AIM:To quantitatively assess the ability of double contrast-enhanced ultrasound(DCUS) to detect tumor early response to pre-operative chemotherapy.METHODS:Forty-three patients with gastric cancer treated with neoadjuv...AIM:To quantitatively assess the ability of double contrast-enhanced ultrasound(DCUS) to detect tumor early response to pre-operative chemotherapy.METHODS:Forty-three patients with gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by curative resection between September 2011 and February 2012 were analyzed.Pre-operative chemotherapy regimens of fluorouracil + oxaliplatin or S-1 + oxaliplatin were administered in 2-4 cycles over 6-12 wk periods.All patients underwent contrast-enhanced computed tomography(CT) scan and DCUS before and after two courses of pre-operative chemotherapy.The therapeutic response was assessed by CT using the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors(RECIST 1.1) criteria.Tumor area was assessed by DCUS as enhanced appearance of gastric carcinoma due to tumor vascularity during the contrast phase as compared to the normal gastric wall.Histopathologic analysis was carried out according to the Mandard tumor regression grade criteria and used as the reference standard.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the efficacy of DCUS parameters in differentiating histopathological responders from non-responders.RESULTS:The study population consisted of 32 men and 11 women,with mean age of 59.7 ± 11.4 years.Neither age,sex,histologic type,tumor site,T stage,nor N stage was associated with pathological response.The responders had significantly smaller mean tumor size than the non-responders(15.7 ± 7.4 cm vs 33.3 ± 14.1 cm,P < 0.01).According to Mandard's criteria,27 patients were classified as responders,with 11(40.7%) showing decreased tumor size by DCUS.In contrast,only three(18.8%) of the 16 non-responders showed decreased tumor size by DCUS(P < 0.01).The area under the ROC curve was 0.64,with a 95%CI of 0.46-0.81.The effects of several cut-off points on diagnostic parameters were calculated in the ROC curve analysis.By maximizing Youden's index(sensitivity + specificity-1),the best cut-off point for distinguishing responders from non-responders was determined,which had optimal sensitivity of 62.9% and specificity of 56.3%.Using this cut-off point,the positive and negative predictive values of DCUS for distinguishing responders from non-responders were 70.8% and 47.4%,respectively.The overall accuracy of DCUS for therapeutic response assessment was 60.5%,slightly higher than the 53.5% for CT response assessment with RECIST criteria(P = 0.663).Although the advantage was not statistically significant,likely due to the small number of cases assessed.DCUS was able to identify decreased perfusion in responders who showed no morphological change by CT imaging,which can be occluded by such treatment effects as fibrosis and edema.CONCLUSION:DCUS may represent an innovative tool for more accurately predicting histopathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgical resection in patients with locally-advanced gastric cancer.展开更多
Objective： The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of changes in enhancement pattern in assessing no-surgical treatment response in bronchogenic carcinoma preliminarily. Methods Thirty-three patients with ...Objective： The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of changes in enhancement pattern in assessing no-surgical treatment response in bronchogenic carcinoma preliminarily. Methods Thirty-three patients with bronchogenic carcinoma underwent two-phase contrast material-enhanced computed tomography prior to and after stopping no-surgical treatment more than one-month respectively. Two spiral CT scans were obtained at 25 and 90 s respectively after nonionic contrast material was administrated via the antecubital vein at a rate of 3 mL/s by using an autoinjector. The sum of the tumor longest diameters （LD） prior to treatment, after treatment and the sum of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area LD on the images obtained at 90 s after injection of contrast medium were recorded, Precontrast and postcontrast attenuation on every scan was recorded and peak height was calculated. The significance of the difference among groups was analyzed by means of ANOVA, student t test and chi-square test. Results： The sum of the tumor LD prior to treatment, that of after treatment and the sum of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area LD on the images obtained at 90 s after injection of contrast medium were （4.49 ± 1.32）, （4.05 ± 1.63）, （3.36 ± 1.22） cm respectively and there were statistically significant dif- ferences among them （f= 5.467, P = 0.006）. The sum of the tumor LD prior to treatment was significantly higher than that of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area （P = 0.001）. No statistically significant difference in the sum of the tumor LD was found between the pre- treatment and the post-treatment （P = 0.207）. There was no statistically significant difference between the sum of the tumors LD and that of tumor enhancement area after treatment （P = 0.086）. The response rate （RR） （21.21%） according to changes in sum of the tumor LD was significantly lower than that （30.30%） according to changes in the sum of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area LD （x2 = 15.12, P 〈 0.05）, and the progressive diseases （PD） rate （21.21%） was significantly higher than that （12.12%; X2 = 14.12, P 〈 0.05）. No statistically significant difference was found between precontrast attenuation prior to treatment [（41.77±7.03） HU] and that after treatment [（41.89 ± 7.63） HU; t = 0.335, P = 0.740 〉 0.05]. Peak height of bronchogenic carcinoma prior to treatment [（36.50 ± 11.21） HU] were significantly higher than that after treatment [（29.91 ± 10.35） HU; t = 10.081, P = 0.001]. Conclusion： Therapeutic effect may be underestimated with use of changes in sum of the tumor LD. The changes in sum of tumor enhancement area LD in addition to peak height is suggested to be used in assessing no-surgical.treatment response in bronchogenic carcinoma.展开更多
