Phase 2 Study of Nimotuzumab in Combination With Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: We evaluated the tolerability and efficacy of nimotuzumab, a humanized IgG1 monoclonal anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody, with concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Patients And Methods: In this multicenter, single-arm, open-label, phase 2 trial conducted in Japan (JapicCTI-090825), patients received thoracic radiotherapy (60 Gy, 2 Gy per fraction, 6 weeks) and four 4-week cycles of chemotherapy (day 1, cisplatin 80 mg/m; days 1 and 8, vinorelbine 20 mg/m). Nimotuzumab 200 mg was administrated weekly for 16 weeks.

A phase II study of palliative radiotherapy combined with zoledronic acid hydrate for metastatic bone tumour from renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Palliative radiotherapy is the standard of care for bone metastases. However, skeletal-related events, defined as a pathologic fracture, paraplegia, surgery or radiotherapy for local recurrence, or severe pain in previously irradiated bone with radio-resistant histology type still present high incidence. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether zoledronic acid hydrate and palliative radiotherapy could prevent local skeletal-related events.

Influence of chemoradiotherapy on nutritional status in locally advanced rectal cancer: Prospective multicenter study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on nutritional status and the association between changes in nutritional status and clinical outcomes (treatment completion, adverse events, perioperative complications, and relapse-free survival [RFS]) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Methods: In this multicenter, phase II study, 41 patients with LARC underwent CRT for 5 wk, followed by a 6- to 8-wk interval before surgery. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), lean body mass, serum albumin, and prealbumin levels were measured before (pre-), during, and after CRT, and before surgery.

Potential Mechanisms for Protective Effect of D-Methionine on Plasmid DNA Damage Induced by Therapeutic Carbon Ions.

D-methionine (D-met), a dextrorotatory isoform of the amino acid L-methionine (L-met), can prevent oral mucositis and salivary hypofunction in mice exposed to radiation. However, the mechanism of its radioprotection is unclear, especially with regard to the stereospecific functions of D-met. Radiation is known to cause injury to normal tissue by triggering DNA damage in cells.

Imaging Cherenkov emission for quality assurance of high-dose-rate brachytherapy.

With advances in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, the importance of quality assurance (QA) is increasing to ensure safe delivery of the treatment by measuring dose distribution and positioning the source with much closer intervals for highly active sources. However, conventional QA is time-consuming, involving the use of several different measurement tools. Here, we developed simple QA method for HDR brachytherapy based on the imaging of Cherenkov emission and evaluated its performance.

A phase I dose-escalation trial of stereotactic body radiotherapy using 4 fractions for patients with localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: To report results from our phase I dose-escalation study of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) using 4 fractions for patients with localized prostate cancer.

Materials & Methods: Fraction sizes of 8 Gy, 8.5 Gy, and 9 Gy were defined as levels 1, 2, and 3.

[A Patient with Breast Cancer Who Achieved Continued Clinical Complete Response after Systemic Therapy Alone].

A 53-year-old woman presented at our hospital because of a mass in the left breast. A mass measuring 2 cm in diameter was palpated in the upper outer region(C region)of the left breast. Mammography showed a mass with calcification.

Strategy to avoid local recurrence in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Background: To clarify the short- and long-term outcomes of radical surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) with TS-1 and irinotecan, which enhances radiosensitivity, in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Methods: The study group comprised 105 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who received NCRT followed by radical surgery. NCRT consisted of pelvic radiotherapy (45 Gy in 25 fractions over a period of 5 weeks), S-1 (80 mg/m) given concurrently for 25 days, and irinotecan (60 mg/m), given once a week as a continuous intravenous infusion.

Feasibility of definitive chemoradiation therapy with nedaplatin and 5-fluorouracil in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective study.

Purpose: This study was designed to retrospectively analyze the safety and efficacy of chemoradiation therapy with nedaplatin and 5-fluorouracil in elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods And Materials: Eligible patients were aged 76 years or older, had a histopathologic diagnosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and were treated at the Kitasato University Hospital between January 2010 and March 2016. Chemotherapy consisted of nedaplatin in an intravenous dose of 90 mg/m on day 1 and 5-fluorouracil in an intravenous dose of 800 mg/m on days 1 to 5, repeated every 4 weeks for 2 cycles.

Automated source tracking with a pinhole imaging system during high-dose-rate brachytherapy treatment.

The transportation accuracy of sealed radioisotope sources influences the therapeutic effect of high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. We have developed a pinhole imaging system for tracking an Ir-192 radiation source during HDR brachytherapy treatment. Our system consists of a dual-pinhole collimator, a scintillator, and a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera.

A retrospective study of treatment for curative synchronous double primary cancers of the head and neck and the esophagus.

Objective: Curative synchronous double primary cancers of the head and neck and the esophagus (CSC-HE) are frequently detected, but a standard treatment remains to be established. We studied the clinical course to explore appropriate treatment strategies.

Methods: We retrospectively studied consecutive 33 patients who had CSC-HE.

A cold spot compensation technique using a combination of trans-rectal ultrasonography and intraoperative computed tomography for interstitial permanent prostate brachytherapy: a single-arm prospective trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a cold spot compensation technique using a combination of trans-rectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and computed tomography (CT) for permanent interstitial prostate brachytherapy.

