Effect of gender on 28-day survival rates and transfusion volume in severe trauma patients: a multicenter observational study.

BACKGROUND: This study clarified the relationship between sex with survival and transfusion volume in severe trauma cases. METHODS: A multicenter, collaborative post-hoc analysis of patients with trauma in Japan was conducted. Patients aged ≥18 years with severe trauma indicated by an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 16 or higher were enrolled. Patients were matched and analyzed by gender based on propensity score with factors determined at the time of injury. Subgroup analysis was performed on patients younger than 50 years and older than 50 years. The significance level was defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS: The 1,189 patients included in this registry were divided into adjusted groups of 226 male and female patients each. In the main analysis, 28-day survival rates in females were significantly higher than those in males (p = 0.046). In the subgroup analyses, there was no statistically significant prognostic effect of gender. Secondary outcomes, including transfusion volume, showed no significant gender-based variations. Logistic regression analyses consistently demonstrated that female sex was a significant favorable prognostic factor in all ages. This was true for the over-50 group on subgroup analysis, but no significant gender-prognosis relationship was identified in the under-50 age group. High ISS were associated with poorer outcomes across all age groups. CONCLUSION: In severe trauma, survival at 28 days was significantly lower in males. However, this trend was not observed in patients aged ˂50 years. Factors other than sex hormones may be responsible for differences in posttraumatic outcomes by gender.

Dosimetric Predictors of Treatment-related Lymphopenia induced by Palliative Radiotherapy: Predictive Ability of Dose-volume Parameters based on Body Surface Contour.

BACKGROUND: Radiation-related lymphopenia has been associated with poor patient outcome. Our aim was to identify predictors of lymphopenia after palliative radiotherapy, with a focus on dose-volume parameters. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To retrospectively assess patients with various cancers who had undergone palliative radiotherapy, we delineated three organs at risk: the volume enclosed by the body surface contour (body A), the volume left after excluding air, pleural effusion, ascites, bile, urine, and intestinal content (body B), and the volume of the bone marrow (BM). We then noted the absolute volume of the three organs at risk that had received 5-30 Gy, and assessed the predictive value for post-treatment lymphopenia of grade 3 or higher (LP3+). RESULTS: Of 54 patients, 23 (43%) developed LP3+. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that body A V5, body A V10, body B V5, body B V10, the number of fractions, and splenic irradiation were significant predictors of LP3+ (p < 0.05). By multivariate analysis, body A V5, body A V10, body B V5, body B V10, and the number of fractions retained significance (p < 0.05). BM dose-volume parameters did not predict lymphopenia. CONCLUSIONS: Higher body A and body B dose-volume parameters and a larger number of fractions may be predictors of severe lymphopenia after palliative radiotherapy.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with S-1 in patients with stage III-IV oral squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of nodal classification based on the neck node level.

The aim of the present study was to retrospectively evaluate the treatment outcomes of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine anticancer agent, for advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The study population consisted of 47 patients with clinical stage III or IV oral SCC, who underwent CCRT with S-1. Pretreatment variables, including patient age, clinical stage, T classification, midline involvement of the primary tumor and nodal status, were analyzed as predictors of survival. In addition to the N classification (node-positive, multiple and contralateral), the prognostic impact of the level of nodal involvement was assessed. Nodal involvement was mainly observed at levels Ib and II; involvement at levels Ia and III-V was considered to be anterior and inferior extension, respectively, and was recorded as extensive nodal involvement (ENI). The 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 37 and 27%, respectively. A finding of ENI was a significant factor for OS [hazard ratio (HR)=2.16; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-4.55; P=0.038] and PFS (HR=2.65; 95% CI: 1.32-5.33; P=0.005); the 3-year OS and PFS rates in patients with vs. those without ENI were 23 vs. 50% and 9 vs. 43%, respectively. The other variables were not significant. Therefore, CCRT with S-1 may be an alternative treatment for advanced oral SCC; favorable outcomes are expected in patients without ENI.

Prognostic value of parameters derived from white blood cell and differential counts in patients receiving palliative radiotherapy.

The aim of the present study was to identify white blood cell (WBC) parameters with high prognostic value for the survival of patients receiving palliative radiotherapy. The prognostic value of seven parameters derived from WBC and differential counts was retrospectively evaluated in patients who underwent palliative radiotherapy between October, 2010 and June, 2013. The analyzed parameters were the total WBC count, the absolute and relative lymphocyte count, the absolute and relative neutrophil count, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratios. Following univariate analysis, multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to adjust for gender, age, disease type, previous chemotherapy, previous radiotherapy and the levels of albumin and lactate dehydrogenase. A total of 220 patients with a median survival of 4.7 months were identified. All seven parameters were found to be statistically significant predictors of survival on univariate Cox regression analysis (P<0.05). Of these parameters, the low relative lymphocyte and high relative neutrophil counts were consistent predictors of poor survival in patients who received chemotherapy within 1 month prior to blood sampling (n=68) and in patients who received steroid treatment at the time of sampling (n=49). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the relative lymphocyte and neutrophil counts were independent predictors of survival in all 220 patients (P<0.05). In conclusion, relative lymphocyte and neutrophil counts were of high prognostic value for the survival of patients receiving palliative radiotherapy, even in those receiving medications that affect WBC and differential counts.

