BACKGROUND: The effect of intra-operative chemotherapy (IOC) on the long-term survival of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the independent effect of intra-operative infusion of 5-fluorouracil in combination with calcium folinate on the survival of CRC patients following radical resection. METHODS: 1820 patients were recruited, and 1263 received IOC and 557 did not. Clinical and demographic data were collected, including overall survival (OS), clinicopathological features, and treatment strategies. Risk factors for IOC-related deaths were identified using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. A regression model was developed to analyze the independent effects of IOC. RESULTS: Proportional hazard regression analysis showed that IOC (hazard ratio [HR]=0.53, 95% confidence intervals [CI] [0.43, 0.65], P  < 0.001) was a protective factor for the survival of patients. The mean overall survival time in IOC group was 82.50 (95% CI [80.52, 84.49]) months, and 71.21 (95% CI [67.92, 74.50]) months in non-IOC group. The OS in IOC-treated patients were significantly higher than non-IOC-treated patients ( P  < 0.001, log-rank test). Further analysis revealed that IOC decreased the risk of death in patients with CRC in a non-adjusted model (HR=0.53, 95% CI [0.43, 0.65], P  < 0.001), model 2 (adjusted for age and gender, HR=0.52, 95% CI [0.43, 0.64], P  < 0.001), and model 3 (adjusted for all factors, 95% CI 0.71 [0.55, 0.90], P  = 0.006). The subgroup analysis showed that the HR for the effect of IOC on survival was lower in patients with stage II (HR = 0.46, 95% CI [0.31, 0.67]) or III disease (HR=0.59, 95% CI [0.45, 0.76]), regardless of pre-operative radiotherapy (HR=0.55, 95% CI [0.45, 0.68]) or pre-operative chemotherapy (HR=0.54, 95% CI [0.44, 0.66]). CONCLUSIONS: IOC is an independent factor that influences the survival of CRC patients. It improved the OS of patients with stages II and III CRC after radical surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR 2100043775.
Humans ; Fluorouracil/therapeutic use* ; Leucovorin/therapeutic use* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Prognosis

Objective: To explore the outcome of different treatment strategies in patients with pancreatic cancer with synchronous liver metastasis (sLMPC). Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data and treatment results of 37 patients with sLMPC treated in China-Japan Friendship Hospital was performed from April 2017 to December 2022. A total of 23 males and 14 females were included,with an age(M(IQR)) of 61 (10) years (range: 45 to 74 years). Systemic chemotherapy was carried out after pathological diagnosis. The initial chemotherapy strategy included modified-Folfirinox, albumin paclitaxel combined with Gemcitabine, and Docetaxel+Cisplatin+Fluorouracil or Gemcitabine with S1. The possibility of surgical resection (reaching the standards of surgical intervention) was determined after systemic treatment,and the chemotherapy strategy was changed in the cases of failed initial chemotherapy plans. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the overall survival time and rate,while Log-rank and Gehan-Breslow-Wilcoxon tests were used to compare the differences of survival curves. Results: The median follow-up time for the 37 sLMPC patients was 39 months,and the median overall survival time was 13 months (range:2 to 64 months) with overall survival rates of 1-,3-,and 5-year of 59.5%,14.7%,and 14.7%,respectively. Of the 37 patients,97.3%(36/37) initially received systemic chemotherapy, 29 completed more than four cycles,resulting in a disease control rate of 69.4% (partial response in 15 cases,stable disease in 10 cases,and progressive disease in 4 cases). In the 24 patients initially planned for conversion surgery,the successful conversion rate was 54.2% (13/24). Among the 13 successfully converted patients,9 underwent surgery and their treatment outcomes were significantly better than those (4 patients) of those who did not undergo surgery (median survival time not reached vs. 13 months,P<0.05). Regarding the 9 patients whose conversion was unsuccessful, no significant differences were observed in median survival time between the surgical group (4 cases) and the non-surgical group (5 cases) (P>0.05). In the allowed-surgery group(n=13),the decreased in pre-surgical CA19-9 levels and the regression of liver metastases were more significant in the successful conversion sub-group than in the ineffective conversion sub-group;however, no significant differences were observed in the changes in primary lesion between the two groups. Conclusion: For highly selective patients with sLMPC who achieve partial response after receiving effective systemic treatment,the adoption of an aggressive surgical treatment strategy can significantly improve survival time;however, surgery dose not provide such survival benefits in patients who do not achieve partial response after systemic chemotherapy.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/surgery* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Docetaxel/therapeutic use* ; Liver Neoplasms/secondary* ; Fluorouracil ; Leucovorin/therapeutic use*

