• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제14권3호
• /
• pp.1905-1909
• /
• 2013

Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate changes in treatment outcomes in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptom burden at zero, one, three, and six months after an initial diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The demographic and clinical characteristics that account for outcome changes in patients were investigated using a repeated measures framework. Methods and Materials: A cohort study was performed of 134 colorectal cancer patients followed from diagnosis to 6 months post-treatment in Central Taiwan. HRQoL and symptoms were assessed at diagnosis and one, three, and six months thereafter. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colon (FACT-C) questionnaire, VAS pain, and the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) were used for data collection. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) was applied for statistical analysis. Results: The majority of the patients were male (55%) and married (91.5%). The mean age was 60.4 years (SD = 11.71). Most were diagnosed stage III and IV colorectal cancer (54.5%). All underwent surgery; some also received chemotherapy (CT) or concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT). The results of the GEE showed that overall, the HRQoL, pain, and symptoms of the patients significantly improved over the treatment period. Patients with stage IV disease who had received surgery and CCRT showed the worst HRQoL. Females, patients with comorbidity, and stage IV patients had higher pain scores over time. Female and stage IV patients had more severe physical symptoms, whereas stage II and IV patients had worse psychological symptoms over time. Conclusion: The patients' HRQoL, pain, and symptoms significantly improved over the 6-month treatment period. Certain patient and clinical variables accounted for changes in treatment outcomes regarding HRQoL and symptom burden in colorectal cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제13권8호
• /
• pp.4163-4167
• /
• 2012

Aims: To prospectively assess the efficacy and safety of moderately hypofractionated conformal radiotherapy in patients with thoracic esophageal cancer. Methods and Materials: From Sept. 2002 to Oct, 2005, 150 eligible patients with T2-4N0-1M0 stage thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancers were enrolled to receive either conventional fractionated radiation (CFR) or moderately hypofractionated radiation (MHR) with a three-dimensional conformal radiation technique. Of the total, 74 received moderately hypofractionated radiation with total dose of 54-60Gy/18-20fractions for 3.5-4 weeks in the MHR arm, and 76 received conventional radiation with total dose of 60Gy/30 fractions for 6 weeks in the CFR arm. Concurrent chemotherapy comprised of paclitaxel and cisplatin. Safety was evaluated, and local control and overall survival rates were calculated. Results: Statistically significant differences between the CFR versus MHR arms were observed in local/regional failure rate (47.3% v 27.0%, P=0.034) and the percentage of patients with persistent local disease (26.3% v 10.8%, P=0.012). But 3 and 5-year overall survival rates (43.2%, 38.8% v 38.2%, 28.0%, respectively) were not different between the two arms (P=0.268). There were no significant differences in the incidences of grade 3 or higher acute toxicities (66.3% v 50.0%) and late complications rates (27.0% v 22.4%) between the MHR and CFR arms. Conclusions: Moderately hypofractionated, three-dimensional radiation treatment could improve the local control rate of esophageal cancer and potentially increase patients' survival.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• 제29권4호
• /
• pp.236-242
• /
• 2011

Purpose: To compare photon thunderbird with deep match (technique 1) with 3-field technique with electron inguinal boost (technique 2) in acute skin toxicity, toxicity-related treatment breaks and patterns of failure in elective inguinal radiation therapy (RT) for curative chemoradiation in anal cancer. Materials and Methods: Seventeen patients treated between January 2008 and September 2010 without evidence of inguinal and distant metastasis were retrospectively reviewed. In 9 patients with technique 1, dose to inguinal and whole pelvis area was 41.4 to 45 Gy and total dose was 59.4 Gy. In 8 patients with technique 2, doses to inguinal, whole pelvis, gross tumor were 36 to 41.4 Gy, 36 to 41.4 Gy, and 45 to 54 Gy, respectively. The median follow-up period was 27.6 and 14.8 months in group technique 1 and 2, respectively. Results: The incidences of grade 3 radiation dermatitis were 56% (5 patients) and 50% (4 patients), dose ranges grade 3 dermatitis appeared were 41.4 to 50.4 Gy and 45 to 54 Gy in group technique 1 and 2, respectively (p = 0.819). The areas affected by grade 3 dermatitis in 2 groups were as follow: perianal and perineal areas in 40% and 25%, perianal and inguinal areas in 0% and 50%, and perianal area only in 60% and 25%, respectively (p = 0.196). No inguinal failure has been observed. Conclusion: Photon thunderbird with deep match technique and 3-field technique with electron inguinal boost showed similar incidence of radiation dermatitis. However, photon thunderbird with deep match seems to increase the possibility of severe perineal dermatitis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• 제29권4호
• /
• pp.269-276
• /
• 2011

