• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.48-57
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• 2018

Purpose: Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is usually prescribed to improve the survival of patients with advanced gastric cancer who undergo curative surgery. This study was designed to determine the impact that the degree of compliance with chemotherapy has on the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Among 252 patients with stage III gastric cancer who underwent curative surgery between July 2004 and December 2014, 85 patients were postoperatively treated with S-1, the oral fluoropyrimidine derivative, 23 received no chemotherapy, and 144 received other regimens. Overall survival was compared between the complete compliance group (who received 8 cycles of S-1 chemotherapy, n=44) and the incomplete compliance group (who received less than 8 cycles of S-1 chemotherapy, n=41). Factors that influenced patient compliance with chemotherapy were also analyzed. Results: The overall 5-year survival rate was significantly different between the complete chemotherapy and incomplete chemotherapy groups (80.0% vs. 42.7%, P<0.001). Based on univariate and multivariate survival analyses of patients who received S-1 chemotherapy, the independent prognostic factors were tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) stage (IIIa vs. IIIb vs. IIIc) and compliance with chemotherapy. TNM stage and age are significant factors that influence compliance with chemotherapy. Conclusions: TNM stage and compliance with chemotherapy are independent prognostic factors in patients with stage III gastric cancer who received postoperative chemotherapy. TNM stage and age are significant factors that influence patient compliance with chemotherapy.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2022

Purpose: We aimed to explore whether the prognosis of patients treated with capecitabine and oxaliplatin (XELOX) or S-1 and oxaliplatin (SOX) regimens who received fewer cycles of chemotherapy after D2 radical resection for gastric cancer (GC) would be non-inferior to that of patients who received the standard number of cycles of chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: Data on patients who received XELOX or SOX chemotherapy after undergoing D2 radical resection at Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital between January 2011 and May 2016 were collected. Results: In patients who received 4, 6, and 8 cycles of chemotherapy, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 59.4%, 64.8%, and 62.7%, respectively. Compared to patients who received 4 cycles of chemotherapy, those who received 6 cycles (hazard ratio [HR], 0.882; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.599-1.299; P=0.52) or 8 cycles (HR, 0.882; 95% CI, 0.533-1.458; P=0.62) of chemotherapy did not exhibit significantly prolonged OS. The 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate of patients who received 4, 6, and 8 cycles of chemotherapy was 62.1%, 67.2%, and 60.8%, respectively. Compared to patients who received 4 cycles of chemotherapy, those who received 6 cycles (HR, 0.835; 95% CI, 0.572-1.221; P=0.35) or 8 cycles (HR, 0.972; 95% CI, 0.606-1.558; P=0.91) of chemotherapy did not show significantly prolonged DFS. However, the 3-year DFS and 5-year OS rates of patients who received 6 cycles of chemotherapy appeared to be superior to those of patients who received 4 and 8 cycles of chemotherapy. Conclusions: For patients with stage III GC, 4 to 6 cycles of XELOX or SOX chemotherapy may be a favorable option. This study provides a rationale for further randomized clinical trials.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3323-3326
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• 2014

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Jamaican women. Locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) is associated with aggressive biology and poor prognosis, and has a predilection for African-American women. In this retrospective review, we assessed the prevalence of LABC as a breast cancer presentation in a population of mainly Afro-centric ethnicity, and determined disease characteristics and response to pre-operative chemotherapy. LABC was prevalent (20%), and had a low pathological response rate to pre-operative chemotherapy, with a high risk of disease recurrence. Increased utilization of breast cancer screening may help detect cancer at less advanced stages, and optimizing pre-operative chemotherapy is recommended to improve response rates and ultimately survival.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.433-445
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess changes in pain, fatigue, anorexia, anxiety and quality of life(QOL) in patients with cancer who were on chemotherapy. Methods: Symptoms and QOL were examined both before chemotherapy and after 2 cycles of chemotherapy. The participants were 76 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in one of 7 hospitals. Results: The patients experienced a mean of 2.22-2.23 symptoms out of 4 symptoms. Patients who were female, or suffered from breast or colorectal cancer experienced more symptoms. Fatigue at present, and most severe fatigue and anorexia in the previous 3 weeks increased significantly. Anxiety and QOL decreased significantly after 2 cycles of chemotherapy. Number of symptoms, anorexia at present, most severe anorexia in past 3 weeks, and anxiety had negative correlations. QOL before chemotherapy showed a positive correlation with QOL after 2 cycles of chemotherapy. In a regression analysis, anxiety, QOL at baseline, income, and the most severe pain in the past 3 weeks were significant predictors of QOL. Conclusion: Physical and psychological factors were significant predictors of both QOL and each subscale, and these factors correlated with each other. These results demonstrate the needs for early assessment and intervention from the start of chemotherapy to decrease symptoms and improve QOL.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.299-301
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• 2015

