Optimizing the target volume to boost the efficacy of radiation-induced immunomodulatory effects / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Radiotherapy is a pivotal method in cancer treatment harbouring immunomodulatory effects. Radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy has been proven to yield promising preliminary results in certain types of tumors. Most studies have concentrated on the dose fractionation of radiotherapy and timing of radiotherapy and immunotherapy. With the development of related studies, attention has been gradually paid to the influence of target volume upon circulating lymphocytes and tumor microenvironment. The interaction between target volume and immunotherapy has been valued. For tumors not suitable for hypofractionated radiotherapy, such as advanced esophageal cancer, conventional fractionated radiotherapy has been adopted. The volume and planning of target volume play a pivotal role in radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy. This article illustrates the feasibility of radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy, theory and conception of optimizing target volume.

HLA-B alleles and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Xinjiang, China：relationship and clinical significance / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To explore the relationship between HLA?B allele polymorphisms and nasopharyngeal carcinoma ( NPC) in Xinjiang, China and its clinical significance. Methods A total of 226 patients were assigned to NPC group, while 207 healthy volunteers were assigned to control group. PCR amplification with sequence?specific primers was used to determine HLA?B alleles. Comparison of HLA?B allele frequency between the above two groups, between Han and Uygur populations, and between patients with various clinical characteristics of NPC was made by chi?square test. The Kaplan?Meier method was used to calculate the survival rates and the log?rank univariate analysis was used to explore the relationship between survival rates and HLA?B allele frequency. Results In all the subjects or Han population alone, the allele frequency of HLA?B?46 in the NPC group was significantly higher than that in the control group ( P=0. 000;P=0. 000 ) . In Uygur population, however, there was no significant difference in the allele frequency of HLA?B?46 between the NPC group and the control group (P>0. 05). In the patients with NPC, those less than 30 years old had a significantly higher allele frequency of HLA?B?44 than those no less than 30 years old (P=0. 029);those with differentiated non?keratinizing carcinoma had a significantly higher allele frequency of HLA?B?48 than those with undifferentiated non?keratinizing carcinoma ( P=0. 029);those with stage T1+T2 disease had a significantly higher allele frequency of HLA?B?48 than those with stage T3+T4 disease ( P=0. 029) . The 5?year overall survival, disease?free survival, distant metastasis?free survival, and local relapse?free survival rates had no relationship with the expression of HLA?B?46, HLA?B?44, or HLA?B?48 in NPC patients ( all P>0. 05) . Conclusions HLA?B?46 allele is probably a NPC susceptibility gene in Han population in Xinjiang. HLA?B?44 is probably associated with early age of onset, while HLA?B?48 is probably associated with the pathological type and T stage of NPC. Therefore, HLA?B alleles are probably associated with the development and progression of NPC.