• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.181-189
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• 1995

Pupose: Radiation therapy(RT) is conventionally standard treatment for locally advanced stage for uterine cervix cancer. Recently to improve treatment results, combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy was tried We retrospectively analysed our experience of 122 patients. Comparision of the results in 45 patients treated with RT alone and 77 patients treated with RT plus chemotherapy was made Materials and Mathods: From January 1985 to December 1991 122 patients with cervix cancer were treated with whole pelvic external RT and ICR(34 1 ICR, 77 2 ICR, 11 high dose rate ICR) in our department. Forty five patients were treated with RT alone, and 77 patients were treated with combined RT plus chemotherapy Mean age was 58 years(range:29-81). Histologic types were 111 squamous cell carcinoma, 5 large cell carcinoma, 3 adenocarcinoma, and 2 adenosquamous cell carcinoma. According to the FIGO stage 6 had stage $IA(4.9\%),$ 11 had $IIA(9.0\%),$ 37 had $IIB(30.3\%),$ 3 had $IIIA(2.5\%),$ 63 had $IIIB(51.6\%).$ and 2 had stage $IV(1.6\%).$ In 77 patients with RT Plus chemotherapy, 36 patients were treated with VBP(vinblastin, bleomycin, cisplatinum) , 39 patients with cisplatinum plus 5-FU and 2 patients with 5-FU. Results: Complete response after external RT (3960cGy-5500cGy) was achieved in 61 patients$(50\%).$ The actuarial 5 year and 9 rear survival rate was $57.8\%\;and\;53.9\%,$ respectively. Five rear actuarial survival rate was $63.1\%$with RT alone(n=45) and $55.9\%$ with RT plus chemotherapy(n=77). The 5 rear survival rate was $35.5\%$ for 1 course of ICR and $67\%$ for 2 courses of ICR. There was statistically significant advantage of survival with RT alone group who were treated with 2 courses of ICR and dose to the A Point)=8000cGy (4/25 died). In RT plus chemotherapy group, dose response was not seen and there was no difference in 5 year survival between 1 course and 2 course of ICR $(50\%\;vs\;56.8\%),$ and dose to point A less than 8000 cGy and more than 8000 $cGy(55.6\%\;vs\;55.7\%).$ There was no significant difference in survival between RT alone and RT plus chemotherapy for patients with tumor size greater than 3cm in size. Five year survival rate for early stage (Stage IB and IIA) with RT alone group and with RT Plus chemotherapy group was $60\%\;and\;77.0\%,$ respectively In advanced stage (stage IIB, IIIA, IIIB, IVA) the 5 year actuarial survival rate were $62.6\%,$ for RT alone group vs $53.6\%$ for RT plus chemotherapy group. Conclusion: Present study demonstrates that there is no survival advantage with adding chemotherapy in advanced stage of uterine cervix cancer. RT alone is considered as treatment of choice for patients with locally advanced cervix cancer. There was increased survival in RT alone group treated with RT dose above 8000 cGy to point A and 2 course of ICR. but 2 course of ICR and RT dose above 8000 cGy to point A did not affect survival advantage in RT plus chemotherapy group.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.303-309
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• 1993

Between November 1983 and December 1992, 121 patients with non-small cell lung cancer were treated with radiotherapy alone or combined with chemotherapy in Inje University, Seoul Paik Hospital. Of these,97 patients were evaluable and analyzed retrospectively. Group 1 (n=62)was treated with radiotherapy alone and group 2 (n=35) combined with chemotherapy. There were 7 patients, 1 patient with stage I and II ,20 patients, 11 patients with stage IIIA,28 patients, 20 patients with stage IIIB, and 6 patients, 3 patients with stage IV, respectively. Ninety percent of patients received more than 5000 cGy of radiaton. Median survival of patients in group 1 was 9 months, group 2 was 15 months. Overall 2 year survival rates of group 1 and 2 were $37\%\;and\;27\%$, respectively. Relapse free survival rates at 2 year were $27\%\;and\;15\%$, respectively. Overall survival rates at 5 year for group 1 and 2 were $15\%\;and\;11\%$, and relapse free survival rates were $16\%\;and\;6\%,$ respectively. Median survival of complete and partial responders was 47 months in group 1,18 months in group 2, and those of stable or progression was 6 months,11 months, respectively. The proportion of locoregional relapse and distant metastasis was not significantly different between group 1 and 2. The majority of relapse developed within 2 years. Although 2 cases of severe esophagitis and myelosuppression were noted in group 2, the treatment related toxicity was relatively acceptable. Our analysis showed no statistically significant differences between the two treatment groups in terms of response rate, survival, and sites of relapse.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7669-7674
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• 2013

