Objective To study the therapeutic effect of vertebral pillar block insertion through vertebral pedicle in treatment of thoracolumbar vertebral fractures. Methods The study involved 23patients (25 vertebrae and 47 vertebral pillar blocks) with thoracolumbar vertebral fractures treated with vertebral pillar block insertion through vertebral pedicle in our hospital from March 2008 to July 2009.There were two patients with T11 fractures, nine with T12 fractures, seven with L1 fractures and five with L2 fractures (four patients were treated with decompression by fenestration between vertebral plates and vertebral pedicle fixation with vertebral pillar block). Surgical operation, operation duration, blood loss during operation, postoperative and follow-up X-ray films were observed, and the ratio of anterior vertebral height and normal height, degree of Cobb angle correction and early postoperative recovery were determined. Results Twenty-three patients were followed up for 7-16 months (mean 12.5 months),which showed little postoperative vertebral height loss and significantly improved postoperative anterior vertebral compression rate and the Cobb angle (P ＜ 0. 05). Conclusions Vertebral pillar block can effectively restore the mechanical properties of vertebral bodies, reduce further loss of vertebral height,kyphosis reproduction and other complications and take advantages of shorter operative time, less bleeding, faster recovery and better adaptation to the biological fixation in treatment of thoracolumbar vertebral fractures.

Objective To scrutinize the positioning accuracy and reproducibility of the cone-beam computed tomography system in combination with the six-degree couch table (Hexapod Robot Treatment Table, HRTT). Methods The mechanical stability of the X-ray volume imaging (XVI) system was tested,in terms of the reproducibility. And the influence of the moveable parts, including the KV panel and the source arm, on the accuracy of the XVI image registration was analyzed. The accuracy between the bone and grey value registration was compared using a head-and-neck phantom. The accuracy of the HRTT for translational, rotational, and a combination of translational and rotational corrections was investigated in consecutive measurements. Results The performance of XVI system itself was stable with translational and rotational error of below 0. 4 mm and below 0. 3°, respectively. The mean position accuracy of the XVI system in combination with the HRTT summarized over all measurements was below 0. 6 mm and below 0. 4° for translational and rotational corrections, respectively. The grey value match was more accurate than the bone match. Conclusions The XVI image acquisition and registration procedure were highly reproducible.Both translational and rotational positioning errors can be corrected very precisely with the HRTT. The HRTT is therefore well suited to complement CBCT to take full advantage of position correction in six degrees of freedom for image guided radiotherapy.

Objective To investigate and analyze the positioning accuracy of three imaging modalities utilized in image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT):electronic portal imaging device ( EPID),kV portal image (kV planar) and the kV cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).Methods 25 groups of setup errors were simulated on the phantom images through treatment planning system. Digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) were constructed from the CT data which were subsequently used as references to register the EPID and kV planar images acquired at the original position.In addition,the reconstructed 3D-CT images were used to register the CBCT images.Finally,the setup errors using several registration methods were measured to investigate and compare the accuracies of the three imaging modalities used for patient setup.Results 675 groups of residual errors were analyzed.All combinations of imaging modalities and registration method were found to be accurate.The mean residual errors in three directions were less than 1 mm.The method based on grey value match of CBCT images was found as the most accurate with an uncertainty below 0.1 mm.When the manual match was used,the performance of kV planar was more accurate than that of EPID (residual error ＜ 0.65 mm).If automatic registration was applied,kV planar generated similar results as EPID did. Conclusions The three available imaging modalities and their corresponding registration methods are all competent for the clinical application of IGRT in our department.Considering the image quality,radiation dose and the accuracy of registration,CBCT has the priority on 1GRT followed by the kV planar.

Objective To evaluate the early effect of Wallis interspinous dynamic stabilization system (Wallis system) in treatment of lumbar degenerative disease. Methods From January 2008 to Jan-uary 2009,21 patients(23 intervertebral spaces) with early lumbar disc herniation and lumbar spinal stenosis were treated with Wallis system. Four intervertebral spaces of L_(3-4) 19 intervertebral spaces of L_(4-5). Observed the time of total operation and implantation,the blood loss,and early recovery. The patients' visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores were evaluated before and after operation. Results All patients were followed up for average (12.5 ± 0.4) months (7-18 months) after operation. The VAS and ODI scores at 7 days after operation dropped from (7.5 ± 1.5), (40.0 ± 2.0) scores before operation to (2.5 ± 0.5), (23.0 ± 1.5) scores (P < 0.01). Conclusion It is safe and easy to use Wallis system in the treatment of lumbar degenerative disease, with the advantage of mini-invasion and early effect.

Objective To compare the dosimetric difference among plans designed by 4-field,6-field TomoDirect and TomoHelical techniques in Tomotherapy system for left-breast cancer patients with radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery.Method A total of 16 patients with left-breast cancer following breast-conserving surgery and intensity-modulated radiation therapy were enrolled in this retrospective study.The 4-field TomoDirect (TD4),6-field TomoDirect (TD6),and TomoHelical (TH) techniques were applied to design simulation plans in tomotherapy system for each patient,respectively.The differences of dose distribution and treatment parameters were analyzed in this study.Results Three plans all met the clinical requirement.Thereinto,TD4 was superior to TH in the dose limitation of organs at risk (OARs),especially the max dose of cord and right-breast,thc 5 Gy radiation volume of lung,and the mean dose of heart(F =595.60,129.24,60.44,65.37,P ＜ 0.05),but inferior to TH in dose homogeneity (HI) and conformity (CI) (F =2.78,60.93,P ＜ 0.05).However,TD6 improved TD4's HI and CI when delivered the lower OARs dose compared to TH.Meanwhile,the number of monitor units was less in TD technique and reduced the treatment times (F =24.89,3.75,P ＜ O.05).Conclusions For the radiotherapy of left-breast cancer patients after breast-conserving surgery,TD6 technique appeared to be superior,with the lower radiation dose of OARs compared to TH technique,and the better target's HI and CI in comparison with TD4 technique,especially in patients with early stage breast cancer.

