ObjectiveTo compare the clinical therapeutic efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and external beam radiation (XRT) in the treatment of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MethodsThe early HCC patients were collected in the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database, from 2010 to 2015, according to the established inclusion and exclusion criteria. The patients were assigned into an XRT group and a RFA group according to according treatment plans. The propensity score matching (PSM) was performed at a ratio of 1∶4 based on age, gender, race, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), cirrhosis, and tumor diameter. The overall survival of the patients of the two groups was compared, and the risk factors affecting the long-term prognosis for the early HCC patients were analyzed. ResultsA total of 2 861 early HCC patients were collected, including 2 513 in the RFA group and 348 in the XRT group. After PSM, a total of 1 582 patients were enrolled, including 343 in the XRT group and 1 239 in the RFA group. After PSM, the proportion of tumor with larger diameter (>5 cm) in the XRT group was still higher than that in the RFA group (P<0.001), but there were no statistically significant differences in the other clinical pathological characteristics between them (P>0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the RFA group was better than that of the XRT group (HR=1.65, P<0.001); The stratified analysis based on the tumor diameter revealed that the survival curves of the RFA group were superior to those of the XRT group in the HCC patients with tumor diameters <3 cm, 3–5 cm, and >5 cm (<3 cm: HR=1.79, P<0.001; 3–5 cm: HR=1.50, P<0.001; >5 cm: HR=1.67, P=0.003). The results of the multivariate Cox regression model analysis showed that the older age (≥65 years), higher AFP level (≥400 μg/L), larger tumor diameter (≥3 cm), and later AJCC stage (stage Ⅱ) were the risk factors for overall survival in the early HCC patients (HR>1, P<0.05), while the XRT treatment was a risk factor for shortening overall survival in the HCC patients [HR(95%CI)=1.62(1.41, 1.86), P<0.001]. ConclusionThe data analysis results from the SEER database suggest that the long-term overall survival of RFA treatment is superior to XRT treatment for patients with AJCC stage Ⅰ or Ⅱ.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of post mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) on breast reconstruction after mastectomy in breast cancer patients, in order to provide evidence support for clinical treatment decision.MethodsFive databases searched in the current study include the Cochrane Library, PubMed, CNKI, VIP and WanFang database. A systematic search for control trials was performed in each database from the starting date of each database to March 1, 2021. After the two evaluators independently selected literatures, extracted data and conducted quality evaluation according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the meta analysis was carried out by Revman 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 9 cohort studies (3 447 cases) were included, including 699 cases in PMRT group and2 748 cases in non-radiotherapy group. The results of meta-analysis showed that: PMRT was associated with significant increase in capsular contracture. The incidence of capsular contracture increased from 4.34% in the non-radiotherapy group to 34.10% in patients receiving PMRT [OR=9.25, 95%CI (3.76, 22.78), P<0.000 01]. In addition, PMRT was associated with a significant increase in incidences of reconstructive failure [OR=2.55, 95%CI (1.74, 3.74), P<0.000 01] and revisional surgery [OR=2.24, 95%CI (1.58, 3.18), P<0.000 01]. Moreover it was associated with a significant reduction in patient satisfaction [OR=0.29, 95%CI (0.15, 0.57), P=0.000 30] and cosmetic outcome [OR=0.26, 95%CI (0.15, 0.43), P<0.000 01].ConclusionThis meta-analysis demonstrates that breast cancer patients who received PMRT after breast reconstruction, the rate of adverse events is increased and patients’ satisfaction and cosmetic outcome are decreased.
Synthetic CT (sCT) generated from CBCT has proven effective in artifact reduction and CT number correction, facilitating precise radiation dose calculation. However, the quality of different regions in sCT images is severely imbalanced, with soft tissue region exhibiting notably inferior quality compared to others. To address this imbalance, we proposed a Multi-Task Attention Network (MuTA-Net) based on VGG-16, specifically focusing the enhancement of image quality in soft tissue region of sCT. First, we introduced a multi-task learning strategy that divides the sCT generation task into three sub-tasks: global image generation, soft tissue region generation and bone region segmentation. This approach ensured the quality of overall sCT image while enhancing the network’s focus on feature extraction and generation for soft tissues region. The result of bone region segmentation task guided the fusion of sub-tasks results. Then, we designed an attention module to further optimize feature extraction capabilities of the network. Finally, by employing a results fusion module, the results of three sub-tasks were integrated, generating a high-quality sCT image. Experimental results on head and neck CBCT demonstrated that the sCT images generated by the proposed MuTA-Net exhibited a 12.52% reduction in mean absolute error in soft tissue region, compared to the best performance among the three comparative methods, including ResNet, U-Net, and U-Net++. It can be seen that MuTA-Net is suitable for high-quality sCT image generation and has potential application value in the field of CBCT guided adaptive radiation therapy.