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy is a common treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, but the effect is not satisfactory. The study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the effects of adding all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) to infusional fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX4) for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We extracted the data of patients with advanced HCC who underwent systemic chemotherapy using FOLFOX4 or ATRA plus FOLFOX4 at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, First Hospital of Jilin University, and Zhejiang Sian International Hospital and retrospectively compared for overall survival. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate the hazard ratios for overall survival and disease progression after controlling for age, sex, and disease stage. RESULTS: From July 2013 to July 2018, 111 patients with HCC were included in this study. The median survival duration was 14.8 months in the ATRA plus FOLFOX4 group and 8.2 months in the FOLFOX4 only group ( P  < 0.001). The ATRA plus FOLFOX4 group had a significantly longer median time to progression compared with the FOLFOX4 group (3.6 months vs. 1.8 months, P  < 0.001). Hazard ratios for overall survival and disease progression were 0.465 (95% confidence interval: 0.298-0.726; P  = 0.001) and 0.474 (0.314-0.717; P  < 0.001) after adjusting for potential confounders, respectively. CONCLUSION ATRA plus FOLFOX4 significantly improves the overall survival and time to disease progression in patients with advanced HCC.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; Oxaliplatin/therapeutic use* ; Fluorouracil/adverse effects* ; Disease Progression ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Leucovorin/adverse effects* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy*

Objective: To investigate the factors affecting the success of conversion therapy in patients with initially unresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) in order to provide evidence-based medical evidence for formulating individualized treatment strategies for patients. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was used in this study. Clinical data of 232 patients with initially unresectable CRLM receiving first-line systemic treatment in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from January 2013 to January 2020 were collected, including 98 patients of successful conversion and 134 patients of failed conversion as control. Conversion therapy scheme: 38 patients received FOLFOXIRI regimen chemotherapy (irinotecan, oxaliplatin, calcium folinate and fluorouracil), 152 patients received FOLFOX regimen (oxaliplatin, calcium folinate and fluorouracil), 19 patients received FOLRIRI regimen (irinotecan, calcium folinate and fluorouracil), 23 patients received systemic chemotherapy combined with fluorouridine hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy; 168 patients received targeted therapy, including 68 of bevacizumab and 100 of cetuximab. Logistics analysis was used to compare the factors affecting the success of conversion therapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate progression-free survival (PFS), and the Log-rank test was used for survival comparison. Results: Among 232 patients, 98 patients had successful conversions and 134 patients had failed conversions with a successful conversion rate of 42.2%, meanwhile 30 patients underwent simple hepatectomy and 68 underwent hepatectomy combined with intraoperative radiofrequency ablation. After first-line chemotherapy, 111 patients (47.8%) were partial remission, 57 patients (24.6%) were stable disease, and 64 patients (27.6%) were progression disease. During the median follow-up of 18.8 (1.0-87.9) months, 148 patients were dead or with tumor progression. The median PFS time of patients with successful conversion was longer than that of patients with failed conversion (31.0 months vs. 9.9 months, P<0.001). Univariate analysis found that the bilobar distribution of liver tumors (P=0.003), elevated baseline carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels (P=0.024), tumor invasion of the portal vein (P=0.001), number of metastatic tumor>8 (P<0.001), non-FOLFOXIRI (P=0.005), and no targeted therapy (P=0.038) were high risk factors for the failed conversion therapy. The results of multivariate logistics analysis indicated that the number of metastatic tumor >8 (OR=2.422, 95%CI: 1.291-4.544, P=0.006), portal vein invasion (OR=2.727, 95%CI: 1.237-4.170, P=0.008) were the independent risk factors for failed conversion therapy, while FOLFOXIRI regimen (OR=0.300, 95%CI: 0.135-0.666, P=0.003) and targeted drugs (OR=0.411, 95%CI: 0.209-0.809, P=0.010) were independent protective factors for successful conversion therapy. Conclusions: The number of metastatic tumor and portal vein invasion are key factors that affect the outcomes of conversion therapy for initially unresectable CRLM. If a patient can tolerate chemotherapy, a combination program of three-drug and targeted therapy is preferred for the active conversion therapy.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Camptothecin/therapeutic use* ; Case-Control Studies ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Fluorouracil/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Leucovorin/therapeutic use* ; Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Colorectal cancer is the second most common malignant tumor in China. The FOLFOXIRI regimen, which combines 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan, is a high-intensity and highly effective chemotherapy regimen. However, the original regimen is poorly tolerated in Chinese patients. In order to promote the standardized and rational application of FOLFOXIRI regimen by clinicians in China, "
