[Objective] To observe the effect of Xiangdan injection with the actions of activating blood and removing stasis for the treatment of acute tubular necrosis (ATN) after kidney transplantation. [Methods] Twenty-six patients with ATN after kidney transplantation were randomized into groups A and B. The two groups were treated with triple immuno-suppressive agents of cyclosporin A, prednisone and mycophenolic acid, with medicines for protecting liver function and gastric mucosa, and with preventive measures from infection. Additionally, group A (n = 16) was treated with Xiangdan injection, while group B ( n = 10) was not. After treatment, time for hemodialysis, renal function and renal flow resistance index of the transplanted kidney were compared between the two groups after the occurrence of ATN. [Results] Compared with group B, time for hemodialysis was shortened, the decrease of serum creatine (SCr) in the transplanted kidney quickened, and renal flow resistance index (RI) of the transplanted kidney decreased (P 0.05). [Conclusion] Xiangdan injection with the actions of activating blood and removing stasis can promote the early recovery of ATN after kidney transplantation.

Objective:To study the effects of different processes on diosgenin content in polygonatum from Shaanxi. Methods:The content of diosgenin was determined by HPLC on a column of Woburn C18 (250 mm × 4. 6 mm, 5 μm) with the mobile phase of acetonitrile-water(90 ∶10)at the flow rate of 1.0 ml·min-1, the detection wavelength was 203 nm, the column temperature was 30℃, and the injection volume was 30 μl. Results:The linear range of diosgenin was 0. 892-5. 352 μg(r=0. 999 9), and the aver-age recovery was 99. 5% (RSD=2. 53%). The content of diosgenin was significantly various among the samples of polygonatum with different processes from Shaanxi (P<0. 05), and that in the raw slices was the highest followed by the steam samples, while that in al-cohol evaporate slices was the lowest. Conclusion:The results of the research can provide reference for the quality control and process-ing methods of polygonatum from Shaanxi.

Objective:To investigate the effects of estimated dose of radiation to immune cells (EDRIC) on overall survival (OS), local progression-free survival (LPFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) with different tumor burdens.Methods:Clinical data of 216 patients with LS-SCLC who initially received conventional fractionated radiotherapy of the chest for radical treatment in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from 2013 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. EDRIC was calculated based on the model developed by Jin et al. and tumor burdens were assessed by gross tumor volume (GTV) or clinical stage. The study endpoints were OS, LPFS and DMFS, which were calculated from the date of diagnosis. The optimal cut-off value of EDRIC was calculated by R language. The correlation between EDRIC and tumor burdens was analyzed using Spearman's correlations. Survival analysis was performed by Cox proportional hazards regression model and Kaplan-Meier curve. Results:The median follow-up time for the whole group was 47.8 months, and the median OS and DMFS was 34.6 months and 18.5 months, respectively, while the median LPFS did not reach. The optimal cut-off value of EDRIC was 6.8 Gy. Cox multivariate analysis showed that EDRIC was an independent prognostic factor affecting OS and DMFS. EDRIC was weakly correlated with GTV or clinical stage. Stratified by the median GTV, OS ( P=0.021) and DMFS ( P=0.030) were significantly shortened and LPFS had a tendency of shortening ( P=0.107) when EDRIC>6.8 Gy compared with those when EDRIC ≤ 6.8 Gy in the GTV ≤ 34.6 cm 3 group; EDRIC had little effect on OS, LPFS, and DMFS ( P=0.133, 0.420, 0.374) in the GTV>34.6 cm 3 group. Stratified by clinical stage, OS ( P=0.003) and DMFS ( P=0.032) were significantly shortened and LPFS ( P=0.125) tended to shorten when EDRIC>6.8 Gy in stage I, II and IIIA groups; EDRIC exerted slight effect on OS, LPFS, and DMFS ( P=0.377, 0.439, 0.484) in stage IIIB and IIIC groups. Conclusion:EDRIC is an important factor affecting prognosis and exerts more significant impact on prognosis in patients with smaller tumor burden.

