OBJECTIVETo evaluate the surgical therapeutic strategy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with (N2) mediastinal lymph node metastasis.

METHODSThe clinical data of 325 patients with N2 NSCLC treated surgically between 1961 and 1995 were analysed.

RESULTSThe over-all 5-year survival rate was 19.6%. Survival was higher in patients with radical resection than with palliative resection, with squamous-cell carcinoma than with adenocarcinoma, with sleeve lobectomy and pneumonectomy than with regular lobectomy, with 1 to 3 mediastinal metastatic lymph nodes than those over 4, and with adjuvant therapy (chiefly postoperative radiotherapy) than without. All these differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no 5-year survivor in patients with T3 or T4 tumor, nor in those with distant metastasis.

CONCLUSIONIt is suggested that surgery is the best choice for N2 NSCLC patients with T1 or T2 tumor, with non-adenocarcinoma, and with metastatic mediastinal lymph nodes less than 4 in number. Surgery is probably not a good choice in those with T3 tumor varieties. At operation, radical resection of the tumor and systematic removal of all hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes are essential for disease staging and survival improvement. Adjuvant therapy may improve long-term survival and is especially indicated in patients with residual tumor and/or metastatic mediastinal lymph nodes over 3 in number.

Adenocarcinoma ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; secondary ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; secondary ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; secondary ; surgery ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; surgery ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Pneumonectomy ; methods ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo investigate the time to progression (TTP) and overall survival in patients with previously untreated metastatic or relapsed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemotherapy (paclitaxel plus cisplatin) combined with radiotherapy versus chemotherapy alone, and also to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the regimen.

METHODSIn this prospective and non-randomized study, 47 patients with definite measurable lesion and having no previous chemotherapy were enrolled. All patients were treated with paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 by 2-hour iv infusion on d1 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 by iv infusion on d1, which were repeated every 21 days. After 2-6 cycles of chemotherapy, those who gained CR, PR or SD were non-randomly assinged into radiotherapy group (group A) or non-radiotherapy group (group B).

RESULTSTotally, 47 patients were enrolled into this study, and all of them were valuable for response. One patient achieved complete response (CR), 19 partial response (PR), 24 stable disease (SD), and 3 were found to have disease progression (PD). The overall response rate of chemotherapy was 42.6% (95% CI, 0.28-0.58). Twenty-one of these 47 patients were sequentially treated with radiotherapy. The median survival and TTP was 13 months and 10 months in the group A , versus 11 months and 5 months in the group B (P < 0.024, P < 0.015), respectively. The most common toxicities were neutropenia and alopecia. There were no grade 4 clinical toxicity and treatment-related death in this series. Systemic adverse effects frequently occurred during radiotherapy were esophagitis and fatigue, which were tolerable.

CONCLUSIONThe combined therapy using chemotherapy (paclitaxel + cisplatin) followed by radiotherapy is effective, tolerable, and statistically superior to chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic or relapsed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alopecia ; etiology ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; secondary ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Fatigue ; etiology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; secondary ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; secondary ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neutropenia ; etiology ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; Prospective Studies ; Radiotherapy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Radiotherapy, High-Energy ; adverse effects ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVE: This is a retrospective study aimed at clarifying the details of recurrence patterns and sites in patients with cervical cancer treated with definitive radiation therapy (RT). METHODS: Data were analyzed from consecutive patients, admitted to the University of Tokyo Hospital (Tokyo, Japan) between 2001 and 2013, who had received definitive RT, with or without chemotherapy, for International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages IB-IVA cervical cancer. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-seven patients formed the patient cohort. The median follow-up period for surviving patients was 57.0 months. A complete response was achieved in 121 patients (88%). Of these, 36 (30%) developed a cancer recurrence during follow-up. The first sites of recurrence were located in intra-RT fields in nine, outside RT fields in 20, and both in seven patients. In the intra-RT field group, all patients showed a local recurrence, while no one experienced an isolated pelvic lymph node (PLN) recurrence. In the outside RT field group, the most frequent site of recurrence was lung (60%), and three-quarters of patients were free from intra-RT field recurrence until the last follow-up. Of the entire cohort, including 48 PLN-positive patients, only seven patients (5.1%) developed PLN persistence or recurrence, all in the common iliac, internal iliac, and/or obturator nodes, and all with another synchronous relapse. CONCLUSION: Local disease was a major type of intra-RT field recurrence, while PLN control was favorable even in initially PLN-positive patients. The predominance of outside RT field recurrence alone highlights issues concerning distant control, including the intensity enhancement of systematic therapy.
Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy/*radiotherapy/secondary ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use ; Brachytherapy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy/*radiotherapy/secondary ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Dose Fractionation ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/*secondary ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*diagnosis ; Pelvis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/drug therapy/pathology/*radiotherapy

OBJECTIVEPure epithelial breast metaplastic carcinoma is a rare and highly malignant tumor. In this study, our purpose was to analyze the clinical features, treatment method and prognostic factors, so to explore the approach for early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of this cancer.