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Camptothecin/therapeutic use* ; China ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Consensus ; Fluorouracil/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Irinotecan/therapeutic use* ; Leucovorin/therapeutic use* ; Organoplatinum Compounds/therapeutic use* ; Oxaliplatin ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: High doses of methotrexate (MTX) are often used in various chemotherapy protocols to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in children, but its delayed elimination increases the occurrence of adverse events, such as bone marrow suppression. The aim of this study was to investigate the elimination of MTX at 24 and 48 hours. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed electronic medical records of ALL or NHL pediatric patients who received 5 g/m² MTX infusion over 24 hours (between June, 2012 and July, 2018) at the Yonsei University Health System, Korea. The delayed elimination of MTX concentrations was assessed with 100 or 150 µM MTX at 24 hours, and 2 or 5 µM at 48 hours. RESULTS: Among the 85 MTX cycles administered, 23 cycles were classified in delayed elimination group, and 62 cycles showed normal elimination. At 24 hours, the delayed elimination group with MTX concentration > 100 µM showed higher percentage than group with MTX concentration < 100 µM (45.8% vs. 19.7%, p = 0.015). However, no differences were observed at 150 µM MTX (p = 0.66). At 48 hours, the delayed elimination was higher than the normal elimination at both concentration baselines (p < 0.001 at 2 µM, p = 0.024 at 5 µM). CONCLUSIONS: MTX concentrations greater than 100 µM show high probability of delayed elimination at 24 hours. When MTX levels are above normal, leucovorin and hydration regimens should be continued to prevent delayed elimination.
Bone Marrow ; Child ; Drug Therapy ; Electronic Health Records ; Humans ; Korea ; Leucovorin ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Methotrexate ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of dose-modified regimen of 5-fluorouracil plus oxaliplatin and irinotecan (mFOLFOXIRI) for patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODSData of 312 CRC patients confirmed by pathology receiving triplet drug alone or combined with target therapy between October 2012 and December 2016 at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were retrospectively analyzed. CRC patients who had previously completed adjuvant therapy (or neoadjuvant therapy) within 6 months or palliative chemotherapy were excluded, meanwhile those with poor general condition (ECOG score > 2) or grade 2 neuropathy and allergy to oxaliplatin were excluded as well. Regimen of mFOLFOXIRI: oxaliplatin 85 mg/m² dissolved in 5% glucose solution 500 ml by intravenous infusion for 2 h; irinotecan 150 to 165 mg/m² dissolved in 0.9% sodium chloride 250 ml by intravenous infusion for 90 min; following intravenous infusion of leucovorin 400 mg/m² for 2 h, day 1; 5-FU 2800 mg/m², 48-h continuous intravenous infusion; once every 2 weeks. Therapy could be combined with a targeted drug, bevacizumab 5 mg/kg every two weeks; cetuximab 500 mg/m² every two weeks. Side effect was graded using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE 4.0.3). The objective response rate was evaluated according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST 1.1) after administering at least four cycles of chemotherapy.

RESULTSThe median age was 52 years (range 16-73) in the whole group; 113 patients (36.2%) had locally advanced CRC, and 199 (63.8%) had metastatic CRC. Most patients (274/312, 87.8%) did not receive any treatment earlier. There were a total of 1651 chemotherapy cycles in the whole group, with a median of 6(1-19) cycles. Of these 1651 cycles, 124 cycles of chemotherapy(7.5%) were dose-adjusted; 176 cycles of chemotherapy(10.7%) were delayed for median 5(3-13) days; 124 cycles(7.5%) required dose decrease. The overall relative dose intensity was >90%; the specific drug dose intensity was 93.6%(2620 mg×m⁻²×d⁻¹) for fluorouracil, 97.8%(83 mg×m⁻²×d⁻¹) for oxaliplatin, and 94.2%(155 mg×m⁻²×d⁻¹) for irinotecan. Twenty-three patients (7 of intestinal perforation, 7 of intestinal obstruction, 1 of grade 4 hematologic toxicity, and 8 of grade 3 fatigue) refused subsequent chemotherapy due to intolerable toxicity. Main grade 3 or 4 adverse events in patients were neutropenia in 69 cases (22.1%), fatigue in 35 cases (11.2%), and anemia in 28 cases (8.9%). Twenty serious adverse events (6.4%) occurred, including 13 patients of febrile neutropenia (4.2%), 7 patients of intestinal perforation (2.2%, 4 patients in upper rectum, 2 in sigmoid colon, and 1 in transverse colon cancer), and 9 of them had subsequent sepsis (2.9%). All the patients with intestinal perforation underwent emergency operation. No treatment-related deaths occurred. In 199 patients with metastatic CRC, because 22 patients did not receive image evaluation, the preliminary efficacy of 177 patients was actually evaluated. A total of 113 objective response events were observed. The overall response rate was 63.8%(113/177), partial response rate was 61.6%(109/177), clinically complete response rate was 2.3%(4/177), stable disease was 29.9% (53/177), progressive disease was 6.2%(11/177), and the disease control rate was 93.8%(166/177). In 127 patients receiving triplet drug, objective response rate was 40.9% for those with less than four cycles and 81.1% for those with more than four cycles (P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONThe mFOLFOXIRI regimen with reduced dose can be safely used in advanced CRC and has achieved promising results in terms of short-term efficacy.