Evaluation of preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy in sphincter preservation for locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy on the sphincter preservation and local tumor control as well as survival for the patient with locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>121 locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer patients were treated with preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery after rest of 4 to 6 weeks. 103 of these patients who underwent radical surgery were finally included in this study. The irradiation regimen was: 40 Gy/4 - 5 weeks, whereas 57 of these 103 patients received concurrent chemotherapy of 5-Fu or Xeloda. Sphincter-preserving surgery was performed in 59 patients and abdominoperineal resection in 44 patients. The survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier model, and the differences between groups were compared using Log rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed by Cox's model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Ten patients (9.7%) achieved a complete pathological response (pCR) to preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. The sphincter preservation rate was 57.3%. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) was 66.3% and 59.5%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that pCR and postoperative pTNM stage were prognostic factors affecting survival, whereas, only pTNM stage was an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.003) by multivariate analysis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Neoadjuvant preoperative radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy is effective in local tumor control and improving survival for locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer, which can raise the rate of sphincter-preserving surgery, and achieve comparable result to abdominoperineal resection.</p>

In vitro chemo-sensitivity MTT assay guided intraperitoneal chemotherapy for malignant ascites / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of intraperitoneal chemotherapy for malignant ascites caused by different types of abdominal cancers guided by chemo-sensitivity methyl tetrojolium coloremetric (MTT) assay in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cancer cells in the malignant ascites were collected for MTT assay to determine the chemo-sensitivity. The drug producing the highest or the second highest inhibition rate was selected for intraperitoneal chemotherapy. The correlation between the results of MTT assay and the response of malignant ascites, the clinical features, Karnofsky performance score (KPS) and prognosis were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>MTT assay indicated that Taxotere (TXT) and Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) were the most effective to cancer cells in malignant ascites, and HCPT was mostly frequently used for intraperitoneal chemotherapy (56.9%). Twenty-four patients showed response by intraperitoneal chemotherapy (complete response: 7; partial response: 17) with a slightly significant correlation between the results of MTT assay and response of malignant ascites (P = 0. 014). The KPS of the responders was improved significantly (P < 0.001), and the response of malignant ascites to intraperitoneal chemotherapy was demostrated as an independent prognostic factor by multi-variate analysis in this series.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In vitro chemo-sensitivity MTT assay guided intraperitoneal chemotherapy for malignant ascites is simple, effective and safe, which can improve the KPS and prognosis of the responders.</p>