Objectives: To assess safety and efficacy of JiSaiXin (Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor Injection manufactured in China, G-CSF) 150ug per day for three days and whether this regimen could reduce the incidence of febrile neutropenia caused by chemotherapy. Method: From July 2014 to December 2014 patients treated by chemotherapy in our hospital were randomly divided into two groups: Group A with prophylactic use of G-CSF (JiSaiXin) 24 hours after chemotherapy for consecutive 3 days; and Group B with G-CSF (JiSaiXin) after neutropenia. Routine blood tests were performed 7 days and 14 days after chemotherapy. Results: A total of 100 patients fulfilled study criteria, and the incidence of severe neutropenia (grade III/IV) and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in Group A were lower than those in Group B. Nine patients were found severe neutropenia (grade III/IV) in Group B, but one in Group A, three febrile neutropenia in Group B, but 0 in Group A. Conclusions: This study suggested that prophylactic use of G-CSF (JiSaiXin) 150ug per day 24 hours after chemotherapy for consecutive 3 days is safe and could be effective for preventing febrile neutropenia in patients with chemotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7701-7705
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• 2015

Background: Thyroid hormones (TH) are regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, which plays an important role in cell growth, differentiation, development and other aspects of metabolism. It is believed that an active hypothalamic-pituitary axis increases the susceptibility of thyroid dysfunction during systemic chemotherapy. In order to investigate the relation between thyroid function and chemotherapy the present study was designed to investigate TH in breast cancer patients receiving at least three cycles of chemotherapy. The levels of TH were measured at the baseline and before each cycle of chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: Blood samples for estimation of TH levels were collected from 80 (pre-menopausal-40; post-menopausal-40) breast cancer patients just before they were undergoing - $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$, $3^{rd}$ and $4^{th}$ cycle of chemotherapy. The serum was separated and $T_3$, $T_4$ and TSH levels were determined by chemiluminescence method. Results: $T_3$ and $T_4$ were found significantly decreased and TSH was found significantly increased after $1^{st}$ (p<0.001), $2^{nd}$ (p<0.0001) and $3^{rd}$ cycle of chemotherapy (p<0.0001). The variation of $T_3$ levels (decreased) and TSH levels (increased) was found more in post-menopausal (p<0.0001) women then in pre-menopausal women after $3^{rd}$ cycle of chemotherapy as compared to baseline (p<0.001). Conclusions: TH were remarkably altered after each cycle of chemotherapy leading to decline in thyroid function of breast cancer patients. Further, the results also indicated that post-menopausal women were more prone towards decline in thyroid function then pre-menopausal women. The present study proposes the monitoring of TH after each cycle of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3139-3144
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• 2014

Background: Medical treatment for eliminating the side effects of cancer therapy may not always be efficacious. Acupuncture is one of the most widely accepted alternative and complementary therapies in use today. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of acupuncture in patients experiencing cancer treatment side effects, including nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 inpatients who underwent chemotherapy between February and April 2013 in the Oncology Department of Numune Hospital were included in our study. Acupuncture was administered to the patients one day prior to chemotherapy, on the day of chemotherapy and one day after chemotherapy. The patients were evaluated on nausea, vomiting, pain, sleep quality and anxiety before the chemotherapy and on the $4^{th}$ day of chemotherapy. Results: Of the 45 patients included in the study, 18 (40%) were female and 27 (60%) were male. A total of 25 (55.6%) had an elementary school education; 32 patients (71%) had stage 4 cancer and were treated with palliative chemotherapy (the patient characteristics are shown in Table 1). Statistically significant decreases (p<0.001) in pain, nausea, vomiting, insomnia and anxiety scores were observed after the acupuncture treatment compared to baseline. There were no differences in the age, gender, education level, stage or metastasis levels between the patient groups whose symptoms improved or were unchanged. Conclusions: Our study showed that acupuncture has positive effects in cancer treatment patients who experience nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety as side effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-related side effects in cancer patients could be decreased by the concurrent use of acupuncture.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.4825-4832
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• 2015

