Long-term results of paclitaxel plus cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy for loco-regional esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM To evaluate the long-term effectiveness and late toxicities of paclitaxel(PTX) plus cisplatin(DDP) with concurrent radiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cancer.METHODS Between 2008 and 2011, 76 patients were enrolled in a phase Ⅱ study on the treatment of loco-regionally advanced esophageal cancer with radiotherapy(68.4 Gy/44 fractions or 61.2 Gy/34 fractions) combined with 4-cycle chemotherapy consisting of DDP(25 mg/m^2 per day for 3 d) and PTX(175 mg/m^2 for 3 h). The primary endpoints were overall survival and progression-free survival, and the secondary endpoints were toxicity and the treatment failure pattern.RESULTS A total of 76 patients were enrolled in this study, of whom 63.2% finished the whole regimen. The 5-year survival rates for the per-protocol population and intent-to-treat population were 25.4% and 26.4%, respectively, and the median survival rates were 23.7 mo and 28.5 mo, respectively. Grade 3 or 4 late toxicity was observed in only one patient(heart failure). In log-rank analysis, the pretreatment stage(stage Ⅱ + Ⅲ: 36.1 mo vs stage Ⅳ: 14.9 mo) and the completed cycle(1-3 cycles: 16.1 mo vs 4 cycles: 35.5 mo) were significant prognostic factors(P = 0.037 < 0.05 and P = 0.013 < 0.05).CONCLUSION Radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy consisting of PTX and DDP is a safe and effective definitive treatment for loco-regionally advanced esophageal squamous cancer.

Analysis on the therapeutic effects of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine on ulcerative colitis and its effects on coagulation function and inflammatory factors

Objective:To analyze the therapeutic effects of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine on ulcerative colitis (UC) and its effects on coagulation function and inflammatory factors.Methods: 220 cases of patients with UC were selected as the research subjects and randomly divided into the observation group and the control group, 110 cases were included into each group. The patients in the control group were treated with single western medicine, while the patients in the observation group were treated with enema treatment of traditional Chinese Medicine. The clinical therapeutic effects of the two groups were evaluated and compared. The blood coagulation indexes of the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), the plasma fibrinogen (Fib), the D dimer (D-D) of two groups patients who in the treatment were detected and compared. The serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels of the patients in the two groups were measured and compared.Results: The clinical efficiencies of the observation group and the control group were 97% and 75%, the clinical efficiencies and the therapeutic effects of the observation group were better than those in the control group, there were statistically significant differences between the two groups. The plasma Fib levels and the plasma D-D levels after the treatment of the patients in the two groups were significantly lower than those before the treatment, the difference was statistically significant. The plasma Fib levels and the plasma D-D levels after the treatment of the patients in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, the difference was statistically significant. The serum inflammatory factors levels after the treatment of the patients in the two groups were significantly lower than those before the treatment, the difference was statistically significant. The serum inflammatory factors levels after the treatment of the patients in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, the difference is powerful and have statistically significant.Conclusion: The application of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in the treatment of UC can improve the therapeutic effect significantly, correct imbalance of the patients' coagulation dissolution function, reduce the degree of inflammatory reaction, which benefits to promote of the patients' rehabilitation, reduce the incidence of complications and improve the prognosis of patients.