Postoperative chemoradiotherapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin vs.capecitabine for pathological stage N2 rectal cancer

Objective:Several studies have been conducted on the effects and toxicity of adding oxaliplatin to fluorouracilbased or capecitabine-based chemoradiotherapy(CRT)regimens as significantly increasing the toxic response without benefit to survival.In this study,we further explored the role of these two postoperative CRT regimens in patients with pathological stage N2 rectal cancer.Methods:This study was a subgroup analysis of a randomized clinical trial.A total of 180 patients with pathological stage N2 rectal cancer were eligible,85 received capecitabine with radiotherapy(RT),and 95 received capecitabine and oxaliplatin with RT.Patients in both groups received adjuvant chemotherapy[capecitabine and oxaliplatin(XELOX);or fluorouracil,leucovorin,and oxaliplatin(FOLFOX)]after CRT.Results:At a median follow-up of 59.2[interquartile range(IQR),34.0−96.8]months,the three-year diseasefree survival(DFS)was 53.3%and 64.9%in the control group and the experimental group,respectively[hazard ratio(HR),0.63;95%confidence interval(95%CI),0.41−0.98;P=0.04].There was no significant difference between the groups in overall survival(OS)(HR,0.62;95%CI,0.37−1.05;P=0.07),the incidence of locoregional recurrence(HR,0.62;95%CI,0.24−1.64;P=0.33),the incidence of distant metastasis(HR,0.67;95%CI,0.42−1.06;P=0.09)and grade 3−4 acute toxicities(P=0.78).For patients with survival longer than 3 years,the conditional overall survival(COS)was significantly better in the experimental group(HR,0.39;95%CI,0.16−0.96;P=0.03).Conclusions:Our results indicated that adding oxaliplatin to capecitabine-based postoperative CRT is safe and effective in patients with pathological stage N2 rectal cancer.

Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology(CSCO) diagnosis and treatment guidelines for malignant lymphoma 2021(English version)

1. General guidelines2. Diagnosis3. Staging4. Treatment4.1 Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL)4.2 Follicular lymphoma(FL)4.3 Mantle cell lymphoma(MCL)4.4 Marginal zone lymphoma(MZL)4.5 Burkitt lymphoma(BL)4.6 CLL/Small lymphocytic lymphoma(SLL)4.7 Extra-nodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma(ENKTCL), nasal type4.8 Peripheral T-cell lymphoma(PTCL)4.9 HL4.10 Primary central nervous system lymphoma5. Prognosis Lymphomas are a group of heterogeneous diseases.

Genetic polymorphisms in genes regulating cell death and prognosis of patients with rectal cancer receiving postoperative chemoradiotherapy

Objective:The identification of biomarkers for predicting chemoradiotherapy efficacy is essential to optimize personalized treatment.This study determined the effects of genetic variations in genes involved in apoptosis,pyroptosis,and ferroptosis on the prognosis of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer receiving postoperative chemoradiotherapy(CRT).Methods:The Sequenom MassARRAY was used to detect 217 genetic variations in 40 genes from 300 patients with rectal cancer who received postoperative CRT.The associations between genetic variations and overall survival(OS)were evaluated using hazard ratios(HRs)and 95%confidence intervals(CIs)computed using a Cox proportional regression model.Functional experiments were performed to determine the functions of the arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase(ALOX5)gene and the ALOX5 rs702365 variant.Results:We detected 16 genetic polymorphisms in CASP3,CASP7,TRAILR2,GSDME,CASP4,HO-1,ALOX5,GPX4,and NRF2 that were significantly associated with OS in the additive model(P<0.05).There was a substantial cumulative effect of three genetic polymorphisms(CASP4 rs571407,ALOX5 rs2242332,and HO-1 rs17883419)on OS.Genetic variations in the CASP4 and ALOX5 gene haplotypes were associated with a higher OS.We demonstrated,for the first time,that rs702365[G]>[C]represses ALOX5 transcription and corollary experiments suggested that ALOX5 may promote colon cancer cell growth by mediating an inflammatory response.Conclusions:Polymorphisms in genes regulating cell death may play essential roles in the prognosis of patients with rectal cancer who are treated with postoperative CRT and may serve as potential genetic biomarkers for individualized treatment.

