Objective to investigate the clinical effectiveness and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermotherapy for benign thyroid nodules. Methods Ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency or microwave ablation was conducted following tru-cut bopsy of 50 benign thyroid nodules in 40 patients, including those with adenomas and hyperplastic nodules. The necrosis and shrinkage in the ablated areas were evaluated. The adverse effects and complications related to ablation were observed. Results All the 50 thyroid nodules were depend of blood supply after ablation as shown by contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and the ablated area completely covered the size of the nodules. Follow-up ultrasound examination demonstrated that the ablated areas were shrunk to various degrees, including completely disappearance in 6 (12%), 32(64%) with the diameters reduced by more than a half, and 12 (24%) with the diameters reduced by less than a half. There were no skin burns in the neck, bronchial or esophageal injuries, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, or complication related to neck muscle injury. Conclusion Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermal ablation is a safe, minimally invasive, controllable and definitely effective method for treating benign thyroid nodules. It has a great clinical potential.

OBJECTIVETo analyse the effectiveness and toxicity of combined chemotherapy regimen containing pirarubicin (THP) in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

METHODSThree hundred and ninety two patients with NHL were treated by THP containing regimen with or without involved field radiotherapy. The clinical characteristics, response, toxicity and long-term survival rates were analysed.

RESULTSThe median age of the patients was 47 (5 - 87) years and 26.0% aged more than 60 years. 61.0% of the patients were males and 39.0% females. B-cell and T/NK cell NHL accounted for 68.4% and 23.2% respectively with 56.9% of diffuse large B cell lymphoma and 12.5% of peripheral T cell lymphoma. 92.6% of the patients were ECOG < 1, 63.2% in stage I + II, 84.7% with IPI score 0 - 2 and 25% with B symptoms, 93.9% (368/392) of the patients received CTOP (containing THP) regimen chemotherapy and among them 28.5% (112/392) plus involved field radiotherapy. Altogether 1598 courses were administered on 368 patients. The overall response rate was 88.5% (341/385) with a complete remission (CR) rate of 63.6%, major toxicity was myelosuppression with 12.8%, 1.0% and 1.5% of grade III - IV neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia, respectively. G-CSF support was given for 553 courses (34.6%). Alopecia account for 19.8%. The incidence of mild cardiotoxicity was 5.8%. Treatment-related mortality was 1.6% (6/368). Median follow-up was 24 months. The 1, 3 and 5 year actuarial survival rates were 86.4% , 66.5% and 59.2%, respectively. Median survival time has not been achieved.

CONCLUSIONThe efficacy of THP based regimen CTOP for the treatment of aggressive NHL is promising. Further clinical trial is warranted.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Doxorubicin ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

Animals ; Cdc20 Proteins/metabolism* ; Cell Line ; Embryo, Mammalian/embryology* ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Infertility, Female/metabolism* ; Mice ; Mutation ; Oocytes/metabolism*