Background:Bone metastases are common in patients with advanced cancer.Bisphosphonates(BPs) could prevent or delay the development of skeleton-related events(SREs).The present study aimed to identify the clinical feat...Background:Bone metastases are common in patients with advanced cancer.Bisphosphonates(BPs) could prevent or delay the development of skeleton-related events(SREs).The present study aimed to identify the clinical features of and treatment strategies for Chinese patients with bone metastases.Methods:Consecutive cancer patients who had bone metastases and received BP treatment were enrolled.A questionnaire was developed to collect the patients' clinical data,as well as information on the diagnosis and management of bone metastases.Physicians' awareness of the guidelines and knowledge of the application of BP were also assessed.Results:A total of 3223 patients with lung cancer(36.5%),breast cancer(30.9%),prostate cancer(8.5%),and gastrointestinal cancer(5.7%) were included in this study.The sites of bone metastases were the thoracic spine(56.0%),lumbar spine(47.1%),ribs(32.6%),and pelvis(23.2%).The SRE frequency was the highest in patients with multiple myeloma(36.6%),followed by those with lung cancer(25.9%),breast cancer(20.2%),prostate cancer(18.2%),and gastrointestinal cancer(17.3%).Irradiation to the bone was the most frequent SRE(58%in lung cancer patients,45%in breast cancer patients,and 48%in prostate cancer patients).Our survey also showed that 45.5%of patients received BP within 3 months after their diagnosis of bone metastases,whereas the remaining 54.5%of patients did not receive BP treatment until at least 3 months after their diagnosis of bone metastases.The SRE frequency in the former group was significantly lower than that in the latter group(4.0%vs.42.3%,P < 0.05).In patients with more than 6 months of continuous BP treatment,the mean time to the first SRE was significantly longer than that in patients with less than 6 months of continuous BP treatment(7.2 vs.3.4 months,P < 0.05).In addition,12.2%of the physicians were not aware of the efficacy of BP in preventing and delaying SRE.Only half(52.3%) of the physicians agreed that the BP treatment should persist for at least 6 months unless it was intolerable.Conclusions:Our study suggested that prompt and persistent BP treatment was associated with a reduced risk of SREs.However,our survey also revealed that the proper application of BP was not as common as expected in China.展开更多
Both platinum-based doublet chemotherapy(PBC) and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors(EGFR-TKIs) prolong the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). In early studi...Both platinum-based doublet chemotherapy(PBC) and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors(EGFR-TKIs) prolong the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). In early studies, most patients underwent PBC as first-line treatment, but not all patients could afford EGFR-TKIs as second-line treatment. To understand the impact of PBC and EGFR-TKIs on NSCLC prognosis, we evaluated the association between the receipt of both regimens and overall survival(OS). Using MEDLINE and EMBASE, we identified prospective, randomized, controlled phase III clinical trials in advanced NSCLC that met the inclusion criteria: in general population with advanced NSCLC, the percentage of patients treated with both PBC and EGFR-TKIs was available in the trial and OS was reported. After collecting data from the selected trials, we correlated the percentage of patients treated with both PBC and EGFR-TKIs with the reported OS, using a weighted analysis. Fifteen phase III clinical trials—involving 11,456 adult patients in 32 arms—were included in the analysis, including 6 trials in Asian populations and 9 in non-Asian(predominantly Caucasian) populations. The OS was positively correlated with the percentage of patients treated with both PBC and EGFR-TKIs(r = 0.797, P < 0.001). The correlation was obvious in the trials in Asian populations(r = 0.936, P < 0.001) but was not statistically significant in the trials in predominantly Caucasian populations(r = 0.116, P = 0.588). These results suggest that treatment with PBC and EGFR-TKIs may provide a survival benefit to patients with advanced NSCLC, highlighting the importance of having both modalities available for therapy.展开更多
Secreted protein,acidic and rich in cysteine(SPARC) is expressed in numerous types of tumors and is suggested to have prognostic value.Moreover,because of its strong affinity for albumin,and hence albumin-bound drugs,...Secreted protein,acidic and rich in cysteine(SPARC) is expressed in numerous types of tumors and is suggested to have prognostic value.Moreover,because of its strong affinity for albumin,and hence albumin-bound drugs,SPARC has increasingly become a focus for research.In this study,we aimed to determine SPARC expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and investigate the association of SPARC with disease prognosis.Tissue microarrays were constructed with specimens from 105 patients with NSCLC treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center,and immunohistochemical analysis was performed on these tissue microarrays to assess SPARC expression.Our results showed that SPARC expression status did not significantly relate with age,gender,and tumor stage.However,SPARC was expressed more frequently in squamous cell carcinoma than in adenocarcinoma(75% vs.43.5%,P = 0.004).Patients with smoking history had higher SPARC expression than non-smokers(68.2% vs.33.3%,P = 0.002).In both univariate and multivariate analyses,SPARC was a prognostic factor of overall survival(HR = 0.32;95% CI:0.16-0.65) but not disease-free survival.Our study indicates that SPARC expression is higher in squamous cell carcinoma than in adenocarcinoma in NSCLC.Most notably,SPARC can be used as a prognostic factor for NSCLC.展开更多