Adaptive ultra-hypofractionated whole-pelvic radiotherapy in high-risk and very high-risk prostate cancer on 1.5-Tesla MR-Linac:Estimated delivered dose and early toxicity results

Background: Magnetic resonance(MR)-guided ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy with whole-pelvic irradiation(UHF-WPRT)is a novel approach to radiotherapy for patients with high-risk(HR)and very high-risk(VHR)prostate cancer(PCa).However,the inherent complexity of adaptive UHF-WPRT might inevitably result in longer on-couch time.We aimed to estimate the delivered dose,study the feasibility and safety of adaptive UHF-WPRT on a 1.5-Tesla MR-Linac.Methods: Ten patients with clinical stage T3a-4N0-1M0-1c PCa,who consecutively received UHF-WPRT,were enrolled prospectively.The contours of the target and organ-at-risks on the position verification-MR(PV-MR),beam-on 3D-MR(Bn-MR),and post-MR(after radiotherapy delivery)were derived from the pre-MR data by deformable image registration.The physician then manually adjusted them,and dose recalculation was performed accordingly.GraphPad Prism 9(GraphPad Prism Software Inc.)was utilized for conducting statistical analyses.Results: In total,we collected 188 MR scans(50 pre-MR,50 PV-MR,44 Bn-MR,and 44 post-MR scans).With median 59 min,the mean prostate clinical target volume(CTV)-V_(100%)was 98.59%±2.74%,and the mean pelvic CTVp-V_(100%)relative percentages of all scans was 99.60%±1.18%.The median V29 Gy change in the rectal wall was−2%(−18%to 20%).With a median follow-up of 9 months,no patient had acute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events(CTCAE)grade 2 or more severe genitourinary(GU)or gastrointestinal(GI)toxicities(0%).Conclusion: UHF-RT to the prostate and the whole pelvis with concomitant boost to positive nodes using an Adapt-To-Shape(ATS)workflow was technically feasible for patients with HR and VHR PCa,presenting only mild GU and GI toxicities.The estimated target dose during the beam-on phase was clinically acceptable based on the 3D-MR-based dosimetry analysis.Clinical trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000033382.

Down-staging depth score to predict outcomes in locally advanced rectal cancer achieving ypl stage after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy versus de novo stage pl cohort:A propensity score-matched analysis

Objective：Prognosis of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer（LARC）but achieving yp T1–2N0 stage after neoadjuvant concurrent chemo-radiotherapy（CRT）has been shown to be favorable.This study aims to determine whether the long-term outcome of yp T1–2N0 cases can be comparable to that of p T1–2N0 cohort that received definitive surgery for early disease.Method：From January 2008 to December 2013,449 consecutive patients with rectal cancer were treated and their outcome maintained in a database.Patients with LARC underwent total mesorectal excision（TME）surgery at4–8 weeks after completion of CRT,and those achieving stage yp I were identified as a group.As a comparison,stage p I group pertains to patients whose initially limited disease was not upstaged after TME surgery alone.After propensity score matching（PSM）,comparisons of local regional control（LC）,distant metastasis-free survival（DMFS）,disease-free survival（DFS）and overall survival（OS）were performed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test between yp I and p I groups.Down-staging depth score（DDS）,a novel method of evaluating CRT response,was used for subset analysis.Results：Of the 449 patients,168 matched cases were generated for analysis.Five-year LC,DMFS,DFS and OS for stage p I vs.yp I groups were 96.7%vs.96.4%（P=0.796）,92.7%vs.73.6%（P=0.025）,91.2%vs.73.6%（P=0.080）and 93.1%vs.72.3%（P=0.040）,respectively.In the DDS-favorable subset of the yp I group,LC,DMFS,DFS and OS resulted in no significant differences in comparison with the p I group（P=0.384,0.368,0.277 and0.458,respectively）.Conclusions：LC was comparable in both groups;however,distant metastasis developed more frequently in down-staged LARC than de novo early stage cases,reflecting the need to improve the efficacy of systemic treatment despite excellent pathologic response.DDS can be an indicator to identify a subset of the yp I group whose longterm oncologic outcomes are as good as those of stage p I cohort.