OBJECTIVE: To collect preliminary data on the effects of Saam acupuncture with regard to the immunity in cancer patients.METHODS: Ten cancer patients were analyzed for improvements in immunity. Acupuncture was applied...OBJECTIVE: To collect preliminary data on the effects of Saam acupuncture with regard to the immunity in cancer patients.METHODS: Ten cancer patients were analyzed for improvements in immunity. Acupuncture was applied at the 5 acupuncture points, Jingqu(LU 8), Zutonggu(BL 66), Yanggu(SI 5), Yangchi(TE 4), and Zhongwan(CV 12) for 2 weeks with 4 sessions. We assessed the effect of Korean Saam acupuncture on the immune system in cancer patients by measuring particular blood cell subsets, including CD3 +,CD4+, CD8+, CD19+, and CD56+ cells, as well as total white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, and fatigue score. The measurement was performed before and after acupuncture and at a 2-week follow-up.RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in the number of CD3+(P=0.023) and CD8+ cells(P<0.001) and T-cell subsets, as well as a decrease in the fatigue severity scale(FSS) score(P=0.001) after Saam acupuncture using the 5 acupoints.CONCLUSION: Acupuncture may improve the immune system by increasing the counts of a few immune cells and relieve fatigue in cancer patients by decreasing FSS scores. Although this was a non-controlled study, it constitutes preliminary research investigating the potential effects of Saam acupuncture in increasing the counts of several immune cells in cancer patients.展开更多
OBJECTIVE:To comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for fibromyalgiasyndrome.METHODS: Two review authors independently selected the trials for the Meta-analysis, assessed their method...OBJECTIVE:To comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for fibromyalgiasyndrome.METHODS: Two review authors independently selected the trials for the Meta-analysis, assessed their methodological quality and extracted relevant data. A quality assessment was conducted according to the Cochrane Review Handbook 5.0.RevMan 5.0.20 software was used in the statistical analysis.RESULTS: A total of 523 trials were reviewed and 9trials were selected for Meta-analysis.(a) Compared acupuncture with sham acupuncture, there was a significant difference in the visual analogue scale,but no difference in the pressure pain threshold.Additionally,and there was a difference in the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire and the multidisciplinary pain inventory after 4 weeks of treatment,but no difference after 7 weeks of therapy. There was no difference in the numerical rating scale in weeks 3, 8 and 13.(b) Acupuncture versus drugs.There were differences in the VAS after 20 days of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment comparing with the drug amitriptyline, and after 4 weeks of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment comparing with the drug fluoxetine and amitriptyline.There were also differences in the number of tender points when comparing acupuncture with amitriptyline or fluoxetine. There was no difference in total efficiency when comparing acupuncture with amitriptyline after 4 weeks of treatment, but there were differences between the two groups 45 days after treatment.There were also differences in total efficiency comparing acupuncture with fluoxetine,and when comparing 4 weeks post-treatment of acupuncture with a combination of amitriptyline,oryzanol and vitamin B.(c) A comparison of acupuncture, drugs and exercise with drugs and exercise showed PPT differences in months 3 and 6.There was no difference between the two comparison groups after follow-up visits in months 12 and 24.CONCLUSION: Compared with sham acupuncture,there was not enough evidence to prove the efficacy of acupuncture therapy for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Some evidence testified that the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy for fibromyalgia was superior to drugs; however, the included trials were not of high quality or had high bias risks.Acupuncture combined with drugs and exercise could increase pain thresholds in the short term, but there is a need for higher quality randomized controlled trials to further confirm this.展开更多
基金Supported by National Science Foundation of China,No. 81101834Projects of the Health Bureau of Zhejiang Province, No.2009QN011 and 2011KYB037
