Factors associated with functional ability in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing chemoradiotherapy: a prospective longitudinal study.

Purpose: During and after treatment, esophageal cancer (EC) patients experience changes in body mass index (BMI), performance status, nutrition status, symptom distress, and physical fitness. This study aims to evaluate temporal changes and their associated factors in BMI, performance status, nutrition status, symptom distress, physical fitness, and functional ability in EC patients during and after treatment.

Methods: This prospective longitudinal study recruited EC patients from a medical center in Northern Taiwan.

Study of cell migration trajectory on two-dimensional continuous stiffness gradient surface edited by grayscale photopolymerization.

In native tissues, cells encounter a diverse range of stiffness, which can significantly affect their behavior and function. The ability of cells to sense and respond to these mechanical cues is essential for various physiological processes, including cell migration. Cell migration is a complex process influenced by multiple factors, with substrate stiffness emerging as a critical determinant.

Focused ultrasound combined with radiotherapy for malignant brain tumor: a preclinical and clinical study.

Introduction: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains to be the major obstacle to conquer in treating patients with malignant brain tumors. Radiation therapy (RT), despite being the mainstay adjuvant modality regardless of BBB, the effect of radiation induced cell death is hindered by the hypoxic microenvironment. Focused ultrasound (FUS) combined with systemic microbubbles has been shown not only to open BBB but also potentially increased regional perfusion.

Investigation of Stem Cell-Like Characteristics and Immune Cell Interaction of Tumor Cells Survived from Continuous Shear Flow Environment.

When tumor cells are released from a primary tumor into the bloodstream or lymphatic circulation system, they are exposed to a continuous shear flow environment. This environment exerts physical stresses on the tumor cells, which can activate apoptotic pathways. However, certain tumor cells have the ability to adapt to these mechanical stresses, enhancing their likelihood of survival and promoting metastasis.

A Review on Microfluidics-Based Impedance Biosensors.

Electrical impedance biosensors are powerful and continuously being developed for various biological sensing applications. In this line, the sensitivity of impedance biosensors embedded with microfluidic technologies, such as sheath flow focusing, dielectrophoretic focusing, and interdigitated electrode arrays, can still be greatly improved. In particular, reagent consumption reduction and analysis time-shortening features can highly increase the analytical capabilities of such biosensors.

Neuropsychological performances in patients with infiltrative non-GBM gliomas after postoperative adjuvant photon or proton radiotherapy: A prospective and preliminary investigation.

Infiltrative non-GBM gliomas are common primary intracranial malignancies, and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy is recommended for most adult patients diagnosed with this disease to enhance local control and prolong intracranial progression-free survival (PFS). However, RT-related neurocognitive function (NCF) consequences should not be ignored. Early neurocognitive decline principally includes episodic memory, associated significantly with functions of the hippocampus.

Multi-Institutional Validation of Two-Streamed Deep Learning Method for Automated Delineation of Esophageal Gross Tumor Volume Using Planning CT and FDG-PET/CT.

Background: The current clinical workflow for esophageal gross tumor volume (GTV) contouring relies on manual delineation with high labor costs and inter-user variability.

Purpose: To validate the clinical applicability of a deep learning multimodality esophageal GTV contouring model, developed at one institution whereas tested at multiple institutions.

Materials And Methods: We collected 606 patients with esophageal cancer retrospectively from four institutions.

Oncological Outcomes After Hippocampus-Sparing Whole-Brain Radiotherapy in Cancer Patients With Newly Diagnosed Brain Oligometastases: A Single-Arm Prospective Observational Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Background: Promisingly, the technique of hippocampus sparing during WBRT (HS-WBRT) might preserve NCFs. In this research, we examined oncological outcomes, with emphasis on neurologic/non-neurologic causes of death, CNS progression, and leptomeningeal disease (LMD) recurrence in cancer patients who underwent HS-WBRT.

Methods: One hundred and fourteen cancer patients with newly diagnosed brain oligometastases underwent HS-WBRT were consecutively enrolled.

Analysis of a Cancer Stem Cell-Derived Single Colony Raised in a Microwell Array.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) were reported to play important roles in cancer initialization, progression, and metastasis. In order to study the variation between CSCs and non-CSCs, single-cell analysis is conducted but technically complicated. In the current work, a microwell array made by an agarose hydrogel was developed for the study of a CSC-derived single colony.

Characterization of stem cell-like property in cancer cells based on single-cell impedance measurement in a microfluidic platform.

