 87.1%, respectively. The 5-year OS of T1, T2, T3 and T4 categories were 91.6%, 85.3%, 90.1% and 76.5%, respectively; LRFS were 93%, 85.3%, 91.5% and 84.4%; PFS were 88.2%, 77.3%, 80.8% and 70.9%; DMFS were 95.1%, 88.9%, 88.2% and 81.3%, respectively. The difference in survival curves between T1, T2 and T3 were not signiifcant (P>0.05). However, several prognostic indexes were signiifcantly different between T4 and T1, T2, T3. We merged the T1, T2 and T3 classiifcations as new T1, and the T4 classiifcation as new T2. The 5-year OS of new T1 and T2 were 89.1% and 76.5% (P=0.001); LRFS were 90.1% and 84.4% (P=0.028); PFS were 81% and 70.9% (P=0.001); DMFS were 90.8% and 81.2% (P=0.002). The survival curves were substantially separated. The simpliifed T classiifcations had obvious advantages when separately analyzed in different N stages.Conclusion:In the era of IMRT, the predictive effect of T classiifcations of the 7th UICC staging system has diminished. The simpliifcation of T classiifcations can ift with the new treatment and provide a better surviv-al prediction.

Prognostic significance of the number of positive lymph nodes, number of involved regions and metastatic lymph node ratio in hypopharyngeal cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship between positive lymph node number, involved region, positive lymph node ratio and the prognosis of patients with hypopharyngeal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinicopatological data of 81 patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent hypopharyngectomy and cervical lymph node dissection from January 2000 to December 2005 in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The relationship between positive lymph node number, involved region, positive lymph node ratio and the prognosis was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rate of lymph node metastasis was 79.0% (64/81) in the 81 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer. Of which, the rates of unilateral metastasis and bilateral metastasis were 82.9% (53/64) and 17.1% (11/64), respectively. The rate of lymph node metastasis was increasing with advancing tumor stage. The median survival times were 81, 51 and 26 months in the patients with 0, 1-3 and ≥ 4 positive lymph nodes, respectively (P < 0.001), 84, 45 and 23 months in patients with 0, 1-2 and ≥ 3 involved regions, respectively (P < 0.001), and 84, 51 and 17 months in patients with positive lymph node ratio of 0, <10% and ≥ 10%, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that positive lymph node ratio, extracapsular infiltration, T classification and treatment modality were independent prognostic factors (P = 0.002).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Positive lymph node ratio is an independent prognostic factor for hypopharyngeal cancer.</p>

Advances in molecular targeted treatment for head and neck cancer / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Toxicity has impeded the advance of chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer, while targeted therapy has demonstrated some advantage. Over the past decade, targeted therapy is becoming the important section in multimodal approaches for head and neck cancer. Targeted drugs include monoclonal antibodies, small molecular chemicals and antisense oligodeoxynucleotide, etc. Cetuximab is the only targeted agent approved for this malignancy, and other targeted drugs, such as gefitinib and lapatinib, have demonstrated encouraging outcome in phase Ⅰ -Ⅲ clinical trials for head and neck cancer.