文摘AIM:To quantitatively assess the ability of double contrast-enhanced ultrasound(DCUS) to detect tumor early response to pre-operative chemotherapy.METHODS:Forty-three patients with gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by curative resection between September 2011 and February 2012 were analyzed.Pre-operative chemotherapy regimens of fluorouracil + oxaliplatin or S-1 + oxaliplatin were administered in 2-4 cycles over 6-12 wk periods.All patients underwent contrast-enhanced computed tomography(CT) scan and DCUS before and after two courses of pre-operative chemotherapy.The therapeutic response was assessed by CT using the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors(RECIST 1.1) criteria.Tumor area was assessed by DCUS as enhanced appearance of gastric carcinoma due to tumor vascularity during the contrast phase as compared to the normal gastric wall.Histopathologic analysis was carried out according to the Mandard tumor regression grade criteria and used as the reference standard.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the efficacy of DCUS parameters in differentiating histopathological responders from non-responders.RESULTS:The study population consisted of 32 men and 11 women,with mean age of 59.7 ± 11.4 years.Neither age,sex,histologic type,tumor site,T stage,nor N stage was associated with pathological response.The responders had significantly smaller mean tumor size than the non-responders(15.7 ± 7.4 cm vs 33.3 ± 14.1 cm,P < 0.01).According to Mandard's criteria,27 patients were classified as responders,with 11(40.7%) showing decreased tumor size by DCUS.In contrast,only three(18.8%) of the 16 non-responders showed decreased tumor size by DCUS(P < 0.01).The area under the ROC curve was 0.64,with a 95%CI of 0.46-0.81.The effects of several cut-off points on diagnostic parameters were calculated in the ROC curve analysis.By maximizing Youden's index(sensitivity + specificity-1),the best cut-off point for distinguishing responders from non-responders was determined,which had optimal sensitivity of 62.9% and specificity of 56.3%.Using this cut-off point,the positive and negative predictive values of DCUS for distinguishing responders from non-responders were 70.8% and 47.4%,respectively.The overall accuracy of DCUS for therapeutic response assessment was 60.5%,slightly higher than the 53.5% for CT response assessment with RECIST criteria(P = 0.663).Although the advantage was not statistically significant,likely due to the small number of cases assessed.DCUS was able to identify decreased perfusion in responders who showed no morphological change by CT imaging,which can be occluded by such treatment effects as fibrosis and edema.CONCLUSION:DCUS may represent an innovative tool for more accurately predicting histopathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgical resection in patients with locally-advanced gastric cancer.
文摘Objective： The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of changes in enhancement pattern in assessing no-surgical treatment response in bronchogenic carcinoma preliminarily. Methods Thirty-three patients with bronchogenic carcinoma underwent two-phase contrast material-enhanced computed tomography prior to and after stopping no-surgical treatment more than one-month respectively. Two spiral CT scans were obtained at 25 and 90 s respectively after nonionic contrast material was administrated via the antecubital vein at a rate of 3 mL/s by using an autoinjector. The sum of the tumor longest diameters （LD） prior to treatment, after treatment and the sum of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area LD on the images obtained at 90 s after injection of contrast medium were recorded, Precontrast and postcontrast attenuation on every scan was recorded and peak height was calculated. The significance of the difference among groups was analyzed by means of ANOVA, student t test and chi-square test. Results： The sum of the tumor LD prior to treatment, that of after treatment and the sum of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area LD on the images obtained at 90 s after injection of contrast medium were （4.49 ± 1.32）, （4.05 ± 1.63）, （3.36 ± 1.22） cm respectively and there were statistically significant dif- ferences among them （f= 5.467, P = 0.006）. The sum of the tumor LD prior to treatment was significantly higher than that of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area （P = 0.001）. No statistically significant difference in the sum of the tumor LD was found between the pre- treatment and the post-treatment （P = 0.207）. There was no statistically significant difference between the sum of the tumors LD and that of tumor enhancement area after treatment （P = 0.086）. The response rate （RR） （21.21%） according to changes in sum of the tumor LD was significantly lower than that （30.30%） according to changes in the sum of the post-treatment tumor enhancement area LD （x2 = 15.12, P 〈 0.05）, and the progressive diseases （PD） rate （21.21%） was significantly higher than that （12.12%; X2 = 14.12, P 〈 0.05）. No statistically significant difference was found between precontrast attenuation prior to treatment [（41.77±7.03） HU] and that after treatment [（41.89 ± 7.63） HU; t = 0.335, P = 0.740 〉 0.05]. Peak height of bronchogenic carcinoma prior to treatment [（36.50 ± 11.21） HU] were significantly higher than that after treatment [（29.91 ± 10.35） HU; t = 10.081, P = 0.001]. Conclusion： Therapeutic effect may be underestimated with use of changes in sum of the tumor LD. The changes in sum of tumor enhancement area LD in addition to peak height is suggested to be used in assessing no-surgical.treatment response in bronchogenic carcinoma.