Background: The hypothesis that patients who primarily progress on two consecutive chemotherapy regimens without evidence of clinical benefit may opt for supportive care was investigated. The purpose was to determine the quality of life in recurrent ovarian cancer patients choosing to receive salvage chemotherapy in addition to supportive care or palliative care alone. A secondary objective was to evaluate factors that affect quality of life in ovarian cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in patients who had histological confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer and failed to respond to at least one regimen of chemotherapy, coming for treatment at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand over a six-month period from August 2012-March 2013. Each patient was asked to complete the FACT-G and a general personal questionnaire. The median quality of life score was analyzed. The Mann Whitney U Test was used to compare the difference between salvage chemotherapy and palliative care groups, and the Kruskal Wallis was used to evaluate other variables. Results: Thirty-eight ovarian cancer patients were identified who failed to respond to chemotherapy. Of the 38, 30 chose salvage chemotherapy and eight palliative care for further treatment. By histology the carcimnomas were predominantly endometrioid subtype and poorly differentiated. The majority of patients in this study had FIGO stage III, and ECOG status 0-1. The median quality of life score was 76.3 (35.8-94.0), with no significant differences between the groups. Factors associated with the quality of life were the ECOG score and number of chemotherapeutic courses. Conclusions: In the setting of refractory or recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, patients who receive salvage chemotherapy have comparable quality of life scores with patients treated with palliative care alone, providing a contrast with previous studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.231-237
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• 2016

Gastroesophageal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Despite significant developments in management, 5-year survival in the developing world is less than 20 percent. Due to restricted research about the impact of preoperative chemotherapy (POC) on tumor resection, pathological response and postoperative complications in Iran, we designed and implemented the present retrospective cross- sectional study on 156 patients with gastroesophageal cancer (GEc) between 2013 and 2015 at Shariati Hospital of Tehran. Two groups were included, the first group had previously received preoperative chemotherapy and the second group had only undergone surgery. All patients were followed for at least one year after the operation in terms of tumor recurrence, relapse free survival and one-year survival. The two groups were eventually compared regarding tumor resection, pathological response, postoperative complications, recurrence rate and survival. The mean age was $66.5{\pm}7.3years$ and 78 percent were male. The tumor resectability, pathological response and postoperative complications in the group which received POC were 93.5%, 21.8% and 12.8%, respectively, and in the surgery alone group figures for tumor resection and postoperative complications were 76% and 29.5%, respectively. Also based on our study the 5-year survival in the POC group was better (79.5% vs. 66.5%). Using standard neoadjuvant regimens (preoperative chemotherapy/chemoradiotherapy) beforesurgery could increase tumor resectability, pathological response, and improve the general status of the patients. Therefore using POC may be recommended over surgery alone.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.179-189
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• 2019

Although recent advances in molecular targeted therapy and immuno-oncology have revolutionized the landscape of lung cancer therapeutics, cytotoxic chemotherapy remains an essential component of lung cancer treatment. Extensive evidence has demonstrated the clinical benefit of chemotherapy, either alone or in combination with other treatment modalities, on survival and quality of life of patients with early and advanced lung cancer. Combinational approaches with other classes of anti-neoplastic agents and new drug-delivery systems have revealed promising data and are areas of active investigation. Chemotherapy is recommended as a standard of care in patients that have progressed after tyrosine kinase inhibitors or immune checkpoint inhibitors. Chemotherapy remains the fundamental means of lung cancer management and keeps expanding its clinical implication. This review will discuss the current position and future role of chemotherapy, and specific consideration for its clinical application in the era of precision medicine.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.195-202
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• 1999