Background Super-responders (SRs) are defined as patients who show crucial cardiac function improvement after cardiac resynchro- nization therapy (CRT). The purpose of this study is to identify and validate predic...Background Super-responders (SRs) are defined as patients who show crucial cardiac function improvement after cardiac resynchro- nization therapy (CRT). The purpose of this study is to identify and validate predictors of SRs after CRT. Methods This study enrolled 201 patients who underwent CRT during the period from 2010 to 2014. Clinical and echocardiographic evaluations were conducted before CRT and 6 months after. Patients with a decrease in New York Heart Association (NYHA) fimctional class 〉 1, a decrease in left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) ≥ 15%, and a final left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 45% were classified as SRs. Results 29% of the 201 patients who underwent CRT were identified as SRs. At baseline, SRs had significantly smaller left atrial diameter (LAD), LVESV, left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and higher LVEF than the non-super-responders (non-SRs). The percentage of patients using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB) was higher in SRs than non-SRs. Most SRs had Biventricular (BiV) pacing percentage greater than 98% six months after CRT. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the independ- ent predictors of SRs were lower LVEDV [odd ratios (OR): 0.93; confidence intervals (CI): 0.90-0.97], use of ACEI/ARB (OR: 0.33; CI: 0.13~3.82) and BiV pacing percentage greater than 98% (OR: 0.29; CI: 0.16~.87). Conclusion Patients with a better compliance of ACEI/ARB and a less ectatic ventricular geometry before CRT tends to have a greater probability of becoming SRs. Higher percentage of BiV pacing is essential for becoming SRs.展开更多
Gemcitabine has high activity against nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC).The level of ribonucleotide reductase subunit M1(RRM1) expression is closely related to the efficacy of gemcitabine on non-small cell lung cancer and...Gemcitabine has high activity against nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC).The level of ribonucleotide reductase subunit M1(RRM1) expression is closely related to the efficacy of gemcitabine on non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.However,the expression of RRM1 and its association with sensitivity to gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in advanced NPC is not known.In this study,we retrospectively collected 48 formalin-fixed,paraffin-embedded NPC tissues to evaluate the expression of RRM1 using immunohistochemistry.All patients were diagnosed and treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center.RRM1 expression was positive in 17(35%) patients.RRM1 expression was not associated with sex,age,performance status,WHO histological type,number of distant metastases,previous treatment,or cycles of gemcitabine-based chemotherapy(P> 0.05).The progression-free survival of the RRM1-positive group was shorter than that of the RRM1-negative group(5 months vs.7 months,P = 0.036),and the response rate of the RRM1-positive group was somewhat lower than that of the RRM1-negative group(51.6% vs.35.3%,P = 0.278).There was no significant difference in median survival between the RRM1-positive and RRM1-negative groups(22 months vs.19 months,P = 0.540).Our results show that RRM1-negative expression is related with longer progression-free survival in advanced NPC patients treated with gemcitabine-based regimens.展开更多
Backgrounds Clinical trials have demonstrated that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is effective in patients with "non-is- chemic cardiomyopathy". However, patients with dilated-phase hypertrophic cardiomyo...Backgrounds Clinical trials have demonstrated that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is effective in patients with "non-is- chemic cardiomyopathy". However, patients with dilated-phase hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (DHCM) have been generally excluded from such trials. We aimed to compare the clinical outcome of CRT in patients with DHCM, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), or ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Methods A total of 312 consecutive patients (DHCM: n = 16; IDCM: n = 231; ICM: n = 65) undergoing CRT in Fuwai hospital were studied respectively. Response to CRT was defmed as reduction in left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) _〉 15% at 6-month follow-up. Results Compared with DHCM, IDCM was associated with a lower total mortality (HR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.13-0.90), cardiac mortality (HR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.11-0.77), and total mortality or heart failure (HF) hospitalizations (HR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.17-0.69), independent of known confounders. Compared with DHCM, the total mortality, cardiac mortality and total mortality or HF hospitalizations favored ICM but were not statistically significant (HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.22-1.61; HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.21-1.63; HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.26-1.15; respectively). Response rate to CRT was lower in the DHCM group than the other two groups although the differences didn't reach statistical significance. Conclusions Compared with IDCM, DHCM was associated with a worse outcome after CRT. The clinical outcome of DHCM patients receiving CRT was similar to or even worse than that of ICM patients. These indicate that DHCM behaves very differently after CRT.展开更多
