Objective To analyze the outcomes of preoperative intracavitary brachytherapy plus sur-gery in patients with stage ⅠB2 and ⅡA bulky cervical cancer. Methods From January 2001 to January 2007, 77 patients with stage ⅠB2 and ⅡA bulky cervical cancer were included. The diameter of primary tumor was greater than 4 cm. Preoperative intracavitary brachytherapy with the total dose of 20-30 Gy (0.5 cm below the vaginal mucosa) was delivered by 2-3 fractions, one fraction per week. After an interval of 10-14 days, the efficacies of radiotherapy were evaluated and radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphade-nectomy was performed. Then the treatment complications, clinicopathological characteristics, survival and recurrence were analyzed. Results The tumor shrinkage was observed in all the patients after intracavitary brachytherapy. The CR, PR and SD were 5% (4/77), 36% (28/77) and 58% (45/77), respectively. Radical hysterectomy was successfully performed in all patients. The complications of the combined therapy were mild and only 5 patients had grade Ⅱ or less hematological or gastrointestinal toxicities. The 5-year o-verall survival rate and pelvic recurrence rate were 83% and 12%, respectively. Conclusions Preoperative intracavitary brachytherapy of 20-30 Gy plus surgery is effective in the treatment of stage ⅠB2 and ⅡA bulky cervical cancer without increasing the treatment complications.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in diagnosis of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs), mediastinal occupying lesion of unknown origin, as well as in N-staging for lung cancer. Methods EUS-FNA was performed via esophagus with a 22-gange needle in 61 patients, followed by pathological and cytological examinations. Results The positive diagnosis rate of EUS-FNA was 93.4% (57/61), and the cytological and pathological diagnostic accuracy were 85.2% (52/61) and 83.6% (51/61), respectively. Of 61 patients, 26 were suspected as having lung cancer with mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis, but the bronchoscopy failed to confirm the diag-nosis. EUS-FNA diagnosed lung cancer in 21 and benign lesion in 5. Of 22 patients with mediastinal occupying lesions of unknown origin, 19 (86.4%) were diagnosed by EUS-FNA. Of 7 patients with malignant tumor history and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, EUS-FNA confirmed mediastinal metastasis in 6 (85.7%). Six cases of lung cancer with suspected mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis were confirmed by EUS-FNA and the corresponding therapy regimen was modified. No complications related to EUS-FNA procedure occurred. Conclusion EUS-FNA is a safe and effective method for diagnosis of enlarged medistinal LNs, mediastinal lesion of unkown origin and N-stage of lung cancer.