Lobectomy and systematic nodules resection has been the standard surgical procedure for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, increased small-size lung cancer has been identified with the widespread implementation of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening, and it is controversial whether it is proper to choose lobar resection for the pulmonary nodules. Numerous retrospective researches and randomized clinical trials, such as JCOG0201, JCOG0804/WJOG4507L, JCOG0802 and CALGB/Alliance 140503, revealed that the sublobar resection was safe and effective for NSCLC with maximum tumor diameter≤2 cm and with consolidation tumor ratio (CTR)≤0.25, and that segmentectomy was superior to lobectomy with significant differences in 5-year overall survival rate and respiratory function for patients with small-size (≤2 cm, CTR>0.5) NSCLC and should be the standard surgical procedure. It is the principle for multiple primary lung cancer that priority should be given to primary lesions with secondary lesions considered, and it is feasible to handle the multiple lung nodules based on the patients' individual characteristics.
With the publication of several phase Ⅱ and Ⅲ clinical studies, the multidisciplinary diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for early resectable non-small cell lung cancer (rNSCLC) are rapidly evolving. These studies have elucidated the significant effects of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies on improving the prognosis of rNSCLC patients, while also highlighting the urgent need to revise and refine corresponding treatment protocols and clinical pathways. In response, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer has assembled a diverse, multidisciplinary international expert panel to evaluate current clinical trials related to rNSCLC and to provide diagnostic, staging, and treatment recommendations for rNSCLC patients in accordance with the 8th edition of the AJCC-UICC staging system. The consensus recommendations titled "Neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatments for early stage resectable non-small cell lung cancer: Consensus recommendations from the International Associationfor the Study of Lung Cancer" outline 20 recommendations, 19 of which received over 85% agreement from the experts. The recommendations indicate that early rNSCLC patients should undergo evaluation by a multidisciplinary team and complete necessary imaging studies. For stage Ⅱ patients, consideration should be given to either adjuvant therapy following surgery or direct neoadjuvant/perioperative treatment, while stage Ⅲ patients are recommended to receive neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy followed by surgery. Postoperatively, adjuvant immunotherapy should be considered based on the expression levels of programmed cell death ligand 1, along with testing for other oncogenic driver mutations. For patients with epidermal growth factor receptor or anaplastic lymphoma kinase mutations sensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors, corresponding adjuvant targeted therapy is recommended. These recommendations aim to provide personalized and precise treatment strategies for early rNSCLC patients to enhance the efficacy of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies. This article provides an in-depth interpretation of these consensus recommendations.
To investigate the impact of respiratory movement to determine the target volume on cone beam CT (CBCT) for lung tumor,we used CIRS dynamic thorax phantom (Model-CIRS008) to simulate the sinusoidal motion of lung tumor. With a constant amplitude, the ratio of the time of near-end-expiratory and near-end- inspiratory (E/I) changed when it was scanned with CBCT. We analyzed the contrast changes of target by extracting the CT value of each pixel on the center line of the target movement direction. The targets were contoured with region growing method and compared with the motion volume generated by the tumor trajectory method. The result showed that the contrast of near-end-expiratory increased and the contrast of near-end-inspiratory decreased with increasing E/I. The contoured volume generated by region growing method decreased with increasing E/I. When E/I=4, the amplitude A=1 cm, diameter of 1 cm and 3 cm target volumes were reduced by 48.2% and 22.7%.The study showed that CBCT was not suitable to be used to accurately determine the range of lung tumor movement. The internal target volume (ITV) may be underestimated in CBCT images.
