Nomogram for predicting pathologic complete response following preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: In patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), accurately predicting a pathologic complete response (pCR) to preoperative chemoradiotherapy (PCRT) has the potential to enable an active surveillance strategy without esophagectomy. We aimed to establish a reliable multiparameter nomogram model that combines tumor characteristics, imaging modalities, and hematologic markers to predict pCR in patients with ESCC who underwent PCRT and esophagectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 457 patients with ESCC who received PCRT followed by esophagectomy between January 2005 and October 2020.

Clinical Outcomes in Patients With DLBCL Treated With R-CHOP According to Radiotherapy and Interim PET Response.

Background/aim: Interim positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan is a valuable tool for assessing the early metabolic response to chemotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Although radiotherapy is an effective treatment for lymphoma, especially for local tumor control, the role of consolidative radiotherapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains controversial. This study analyzed the clinical outcomes of patients with DLBCL treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP), stratified by interim PET response and the administration of radiotherapy.

Prognostic significance of TP53 and PIK3CA mutations analyzed by next-generation sequencing in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors affecting women globally. It is a heterogeneous disease characterized by mutations in several genes. Several gene panels have been applied to assess the risk of breast cancer and determine the appropriate treatment.

Clinical features and oncological outcomes of primary female urethral cancer.

Purpose: Investigation of the clinical features and treatment outcomes of primary female urethral cancer (FUC) at a single institution.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 32 FUC patients during 1997-2017. We investigated preoperative risk factors predicting overall (overall survival [OS]) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) and reviewed clinical features, treatment modality, and oncologic outcomes according to pathology.

Role of Esophagectomy after Chemoradiation Therapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Comparative Analysis Stratified by Clinical Response to Chemoradiation Therapy.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effect of esophagectomy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by comparing the chemoradiotherapy (CRT)-only group and the trimodality treatment (TMT) group who received concurrent CRT followed by surgery.

Materials And Methods: We included 412 operable ESCC patients treated with TMT or CRT between January 2005 and December 2015. The oncological outcomes of the two groups were compared using a weighted Cox proportional-hazards model with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW).

Radiofrequency Ablation versus Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) and to determine the favorable treatment modality according to tumor characteristics.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 222 colorectal cancer patients with 330 CRLM who underwent RFA (268 tumors in 178 patients) or SBRT (62 tumors in 44 patients) between 2007 and 2014. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox models were used by adjusting with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW).

Prevention of radiotherapy induced enteropathy by probiotics (PREP): protocol for a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Radiation induced enteropathy is a common complication of radiotherapy for pelvic tumors and adversely affects patient quality of life. Probiotics are thought to restore bowel microflora to optimal levels and reinforce intestinal barrier capacity. Although probiotics are effective in the treatment of radiation induced enteropathy, less is known about their efficacy to prevent radiation induced enteropathy.

Definitive chemoradiotherapy versus esophagectomy in patients with clinical T1bN0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective study.

Background And Purpose: This study aimed to determine the equivalence between definitive chemoradiotherapy (DCRT) and radical esophagectomy in clinical T1bN0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Materials And Methods: Among 282 patients with cT1bN0M0 ESCC, 238 underwent radical esophagectomy and 44 underwent DCRT. Both treatments were retrospectively compared overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and complications.

Optimizing External Beam Radiotherapy as per the Risk Group of Localized Prostate Cancer: A Nationwide Multi-Institutional Study (KROG 18-15).

Purpose: This nationwide multi-institutional study analyzed the patterns of care and outcomes of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in localized prostate cancer patients. We compared various risk classification tools and assessed the need for refinements in current radiotherapy (RT) schemes.

Methods And Materials: We included non-metastatic prostate cancer patients treated with primary EBRT from 2001 to 2015 in this study.

Role of palliative radiotherapy in bleeding control in patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer.

Background: This study analyzed the clinical results of palliative radiotherapy for bleeding control in patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who met the following inclusion criteria between January 2002 and June 2018: histologically proven gastric cancer, gastric tumor bleeding confirmed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and palliative radiotherapy performed for hemostasis. The median radiotherapy dose was 30 Gy, with a daily dose ranging from 1.

Feasibility of automated planning for whole-brain radiation therapy using deep learning.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop automated planning for whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) using a U-net-based deep-learning model for predicting the multileaf collimator (MLC) shape bypassing the contouring processes.

Methods: A dataset of 55 cases, including 40 training sets, five validation sets, and 10 test sets, was used to predict the static MLC shape. The digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) reconstructed from planning CT images as an input layer and the MLC shape as an output layer are connected one-to-one via the U-net modeling.

Prognostic significance of lymph node ratio after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: We retrospectively evaluated the prognostic significance of lymph node ratio (LNR) in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation therapy (NCRT) followed by surgery.

Materials And Methods: In total, 270 patients who underwent NCRT followed by surgery between August 2005 and December 2015 were included. They were divided into three groups: LNR 0 (n = 196), LNR low (0 < LNR ≤ 0.

Combined Transarterial Chemoembolization and External Beam Radiotherapy in a Patient with Recurrent Huge Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Hepatic Resection.

The optimal treatment strategy for unresectable huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is yet to be established. Non-surgical monotherapy demonstrated insufficient oncologic outcomes in previously reported studies. To improve the clinical outcomes of unresectable huge HCC, combined locoregional treatments can be considered in selected cases.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor as a predictor of complete response for preoperative chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer.

Biomarkers that predict tumor response before surgical treatment are necessary to help select patients for preoperative chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer. However, no definite predictive biomarker has been established. This study explored programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), p-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3), and death-domain associated protein as predictive biomarkers with regard to preoperative chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer.

Gross tumor volume dependency on phase sorting methods of four-dimensional computed tomography images for lung cancer.

Purpose: To see the gross tumor volume (GTV) dependency according to the phase selection and reconstruction methods, we measured and analyzed the changes of tumor volume and motion at each phase in 20 cases with lung cancer patients who underwent image-guided radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) images in 20 cases of 19 patients who underwent image-guided radiotherapy. The 4D-CT images were reconstructed by the maximum intensity projection (MIP) and the minimum intensity projection (Min-IP) method after sorting phase as 40%-60%, 30%-70%, and 0%-90%.

Comparison between audio-only and audiovisual biofeedback for regulating patients' respiration during four-dimensional radiotherapy.

Purpose: To compare audio-only biofeedback to conventional audiovisual biofeedback for regulating patients' respiration during four-dimensional radiotherapy, limiting damage to healthy surrounding tissues caused by organ movement.

Materials And Methods: Six healthy volunteers were assisted by audiovisual or audio-only biofeedback systems to regulate their respirations. Volunteers breathed through a mask developed for this study by following computer-generated guiding curves displayed on a screen, combined with instructional sounds.