The right ventricular pacing (RVP) is the standard treat- ment for patients with severe bradyarrhythmias; however, it may cause and exacerbate heart failure symptoms in a long run under some circumstances.{1] In fac...The right ventricular pacing (RVP) is the standard treat- ment for patients with severe bradyarrhythmias; however, it may cause and exacerbate heart failure symptoms in a long run under some circumstances.{1] In fact, significant left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfimction and symptomatic heart failure (HF) is commonly found in patient population with pacemaker implantations.展开更多
文摘Background:Bone metastases are common in patients with advanced cancer.Bisphosphonates(BPs) could prevent or delay the development of skeleton-related events(SREs).The present study aimed to identify the clinical features of and treatment strategies for Chinese patients with bone metastases.Methods:Consecutive cancer patients who had bone metastases and received BP treatment were enrolled.A questionnaire was developed to collect the patients' clinical data,as well as information on the diagnosis and management of bone metastases.Physicians' awareness of the guidelines and knowledge of the application of BP were also assessed.Results:A total of 3223 patients with lung cancer(36.5%),breast cancer(30.9%),prostate cancer(8.5%),and gastrointestinal cancer(5.7%) were included in this study.The sites of bone metastases were the thoracic spine(56.0%),lumbar spine(47.1%),ribs(32.6%),and pelvis(23.2%).The SRE frequency was the highest in patients with multiple myeloma(36.6%),followed by those with lung cancer(25.9%),breast cancer(20.2%),prostate cancer(18.2%),and gastrointestinal cancer(17.3%).Irradiation to the bone was the most frequent SRE(58%in lung cancer patients,45%in breast cancer patients,and 48%in prostate cancer patients).Our survey also showed that 45.5%of patients received BP within 3 months after their diagnosis of bone metastases,whereas the remaining 54.5%of patients did not receive BP treatment until at least 3 months after their diagnosis of bone metastases.The SRE frequency in the former group was significantly lower than that in the latter group(4.0%vs.42.3%,P < 0.05).In patients with more than 6 months of continuous BP treatment,the mean time to the first SRE was significantly longer than that in patients with less than 6 months of continuous BP treatment(7.2 vs.3.4 months,P < 0.05).In addition,12.2%of the physicians were not aware of the efficacy of BP in preventing and delaying SRE.Only half(52.3%) of the physicians agreed that the BP treatment should persist for at least 6 months unless it was intolerable.Conclusions:Our study suggested that prompt and persistent BP treatment was associated with a reduced risk of SREs.However,our survey also revealed that the proper application of BP was not as common as expected in China.
文摘Both platinum-based doublet chemotherapy(PBC) and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors(EGFR-TKIs) prolong the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). In early studies, most patients underwent PBC as first-line treatment, but not all patients could afford EGFR-TKIs as second-line treatment. To understand the impact of PBC and EGFR-TKIs on NSCLC prognosis, we evaluated the association between the receipt of both regimens and overall survival(OS). Using MEDLINE and EMBASE, we identified prospective, randomized, controlled phase III clinical trials in advanced NSCLC that met the inclusion criteria: in general population with advanced NSCLC, the percentage of patients treated with both PBC and EGFR-TKIs was available in the trial and OS was reported. After collecting data from the selected trials, we correlated the percentage of patients treated with both PBC and EGFR-TKIs with the reported OS, using a weighted analysis. Fifteen phase III clinical trials—involving 11,456 adult patients in 32 arms—were included in the analysis, including 6 trials in Asian populations and 9 in non-Asian(predominantly Caucasian) populations. The OS was positively correlated with the percentage of patients treated with both PBC and EGFR-TKIs(r = 0.797, P < 0.001). The correlation was obvious in the trials in Asian populations(r = 0.936, P < 0.001) but was not statistically significant in the trials in predominantly Caucasian populations(r = 0.116, P = 0.588). These results suggest that treatment with PBC and EGFR-TKIs may provide a survival benefit to patients with advanced NSCLC, highlighting the importance of having both modalities available for therapy.
基金supported by State Key Laboratory Fund of China (No. 010829)
文摘Secreted protein,acidic and rich in cysteine(SPARC) is expressed in numerous types of tumors and is suggested to have prognostic value.Moreover,because of its strong affinity for albumin,and hence albumin-bound drugs,SPARC has increasingly become a focus for research.In this study,we aimed to determine SPARC expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and investigate the association of SPARC with disease prognosis.Tissue microarrays were constructed with specimens from 105 patients with NSCLC treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center,and immunohistochemical analysis was performed on these tissue microarrays to assess SPARC expression.Our results showed that SPARC expression status did not significantly relate with age,gender,and tumor stage.However,SPARC was expressed more frequently in squamous cell carcinoma than in adenocarcinoma(75% vs.43.5%,P = 0.004).Patients with smoking history had higher SPARC expression than non-smokers(68.2% vs.33.3%,P = 0.002).In both univariate and multivariate analyses,SPARC was a prognostic factor of overall survival(HR = 0.32;95% CI:0.16-0.65) but not disease-free survival.Our study indicates that SPARC expression is higher in squamous cell carcinoma than in adenocarcinoma in NSCLC.Most notably,SPARC can be used as a prognostic factor for NSCLC.
