Background and purpose:Limited-stage(LS)-small cell esophageal carcinoma(SCEC),characterized by high aggressiveness and an extremely poor prognosis,lacks standardized staging systems due to its rarity.Consequently,no randomized controlled clinical trials exist to guide therapeutic strategies,necessitating reliance on extrapolated protocols from small cell lung cancer(SCLC)paradigms,though clinical outcomes remain dismal.This study aimed to analyse survival outcomes,prognostic factors,failure patterns and therapeutic strategies in patients with LS-SCEC.Methods:We conducted a retrospective single-center study of LS-SCEC patients diagnosed and treated at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from January 2006 to June 2023.Clinicopathological data for diagnosis,staging and follow-up were rigorously collected.Patients with mixed esophageal tumors in whom small cell carcinoma was not the predominant histological component(＜50%)were excluded.Continuous variables were presented as x±s.Categorical variables were summarized as counts and percentages,with intergroup comparisons performed using χ2 test or Fisher's exact tests.Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method,and Cox regression was used to analyse factors related to prognosis.A two-sided P＜0.050 was considered statistically significant.A 1∶1 nearest-neighbour propensity score matching was applied to compare survival outcomes between patients undergoing radical chemoradiotherapy and those receiving radical surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.Results:Of 261 eligible LS-SCEC patients included,the median follow-up duration was 72.7 months(95%CI:52.0-92.4),with a median cancer-specific survival(CSS)of 24.5 months(95%CI:19.7-29.3)and a 5-year CSS rate of 32.8%.The median progression-free survival(PFS)was 12.0 months(95%CI:10.7-13.3).Among these,67 patients remained recurrence-free,and 169 patients exhibited disease progression after first-line treatment.Distant metastasis was the predominant recurrence pattern(131 patients,77.5%),whereas locoregional recurrence occurred in only 38 patients(22.5%).The most frequent metastatic sites were liver(54 patients),followed by bone(25 patients),brain(24 patients),and lung(23 patients).The number of chemotherapy cycle and TNM stage(8th edition)were independent prognostic factors for CSS and PFS in LS-SCEC patients.Comparative analysis of radical surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy versus radical chemoradiotherapy revealed no statistically significant differences in CSS and PFS(P＞0.05),even after propensity score matching.Patients with cervical/upper thoracic tumors,longer tumor lengths,and advanced stages were more likely to receive chemoradiotherapy;additionally,the chemoradiotherapy group had a higher proportion of patients completing≥4 chemotherapy cycle.Conclusion:This large-sample retrospective study with comprehensive datasets and long-term follow-up demonstrated comparable survival outcomes between radical chemoradiotherapy and radical surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy for LS-SCEC.A minimum of 4 chemotherapy cycle was associated with improved prognosis.SCEC is associated with a high risk of distant metastasis and marked heterogeneity.Therefore,the treatment of LS-SCEC should prioritize an individualized approach.

Background and purpose:Limited-stage(LS)-small cell esophageal carcinoma(SCEC),characterized by high aggressiveness and an extremely poor prognosis,lacks standardized staging systems due to its rarity.Consequently,no randomized controlled clinical trials exist to guide therapeutic strategies,necessitating reliance on extrapolated protocols from small cell lung cancer(SCLC)paradigms,though clinical outcomes remain dismal.This study aimed to analyse survival outcomes,prognostic factors,failure patterns and therapeutic strategies in patients with LS-SCEC.Methods:We conducted a retrospective single-center study of LS-SCEC patients diagnosed and treated at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from January 2006 to June 2023.Clinicopathological data for diagnosis,staging and follow-up were rigorously collected.Patients with mixed esophageal tumors in whom small cell carcinoma was not the predominant histological component(＜50%)were excluded.Continuous variables were presented as x±s.Categorical variables were summarized as counts and percentages,with intergroup comparisons performed using χ2 test or Fisher's exact tests.Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method,and Cox regression was used to analyse factors related to prognosis.A two-sided P＜0.050 was considered statistically significant.A 1∶1 nearest-neighbour propensity score matching was applied to compare survival outcomes between patients undergoing radical chemoradiotherapy and those receiving radical surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.Results:Of 261 eligible LS-SCEC patients included,the median follow-up duration was 72.7 months(95%CI:52.0-92.4),with a median cancer-specific survival(CSS)of 24.5 months(95%CI:19.7-29.3)and a 5-year CSS rate of 32.8%.The median progression-free survival(PFS)was 12.0 months(95%CI:10.7-13.3).Among these,67 patients remained recurrence-free,and 169 patients exhibited disease progression after first-line treatment.Distant metastasis was the predominant recurrence pattern(131 patients,77.5%),whereas locoregional recurrence occurred in only 38 patients(22.5%).The most frequent metastatic sites were liver(54 patients),followed by bone(25 patients),brain(24 patients),and lung(23 patients).The number of chemotherapy cycle and TNM stage(8th edition)were independent prognostic factors for CSS and PFS in LS-SCEC patients.Comparative analysis of radical surgery with adjuvant chemotherapy versus radical chemoradiotherapy revealed no statistically significant differences in CSS and PFS(P＞0.05),even after propensity score matching.Patients with cervical/upper thoracic tumors,longer tumor lengths,and advanced stages were more likely to receive chemoradiotherapy;additionally,the chemoradiotherapy group had a higher proportion of patients completing≥4 chemotherapy cycle.Conclusion:This large-sample retrospective study with comprehensive datasets and long-term follow-up demonstrated comparable survival outcomes between radical chemoradiotherapy and radical surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy for LS-SCEC.A minimum of 4 chemotherapy cycle was associated with improved prognosis.SCEC is associated with a high risk of distant metastasis and marked heterogeneity.Therefore,the treatment of LS-SCEC should prioritize an individualized approach.

