Objective To evaluate the change of myasthenia gravis(MG) during radiotherapy for patients with malignant thymomas.Methods Forty-five with malignant thymomas patients with were analyzed.The median total dose was DT54.2?Gy in 1.8-2.0?Gy /fraction,5 days a week.Anti-cholinesterase,such as pyridostigmine was used to control the MG symptoms.Results Forty-five patients completed radiotherapy on schedule except one from whom the treatment was was with drawn because of respiratory muscle involvement.Among these 44 patients,myasthenic symptom was relieved in 4 to various degrees,4 progressed,34 no change and 2 developed cholinergic crisis.Myasthenic symptom was not changed in one patient for whom radiotherapy had been standed before operation nor during the course of postoperative radiotherapy.Conclusions A course of radiotherapy of DT54.2?Gy,on fractionation of DT1.8-2.0?Gy modal would not aggravate myasthenia.However,proper use of anti-cholinesterase,careful observation and timely drug-adjustment are necessary.

Objective To explore the surgical strategy and effects for treating complex malignant tumors of the inferior vena cava (IVC) or/and the tumors extending into right atrium/ventricle.Methods Between Dec 2004 and Jul 2008, eight patients underwent surgical resections, among those seven patients with tumors of IVC or the tumors extending into right atrium/ventricle were operated on under deep hypothermia with cardiopulmonary bypass( CPB), and one patient with recurrence of leiomyosarcoma of the IVC successfully underwent en bloc resection and caval reconstruction. The prosthetic graft was used for IVC reconstruction in two patients and vascular patch in the other two patients. Preoperative chest roentgenography, computed tomography, ultrasonography, or magnetic resonance imaging was used to exclude the presence of metastatic disease, to assess local resectability of the tumour and the extent of involvement and obstruction of the IVC. Results One patient died of liver failure postoperatively. The postoperative course was uneventful in other 7 patients. On follow-up two patients died 2 and 5 months later due to functional disorder of the liver. Three patients have been followed up for 14 - 24 months and were

Objective To meet the special needs of the department of radiation oncology, a radiation therapy information management system ( RTIMS) has been developed as a secondary database system to supplement the Varian Varis/Aria since 2007. Methods The RTIMS server was used to run a database and web service of Apache + PHP + MySQL. The RTIMS sever's web service could be visited with Internet Explorer (IE) to input, search, count, and print informations from about 30 workstations and 20 personal computers. As some workstations were installed with Windows and IE in English only, some functions had English version. Results In past five years, as the RTIMS was implemented in the department, some further needs were met and more practical functions were developed. And now the RTIMS almost covered the whole workflow of radiation therapy ( RT) . By September 2011 , recorded patients data in the RTIMS is as follows: 3900 patients, 2600 0utpatient RT records, 6800 progress notes, 1900 RT summaries, 6700 charge records, 83000 workload records, 3900 plan application forms, 1600 ICRT records. etc. Conclusions The RTIMS hased on the workflow of RT has been successfully developed and clinically implemented. And it was demonstrated to be user-friendly and was proven to　significantly improve the efficiency of the department. Since it is an in-house developed system, more functions can be added or modified to further enhance its potentials in research and clinical practice.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer.Methods From June 2007 to June 2013,51 untreated patients with histopathologically proven rectal cancer (T3/T4 or N (+))were included in this study.Three-dimensional radiotherapy was delivered to the whole pelvic cavity at 45.0-50.4 Gy/25-28 fractions.Two cycles of chemotherapy with FOLFOX4 or XELOX were given concurrently at weeks 1 and 4 of radiotherapy.Surgery was performed at 4-8 weeks after chemoradiotherapy.Adjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFOX4 or XELOX was given within one month after surgery.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rates,and the log-rank test was used for univariate analysis;the Cox regression model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis.Results Fortynine patients completed the preoperative chemoradiotherapy and surgery.The median follow-up was 2.9 years.The overall sphincter preservation rate was 65％;the overall downstaging rate was 59％.Ten (20.4％) of all patients achieved a pathologic complete response (pCR).Grade ≥3 toxicities occurred in 25％ of all patients,and the overall postoperative complication rate was 31％.The 3-and 5-year sample sizes were 24,12,respectively.The 3-and 5-year overall survival rates were 81％ and 69％,respectively;the 3-and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 76％ and 60％,respectively;the 3-and 5-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rates were 78％ and 70％,respectively;the distant metastasis-free survival rates were 82％ and 74％,respectively.The multivariate analysis showed that tumor downstaging was an independent prognostic factor for 5-year DFS and LRFS.Conclusions For locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer,preoperative radiotherapy with concurrent FOLFOX4/XELOX chemotherapy can increase pathologic downstaging rate,pCR rate,and sphincter preservation rate.Patients with tumor downstaging may have a better survival advantage.

