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Abstract Background Yoga is a meditative movement therapy focused on mind‐body awareness. The impact of yoga on health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in patients with chemotherapy‐induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is unclear. Methods We conducted a pilot randomized wait‐list controlled trial of 8 weeks of yoga (n = 21) versus wait‐list control (n = 20) for CIPN in 41 breast and gynecological cancer survivors with persistent moderate to severe CIPN. HRQOL endpoints were Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The Treatment Expectancy Scale (TES) was administered at baseline. We estimated mean changes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from baseline to weeks 8 and 12 and compared arms using constrained linear mixed models. Results At week 8, HADS anxiety scores decreased −1.61 (−2.75, −0.46) in the yoga arm and −0.32 (−1.38, 0.75) points in the wait‐list control arm (p = 0.099). At week 12, HADS anxiety scores decreased −1.42 (−2.57, −0.28) in yoga compared to an increase of 0.46 (−0.60, 1.53) in wait‐list control (p = 0.017). There were no significant differences in HADS depression, BFI, or ISI scores between yoga and wait‐list control. Baseline TES was significantly higher in yoga than in wait‐list control (14.9 vs. 12.7, p = 0.019). TES was not associated with HADS anxiety reduction and HADS anxiety reduction was not associated with CIPN pain reduction. Conclusions Yoga may reduce anxiety in patients with CIPN. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings. Clinical Trial Registration Number: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03292328.

Abstract Background Supportive care is a critical component of the treatment of cancer patients that is underutilized; patient lack of information about these services is an important barrier. Mobile technologies may be useful tools for delivering information, but cancer patient use of and interest in using them to learn about supportive care services have not been described. This study evaluates factors associated with cancer patient use of mobile technologies and interest in smartphone applications for information delivery about supportive care. Methods We conducted a cross‐sectional survey among cancer patients from one urban academic hospital and 11 community hospitals. Patients self‐reported use of mobile technologies and interest in smartphone applications. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to identify determinants of mobile technology use and smartphone interest. Results Among 631 participants, 466 (74%) reported regular use of mobile devices and 242 (39%) expressed an interest in supportive care information via smartphone applications. Patients under 45 were more likely to use a mobile device (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 6.8, 2.8‐16.9 95% CI, P

Abstract Background Contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is now a guideline‐recommended strategy for diagnosing renal lesions. Tumor size is related to the risk of the treatment and prognosis in renal tumors. Thus, we aim to analyze the CEUS features of solid renal tumors in relation to tumor size. Methods The CEUS appearance of 156 pathologically diagnosed solid renal tumors were retrospectively analyzed. Three groups were stratified according to the tumor size (≤2 cm [group I], 2.1–4 cm [group II] and 4.1–7 cm [group III]). For each group, the features of wash‐in type, enhancement degree, enhancement homogeneity, and the presence of a pseudocapsule sign were compared between benign and malignant tumors. Results All 156 included lesions were detected by CEUS. The proportion of benign tumors in three size groups was 37.1%, 19.4%, and 20.4%, respectively. The proportion of malignant tumors was highest (80.6%) in group II, followed by group III (79.6%) and group I (62.9%). In group I, malignant and benign tumors differed significantly in the presence of a pseudocapsule sign (p = 0.015) and homogeneity (p = 0.007). In group II, the degree of enhancement differed (p = 0.02) between tumor types. In group III, the two tumor types differed in both the wash‐in pattern (p = 0.015) and enhancement degree (p = 0.024). The weighted and Cohen's kappa values for the concordance between inter‐observer agreement ranged from 0.31 (95% CI: 0.36–0.57) to 0.90 (95% CI: 0.77–1.00). Conclusions CEUS features of malignant and benign renal tumors change along with the tumor size. The use of CEUS features in the diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors requires consideration of tumor size.

Abstract Objective Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) has a good prognosis and a long survival time, surgery is the common treatment including total thyroidectomy (TT) and unilateral lobectomy (LT), but recent studies showed that TT does not show an advantage over LT for PTMC in preventing cancer recurrence and reducing mortality. Given this, the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) has become one of the important factors that physicians must consider when making treatment decisions. The aim of this study was to compare the HRQoL of patients between undergoing TT and LT. Methods From October 2019 to December 2019, 69 PTMC patients were enrolled in our study, including 34 in the LT group and 35 in the TT group, respectively. We used three questionnaires which included the 36‐item short‐form health survey (SF‐36), thyroid cancer‐specific quality of life (THYCA‐QOL), and Fear of Progression Questionnaire‐Short Form (FoP‐Q‐SF) for each patient to evaluate their scores of HRQoL. Results According to the SF‐36, the scores of the domain for the role limitation due to physical problems, emotional problems, and social function (RP, RE, and SF) as well as Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) showed a significant negative linear association between the LT group and TT group: RP (coefficient [coef]: −33.953 [confidence interval (CI) −51.187 to −16.720], p