Purpose : We peformed this study to evaluate the prognostic factors and the effect of induction chemotherapy in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods : A retrospective analysis was done for 130 patients with locally advanced NSCLC treated with curative radiotherapy alone or induction chemo-radiotherapy from January 1986 to October 1996. Eighty-five patients were treated with radiotherapy alone, forty-five with induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Age, sex, performance status, histopathologic type, and stage were evenly distributed in both groups. The patients were treated with 6 MV or 10 MV X-ray. Conventional fractionation with daily fraction size 1$.8\~2.0$ Gy was done. Of the patients, 129 patients received total dose above 59.6 Gy ($56\~66$ Gy, median 60 Gy). Induction chemotherapy regimen were CAP (Cyclo-phosphamide, Adriamycin, Cisplatin) in 6 patients, MVP (Mitomycin, Vinblastine, Cisplatin) in 9 patients, MIC (Mitomycin, Ifosfamide Cisplatin) in 13 patients, and EP (Etoposide, Cisplatin) in 17 patients. Chemotherapy was done in $2\~5$ cycles (median 2). Results : Overall 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rate (YSR) for all patients were $41.5\%,{\;}13.7\%,{\;}and{\;}7\%$, respectively (median survival time 11 months). According to treatment modality, median survival time, overall 1-, 2-, and 3-YSR were 9 months, $32.9\%,{\;}10.\5%,{\;}6\%$ for radiotherapy alone group, and 14 months, $57.8\%,{\;}20\%,{\;}7.6\%$ for induction chemotherapy group, respectively (f=0.0005). Complete response (CR) to overall treatments was $25\%$ (21/84) in radiotherapy alone and $40.5\%$ (17/42) in induction chemotherapy group (p=0.09). The Prognostic factors affecting overall survival were hemoglobin level (p=0.04), NSE (neuron-specific enolase) level (p=0.004), and respense to overall treatment(p=0.004). According to treatment modalities, NSE (neuron-specific enolase) (p=0.006) and response to overall treatment (p=0.003) were associated with overall survival in radiotherapy alone group, and response to overall treatment (p=0.007) in induction chemotherapy group. The failure Pattern analysis revealed no significant difference between treatment modalities. But, in patients with CR to overall treatment, distant metastasis were found in 11/19 patients with radiotherapy alone, and 3/13 patients with induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy (p=0.07). Locoregional failure patterns were not different between two groups (10/19 vs 6/13). Conclusion : Induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy achieved increased 2YSR compared to radiotherapy alone, At least in CR patients, there was decreased tendency in distant metastasis with induction chemotherapy. But, locoregional failures and long-term survival were not improved. Thus, there is need of more effort to increasing local control and further decreasing distant metastasis.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.66-69
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• 2017

Approximately 40% of patients with colorectal cancer have metastatic lesions at the time of diagnosis, and chemotherapy is generally prescribed for these patients. Though several drugs are used, 5-FU has long been the backbone of chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Capecitabine is an oral 5-FU prodrug approved by the FDA in 2005 and is used alone or in combination for treatment of colorectal cancer. Recently, capecitabine has been used for a number of off-label indications, including the treatment of advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer. Here, we report a rare case of a 59-year-old woman, diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer who first presented with abdominal discomfort and dyspepsia. She showed a partial response to palliative first line FOLFOX chemotherapy, which had to be stopped due to peripheral neuropathy, as a side effect. She was next put on a second line chemotherapy regimen with capecitabine alone, since then she showed good treatment response without any disease progression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5169-5173
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• 2015