Objective To analyze the data from intensity-modulated radiotherapy ( IMRT) for prostate cancer guided by kilovoltage cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), and to provide a clinical basis for selecting the optimal image registration method and reasonable target volume margins.Methods A total of 16 patients with prostate cancer who received radical IMRT were enrolled, and CBCT for online position verification was performed 214 times.The images were obtained after conventional skin marking and laser alignment, and automatic registration, bone registration, soft tissue registration, and manual registration were performed for CBCT images and planned CT images.The differences between these four registration methods were evaluated, and the margins for extending clinical target volume into planning target volume (PTV) were calculated.Results The setup errors in left-right, anterior-posterior, and cranial-caudal directions for automatic registration, bone registration, soft tissue registration, and manual registration were-0.6±2.8 mm/-0.6±4.5 mm/-0.6±3.8 mm,-0.7±2.7 mm/-0.9±4.5 mm/-0.8±4.1 mm,-0.8± 2.6 mm/-0.3±4.4 mm/-1.1±4.0 mm, and-0.6±2.9 mm/-0.7±5.1 mm/-0.9±3.9 mm, respectively. There were no significant differences between the four registration methods.The margins for extension in the left-right, anterior-posterior, and cranial-caudal directions were calculated as 4.7 mm, 5.2 mm, and 6.5 mm, respectively.Conclusions With a comprehensive consideration of various factors, a default setting of automatic registration and manual fine adjustment is appropriate for CBCT-guided radiotherapy for prostate cancer.The margins for extension in the left-right, anterior-posterior, and cranial-caudal directions are 4.7 mm, 5.2 mm, and 6.5 mm, respectively.

Objective To observe the motions of the rectum and bladder by image?guided radiotherapy ( IGRT) and to analyze their impact on treatment. Methods Eighteen patients with prostate cancer undergoing intensity?modulated radiotherapy ( IMRT) were enrolled in the study and 247 cone?beam computed tomography ( CBCT) images were obtained from this study. The clinical target volume, bladder, and rectum were contoured on all simulated CT and CBCT to examine their volume and position changes. The dose distributions were recalculated based on the data of the x?, y?, and z?axis setup errors. The doses to planning target volume ( PTV) and organs at risk were calculated in the replanning, and their impact on treatment was analyzed. Comparison of the planning and replanning results was made by paired t?test. The effects of displacements and volumes of the bladder and rectum on target doses were analyzed by Pearson correlation method. Results Great changes in the volumes of the bladder and rectum were observed during the treatment. For the planning and replanning results, PTVD95% was 7777. 37 cGy vs. 7628. 56 cGy ( P=0. 027), PTV Dmin was 87. 91 cGy vs. 83. 35 cGy (P=0. 000), and RVP was 5. 89% vs. 8. 31%(P=0. 000). There were correlations between PTVD95% and the motions of the bladder and rectum, with correlation coefficients of 0. 296 and 0. 177, respectively. The correlation coefficient between rectal volume and PTVD95% was 0. 115, indicating a certain correlation. There is a certain correlation between and PTV Dmin and bladder volume, with a correlation coefficient of?0. 128. Conclusions The recovery of the state during localization for the bladder and rectum, especially the latter, has great significance to ensure the target dose and reduce exposure of the rectum in the IMRT for prostate cancer.

Objective The goal of this report was to evaluate the applicability of the da Vinci S surgical system in thoracic surgery.Methods The da Vinci S surgical system consists of a console, a patient cart, and a vision system.The patient cart loading with 3 robot arms and 1 central endoscope arm connects the console which commands the movements of the arm tips.The robot arm tips are introduced via small chest wall ports and attached to the arms of the robot.The surgeon, sitting at the console, manipulates highly sensitive sensors that transfer the surgeon's movements to the arm tips.The so called EndoWrist'technology offers up , down, left, right, and twist, seven degrees of movements, thus exceeding the capacity of a surgeon's hand in open surgery.17 intrathoracic lesion cases, including 12 Myasthenia Gravis, 1 diaphragm hernia, 2 esophageal cancer, 1 pulmonary cancer , 1 pneumothorax, were evaluated for clinical application of the da Vinci S surgical system.Results Out of 17 surgical procedures, 14 procedures were done using the robot from beginning to the end, including 12 thymectomies, 1 diaphragm hernia repair, 1 pulmonary bleb dissection.Only gastric mobilizations, the abdominal part procedures were done using the da Vinci S system, and the thoracic part procedures were done through small incision thoracotomy in 2 cases with esophageal cancer.One resection of left upper lobectomy had to be converted due to surgical problem.The postoperative courses were uneventful.Conclusion The da Vinci operating robot can do nearly all kinds of thoracic operations.Advanced general thoracic procedures can be performed safely and effectively with the da Vinci S robot allowing precise dissection.This benefit becomes evident most elegantly in thymectomies.The robot operation procedures can be done by the doctors with open and assisted thoracopic surgery experiences and other personnels getting trained in a short period of time, but case selection and preparing emergency thoracotomy at any time is needed to ensure the patient safety.