Addition of rituximab is not associated with survival benefit compared with CHOP alone for patients with stage I diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Background： The role of rituximab in combination with CHOP regimen in patients with stage I diffuse large B-cell lymphoma （DLBCL） remains to be defined. We aimed to compare CHOP plus rituximab （R-CHOP） with CHOP alone and determine the value of radiotherapy in these patients. Methods： Between 2003 and 2009, 140 untreated patients with stage I DLBCL were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Results： Seventy-eight patients were treated in R-CHOP group and 62 in CHOP group. Ninety-one patients received additional radiotherapy at the end of chemotherapy. The different treatment groups were well-balanced with respect to baseline characteristics. Complete response （CR） rate was 77% both in R-CHOP and CHOP groups （P=0.945）. After a median follow-up period of 56 months, patients received R-CHOP regimen had similar 5-year progression-free survival （PFS） （76% vs. 85%; log-rank P=0.215） and 5-year overall survival （OS） （90% vs. 96%; log-rank P=0.175） compared with those with CHOP alone. Patients with radiotherapy had significantly increased 5-year PFS compared with those who had chemotherapy alone （86% vs. 71%; log-rank P=0.005）. At multivariate analysis, patients who had CR （P=0.008） and received radiotherapy （P=0.003） were significantly associated with superior PFS. Conclusions： CHOP alone could be as effective as R-CHOP regimen and additional radiotherapy would be necessary for stage I or stage I non-bulky DLBCL patients.

Down-staging depth score could be a survival predictor for locally advanced gastric cancer patients after preoperative chemoradiotherapy

Objective:The predictive effect of preoperative chemoradiotherapy(CRT)is low and difficult in guiding individualized treatment.We examined a surrogate endpoint for long-term outcomes in locally advanced gastric cancer patients after preoperative CRT.Methods:From April 2012 to April 2019,95 patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who received preoperative concurrent CRT and who were enrolled in three prospective studies were included.All patients were stage T_(3/4) N_(+).Local control,distant metastasis-free survival(DMFS),disease-free survival(DFS)and overall survival(OS)were evaluated.Clinicopathological factors related to long-term prognosis were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses.The down-staging depth score(DDS),which is a novel method of evaluating CRT response,was used to predict long-term outcomes.Results:The median follow-up period for survivors was 30 months.The area under the curve(AUC)of the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve predicted by the DDS was 0.728,which was better than the pathological complete response(pCR),histological response and ypN0.Decision curve analysis further affirmed that DDS had the largest net benefit.The DDS cut-off value was 4.pCR and ypN0 were associated with OS(P=0.026 and 0.049).Surgery and DDS are correlated with DMFS,DFS and OS(surgery:P=0.001,<0.001 and<0.001,respectively;and DDS:P=0.009,0.013 and 0.032,respectively).Multivariate analysis showed that DDS was an independent prognostic factor of DFS(P=0.021).Conclusions:DDS is a simple,short-term indicator that was a better surrogate endpoint than pCR,histological response and ypN0 for DFS.

Management of extramedullary plasmacytoma: Role of radiotherapy and prognostic factor analysis in 55 patients

Objective： To investigate potential prognostic factors affecting patient outcomes and to evaluate the optimal methods and effects of radiotherapy（RT） in the management of extramedullary plasmacytoma（EMP）.Methods： Data from 55 patients with EMP between November 1999 and August 2015 were collected. The median age was 51（range, 22–77） years. The median tumor size was 3.5（range, 1.0–15.0） cm. The median applied dose was 50.0（range, 30.0–70.0） Gy. Thirty-nine patients（70.9%） presented with disease in the head or neck region. Twelve patients received RT alone, 9 received surgery（S） alone, 3 received chemotherapy（CT） alone, and 3 patients did not receive any treatment. Combination therapies were applied in 28 patients.Results：The median follow-up duration was 56 months.The 5-year local recurrence-free survival（LRFS）,multiple myeloma-free survival（MMFS）,progression-free survival（PFS）and overall survival（OS）rates were 79.8%,78.6%,65.2% and 76.0%,respectively.Univariate analysis revealed that RT was a favourable factor for all examined endpoints.Furthermore,head and neck EMPs were associated with superior LRFS,MMFS and PFS.Tumor size〈4 cm was associated with superior MMFS,PFS and OS;serum M protein negativity was associated with superior MMFS and PFS;age≥50 years and local recurrence were associated with poor MMFS.The dose≥45 Gy group exhibited superior 5-year LRFS,MMFS and PFS rates（94.7%,94.4%,90.0%,respectively）,while the corresponding values for the dose〈45 Gy group were 62.5%（P=0.008）,53.3%（P=0.036）and 41.7%（P〈0.001）.Conclusions：Involved-site RT of at least 45 Gy should be considered for EMP.Furthermore,patients with head and neck EMP,tumor size〈4 cm,age〈50 years and serum M protein negativity had better outcomes.