To determine the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel plus cisplatin (Taxol + DDP, TP therapy) for stage IIA esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to investigate the expression of RUNX3 in lymph node metastasis-negative esophageal cancer and its relationship with medical prognosis, a retrospective summary of clinical treatment of 143 cases of stage IIA esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients was made. The patients were divided into two groups, a surgery alone control group (52 patients) and a chemotherapy group that received postoperative TP therapy (91 patients). The disease-free and 5 year survival rates were compared between the groups and a multivariate analysis of prognostic factors was performed. The same analysis was performed for cases classified as RUNX3 positive and negative, with post-operative specimens assessed by immunohistochemistry. Although the disease-free and 5 year survival rates in control and chemotherapy groups did not significantly differ and there was no significance in RUNX3 negative cases, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in the chemotherapy group was shown to improve disease-free and 5 year survival rate compared to the control group in RUNX3 positive cases. On Cox regression multivariate analysis, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (P<0.01) was an independent prognostic factor for RUNX3 positive cases, suggesting that postoperative TP may be effective as adjuvant chemotherapy for stage IIA esophageal cancer patients with RUNX3 positive lesions.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.57-64
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• 2008

In gastric cancer, the only potentially curative treatment is surgery that attempts to achieve curative (R0) resection. However, despite the use of curative resection, a recurrence develops in a high percentage of patients, especially in cases of serosa and/or lymph node involvement. As a strategy to improve the survival of the patients with resectable advanced gastric cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been evaluated in several phase II trials and a few phase III trials. The results of these trials have confirmed the feasibility and safety of this approach with no apparent increase in surgical complications. Recently, the findings of a large phase III randomized trial (MAGIC trial) have indicated that compared to the use of surgery alone, perioperative chemotherapy, using both a neoadjuvant and adjuvant strategy, decreased the number of T and N stage cancers and improved survival. The results of another recent phase III trial (FNLCC 94012/FFCD 9703) also showed that compared to the use of surgery alone, perioperative chemotherapy improved the R0 resection rate and survival. In both trials, the improved outcomes may be attributed to the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy because of poor compliance with adjuvant chemotherapy. These results cannot be directly translated to clinical practice in Korea due to differences in surgical techniques and outcomes. However, the findings of a few small phase II and III trials performed in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer in Korea have also suggested that neoadjuvant chemotherapy would result in the improvement of the R0 resection rate and down-staging of the disease. More effective chemotherapy regimens are needed in future large randomized trials to determine the subset of patients that will benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to determine the extent of benefit.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.255-262
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• 1997

Purpose : This is retrospective study to compare the results of radiation therapy alone and neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation in advanced stage of uterine cervical cancer. Materials and Methods : Seventy-six Patients who were treated with definitive radiation therapy for locally advanced cervical cacinoma between June 1988 and December 1993 at the department of radiation oncology, Keimyung University Dong-san Hospital. Thirty six patients were treated with radiation therapy alone and forty patients were treated with cisplatin based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. According to FIGO staging system. there were 48 patients in stage IIb, 3 patients in stage IIIa, 23 patients in stage lIIb and two patients in stage IVa with median age of 53 years old. Follow-up periods ranged from 7 to 95 months with median 58 months. Results : Complete response (CR) rate were $86.1\%$ in radiation alone group and $80\%$ in chemoradiation group. There was no statistical difference in CR rate between the two groups. Overall five-year survival rate was $67.3\%$. According to stage, overall five-rear survival rates were $74\%$ in stage IIb, $66.7\%$ in stage IIIa, $49.8\%$ in stage IIb, $50\%$ in stage IVa. According to treatment modality overall five year survival rates were $74.1\%$ in radiation alone and $61.4\%$ in chemoradiation group (P=0.4) Five rear local failure free survival rates were $71.5\%$ in radiation alone group and $60\%$ in chemoradiation group (P=0.17). Five year distant metastasis free survival rates were $80.7\%$ in radiation aione group and $89.9\%$ in chemoradiation group (P=0.42). Bone marrow suppression (more than noted in 3 cases of radiaion alone group and 1 case of chemoradiation group. Grade II retal complication was noted in 5 patients of radiation group and 4 patients In chemoradiation group. Bowel obstruction treated with conservative treatment (1 patient) and bowel perforation treated with surgery (1 patient) were noted in radiation alone group. There was no statistical difference in complication between two groups. Conclusion : There was no statistical difference in survival, failure and complication between neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation versus radiation alone in locally advanced uterine cervical carcinoma.