Chemotherapy initiation with single-course methotrexate alone or combined with dactinomycin versus multi-course methotrexate for low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: a multi-centric randomized clinical trial / 医学前沿

We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of single-course initial regimens in patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). In this trial (NCT01823315), 276 patients were analyzed. Patients were allocated to three initiated regimens: single-course methotrexate (MTX), single-course MTX + dactinomycin (ACTD), and multi-course MTX (control arm). The primary endpoint was the complete remission (CR) rate by initial drug(s). The primary CR rate was 64.4% with multi-course MTX in the control arm. For the single-course MTX arm, the CR rate was 35.8% by one course; it increased to 59.3% after subsequent multi-course MTX, with non-inferiority to the control (difference -5.1%,95% confidence interval (CI) -19.4% to 9.2%, P = 0.014). After further treatment with multi-course ACTD, the CR rate (93.3%) was similar to that of the control (95.2%, P = 0.577). For the single-course MTX + ACTD arm, the CR rate was 46.7% by one course, which increased to 89.1% after subsequent multi-course, with non-inferiority (difference 24.7%, 95% CI 12.8%-36.6%, P < 0.001) to the control. It was similar to the CR rate by MTX and further ACTD in the control arm (89.1% vs. 95.2%, P =0.135). Four patients experienced recurrence, with no death, during the 2-year follow-up. We demonstrated that chemotherapy initiation with single-course MTX may be an alternative regimen for patients with low-risk GTN.

The effect of bulk electron density on the dose accuracy of treatment planning for postoperative cervical cancer / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To study the impact on dose accuracy for the treatment planning by manually assigning accurate electron density for CT image-based tumor tissues and organs at risk.Methods:Twenty cases of retrospective postoperative cervical cancer radiotherapy plans were selected. The body electron density of the corresponding organs was derived from the ICRU 46 report and assigned in the treatment planning system (Monaco5.11, Sweden), including the bladder, rectum, intestine, kidney, spinal cord, femoral head, and ilium. The original plans were double-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy plan (360° VMAT), using Monte Carlo algorithm, the calculation grid was 0.3 cm × 0.3 cm × 0.3 cm, and the minimum subfield width was 0.6 cm. Keep the original plan fluence unchanged and recalculate the dose to generate a new plan. The two-dimensional dose distribution and dose-volume histogram (DVH) were used to compare the differences between the two plans. The difference was compared between the two group plans by using the dosimetry parameters and DVH two dimension curve.Results:For the planning of assigning bulk electron density (Plan RED), the deviation of the patient′s target dose parameters and the original plan (Plan ref) was <2%, and the average deviation of all target regions D2, D98, Dmean was < 0.7%, only 2 of the 180 data were between 2% and 3%. The average deviation of V20, V30, D1 cm 3, Dmean of the bladder, rectum, and small intestine, the original Plan ref was less than 0.6%, and 4 out of 240 data had values > 2%. Plan RED′s average hop count was 0.9% higher than Plan ref, and the total number of subfields remains unchanged. The planned dose generated by manually assigning the electron density in Plan RED was higher than that in Plan ref, but met the clinical requirements. The two-dimensional curves of the DVH diagram for targets and OARs almost completely overlapped, and there was no obvious difference in the dose distribution diagram of the same cross section. The statistical result of all parameters showed that the difference in planned dose parameters between the two groups was not statistically significant( P>0.05). Conclusions:The overall deviation of dose accuracy between Plan RED and Plan ref is <2%, which meets the clinical requirements and provides a reference for realizing MRI-only treatment planning.

National screening programs for cervical cancer in Asian countries / 부인종양

Cervical cancer is still one of the most common female cancers in Asia and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in low- and middle-income countries. Nowadays, national screening programs for cervical cancer are widely provided in Asian countries. We reviewed the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Thailand. The NCSP were established at varying times, from 1962 in Japan to 2014 in Indonesia. The primary screening method is based on cytology in all countries except for India and Indonesia. In India and Indonesia, visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) is mainly used as a primary screening method, and a “see and treat” strategy is applied to women with a positive VIA result. The starting age of NCSP ranges from 18 years in China to 30 years in Thailand. The screening interval is 2 years in all countries except for China and Indonesia, in which it is 3 years. Uptake rates of NCSP vary from 5.0%–59.7%. Many women in low- and middle-income countries still do not participate in NCSP. To improve uptake rates and thereby prevent more cases of cervical cancer, Asian countries should continue to promote NCSP to the public using various approaches.