ObjectiveTo analyze the application value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI) in gross tumor volume (GTV) delineation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).MethodsTwenty-nine patients with esophageal SCC treated with radical surgery were analyzed.Routine CT scan,MRI T2-weighted and DWMRI were employed before surgery;diffusion-sensitive gradient b-values were taken 400,600 and 800 s/mm2.GTVs were delineated using CT,MRI T2-weighted images and DWMRI under different b-value images.The length of GTVs measured under different images was compared with the pathological length and confirm the most accurate imaging condition.Use radiotherapy planning system to fuse DWMRI images and CT images to investigate the possibility of delineate GTVs on fused images.ResultsThe difference of GTV length value between CT,T2 WI images and specimen was 3.36 mm and 2.84 mm.When b =400,600 and 800 s/mm2,the difference between GTV length value on the DWMRI images and on specimen was 0.47 mm,-0.47 mm and - 1.53 mm;the correlation coefficient of the measuring esophageal lengths on DWMRI images and the pathological lengths was 0.928,0.927 and 0.938.DWMRI images and CT images could fuse accurately on radiotherapy planning system.GTV margin could.show clearly on fused images.ConclusionsDWMRI images can display the esophageal carcinoma lengths and margin accurately.When DWMRI images fused with CT images,GTV margin could show clearly,it can be used to delineate GTV accurately.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate surgical outcomes and the feasibility of robotic thyroidectomy and central neck dissection (CND).

METHODSThe clinical data of 40 patients of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma underwent total thyroidectomy (or lobectomy and isthmusectomy) and CND using the Da Vinci system through axillo-bilateral-breast approach in Jinan Military General Hospital of People's Liberation Army from February to December 2014 were analyzed retrospectively (robotic group). Other forty patients of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma underwent total thyroidectomy (or lobectomy and isthmusectomy) and CND by open approach were selected as the control (open group). Cosmetic satisfaction was assessed after a month postoperation by the numerical score system. t-test and χ(2) test were used to compare the clinical characters, total operative time, intraoperative estimated blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, number of lymph nodes removed, visual analogue scale for pain, postoperative complications, and cosmetic effect between the 2 groups.

RESULTSAll 80 patients were diagnosed of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma. The total thyroidectomy (or lobectomy/isthmusectomy) with CND of 40 patients were successfully performed by da Vinci Si surgical system. The numbers of total thyroidectomy of robotic group and the open group were 36 and 37, respectively. The numbers of metastatic lymph nodes of robotic group and open group were 14 and 15, respectively. The operation time of the robotic group was (130±12) minutes, which was longer than that of open group (98±11) minutes (t=12.432, P<0.05). The study showed statistical significant difference between the two groups regarding the visual analog scale pain assessment (1.9±0.9 vs.3.9±1.1, t=8.900, P<0.05). There were no statistical significant difference of intraoperative estimated blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, number of lymph nodes removed, and the complication rate between the 2 groups.Postoperative cosmetic result was more satisfying on the robotic group (9.1±0.5) than open group (4.8±1.5) (t=17.200, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe robotic total thyroidectomy (or lobectomy and isthmusectomy) and CND has similar surgery safety and feasibility as open procedures. The robotic thyroidectomy is a good alternative surgical modality for patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma who wish to avoid neck scars.

Axilla ; Breast ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; surgery ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Nodes ; Neck Dissection ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; surgery ; Thyroidectomy ; methods

With the outbreak of COVID-19 around the globe, the epidemic prevention and control in China will take a long-term trend. As the main treatment of gynecological malignant tumor, rational application of radiotherapy bring patients with both "epidemic prevention" and "anti-tumor" benefits. This recommendation combined the domestic epidemic prevention guidelines, foreign literature related to epidemic prevention and gynecological tumor treatment, and the experiences of Peking Union Medical College Hospital during the prophase of epidemic period, aiming to provide guidance for the clinical work for radiotherapy and gynecological departments during COVID-19 crisis from the perspectives of gynecological radiotherapy principles, clinical trials, MDT and academic activities.