文摘Background Super-responders (SRs) are defined as patients who show crucial cardiac function improvement after cardiac resynchro- nization therapy (CRT). The purpose of this study is to identify and validate predictors of SRs after CRT. Methods This study enrolled 201 patients who underwent CRT during the period from 2010 to 2014. Clinical and echocardiographic evaluations were conducted before CRT and 6 months after. Patients with a decrease in New York Heart Association (NYHA) fimctional class 〉 1, a decrease in left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) ≥ 15%, and a final left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 45% were classified as SRs. Results 29% of the 201 patients who underwent CRT were identified as SRs. At baseline, SRs had significantly smaller left atrial diameter (LAD), LVESV, left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and higher LVEF than the non-super-responders (non-SRs). The percentage of patients using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB) was higher in SRs than non-SRs. Most SRs had Biventricular (BiV) pacing percentage greater than 98% six months after CRT. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the independ- ent predictors of SRs were lower LVEDV [odd ratios (OR): 0.93; confidence intervals (CI): 0.90-0.97], use of ACEI/ARB (OR: 0.33; CI: 0.13~3.82) and BiV pacing percentage greater than 98% (OR: 0.29; CI: 0.16~.87). Conclusion Patients with a better compliance of ACEI/ARB and a less ectatic ventricular geometry before CRT tends to have a greater probability of becoming SRs. Higher percentage of BiV pacing is essential for becoming SRs.
文摘Gemcitabine has high activity against nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC).The level of ribonucleotide reductase subunit M1(RRM1) expression is closely related to the efficacy of gemcitabine on non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.However,the expression of RRM1 and its association with sensitivity to gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in advanced NPC is not known.In this study,we retrospectively collected 48 formalin-fixed,paraffin-embedded NPC tissues to evaluate the expression of RRM1 using immunohistochemistry.All patients were diagnosed and treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center.RRM1 expression was positive in 17(35%) patients.RRM1 expression was not associated with sex,age,performance status,WHO histological type,number of distant metastases,previous treatment,or cycles of gemcitabine-based chemotherapy(P> 0.05).The progression-free survival of the RRM1-positive group was shorter than that of the RRM1-negative group(5 months vs.7 months,P = 0.036),and the response rate of the RRM1-positive group was somewhat lower than that of the RRM1-negative group(51.6% vs.35.3%,P = 0.278).There was no significant difference in median survival between the RRM1-positive and RRM1-negative groups(22 months vs.19 months,P = 0.540).Our results show that RRM1-negative expression is related with longer progression-free survival in advanced NPC patients treated with gemcitabine-based regimens.
文摘Backgrounds Clinical trials have demonstrated that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is effective in patients with "non-is- chemic cardiomyopathy". However, patients with dilated-phase hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (DHCM) have been generally excluded from such trials. We aimed to compare the clinical outcome of CRT in patients with DHCM, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), or ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Methods A total of 312 consecutive patients (DHCM: n = 16; IDCM: n = 231; ICM: n = 65) undergoing CRT in Fuwai hospital were studied respectively. Response to CRT was defmed as reduction in left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) _〉 15% at 6-month follow-up. Results Compared with DHCM, IDCM was associated with a lower total mortality (HR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.13-0.90), cardiac mortality (HR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.11-0.77), and total mortality or heart failure (HF) hospitalizations (HR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.17-0.69), independent of known confounders. Compared with DHCM, the total mortality, cardiac mortality and total mortality or HF hospitalizations favored ICM but were not statistically significant (HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.22-1.61; HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.21-1.63; HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.26-1.15; respectively). Response rate to CRT was lower in the DHCM group than the other two groups although the differences didn't reach statistical significance. Conclusions Compared with IDCM, DHCM was associated with a worse outcome after CRT. The clinical outcome of DHCM patients receiving CRT was similar to or even worse than that of ICM patients. These indicate that DHCM behaves very differently after CRT.
文摘The right ventricular pacing (RVP) is the standard treat- ment for patients with severe bradyarrhythmias; however, it may cause and exacerbate heart failure symptoms in a long run under some circumstances.{1] In fact, significant left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfimction and symptomatic heart failure (HF) is commonly found in patient population with pacemaker implantations.