Investigation of stem cell-like property in cancer cells is important for the development of new therapeutic drugs targeting at malignant tumors. Currently, the standard approach for identifying cancer stem cell-like cells relies on the recognition of stem cell surface markers. However, the reliability remains controversial among biologists.

Treatment of Primary Central Nervous System Germinomas With Short-course Induction Chemotherapy Followed by Low-dose Radiotherapy Without a Tumor Bed Boost: Prognostic Impact of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin.

Objective: To investigate the clinical utility of short-course induction chemotherapy followed by low-dose radiotherapy without a tumor bed boost in patients with primary central nervous system (CNS) germinomas.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of patients with primary CNS germinomas who received short-course induction chemotherapy (2 cycles of cisplatin 20 mg/m2 plus etoposide 40 or 100 mg/m2 for 5 days) followed by low-dose radiotherapy (dose: 2340 cGy) without a tumor bed boost. Disease-free survival and overall survival served as the main outcome measures.

Treatment of intracranial meningioma with single-session and fractionated radiosurgery: a propensity score matching study.

Single-session stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS) is recognized as a safe and efficient treatment for meningioma. We aim to compare the long-term efficacy and safety of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) with SSRS in the treatment of grade I meningioma. A total of 228 patients with 245 tumors treated with radiosurgery between March 2006 and June 2017were retrospectively evaluated.

Missed radiation therapy sessions in first three weeks predict distant metastasis and less favorable outcomes in surgically treated patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: We sought to investigate the prognostic impact of missed RT sessions in patients who had undergone surgery for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC).

Methods: The study sample consisted of 905 patients with surgically treated OCSCC who fulfilled criteria of RT course ≤8 weeks. The study participants were divided into three groups based on the characteristics of missed RT, as follows: 1) early missed RT, 2) late missed RT, and 3) RT as scheduled.

Prognostic value of lymph node to primary tumor standardized uptake value ratio in unresectable esophageal cancer.

Background: Unresectable esophageal cancer harbors high mortality despite chemoradiotherapy. Better patient selection for more personalized management may result in better treatment outcomes. We presume the ratio of maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of metastatic lymph nodes to primary tumor (NTR) in 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) may provide prognostic information and further stratification of these patients.

Association of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue with overall survival in Taiwanese patients with bone metastases - results from a retrospective analysis of consecutively collected data.

Background: Growing evidence indicates that measures of body composition may be related to clinical outcomes in patients with malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether measures of regional adiposity-including subcutaneous adipose tissue index (SATI) and visceral adipose tissue index (VATI)-can be associated with overall survival (OS) in Taiwanese patients with bone metastases.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data.

Development and Validation of a Nomogram for Assessing Survival in Patients With Metastatic Lung Cancer Referred for Radiotherapy for Bone Metastases.

Importance: A survival prediction model for patients with bone metastases arising from lung cancer would be highly valuable.

Objective: To develop and validate a nomogram for assessing the survival probability of patients with metastatic lung cancer receiving radiotherapy for osseous metastases.

Design, Setting, Participants: In this prognostic study, the putative prognostic indicators for constructing the nomogram were identified using multivariable Cox regression analysis with backward elimination and model selection based on the Akaike information criterion.

Prognostic significance of combined pretreatment lymphocyte counts and body mass index in patients with head and neck cancer treated with radiation therapy.

We aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of combined pretreatment lymphocyte counts (LCs) and body mass index (BMI) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with radiation therapy (RT). Nine hundred and twelve patients with HNC who were treated with RT were retrospectively reviewed. Survival was analyzed by stratifying the patients according to pretreatment LCs and BMI.

Pretreatment subcutaneous adipose tissue predicts the outcomes of patients with head and neck cancer receiving definitive radiation and chemoradiation in Taiwan.

We aimed to determine whether body composition assessment before treatment can predict outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). All 881 patients with locoregional head and neck cancer treated with curative intent radiotherapy (RT) between 2005 and 2012 were retrospectively investigated. Body composition was analyzed via pre-RT planning computed tomography (CT) images.

Dose-escalated radiation therapy is associated with better overall survival in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors: a propensity score-matched study.

We aimed to compare the overall survival (OS) of patients with bone metastases (BM) from solid tumors after standard-dose radiotherapy ([RT]; 30 Gy administered in 10 fractions; EQD  = 32.5 Gy) and dose-escalated RT (EQD  > 32.5 Gy).