Current perspectives on radiotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma management: a comprehensive review.

This review examines the transformative role of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in managing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), spotlighting the progression from traditional EBRT techniques to advanced modalities like intensity-modulated radiotherapy (RT), stereotactic body RT (SBRT), and innovative particle therapy, including proton beam therapy and carbon ion RT. These advancements have significantly improved the precision and efficacy of RT, marking a paradigm shift in the multimodal management of HCC, particularly in addressing complex cases and enhancing local tumor control. The review underscores the synergistic potential of integrating RT with other treatments like transarterial chemoembolization, systemic therapies such as sorafenib, and emerging immunotherapies, illustrating enhanced survival and disease control outcomes.

Elevated CXCL12 in the plasma membrane of locally advanced rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: a potential prognostic marker.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) has been shown to improve sphincter preservation and local pelvic control, but the efficacy of nCRT plateaus due to metastasis. CXC chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) has a critical impact on cancer development and metastasis. By investigating public databases containing LARC patient data, CXCL12, CXCR4 and FAPα expression was analyzed via the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and GSEA.

Prognostic implication of PD-L1 polymorphisms in non-small cell lung cancer treated with radiotherapy.

Background: To investigate the impact of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) polymorphisms on the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with curative radiotherapy.

Methods: Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs822336G>C, rs822337T>A, rs822338C>T, and rs2297136A>G) in the PD-L1 gene were evaluated in 124 NSCLC patients. Clinical stage was I in 28, II in 17, and III in 79 patients.

Small heterodimer partner as a predictor of neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy response and survival in patients with rectal cancer: A preliminary study.

Small heterodimer partner (SHP) plays an essential role in the regulation of innate immune and inflammatory responses. The aim of the present study was to identify whether SHP levels are associated with cancer immunology and treatment outcomes in rectal cancer. SHP expression was analyzed via gene set enrichment analysis and the OncoLnc database.

Is There a Role for Perioperative Pelvic Radiotherapy in Surgically Resected Stage IV Rectal Cancer?: A Propensity Score-matched Analysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether perioperative pelvic radiotherapy (RT) improves outcomes in stage IV rectal cancer patients treated with primary surgical resection and systemic chemotherapy and to identify predictive factors for selection of patients for these approaches.

Materials And Methods: We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 with stage IV rectal cancer, but without brain or bone metastases. After applying the exclusion criteria, a total of 26,132 patients were included in the analysis; propensity score matching was used to balance their individual characteristics.

Differential Expression and Clinicopathological Significance of HER2, Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase and PD-L1 in Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder.

Purpose: Evasion of the immune system by cancer cells allows for the progression of tumors. Antitumor immunotherapy has shown remarkable effects in a diverse range of cancers. The aim of this study was to determine the clinicopathological significance of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB).

Clinical Outcomes of Postoperative Radiotherapy Following Radical Prostatectomy in Patients with Localized Prostate Cancer: A Multicenter Retrospective Study (KROG 18-01) of a Korean Population.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: Localized prostate cancer patients who received PORT after radical prostatectomy between 2001 and 2012 were identified retrospectively in a multi-institutional database. In total, 1,117 patients in 19 institutions were included.

Clinicopathological Profiling of LC3B, an Autophagy Marker, and ESRRA (Estrogen-related Receptor-alpha) in Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer.

Background/aim: Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B (LC3B), an autophagy marker, has been used as a promising marker in various cancer types. However, the expression of LC3B in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and its prognostic significance have not been investigated. Recent studies pointed to the involvement of ESRRA in regulating autophagy via both transcriptional and post-translational control.

Ionizing Radiation Induces Innate Immune Responses in Macrophages by Generation of Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species.

During radiotherapy for tumors, the innate immune system also responds to ionizing radiation and induces immune modulation. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which radiation modulates innate immune responses. In this study, we observed that radiation triggered the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS), leading to innate immune responses in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM).

Retrospective analysis of treatment outcomes after postoperative chemoradiotherapy in advanced gastric cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate retrospectively the survival outcome, patterns of failure, and complications in patients treated with postoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in advanced gastric cancer.

Materials And Methods: Between January 2000 and December 2006, 80 patients with advanced gastric cancer who received postoperative concurrent CRT were included. Pathological staging was IB-II in 9%, IIIA in 38%, IIIB in 33%, and IV in 21%.

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme a synthase 2 expression is associated with chemoradiotherapy responses in colorectal cancer.

Background: Preoperative chemoradiotherapy has become a standard treatment modality for locally advanced rectal cancer. Favorable long-term outcomes have been reported for patients with good responses to chemoradiotherapy. Therefore, predictive factors for chemoradiotherapy responses can be useful for their applicability to risk-adaptive therapy in patients with colorectal cancer.

Pathologic complete response of primary tumor following preoperative chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer: long-term outcomes and prognostic significance of pathologic nodal status (KROG 09-01).

Objective: To investigate long-term outcomes of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients with postchemoradiotherapy (post-CRT) pathologic complete response of primary tumor (ypT0) and determine prognostic significance of post-CRT pathologic nodal (ypN) status.

Background: LARC patients with post-CRT pathologic complete response were suggested to have favorable long-term outcomes, but prognostic significance of ypN status has never been specifically defined in ypT0 patients.