Incidence rates of nasopharyngeal carcinoma are high in Indonesia, Singapore and South-Eastern China. Chemoradiotherapy has been the standard regimen for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma according to guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Recently, advances in the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma have transferred into better treatment outcomes. Most phase III clinical trials support the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radiotherapy for the initial treatment of these patients. Studies evaluating effects and toxicity of concurrent chemotherapy with different regimens have been reported. However, the status of adding adjuvant chemotherapy or induction chemotherapy remains controversial. Recent studies have shown that adjuvant chemotherapy with two or three cycles may improve survival for nasopharyngeal carcinoma with stage N2-3 disease or with persistently detectable plasma EBV DNA after radiotherapy. This review examines the pertinent issues and latest studies concerning the management of loco-regionally advanced NPC, regarding concurrent chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, and induction chemotherapy in decades.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2399-2403
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• 2012

Objective: To compare expression level of serum tumor associated materials (TAM) with several conventional serum tumor biomarkers, eg., carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9), carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), alpha-fetoprotein(AFP), in selected solid tumors. Methods: Patients diagnosed histologically or cytologically with liver, breast, esophageal, gastric, colorectal or pancreatic cancers were enrolled into this study. After diagnosis, the level of TAM was determined by chemical colorimetry, and levels of conventional tumor markers was measured by chemiluminescence methods. Results: A total of 560 patients were enrolled into this study. No statistically significant difference was detected in TAM and the above mentioned tumor biomarkers in terms of their positivity and negativity ( P>0. 05). Conclusions: Detection of TAM in liver, breast, esophageal, gastric, colorectal, and pancreatic cancer patients demonstrates a good accordance with CEA, CA199, CA153, and AFP, thus suggesting that further study is warranted to verify whether TAM could be a surrogate for these conventional biomarkers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7171-7177
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• 2013

Purpose: To compare the safety and efficacy of first-line chemotherapy regimen with or without doxorubicin in treating patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 56 patients histologically confirmed with STS who were treated at Jiangsu Cancer Hospital and Research Institute from July 2011 to June 2012.The basic element of first line chemotherapy contained epirubicin in group B and lacked epirubicin in group A. Response was assessed using RECIST criteria. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate progress free survival (PFS). Results: According to RECIST criteria, patients in group treated by chemotherapy without epirubicin, the objective response (OR) ratio was 6.5 % (CR0%+PR6.5%). Disease control rate (DCR=CR+PR+SD) was 25.8% with a median follow-up of 14.6 months, including 2 patients achieving a partial response (PR 6.5%) and a stable response (SD 19.4%) in 6. In group B with epirubicin based regimens, no patient had complete response, PR (28 %) was observed in 7 and SD (24 %) in 6. DCR was observed in 13 patients (52%). By Fisher's exact test, the DCR difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p=0.046). In group A, median PFS was 3.0 months (95%CI:2.1-3.8), compared with 4.0 months (95% CI:3.03-4.97) in group B (p=0.0397 by log-rank test). Epirubicin based chemotherapy and ECOG performance status 0-1 were identified as favorable factors for progression in our cohort of patients. Differences of nonhematologic and hematologic toxicities were not statistically significant between the two groups, and the addition of epirobicin was not associated with cardiac toxicity (p=0.446). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that epirubicin-based chemotherapy is effective and well tolerated, and is superior to chemotherapy without epirubicin regarding efficacy. Therefore it is recommended that epirubicin-based chemotherapy should be considered as first line for patients with advanced STS.