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Camptothecin ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Leucovorin ; administration & dosage ; Middle Aged ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; administration & dosage ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Hepatoid carcinoma is extrahepatic neoplasm showing similar morphologic, immunohistochemical features with hepatocellular carcinoma. It's a very rare disease and has been reported most frequently in the stomach. Herein, we report a case of hepatoid carcinoma of pancreas presented with acute pancreatitis. The hepatoid carcinoma was diagnosed by his needle biopsy specimen and it showed pleomorphic nuclei and predominantly eosinophilic and occasionally clear cytoplasm in hematoxylin and eosin staining, and positive for HepPar-1 and cytokeratin 19 in immunohistochemical staining. Surgical treatment seems to be the best choice, if possible. However, there is no standard regimen for palliative chemotherapy. In our case, the patient was treated with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), folinic acid, irinotecan, oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX). The response was stable disease up to 4 month of follow up.
Biopsy, Needle ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cytoplasm ; Drug Therapy ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Eosinophils ; Fluorouracil ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Keratin-19 ; Leucovorin ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatitis* ; Rare Diseases ; Stomach

PURPOSE: This study investigated how adding Korean red ginseng extract (KRG) to folinic acid, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy affected the rate of splenomegaly in colon cancer. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed 42 patients who were randomly assigned to receive a FOLFOX regimen with or without KRG. Spleen volume change was assessed by computed tomography scans measured before surgery (presurgery volume) and 3 weeks after cessation of the 12th cycle of FOLFOX (postchemotherapy volume). RESULTS: All patients showed increased spleen volume. No difference was observed in median presurgery and postchemotherapy volume between the KRG and control groups. However, a ratio defined as postchemotherapy volume divided by presurgery volume was significantly lower in the KRG group than the control group (median, 1.38 [range, 1.0–2.8] in KRG group vs. median, 1.89 [range, 1.1–3.0] in control group, P = 0.028). When splenomegaly was defined as a >61% increase in spleen volume, the rate of splenomegaly was significantly lower in the KRG group than the control group (28.6% vs. 61.9%, P = 0.03). KRG consumption was inversely associated with developing splenomegaly in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Adding KRG during FOLFOX chemotherapy for colon cancer might protect against oxaliplatin-induced splenomegaly. The protective effect of Korean red ginseng should be investigated with further research.
Colon* ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; Drug Therapy ; Fluorouracil ; Humans ; Leucovorin ; Multivariate Analysis ; Panax* ; Retrospective Studies ; Spleen ; Splenomegaly*

The term of biliary tract cancer (BTC) refers to all tumors that arise from the biliary tract or the biliary drainage system, including the intra- and extra-hepatic bile ducts as well as the gallbladder. BTCs are aggressive tumors with limited treatment options and poor overall survival. Currently, surgery remains to be the only potentially curative treatment, and most patients develop recurrence. For advanced tumors, only limited effective treatment modalities exist today. Gemcitabine plus cisplatin is considered as a standard option for advanced biliary cancer. A randomized phase III trial (ABC-02 trial) showed superiority of gemcitabine plus cisplatin over gemcitabine alone. In that study, they showed that after a median follow-up of 8.2 months, the median overall survival was 8.1 months in the gemcitabine-only group and 11.7 months in the gemcitabine plus cisplatin group (p<0.001). However, while this is a definite advancement, a 3-month survival extension among patients with BTC is modest at best. Moreover, this regimen has not been compared head-to-head with other gemcitabine based combinations. Gemcitabine monotherapy, 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin, and single-agent capecitabine are all reasonable options for patients with a borderline performance status. Recent advancements have provided new insight into the genomic landscape of BTCs, and thus, it remains unclear whether combined treatment with molecular targeted agents or other cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents may also be effective against advanced BTC.
Bile Ducts ; Biliary Tract Neoplasms* ; Biliary Tract* ; Capecitabine ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; Cisplatin ; Drainage ; Drug Therapy* ; Fluorouracil ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gallbladder ; Humans ; Leucovorin ; Recurrence