Purpose: To determine the incidence, risk factors, and clinical characteristics of pelvic insufficiency fracture (PIF) in patients with cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: Between July 2004 and August 2009, 235 patients with non-metastatic cervical cancer were treated with definitive chemoradiation or postoperative radiotherapy. Among 235 patients, 117 (49.8%) underwent the first positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) within 1 year after radiotherapy. The median radiation dose was 55 Gy (range, 45 to 60 Gy). Medical charts and imaging studies, including PET/CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT. bone scintigraphy were reviewed to evaluate the patients with PIF. Results: Among 235 patients, 16 developed PIF. The 5-year detection rate of PIF was 9.5%. The 5-year detection rate of PIF in patients who underwent the first PET/CT within a year was 15.6%. The median time to development of PIF was 12.5 months (range, 5 to 30 months). The sites of fracture included 12 sacroiliac joints, 3 pubic rami, 3 iliac bones, and 1 femoral neck. Eleven of 16 patients having PIF complained of hip pain requiring medications. One patient required hospitalization for pain control. The significant risk factors of PIF were old age, body mass index less than 23, bone mineral density less than -3.5 SD, and the first PET/CT within a year after radiotherapy. Radiation dose and concurrent chemotherapy had no impact on PIF rate. Conclusion: PIFs were not rare after pelvic radiotherapy in cervical cancer patients in the era of PET/CT. Timely diagnosis and management of PIF can improve quality of life in patients with cervical cancer, in addition to reducing unnecessary medical expenses.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권20호
• /
• pp.8667-8671
• /
• 2014

Background: Survival rates after resection of advanced gastric cancer are extremely poor. An increasing number of patients with gastric carcinomas (GC) are therefore being treated with preoperative chemotherapy. We evaluated 36 month survival rate of GC patients that were treated by adding a neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy before gastrostomy.Materials and Methods: Patients with stage II or III gastric adenocarcinomas were enrolled. The patients divided into two groups: (A) Neoadjuvant group that received concurrent chemoradiation before surgery (4500cGy of radiation at 180cGy per day plus chemotherapy with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil, in the first and the end four days of radiotherapy). Resection was attempted 5 to 6 weeks after end of chemoradiotherapy. (B) Adjuvant group that received concurrent chemo-radiation after surgical resection. Results: Two (16.7%) patients out of 12 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy and 5 (38.5%) out of 13 in the surgery group survived after 36 months. These rates were not significantly different with per protocol and intention-to-treat analysis. The median survival time of patients in group A and B were 13.4 and 21.6 months, respectively, again not significantly different. Survival was significantly greater in patients with well differentiated adenocarcinoma in group B than in group A (p<0.004). Conclusions: According to this study we suggest surgery then chemoradiotherapy for patients with well differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma rather than other approaches. Additional studies with greater sample size and accurate matching relying on cancer molecular behavior are recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제16권10호
• /
• pp.4219-4222
• /
• 2015

Background: Hydronephrosis is frequently encountered in advanced stage cervical cancers, and may be associated with mortality. In the present study, we aimed to demonstrate the effect of hydronephrosis on survival in patients with inoperable advanced stage cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: The study data were acquired by retrospective analysis of the patient records belonging to 165 women with FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) stage-IIIB or more advanced cervical cancer, which were not surgical candidates. Parameters including patient age, pathological diagnosis, disease stage, pelvic sidewall extension, presence of hydronephrosis and administration of chemoradiation were analyzed. Further, the effects of these variables on survival were assessed. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The distribution of the study patients according to disease stage was as follows: 131 (79.4%) had stage-IIIB, 18 (10.9%) had stage-IVB and 16 (% 9.7) patients had stage-IVA disease. Hydronephrosis was not evident in 91 (55.2%) of these patients, whereas 41 (24.8%) had unilateral and 33 (20%) patients had bilateral hydronephrosis. When compared to mean survival in patients who did not have hydronephrosis, survival was significantly shortened in patients who had bilateral and unilateral hydronephrosis (p<0.05). There was no significant survival difference between patients with unilateral and bilateral hydronephrosis (p>0.05). Although patient age, pathological type, pelvic involvement, and chemotherapy treatment rates were similar (p>0.05), radiotherapy requirement rate and disease stage were significantly different among the study groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: Hydronephrosis was found to be a significant predictor of poor survival in patients with advanced stage cervical cancer, irrespective of unilateral or bilateral involvement.While waiting for future studies with larger sample sizes, we believe that the FIGO stages in advanced cervical cancer could further be stratified into subgroups according to presence or absence of hydronephrosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권2호
• /
• pp.887-890
• /
• 2014