Image-guided radiation therapy using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a new technology that has been widely studied and developed in recent years. The technology combines the advantages of MRI imaging, and can offer online real-time tracking of tumor and adjacent organs at risk, as well as real-time optimization of radiotherapy plan. In order to provide a comprehensive understanding of this technology, and to grasp the international development and trends in this field, this paper reviews and summarizes related researches, so as to make the researchers and clinical personnel in this field to understand recent status of this technology, and carry out corresponding researches. This paper summarizes the advantages of MRI and the research progress of MRI linear accelerator (MR-Linac), online guidance, adaptive optimization, and dosimetry-related research. Possible development direction of these technologies in the future is also discussed. It is expected that this review can provide a certain reference value for clinician and related researchers to understand the research progress in the field.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and prognosis of patients in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein (PV) tumor thrombus received external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Methods The clinical data of 126 HCC patients with PV tumor thrombus who were referred for EBRT at our institution from January 2000 to November 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. EBRT was designed to focus on the tumor thrombus with or without primary intrahepatic tumors， to deliver a median total conventional dose of 50 Gy (range of 30-60 Gy). Predictors of survival were identified using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results Unfavorable pretreatment predictors were associated by multivariate analysis with lower albumin and higher α-fetoprotein levels, poorer Child-Pugh liver function classification, poorer intrahepatic tumor control， lymph node metastases， and the two-dimensional EBRT technique. The dose of EBRT showed no significant in both univariate and multivariate survival analysis. Conclusions In patients with HCC， EBRT is effectively prevents progression in cases of PV tumor thrombus， but palliative dose of EBRT is not related to survival.EBRT is not related to survival.
We reported three cases of stageⅢ/N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with neoadjuvant immunotherapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in our hospital, including 2 males and 1 female with a mean age of 65.7 years. The patients received two doses of the programmed cell death protein-1 inhibitor toripalimab after 1 week of SBRT. Thereafter, surgery was planned 4-6 weeks after the second dose. One patient achieved pathologic complete response, one achieved major pathologic response (MPR), and one did not achieve MPR with 20% residual tumor. There were few side effects of toripalimab combined with SBRT as a neoadjuvant treatment, and the treatment did not cause a delay of surgery.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant radiotherapy after thymoma resection. MethodsThe PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang, VIP, CNKI databases were systematically searched to find relevant literature comparing the efficacy and effectiveness of thymoma resection and thymoma resection+postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) for treating thymoma published from inception to January 2024. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of included retrospective studies, and Review Manager 5.4 software was used to perform meta-analysis. ResultsA total of 23 articles were included, all of which were retrospective studies. There were a total of 13742 patients, including 6980 patients in the simple surgery group, with 3321 males and 3659 females, and an average age of 54.08 years; 6762 patients in the surgery+PORT group, with 3385 males and 3377 females, and an average age of 53.76 years. The NOS scores of the included literature were all≥7 points. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared with the simple surgery group, the surgery+PORT group had higher 1-year overall survival rate [OR=0.32, 95%CI (0.25, 0.42), P<0.001], 3-year overall survival rate [OR=0.55, 95%CI (0.48, 0.64), P<0.001], 5-year overall survival rate [OR=0.66, 95%CI (0.58, 0.75), P<0.001], 10-year overall survival rate [OR=0.71, 95%CI (0.57, 0.88), P=0.002], 1-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.47, 95%CI (0.23, 0.93), P=0.030], 5-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.61, 95%CI (0.45, 0.84), P=0.003], 3-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.44, 95%CI (0.35, 0.55), P<0.001], 5-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.53, 95%CI (0.44, 0.63), P<0.001] and 10-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.53, 95%CI (0.35, 0.82), P=0.004]. But there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of 3-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.86, 95%CI (0.61, 1.22), P=0.400], 10-year disease-free survival rate [OR=0.70, 95%CI (0.47, 1.05), P=0.080] and 1-year disease-specific survival rate [OR=0.83, 95%CI (0.55, 1.26), P=0.380]. ConclusionPORT after thymoma resection has more advantages than simple surgical treatment in terms of 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year overall survival, 1- and 5-year disease-free survival, and 3-, 5- and 10-year disease-specific survival.