Objective:To establish a brain metastasis (BM) prediction model for limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) patients who achieved complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) after thoracic chemoradiotherapy, and to explore the value of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) in different risk groups.Methods:Clinical data of 274 patients with LS-SCLC who achieved CR/PR after thoracic chemoradiotherapy in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital from January 2010 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, including 144 cases in the PCI group and 130 in the non-PCI group. The nomogram was developed based on variables determined by univariate and multivariate analyses in the non-PCI group. The bootstrap method, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, calibration curve and decision curve analysis (DCA) were employed to evaluate the predictive power and clinical benefits of the model. Patients were stratified into high- and low-risk groups based on risk scores. The brain metastases-free survival (BMFS), progression-free survival (PFS), extracranial progression-free survival (ePFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between patients with and without PCI in different risk-stratified populations using the log-rank test.Results:The nomogram included five variables: systemic immune inflammation index (SII), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), pro-gastrin-releasing peptide precursor (ProGRP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and blood calcium. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the nomogram in predicting 1- and 2-year BMFS was 0.761 and 0.822. In the low-risk group, there was no significant difference in the BMFS ( P=0.374), PFS ( P=0.551), ePFS ( P=0.508) and OS ( P=0.767) between the PCI and non-PCI groups. In the high-risk group, PCI could significantly increase the BMFS ( P<0.001) and PFS ( P=0.022), while there was no significant difference in the ePFS ( P=0.963) and OS ( P=0.632). And propensity score-matching (PSM) analysis showed similar results. Conclusions:PCI does not improve OS in LS-SCLC patients regardless of high or low risk of BM. However, PCI significantly prolong the BMFS and PFS in patients at a high risk of BM.

Objective:To analyze the failure mode after immunotherapy and the prognostic significance of combined radiotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:Clinical data of 220 advanced NSCLC patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) as the first-line therapy in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from January 2017 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The baseline characteristics, the first-line treatment regimen, modes and locations of failure, radiotherapy purpose, location and prescription dose of all patients were collected. The main parameter was the overall survival (OS). Survival analysis was conducted by Kaplan-Meier method. Survival comparison was performed by log-rank test.Results:A total of 220 patients were enrolled in the study in which 65 cases (29.5%) exhibited a state of oligometastasis. Among 72 patients who received radiotherapy, 29 cases (40%) received chest radiotherapy and 53 cases (74%) received metastatic radiotherapy. The median follow-up time was 25.6 months. Up to the last follow-up, disease progression had been observed in 140 patients, with 84 patients (38.2%) of them demonstrating a state of oligometastasis. Among 120 patients with disease progression and confirmed location of progression, 62 patients (51.7%) failed in first-line immunotherapy because of the primary lesion progression (mainly in the chest cavity), 34 patients (28.3%) due to the appearance of new metastases, and the remaining 24 patients(20.0%) due to primary lesion progression and new distant metastases. Among 72 patients treated with the first-line immunotherapy combined with local radiotherapy, 17 patients (24%) received planned radiotherapy, another 17 patients (24%) received salvage radiotherapy, and the remaining 38 patients (53%) received radiotherapy to relieve symptoms. The prognosis of patients significantly differed according to the purpose of radiotherapy ( P=0.030). The median OS of patients who did not receive radiotherapy was 29.1 months, those who received planned radiotherapy did not reach the median OS, and the median OS of those who received salvage radiotherapy was 28.7 months, and the median OS of those who received local radiotherapy to relieve symptoms was only 19.0 months. Conclusions:The progression of primary lesions is the main failure mode of the first-line immunotherapy. Chest cavity is the main location of tumor progression. Local radiotherapy for intrathoracic lesions may improve the survival benefit further for advanced NSCLC patients after the first-line immunotherapy.

