Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy for elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) without disease progre...Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy for elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) without disease progression after first-line chemotherapy.Methods After four to six cycles of platinum-based first-line therapy, 64 elderly patients with advanced NSCLC without disease progression who were treated in the General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region(China) from 2014 to 2016 were enrolled in this study. According to the different maintenance treatment methods, patients were divided as having received etoposide plus thalidomide therapy(treatment group, n = 32) and best supportive care(control group, n = 32). Disease control and progression-free survival(PFS) were compared between the two groups. Results The recent curative effect objective response rates of the treatment group and the control group were 31.3% and 3.1%, respectively, and the disease control rates were 71.9% and 31.3%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the two groups were significantly different(χ2 = 26.532, P = 0.001). The median PFS for the treatment group and control group was 6.0 months [95% confidence interval(CI) = 4.3–7.9 months] and 3.2 months(95% CI = 2.6–3.8 months), respectively. The side effects in the treatment group included hematologic abnormalities, gastrointestinal toxicity, and impaired liver function, which were relieved after symptomatic support therapy and drug withdrawal.Conclusion Etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy is associated with a significantly longer PFS with tolerable toxicity for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.AcknowledgementThe authors would like to thank Liu Zhongzheng for his technical assistance.展开更多
Soils contain various kinds of crystalline to amorphous solid particles with at least one dimension in the nanoscale (〈 100 nm). These nanoparticles contribute greatly to dynamic soil processes such as soil genesis...Soils contain various kinds of crystalline to amorphous solid particles with at least one dimension in the nanoscale (〈 100 nm). These nanoparticles contribute greatly to dynamic soil processes such as soil genesis, trace element cycling, contaminant transport, and chemical reaction. The nano-sized fraction of an Anthrosol was obtained to determine the occurrence, chemical composition, structure, and mineral phases of nanoparticles using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Selected area electron diffraction or the fast Fourier transform of high-resolution images was used in structural characterization of the nanoparticles with HRTEM. Two nanoscale mineral types, i.e., mineral nanoparticles and nanomi- nerals, were observed in the Anthrosol. Mineral nanoparticles in soil included well crystalline aluminumsilicate nanosheets, nanorods, and nanoparticles. Nanosheets with a length of 120-150 nm and a width of about 10-20 nm were identified as chlorite/vermiculite series. The presence of clear lattice fringe spacing in HRTEM image of nanoparticles indicated that mineral nanoparticles had a relatively good crystallinity. The nanomineral ferrihydrite also existed in the Anthrosol. The HRTEM images and the particle size distribution histogram suggested that these ferrihydrite nanoparticles were quite homogeneous, and had a narrow size distribution range (1-7 nm) with a mean diameter of 3.6 4- 1.6 nm. Our HRTEM observation indicated that mineral nanoparticles and nanominerals were common and widely distributed in Anthrosols. HRTEM and selected area diffraction or lattice fringe spacing characterization provided further proofs to the structure of nanoparticles formed in soil.展开更多
文摘Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy for elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) without disease progression after first-line chemotherapy.Methods After four to six cycles of platinum-based first-line therapy, 64 elderly patients with advanced NSCLC without disease progression who were treated in the General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region(China) from 2014 to 2016 were enrolled in this study. According to the different maintenance treatment methods, patients were divided as having received etoposide plus thalidomide therapy(treatment group, n = 32) and best supportive care(control group, n = 32). Disease control and progression-free survival(PFS) were compared between the two groups. Results The recent curative effect objective response rates of the treatment group and the control group were 31.3% and 3.1%, respectively, and the disease control rates were 71.9% and 31.3%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the two groups were significantly different(χ2 = 26.532, P = 0.001). The median PFS for the treatment group and control group was 6.0 months [95% confidence interval(CI) = 4.3–7.9 months] and 3.2 months(95% CI = 2.6–3.8 months), respectively. The side effects in the treatment group included hematologic abnormalities, gastrointestinal toxicity, and impaired liver function, which were relieved after symptomatic support therapy and drug withdrawal.Conclusion Etoposide plus thalidomide as maintenance therapy is associated with a significantly longer PFS with tolerable toxicity for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.AcknowledgementThe authors would like to thank Liu Zhongzheng for his technical assistance.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40971131)the Ph.D. Program Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (No. 20090101110088)
文摘Soils contain various kinds of crystalline to amorphous solid particles with at least one dimension in the nanoscale (〈 100 nm). These nanoparticles contribute greatly to dynamic soil processes such as soil genesis, trace element cycling, contaminant transport, and chemical reaction. The nano-sized fraction of an Anthrosol was obtained to determine the occurrence, chemical composition, structure, and mineral phases of nanoparticles using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Selected area electron diffraction or the fast Fourier transform of high-resolution images was used in structural characterization of the nanoparticles with HRTEM. Two nanoscale mineral types, i.e., mineral nanoparticles and nanomi- nerals, were observed in the Anthrosol. Mineral nanoparticles in soil included well crystalline aluminumsilicate nanosheets, nanorods, and nanoparticles. Nanosheets with a length of 120-150 nm and a width of about 10-20 nm were identified as chlorite/vermiculite series. The presence of clear lattice fringe spacing in HRTEM image of nanoparticles indicated that mineral nanoparticles had a relatively good crystallinity. The nanomineral ferrihydrite also existed in the Anthrosol. The HRTEM images and the particle size distribution histogram suggested that these ferrihydrite nanoparticles were quite homogeneous, and had a narrow size distribution range (1-7 nm) with a mean diameter of 3.6 4- 1.6 nm. Our HRTEM observation indicated that mineral nanoparticles and nanominerals were common and widely distributed in Anthrosols. HRTEM and selected area diffraction or lattice fringe spacing characterization provided further proofs to the structure of nanoparticles formed in soil.