基金Supported by the Ministry of Health & Welfare,Republic of Korea(No.20-12-0-090-091-3000-3033-320)
文摘OBJECTIVE: To collect preliminary data on the effects of Saam acupuncture with regard to the immunity in cancer patients.METHODS: Ten cancer patients were analyzed for improvements in immunity. Acupuncture was applied at the 5 acupuncture points, Jingqu(LU 8), Zutonggu(BL 66), Yanggu(SI 5), Yangchi(TE 4), and Zhongwan(CV 12) for 2 weeks with 4 sessions. We assessed the effect of Korean Saam acupuncture on the immune system in cancer patients by measuring particular blood cell subsets, including CD3 +,CD4+, CD8+, CD19+, and CD56+ cells, as well as total white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, and fatigue score. The measurement was performed before and after acupuncture and at a 2-week follow-up.RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in the number of CD3+(P=0.023) and CD8+ cells(P<0.001) and T-cell subsets, as well as a decrease in the fatigue severity scale(FSS) score(P=0.001) after Saam acupuncture using the 5 acupoints.CONCLUSION: Acupuncture may improve the immune system by increasing the counts of a few immune cells and relieve fatigue in cancer patients by decreasing FSS scores. Although this was a non-controlled study, it constitutes preliminary research investigating the potential effects of Saam acupuncture in increasing the counts of several immune cells in cancer patients.
基金Supported by the State Key Program of National Natural Science of China(No.81330088)
文摘OBJECTIVE:To comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for fibromyalgiasyndrome.METHODS: Two review authors independently selected the trials for the Meta-analysis, assessed their methodological quality and extracted relevant data. A quality assessment was conducted according to the Cochrane Review Handbook 5.0.RevMan 5.0.20 software was used in the statistical analysis.RESULTS: A total of 523 trials were reviewed and 9trials were selected for Meta-analysis.(a) Compared acupuncture with sham acupuncture, there was a significant difference in the visual analogue scale,but no difference in the pressure pain threshold.Additionally,and there was a difference in the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire and the multidisciplinary pain inventory after 4 weeks of treatment,but no difference after 7 weeks of therapy. There was no difference in the numerical rating scale in weeks 3, 8 and 13.(b) Acupuncture versus drugs.There were differences in the VAS after 20 days of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment comparing with the drug amitriptyline, and after 4 weeks of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment comparing with the drug fluoxetine and amitriptyline.There were also differences in the number of tender points when comparing acupuncture with amitriptyline or fluoxetine. There was no difference in total efficiency when comparing acupuncture with amitriptyline after 4 weeks of treatment, but there were differences between the two groups 45 days after treatment.There were also differences in total efficiency comparing acupuncture with fluoxetine,and when comparing 4 weeks post-treatment of acupuncture with a combination of amitriptyline,oryzanol and vitamin B.(c) A comparison of acupuncture, drugs and exercise with drugs and exercise showed PPT differences in months 3 and 6.There was no difference between the two comparison groups after follow-up visits in months 12 and 24.CONCLUSION: Compared with sham acupuncture,there was not enough evidence to prove the efficacy of acupuncture therapy for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Some evidence testified that the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy for fibromyalgia was superior to drugs; however, the included trials were not of high quality or had high bias risks.Acupuncture combined with drugs and exercise could increase pain thresholds in the short term, but there is a need for higher quality randomized controlled trials to further confirm this.