Abstract Increasing evidence suggests that PRMT5, a protein arginine methyltransferase, has roles in cell growth regulation and cancer development. However, the role of PRMT5 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression remains unclear. Here, we showed that PRMT5 expression was frequently upregulated in HCC tissues, and its expression was inversely correlated with overall survival in HCC patients. PRMT5 knockdown markedly inhibited in vitro HCC proliferation and in vivo tumorigenesis. We revealed that the mechanism of PRMT5‐induced proliferation was partially mediated by BTG downregulation, leading to cell cycle arrest during the G1 phase in HCC cells. Ectopic BTG2 overexpression decreased HCC growth, caused cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, and downregulated Cyclin D1 and Cyclin E1 protein expression. Furthermore, we found that PRMT5‐induced ERK phosphorylation regulated BTG2 expression in HCC cells, whereas pretreatment with a selective ERK1/2 inhibitor (PD184352) significantly reversed the effect of PRMT5 on BTG2 expression. Our results indicated that PRMT5 promotes HCC proliferation by downregulating BTG2 expression via the ERK pathway.

Purpose: To establish the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for locally advanced pancreatic head cancers., Methods: A total of 16 patients were included in the single-institution phase I dose-escalation study. The initial dose level was 35 Gy in five fractions, doses were then sequentially escalated to 37.5 Gy, 40 Gy, 42.5 Gy, and 45 Gy. The dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was defined as III/IV GI (gastrointestinal) toxicity., Results: A total of 16 patients with locally advanced pancreatic head cancers were analyzed, 14 patients had received gemcitabine or S1-based chemotherapy. Median OS and LPFS were 14.5 months and 12.5 months, respectively; The OS rates at 1 and 2 years were 68.8% and 25%, respectively. No grade 3 or 4 acute or late GI toxicities were observed. Grade 3 toxicities were observed in four patients with three hematologic toxicities and one biliary obstruction for acute toxicities, G1-2 of GI late toxicity were in 31.25% of patients., Conclusions: SBRT doses ranging from 35 to 45 Gy in five fractions could be given for patients with locally advanced pancreatic head cancers without severe GI toxicities, whereas the side effect of biliary obstruction should be paid more attention., Trial Registration: Clinical trials:NCT02716207., (© 2021 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

To identify impacts of different combined regimens of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and chemotherapy on survival of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) and factors correlated with determinations of different combinations. Four hundred and nineteen patients with radiographically and biopsy-proven LAPC were prospectively enrolled. Factors associated with different strategies were analyzed with Chi-square test and contingency coefficients. Cox regression was used to identify factors predictive of survival. Prognostic values of different multimodality were further analyzed by propensity score-matched analysis. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of all patients was 13.2 and 8.2 months, respectively. Baseline ECOG correlated with induction chemotherapy, while tumor stage, lymph node invasion, and toxicity after SBRT associated with adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with induction chemotherapy alone (12.2 months), adjuvant chemotherapy alone (13.6 months), and induction and adjuvant chemotherapy (13.3 months) had longer OS than those without chemotherapy (11.2 months; P < .001), while adjuvant chemotherapy alone and induction and adjuvant chemotherapy increased PFS. An adjusted overall survival benefit was gained with adjuvant chemotherapy compared with induction and adjuvant chemotherapy (OS: 14.7 months [95% CI: 14.2-15.2 months] vs 13.1 months [95% CI: 12.3-13.9 months]; P < .001) (PFS: 8.8 months [95% CI: 8.4-9.2 months] vs 8.1 months [95% CI: 7.4-8.8 months]; P = .053). Induction and adjuvant chemotherapy, especially adjuvant chemotherapy, plus SBRT may improve OS and PFS. Baseline performance status, tumor stage, lymph node involvement, and toxicity after SBRT influenced determinations of upfront multimodality., (© 2018 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The role of stereotactic body radiation therapy for the elderly with advanced or medically inoperable pancreatic cancer was still debated. Therefore, we evaluated the value of stereotactic body radiation therapy and its association with survival of those patients. A total of 417 elderly patients were retrospectively reviewed from 2012 to 2015. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and toxicities were analyzed. Prescription doses ranged from 30-46.8 Gy in 5-8 fractions. Median age was 73 years old. Median OS, PFS, LRFS, and DMFS were 10, 8, 10, and 9.5 months, respectively. One-year OS, PFS, LRFS, and DMFS rate were 35.5%, 18.2%, 26.6%, and 27.1%, respectively. Tumor stage and tumor response at 6 months and CA19-9 levels normalization at 3 months after treatment were independent predictors of OS, PFS, LRFS, and DMFS. Patients with early-stage cancer, better tumor response, and normalization of CA19-9 levels had significantly longer OS, PFS, LRFS, and DMFS. Patients with the prodrug of 5-FU and radiotherapy had longer survival than those with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Patients who received BED 10  ≥ 60 Gy achieved better tumor response compared with those who received BED 10  < 60 Gy. Two patients had grade 4 intestinal strictures. No grade 3 or higher hematologic toxicities occurred. Stereotactic body radiation therapy is safe and effective for elderly patients with advanced or medically inoperable pancreatic cancer. Early efficacy could be predictive of prognosis. Higher doses may be associated with efficacy but need further investigation., (© 2017 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)