METHODSClinical data of 22 patients with histopathologically confirmed pure epithelial breast metaplastic carcinoma and treated at Tianjin Cancer Hospital from 1974 to 2008, were reviewed retrospectively. Survival rate was calculated by life tables. Kaplan-Meier unvariate analysis and Log-rank test were used to compare the survival rates. Multivariate factors for survival were analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression model.

RESULTSThe median age of the 22 cases of pure epithelial breast metaplastic carcinoma was 52.5 years. Among them 20 cases went to see a doctor for painless mass, and two cases shown as skin inflammation. Clarifying a diagnosis was difficult before operation so that its diagnosis mainly depended on postoperative histopathologic examination. Twelve cases had axillary lymph node metastasis, 7 cases distant metastasis, and the lung was the most common metastatic organ. The 5-year survival rate was 55.6%, with a median follow-up of 46 months. It was found by Kaplan-Meier unvariate analysis that the age (P = 0.044), number of positive axillary lymph nodes (P = 0.011) and therapeutic schedule (P = 0,003) significantly influenced the outcome of the patients, but tumor size (P = 0.194) was not. Cox multivariate analysis results showed that number of positive axillary lymph nodes was independent prognostic factor for pure epithelial breast metaplastic carcinoma (P = 0.038).

CONCLUSIONSPure epithelial breast metaplastic carcinoma is seldom seen. It is easy to cause distant metastasis and has a poor prognosis. ER, PR and HER-2 expressions in most samples are negative. The more axillary lymph nodes have metastasis, the poorer is the prognosis. A reasonable and comprehensive treatment can improve the prognosis obviously.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Axilla ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; surgery ; Carcinoma ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; secondary ; surgery ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; secondary ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Mastectomy, Radical ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical characteristics, influencing factors and outcome of recurrent patients with early stage bulky cervical carcinoma.

METHODSBetween January 1(st) 2000 and December 31(st) 2009, 76 patients with stage Ib2 and IIa2 bulky cervical carcinoma developed recurrence and (or) metastasis. The recurrence time, recurrence location, recurrence-related factors, treatment and survival were analyzed.

RESULTSThe median follow up was 44 months (9-137 months). The overall recurrence and (or) metastasis rate was 22.6%. The 1-, 1-2, 3-5 and 5-year recurrence and (or) metastasis rates were 38.2%, 27.6%, 30.3% and 3.9%, respectively. The 5-year survival rate of local recurrence was 34.5%, that of distant metastasis was 23.6%, and that of distant metastasis with synchronous pelvic recurrence was 11.1%, (P = 0.555). The 5-year survival rate of patients who received surgery plus chemotherapy, radiation plus chemotherapy and chemotherapy alone after recurrence and (or) metastasis were 53.3%, 30.7% and 24.6%, respectively (P = 0.686). Univariate analysis demonstrated that tumor recurrence and (or) metastasis in patients of the stage Ib2 and IIa2 bulky cervical carcinoma were influenced by the disease stage, pelvic lymph node metastasis, deep cervical stromal invasion, lymphovascular tumor thrombus and pathological types. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that pelvic lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular tumor thrombus and pathological types were the key factors affecting the recurrence and (or) metastases of the stage Ib2 and IIa2 bulky cervical carcinoma. Subgroup analysis showed that pelvic lymph node metastasis and stage were the main factors affecting the local recurrence in those patients, and the pathological type, vascular tumor thrombus and pelvic lymph node metastasis were the main factors affecting the distant metastasis.

CONCLUSIONSRecurrence and(or) metastasis of early stage bulky cervical cancer are mostly happened within 2 years post operation. Patients with pelvic lymph node metastasis have high probability to develop local recurrence and distant metastasis. Patients with non-squamous cell carcinoma and lymphovascular tumor thrombus are more likely to develop distant metastasis. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy does not decrease local recurrence and distant metastasis in patients with stage Ib2 and IIa2 bulky cervical carcinoma. Individualized treatment is advised for recurrent patients.

Adenocarcinoma ; pathology ; secondary ; surgery ; therapy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; secondary ; surgery ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; secondary ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; surgery ; therapy ; Neoplasm Staging ; Pelvis ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Burden ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; therapy