Objective:To compare the incidence of radiation pneumonitis (RP) between lung cancer patients from the European, American and Asian regions.Methods:The studies related to lung cancer and RP were searched from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library. According to the different places where the studies were conducted, the searched studies were divided into two types: Asian studies and European, American and Australian studies. The incidence of RP between two regions was summarized. Studies related to dosimetry parameters were searched from PubMed database.Results:A total of 3, 190 patients from 14studies were included. Meta-analysis results showed that the incidence of ≥ grade 3 RP was similar in patients from Asia and Europe, America and Australia (4.9% vs. 4.6%, P=0.895), whereas the incidence of grade 5 RP in Asia was significantly higher than that in Europe, America and Australia (1.5% vs. 0.2%, P=0.002). Moreover, the lung irradiation dose received by the patients in the Asian group was relatively low. Lung V 20Gy dose limitation standard was reported in 21studies. Further analysis found no statistical significance in lung V 20Gy dose limitation standard between two regions ( P=0.440), and the standard in Asian studies is likely to be even stricter. Conclusions:The incidence of RP after chemoradiotherapy in lung cancer patients in Asia is relatively higher compared with those in Europe, America and Australia. The differences in dose limitation standard should be noted when the thoracic radiation regimen based solely on the data from foreign studies is applied to the patients in Asia.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of thoracic radiotherapy in the treatment of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) with different metastatic sites.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed among 830 ES-SCLC patients who were admitted to our hospital from 2010 to 2019. They all received the first-line chemotherapy and had no progression after chemotherapy. 341 patients of them received thoracic radiotherapy after chemotherapy. The main endpoint was overall survival. The Chi-square test was used to compare the categorical data including gender and age, etc. Univariate survival analysis was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test was used to compare the survival curves between two groups. A multivariate prognostic analysis was made by the Cox proportional hazard model.Results:In all the patients, the overall survival (OS) was 12.4 months. The patients with thoracic radiotherapy had significantly higher OS than the patients without thoracic radiotherapy (15.2 months vs.10.8 months, P<0.001). Thoracic radiotherapy significantly improved the OS in patients without liver metastasis (16.0 months vs.11.4 months, P<0.001) in the oligometastatic patients. But for the oligometastatic patients with liver metastasis, the OS benefit was not significant (14.2 months vs. 10.6 months, P=0.072). For polymetastatic patients without liver metastasis, thoracic radiotherapy offered significant OS benefits (14.5 months vs.10.9 months, P<0.001), but for the polymetastatic patients with liver metastasis, the OS was not improved with thoracic radiotherapy (10.2 months vs.9.2 months, P=0.715). Conclusions:In ES-SCLC patients, thoracic radiotherapy provides significant OS benefits in patients with oligometastases ES-SCLC without liver metastasis and for the liver metastatic patients may also benefit from thoracic radiotherapy based on the effectiveness of chemotherapy. In patients with multiple metastases, thoracic radiotherapy only improves the OS in patients without liver metastasis, but does not improve the prognosis in patients with liver metastasis.

Objective:To evaluate whether whole brain radiation therapy(WBRT) could benefit small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients with brain metastases.Methods:Clinical data of 245 patients who were diagnosed with extensive stage SCLC with brain metastases admitted to our hospital from 2010 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 168 patients received WRBT (WBRT group, radiation dose: 30Gy in 10 fractions), and 77 patients did not receive WBRT (non-WBRT group). All patients received 4-6 cycles of chemotherapy, and the chemotherapy regimen included cisplatin (or carboplatin) plus etoposide. One hundred and fifteen patients received thoracic radiotherapy. The endpoint was overall survival after brain metastases(BM-OS). Chi-square test was used to compare categorical data, and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting(sIPTW) was used to match the factors between WBRT and no-WBRT groups. Survival analysis was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to compare survival curves between two groups. Results:The median BM-OS for the whole group of patients was 9.1 months, and 10.6 months and 6.7 months in the WBRT and non-WBRT groups, respectively( P=0.003). After balanced influencing factors with stabilized sIPTW, significant difference still existed in BM-OS between two groups( P=0.02). In 118 patients with synchronous brain metastases, the median BM-OS in two groups were 13.0 months and 9.6 months( P=0.007); and in 127 patients with metachronous brain metastases, the median BM-OS were 8.0 months and 4.1 months( P=0.003). In 50 patients without extracranial metastases, the median BM-OS were 13.3 months and 10.9 months( P=0.259)in two groups; while in 195 patients with extracranial metastases, the median BM-OS were 9.5 months and 5.9 months( P=0.009)in two groups. Conclusions:WBRT could prolong the OS in extensive stage SCLC patients with brain metastases.