Objective To explore the differences in the hippocampal delineation among different radiologists and to evaluate the impact of the delineating guideline training upon improving the accuracy of target area.Methods In this prospective study,20 patients scheduled to receive whole brain radiation therapy were selected.Before and after the delineating guideline training,three physicians from Department of Radiation Oncology delineated the hippocampal targets three times for each patient.One physician from Department of Imaging Diagnosis delivered the delineating guideline training and delineated the hippocampus of 20 patients as the standard target area.The delineating targets before and after the training were statistically compared among different physicians.Results The conformity indexes with the standard target of three physicians before and after the training were 0.66±0.04 and 0.77±0.02,0.62±0.04 and 0.76± 0.02,0.49±0.05 and 0.74±0.04,respectively.The conformity indexes were all statistically increased after the training (all P＜ 0.05).The inter-observer variability significantly differed among different physicians before and after training (all P＜0.05).The coefficient of variance of hippocampal volume before and after training were 0.16±0.06 and 0.08±0.04 with statistical significance (all P＜0.05).Compared with all targets before training,the consistency of each physician was significantly improved after training (all P＜0.05).Conclusion Hippocampal delineation guideline training can improve the accuracy of delineation.

Objective To review the clinical features , diagnosis , prognosis and treatment of polycythemia vera ( PV) complicated with acute coronary syndrome ( ACS) .Methods The clinical data of 2 PV patients complicated with ACS admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital ( PUMCH ) were retrospectively analyzed and the recent literatures were reviewed .Results Case 1 was a 65-year old man who had been diagnosed PV with a positive JAK2V617F mutation 3 years ago.At presentation, the patient was suffering from recurrent angina pectoris , and coronary angiography revealed that there was a severe ( 80%) stenosis in the middle segment of left circumflex and a Xience V stent was implanted .After the percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention ( PCI ) , secondary prevention for coronary heart disease and hydroxyurea for PV were given and the patient has been followed up regularly for more than three years and he is going well.Case 2 is a 44-year old man who was diagnosed PV with a positive JAK 2 mutation 3 years ago and hydroxyurea, interferon, aspirin was prescribed.Then splenic infarction, thrombosis of splenic vein,regional portal hypertension , severe varices of fundus of stomach and upper gastrointestinal bleeding developed with him.Two months ago , an AMI of inferior wall occurred and the angiographic findings demonstrated an thrombotic lesion in the proximal segment of the right coronary artery with a moderate stenosis ( 60%);1 month ago an AMI of anterior wall developed and coronary angiography discovered that there were diffuse thrombus in the proximal segment of left anterior descending artery with a severe stenosis ( 90%) and a complete occlusion in the right coronary artery .After double antiplatelet therapy with anticoagulation therapy of warfarin was given , the patient recovered gradually .Conclusions PV complicated with ACS is relatively rare.According to recent studies, positive JAK2V617F mutation, leukocytosis, age >65 years and positive history of thrombosis are the most important predictors of cardiovascular events .Clinicians should design individualized treatment strategies for patients on the basis of clinical features , coronary angiography findings and complications .For those with thrombotic lesion in the coronary artery due to the hypercoagulative state caused by PV, it should be cautious to carry out a coronary revascularization treatment .