Influence of the treatment schedule on the physicians' decisions to refer bone metastases patients for palliative radiotherapy: a questionnaire survey of physicians in various specialties.

We investigated whether the treatment schedule influences physicians' decisions to refer their patients for radiotherapy. We presented a questionnaire to 104 physicians in various specialties at three hospitals. It included three hypothetical patients with uncomplicated painful bone metastasis: patients with an expected life span of one year (case 1), 6 months (case 2), and 2 months (case 3). The physicians were asked whether they would refer their patients for radiotherapy when a radiation oncologist presented three different treatment schedules: a short (8 Gy/1 fraction/1 day)-, a medium (20 Gy/5 fractions/1 week)-, and a long (30 Gy/10 fractions/2 weeks) schedule. We used Cochran's Q-test to compare the percentage of physicians across the three schedules and a mixed-effect logistic model to identify predictors of the selection of only the one-day schedule. Of the 104 physicians, 68 (65%) responded. Of these, 37 (54%), 27 (40%), and 26 (38%) chose to refer patients for radiotherapy when the short-, medium-, and long schedules, respectively, were proposed in case 1 (p = 0.14). These numbers were 44 (65%), 29 (43%), and 15 (22%) for case 2 (p < 0.001), and 59 (87%), 12 (18%), and 1 (1%) for case 3 (p < 0.001). Hypothetical patient and the physicians' years of practice and perspective regarding side effects were independently predictive of the selection of only the one-day schedule. In conclusion, the treatment schedule influenced the physicians' decisions to refer patients for radiotherapy.

Radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: the predictive value of interim survival assessment.

Pretreatment characteristics are suggested as predictive and/or prognostic factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, individual tumor radiosensitivities have previously not been considered. As boost planning is recommended for NPC, we performed interim assessments of magnetic resonance (MR) images for boost planning and retrospectively evaluated their predictive value for the survival of NPC patients. Radiation therapy via elective nodal irradiation (median dose: 39.6 Gy) with/without chemotherapy was used to treat 63 NPC patients. Boost irradiation (median total dose: 70 Gy) was performed based on the interim assessment. The largest lymph node (LN) was measured on MR images acquired at the time of interim assessment. The site of first failure was local in 8 (12.7%), regional in 7 (11.1%), and distant in 12 patients (19.0%). All 7 patients with regional failure harbored LNs ≥15 mm at interim assessment. We divided the 63 patients into two groups based on LN size [large (≥15 mm), n = 10 and small (<15 mm), n = 53]. Univariate analysis showed that 5-year overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS) rates for large LNs were significantly lower than for small LNs (OS: 12.5% vs 70.5%, P < 0.001 and CSS: 25.0% vs 80.0%, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that large LNs were a significantly unfavorable factor for both OS (hazard ratio = 4.543, P = 0.002) and CSS (hazard ratio = 6.020, P = 0.001). The results suggest that LN size at interim assessment could predict survival in NPC patients.

Respiratory gating during stereotactic body radiotherapy for lung cancer reduces tumor position variability.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the effects of respiratory gating on treatment accuracy in lung cancer patients undergoing lung stereotactic body radiotherapy by using electronic portal imaging device (EPID) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study population consisted of 30 lung cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (48 Gy/4 fractions/4 to 9 days). Of these, 14 were treated with- (group A) and 16 without gating (group B); typically the patients whose tumors showed three-dimensional respiratory motion ≧5 mm were selected for gating. Tumor respiratory motion was estimated using four-dimensional computed tomography images acquired during treatment simulation. Tumor position variability during all treatment sessions was assessed by measuring the standard deviation (SD) and range of tumor displacement on EPID images. The two groups were compared for tumor respiratory motion and position variability using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The median three-dimensional tumor motion during simulation was greater in group A than group B (9 mm, range 3-30 mm vs. 2 mm, range 0-4 mm; p<0.001). In groups A and B the median SD of the tumor position was 1.1 mm and 0.9 mm in the craniocaudal- (p = 0.24) and 0.7 mm and 0.6 mm in the mediolateral direction (p = 0.89), respectively. The median range of the tumor position was 4.0 mm and 3.0 mm in the craniocaudal- (p = 0.21) and 2.0 mm and 1.5 mm in the mediolateral direction (p = 0.20), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although patients treated with respiratory gating exhibited greater respiratory tumor motion during treatment simulation, tumor position variability in the EPID images was low and comparable to patients treated without gating. This demonstrates the benefit of respiratory gating.