Methods: The Korean Radiation Oncology Group collected clinical data for 333 LARC patients with ypT0 following preoperative CRT and curative radical resections between 1993 and 2007.

Prognostic significance of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE/Ref-1) expression in rectal cancer treated with preoperative radiochemotherapy.

Purpose: Human apurinic endonuclease/redox factor 1 (APE/Ref-1) mediates repair of radiation-induced DNA lesions and regulates transcription via redox-based activation. We investigated the predictive and prognostic significance of APE/Ref-1 expression in pretreatment biopsy specimens in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) (cT3-T4 or N+).

Methods And Materials: APE/Ref-1 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in pretreatment biopsy specimens obtained from 83 patients with LARC.

Bacillus calmette-guerin cell wall cytoskeleton enhances colon cancer radiosensitivity through autophagy.

The cell wall skeleton of Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG/CWS) is an effective antitumor immunotherapy agent. Here, we demonstrate that BCG/CWS has a radiosensitizing effect on colon cancer cells through the induction of autophagic cell death. Exposure of HCT116 colon cancer cells to BCG/CWS before ionizing radiation (IR) resulted in increased cell death in a caspase-independent manner.

Interstitial fluid pressure as a prognostic factor in cervical cancer following radiation therapy.

Purpose: To investigate tumor interstitial fluid pressure as a prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival in patients with cervical cancer following radiation therapy.

Experimental Design: Tumor interstitial fluid pressure was measured in 55 cervical cancer patients who received radiation therapy between August 1998 and September 2002. Interstitial fluid pressure measurements were made before radiation therapy (pre-radiation therapy interstitial fluid pressure) and after a median of 28.

Radiation-induced thymidine phosphorylase upregulation in rectal cancer is mediated by tumor-associated macrophages by monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 from cancer cells.

Purpose: The mechanisms of thymidine phosphorylase (TP) regulation induced by radiation therapy (XRT) in various tumors are poorly understood. We investigated the effect and mechanisms of preoperative XRT on TP expression in rectal cancer tissues.

Methods And Materials: TP expression and CD68 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels in rectal cancer tissues and cancer cell lines were evaluated before and after XRT in Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunoassay, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction studies.

Differential cytokine levels and immunoreactivities against Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens between tuberculous and malignant effusions.

Much effort has been devoted to the identification of immunologically important factors in tuberculous pleurisy (TBP) and malignant pleurisy (MP) to improve the differential diagnosis of the two major causes of lymphocyte-dominant pleurisy. This study evaluated the immunoreactivity and potential diagnostic utility of both host (cytokines and chemokines) and pathogen (mycobacterial proteins) factors in pleural effusions. Effusion samples were collected from 41 patients with MP caused by lung cancer and from 81 patients with TBP.

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression as a predictor of para-aortic lymph node recurrence in uterine cervical cancer.

Purpose: The overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is associated with a worse prognosis and the development of distant metastases in cervical cancer. This matched-pair analysis examined whether COX-2 expression is associated with para-aortic lymph node (PALN) recurrence in uterine cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy (RT).

Methods And Materials: For this study, we matched 20 patients with PALN recurrence after definitive or postoperative RT by stage with 20 others who did not have PALN recurrence.

Epidermal growth factor receptor as a predictor of tumor downstaging in locally advanced rectal cancer patients treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: To examine retrospectively whether levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression can predict tumor downstaging after preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Methods And Materials: A total of 183 patients with rectal cancer (cT3-T4 or N+) were enrolled in this study. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy consisted of 50.

Epidermal growth factor receptor as a prognostic factor in locally advanced rectal-cancer patients treated with preoperative chemoradiation.

Purpose: We investigated the prognostic value of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression in pretreatment biopsy specimens from patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiation.

Methods And Materials: Pretreatment biopsy specimens from 92 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer were examined for EGFR expression by immunohistochemistry. EGFR expression was assessed by immunoreactive score (IRS).

Comparison of the efficacy of oral capecitabine versus bolus 5-FU in preoperative radiotherapy of locally advanced rectal cancer.

The effects of treatment with oral capecitabine vs. bolus 5-FU, administered concurrently with preoperative radiotherapy, were compared in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). One hundred and twenty-seven patients with LARC received concurrent preoperative chemoradiation using two cycles bolus 5-FU (500 mg/m2/day) plus leucovorin (LV, 20 mg/m2/day) (Group I).

Treatment outcomes of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment outcomes of the three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), in conjunction with induction chemotherapy, for the treatment of stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: Between November 1998 and March 2003, 22 patients with histologically proven, clinical stage III NSCLC, treated with induction chemotherapy, followed by 3D-CRT, were retrospectively analyzed. There were 21 males (96%) and 1 female (4%), with a median age of 68.

Detection of RTP801, a gene that is differentially expressed in irradiated HeLa cells.

Purpose: To quantify the effects of irradiation on the expression levels of a differentially expressed gene, RTP801, in HeLa cells.

Materials And Methods: Total RNA was isolated from irradiated and non-irradiated HeLa cells. A subtraction library was constructed, from which 88 random clones were screened.