Objective: To investigate the clinical outcome of ovulation induction in patients with poor ovarian response treated with in vitro fertilization. Methods: A total of 120 patients with poor ovarian response in our hospital from Nov 2013 to Oct 2015 were en?rolled and were divided into 3 groups according to the different treatment methods. The clinical outcome were compared. Results:There was no significant difference in fertilization rate, cleavage rate, available embryo rate, good embryo rate and pregnancy rate in 3 groups ( P>0?05) . The time and doses of gonadotropin in minimal ovarian stimulation group were significantly lower than those in antagonist protocol group and luteal?phase ovulation induction group ( P<0?05) . The embryo freezing rate in minimal ovarian stimula?tion group was significantly higher than that in antagonist protocol group ( P<0?05 ) . The number of oocytes in antagonist protocol group was significantly higher than those in minimal ovarian stimulation group and luteal?phase ovulation induction group, and the em?bryo transplantation cancellation rate was lower than those in minimal ovarian stimulation group and luteal?phase ovulation induction group ( P<0?05) . Conclusion: Minimal ovarian stimulation method has good curative effect, and more suitable for the treatment of poor ovarian response.

Objective To evaluate the geometric and dosimetric accuracy of autosegmentation software for contouring the organ-at-risk ( OAR) of esophageal cancer, and discuss its clinical feasibility. Methods A total of 10 patients were enrolled, and single and multi-template were adopted respectively to auto-delineate corresponding OARs on target CT images based on image registration. The geometric consistency including volume difference (ΔV) , dice similarity ( DSC) and position difference (Δx, Δy,Δz) between the two autosegmentation method and manual were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. And the correlation between DSC and OAR volume was analyzed. In addition, to evaluate the clinical feasibility of autosegmentation, the dose distributions of all OARs were compared using Friedman test. Results The average DSC of all OARs obtained by single and multi-template were 0.82 ± 0.17 and 0.92 ± 0.54, respectively, with statistically significant difference (Z= -2.803- -2.497, P<0.05). A positive correlation between DSC of the autosegmentation and OAR volume was found by spearman analysis, and the single-template was not good enough for the spinal cord with smaller volume. The positional deviations of multi-template group were less than 0.5 cm in three directions, which were better than single-template group. The main dosimetric indexes of single-template and multiple-template were similar to manual coutours. V20 of whole lung were 23.2％, 22.4％ and 22.1％, Dmeanof whole lung were (11.3 ±4.0), (11.1 ±4.5) and (11.0 ±4.3) Gy, Dmaxof spinal cord were (40.3 ±4.8), (38.2 ±6.7) and (39.4 ± 5.3) Gy, respectively, and V30 of heart were 16.0％, 15.8％ and 15.5％, respectively. There was no statistical difference between the three methods (P>0.05), and all of the dosimetric indexes were in line with the requirements of clinical dose limits. Conclusions The autosegmentation software can achieve satisfactory precision for the OARs of the esophageal cancer patients, and the multi-template method is better than the single-template, which is more suitable for clinical application.

Objective To investigate the effects of ovarian induction with raloxifene(RAL)versus clomi-phene citrate(CC)on the endometrial receptivity in mouse endometrium during perimplantation period. Methods 48 female Kun-ming mouse were randomly divided into four groups in equal number:RAL 240 mg group,RAL 180 mg group,CC group,natural conception group(NC),all treated with ovulation induction after drug administration.Successfully mated female mouse were killed,and uterus samples were collected for HE stain-ing and immunohistochemistry. Results HE staining showed that the endometrial morphology in the RAL 180 mg group and RAL 240 mg group and NC group were better than that of CC group.The expressions of COX-2 and LP-AR3 in the RAL 180 mg group and RAL 240 mg group were similar to NC group,without significant difference among the three groups(P > 0.05). But in the CC group,it was statistically significantly lower than other three groups(P<0.05),indicating ovarian induction with RAL did not decrease the expressions of COX-2 and LPAR3 in endometrium. Conclusion The mechanism of ovulation induction with RAL is similar to CC,but RAL has fewer adverse effects on the endometrial receptivity compared with CC.

Objectives:To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of typical pharmaceutical smoking cessation intervention strategies in China in the context of primary cancer prevention.Methods:Markov cohort simulation models were established to simulate the burden of 12 smoking caused cancer, including lung cancer, oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia. Taking incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) as the main indicator, the model sets one year as the cycling period for 50 periods and simulates the cohort of 10 000 thirty-five-year-old current smokers with various smoking cessation strategies. To ensure the robustness of conclusion, univariate sensitivity analysis, probability sensitivity analysis, and age-group sensitivity analysis were conducted.Results:The results showed that varenicline intervention was the most cost-effective intervention. Compared to the next most effective option, incremental cost of each additional quality-adjusted life year is 11 140.28 yuan, which is below the threshold of willingness to pay (1 year GDP per capita). The value of ICER increased as the increasing age group of adopting intervention, but neither exceeded the threshold of willingness to pay. One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the value of discount rate, the hazard ratio and cost of intervention strategy had a greater impact on the result of ICER.Conclusion:In China, the use of varenicline to quit smoking is highly cost effective in the context of cancer primary prevention, especially for younger smokers.