Material And Methods: Sixty-five patients were treated with the cold spot compensation technique using TRUS-CT fusion. The prescribed dose was set at 145 Gy.

Predisposing Factors for Chemotherapy-induced Nephrotoxicity in Patients with Advanced Esophageal Cancer Who Received Combination Chemotherapy with Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil.

Background And Objectives: We retrospectively studied the predisposing factors for nephrotoxicity in the patients with advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma who received combination chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (DCF therapy).

Methods: Between January 2010 and March 2014, 41 patients with Stage IB to III esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma received the DCF therapy (docetaxel 70-75 mg/m, day 1; cisplatin 70-75 mg/m, day 1; 5-fluorouracil 750 mg/m, days 1-5) in our hospital. Renal dysfunction was defined as a creatinine clearance (Ccr) of less than 60 mL/min.

Risk factors for radiotherapy incidents: a single institutional experience.

We aimed to analyze risk factors for incidents occurring during the practice of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) at a single Japanese center. Treatment data for EBRT from June 2014 to March 2017 were collected. Data from incident reports submitted during this period were reviewed.

[Which Should be Treated First - Breast Cancer or Uterine Myoma?].

The patient was a 51-year-old woman with a mass in the left breast.At the first presentation, she had abdominal distension and liver dysfunction.Mammography showed a category 5 mass in the left breast and a category 4, unstructured region in the right breast.

Phase II Study of Concurrent Chemoradiotheapy Using Nedaplatin for Locally Advanced Uterine Cervical Carcinoma (KGROG0501): Final Results.

Aim: This phase II study using nedaplatin evaluated the effectiveness and safely of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced uterine cervical carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: Patients met the following eligibility criteria,: International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage Ib, IIa, IIb with bulky tumor (≥40 mm) or pelvic lymph node swelling (≥10 mm), in FIGO stage IIIa, IIIb or IVa. Treatment adopted external radiation therapy combined with intracavitary brachyhtherapy using weekly nedaplain at 30 mg/m totaling five cycles.

Enhanced activated T cell subsets in prostate cancer patients receiving iodine-125 low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy.

Radiotherapy (RT) is one of the most important treatments for prostate cancer. Although RT can kill cancer cells through direct and indirect effects of radiation, it occasionally induces an abscopal effect whereby localized radiation treatment is associated with elimination of metastatic cancer at a distance from the irradiated area. Thus, RT may induce an effective antitumor immune response, although the mechanism involved has remained unclear.

The role of prophylactic cranial irradiation for patients with small-cell lung cancer.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) has a particular propensity to metastasize to the brain, affecting ~10% of SCLC patients at diagnosis, but may occur in more than 50% of 2-year survivors. Most cytotoxic drugs have limited ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and the effectiveness of chemotherapy for brain metastasis is limited. Therefore, prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) has been proposed to treat SCLC.

Comparison of prostate contours between conventional stepping transverse imaging and Twister-based sagittal imaging in permanent interstitial prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To compare prostate contours on conventional stepping transverse image acquisitions with those on twister-based sagittal image acquisitions.

Material And Methods: Twenty prostate cancer patients who were planned to have permanent interstitial prostate brachytherapy were prospectively accrued. A transrectal ultrasonography probe was inserted, with the patient in lithotomy position.

Impact of five-tiered Gleason grade groups on prognostic prediction in clinical stage T3 prostate cancer undergoing high-dose-rate brachytherapy.

Background: We evaluated a five-tiered Gleason grade groups arising from the 2014 International Society of Urological Pathology consensus conference on prognostic prediction in clinical stage T3a (extracapsular invasion) and T3b (seminal vesicle involvement) prostate cancer undergoing high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT).

Methods: From November 2003 to December 2012, 283 patients with stage T3 prostate cancer received HDR-BT and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with long-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Of these, 203 (72%) and 80 (28%) patients had stage T3a and T3b disease, respectively.

Retrospective analysis of definitive radiotherapy for neck node metastasis from unknown primary tumor: Japanese Radiation Oncology Study Group study.

Objective: To investigate the optimal treatment method and risk factor of neck node metastasis from unknown primary tumors (NUP) treated by radiotherapy.

Methods: Retrospective case study based on a multi-institutional survey was conducted by the Japanese Radiation Oncology Study Group. Patients pathologically diagnosed as having NUP from 1998 to 2007 were identified.

Evaluation of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced NSCLC according to EGFR mutation status.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). However, the efficacy and safety of this treatment has not been compared between patients who possess epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and patients with wild-type EGFR. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the presence of EGFR gene mutations in patients with LA-NSCLC receiving cCRT.

Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary Site Treated By Gastrointestinal Oncologists.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcomes in patients with cancer of an unknown primary site (CUP), who were treated by gastrointestinal oncologists.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 29 patients with CUP who were presented at the Department of Gastroenterology, Kitasato University Hospital from October 2005 to October 2013, and were treated by the gastrointestinal oncologists. The patients were divided into two groups, namely chemotherapy group and symptomatic therapy group, and the clinical characteristics and survival times were compared.

Practical use of a plastic scintillator for quality assurance of electron beam therapy.

Quality assurance (QA) of clinical electron beams is essential for performing accurate and safe radiation therapy. However, with advances in radiation therapy, QA has become increasingly labor-intensive and time-consuming. In this paper, we propose a tissue-equivalent plastic scintillator for quick and easy QA of clinical electron beams.