Predictive function of tumor burden-incorporated machine-learning algorithms for overall survival and their value in guiding management decisions in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Objective:Accurate prognostic predictions and personalized decision-making on induction chemotherapy(IC)for individuals with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma(LA-NPC)remain challenging.This research examined the predictive function of tumor burden-incorporated machine-learning algorithms for overall survival(OS)and their value in guiding treatment in patients with LA-NPC.Methods:Individuals with LA-NPC were reviewed retrospectively.Tumor burden signature-based OS prediction models were established using a nomogram and two machine-learning methods,the interpretable eXtreme Gradi-ent Boosting(XGBoost)risk prediction model,and DeepHit time-to-event neural network.The models’prediction performances were compared using the concordance index(C-index)and the area under the curve(AUC).The patients were divided into two cohorts based on the risk predictions of the most successful model.The efficacy of IC combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy was compared to that of chemoradiotherapy alone.Results:The 1221 eligible individuals,assigned to the training(n=813)or validation(n=408)set,showed significant respective differences in the C-indices of the XGBoost,DeepHit,and nomogram models(0.849 and 0.768,0.811 and 0.767,0.730 and 0.705).The training and validation sets had larger AUCs in the XGBoost and DeepHit models than the nomogram model in predicting OS(0.881 and 0.760,0.845 and 0.776,and 0.764 and 0.729,P<0.001).IC presented survival benefits in the XGBoost-derived high-risk but not low-risk group.Conclusion:This research used machine-learning algorithms to create and verify a comprehensive model inte-grating tumor burden with clinical variables to predict OS and determine which patients will most likely gain from IC.This model could be valuable for delivering patient counseling and conducting clinical evaluations.

Association of overall survival benefit of radiotherapy with progression-free survival after chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective:To evaluate whether improved progression-free survival(PFS)from radiotherapy(RT)translates into an overall survival(OS)benefit for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods:A systematic literature search identified randomized controlled trials(RCTs)and retrospective studies that compared combined-modality therapy(CMT)with chemotherapy(CT)alone.Weighted regression analyses were used to estimate the correlation between OS and PFS benefits.Cohen’s kappa statistic assessed the consis-tency between DLBCL risk-models and PFS patterns.Furthermore,the benefit trend of RT was analyzed by fitting a linear regression model to the pooled hazard ratio(HR)according to the PFS patterns.Results:For both 7 RCTs and 52 retrospective studies,correlations were found between PFS HR(HRPFS)and OS HR(HROS)at trial level(r=0.639-0.876),and between PFS and OS rates at treatment-arm level,regardless of CT regimens(r=0.882-0.964).Incorporating RT into CT increased about 18%of PFS,and revealed a different OS benefit profile.Patients were stratified into four CT-generated PFS patterns(>80%,>60-80%,>40-60%,and≤40%),which was consistent with risk-stratified subgroups(kappa>0.6).Absolute gain in OS from RT ranged from≤5%at PFS>80%to about 21%at PFS≤40%,with pooled HROS from 0.70(95%CI,0.51-0.97)to 0.48(95%CI,0.36-0.63)after rituximab-based CT.The OS benefit of RT was predominant in intermediate-and high-risk patients with PFS≤80%.Conclusion:We demonstrated a varied OS benefit profile of RT to inform treatment decisions and clinical trial design.

Interpretation of specification for breast cancer screening,early diagnosis,and treatment management in Chinese women

Breast cancer has become the most common malignant tumor worldwide.However,the survival rate of breast cancer patients in China is 8%lower compared to that in European and American countries.Insufficient screen-ing coverage and low rate of early detection are key problems.Therefore,it is imperative to develop a set of guidelines for breast cancer screening,early diagnosis,and treatment strategies suitable for Chinese women.The National Health Commission,the National Cancer Center,and the National Cancer Quality Control Center col-lectively organized a committee of specialists with multidisciplinary backgrounds in breast surgery,oncology,radiotherapy,diagnostic imaging,ultrasound,pathology,epidemiology,and health economics.The committee collectively published"China Breast Cancer Screening,Early Diagnosis and Treatment Specification",in which the committee outlined a set of strategies of breast cancer screening,early diagnosis,and treatment suitable for China’s national conditions.The strategies were formulated based on clinical experience in breast cancer preven-tion and treatment,characteristics of breast cancer patients in China,and socioeconomic conditions.The purpose of this article is to provide an interpretation of the above guidelines as a reference for breast cancer screening.