This study was undertaken to compare surgical outcomes and survival rates of patients with the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIA1 versus IIA2 cervical cancer treated with radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy (RHPL). Patients with stage IIA cervical cancer undergoing primary RHPL between January 2003 and December 2012 at Chiang Mai University Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The analysis included clinicopathologic variables, i.e. nodal metastasis, parametrial involvement, positive surgical margins, deep stromal invasion (DSI)), lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI), adjuvant treatment, and 5-year survival. The chi square test, Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used for statistical analysis. During the study period, 133 women with stage IIA cervical cancer, 101 (75.9 %) stage IIA1, and 32 (24.1 %) stage IIA2 underwent RHPL. The clinicopathologic variables of stage IIA1 compared with stage IIA2 were as follows: nodal metastasis (38.6% vs 40.6%, p=0.84), parametrial involvement (10.9% vs 15.6%, p=0.47), positive surgical margins (31.7% vs 31.3%, p=1.0), DSI (39.6% vs 53.1%, p=0.18), LVSI (52.5% vs 71.9%, p=0.05) and adjuvant radiation (72.3% vs 84.4%, p=0.33). With a median follow-up of 60 months, the 5-year disease-free survival (84.6% vs 88.7%, p=0.67) and the 5-year overall survival (83.4% vs 90.0%, P=0.49) did not significantly differ between stage IIA1 and stage IIA2 cervical cancer. In conclusion, patients with stage IIA1 and stage IIA2 cervical cancer have comparable rates of locoregional spread and survival. The need for receiving adjuvant radiation was very high in both substages. The revised 2009 FIGO system did not demonstrate significant survival differences in stage IIA cervical cancer treated with radical hysterectomy. Concurrent chemoradiation should be considered a more suitable treatment for patients with stage IIA cervical cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• 제31권3호
• /
• pp.125-130
• /
• 2013

Purpose: We investigated the role of radiotherapy (RT) for pancreatobiliary neuroendocrine tumors (PB-NETs). Materials and Methods: We identified 9 patients with PB-NETs who received RT between January 2005 and March 2012. Of these 9 patients, 4 were diagnosed with NETs in the pancreas and 5 were diagnosed with NETs in the gallbladder. All patients received RT to the primary tumor or resection bed with a median total irradiation dose of 50.4 Gy, with or without chemotherapy. Results: The tumor response rate and tumor control rate in the RT field were 60% and 100 %, respectively. All 4 patients who underwent surgery had no evidence of disease in the RT field. Of the 5 patients who received RT to the primary gross tumor, 1 had complete response, 2 had partial response, and 2 had stable disease in the RT field. The median time to progression was 11 months. Of the 9 patients, four patients had no progression, and 5 patients had progression of disease (locoregional, 2; distant, 2; locoregional/distant, 1). Of the 4 patients without progression, 3 were treated with RT in adjuvant or neoadjuvant setting, and one received RT to primary tumor. One patient experienced radiation-induced duodenitis at 3 months after concurrent chemoradiation without treatment-related mortality. Conclusion: RT can yield local control for advanced PB-NETs. RT should be considered an essential part of multimodality treatment in management of advanced PB-NETs.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
• /
• 제38권4호
• /
• pp.463-475
• /
• 2015

본 논문은 상당히 진행된 중위 식도암의 동시항암화학 방사선치료에 대한 분석의 것이다. 사용한 항암제는 전통적으로 사용되어온 시스플라틴, 5-플루오로우라실에, 도쎄탁실을 추가 시행하였다. 과거 식도암의 방사선치료에서는 총 선량 50.4 Gy/28회를 처방하였다. 하지만 현대의 방사선치료기술의 비약적인 발전으로, 호흡동조치료와 세기변조방사선치료를 적용하여, 정상조직의 손상을 최대한 감소시키면서 총 선량을 50.4 Gy이상으로 증가시키는 것이 가능하다. 이에 우리는, 도쎄탁실, 시스플라틴, 5-플루오로우라실 이라는 새로운 3제 병합요법(DCF-R)에 추가하여, 4DCT 모의시뮬레이션을 기반으로 한 호흡동조 세기변조방사선치료(gated-IGRT) 총 선량 70.2 Gy/39회를 동시에 시도하였으며, 치료기간 동안, 그리고 치료 종료 후 임상적으로 환자에게 위중한 합병증 및 부작용 발생은 관찰되지 않았다. 또한 생존율 향상을 이루어 냈다. 이를 바탕으로, 식도암의 새로운 치료방법을 제안한다.

• 대한두경부종양학회지
• /
• 제24권2호
• /
• pp.169-173
• /
• 2008

Purpose：This is a retrospective study to evaluate the results of concurrent chemoradiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Material and Methods：From Mar 2000 to June 2005, 18 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma completed planned concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Stages were I in 1 patients, II in 2 patients, III in 7 patients and IV in 8 patients. Pathologic type was squamous cell carcinoma(WHO type 1) in 2 patients, non-keratinizing type(WHO type 2) in 8 patients and undifferetiated carcinoma(WHO type 3) in 8 patients. The follow up period ranged from 30 months to 95 months with a median of 56 months. Follow up was possible in all patients. Results：Response to concurrent chemoradiation therapy was a complete response in all patients. Patterns of failure were as follows：local recurrence in only one patient(5.6%) and distant metastases in three patients with N3 diseases(16.7%). The overall 5 year survival rates were 88.5%, the 5 year disease free survival rate was 77% and these were very good results. There were no significant differences in the local control and survival rates between the clinical stages and pathologic types. Conclusion：The outcome of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy was very good, even though most of the patients(15/18=83.3%) were in stage III and IV diseases. We concluded that concurrrent chemoradiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma showed the good local control and survival rates without significant complications. In the patients with N3 disease, we have to consider the more effective and strong chemotherapeutic regimens to prevent distant metastases.