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Background and aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) using CyberKnife in the treatment of patients with recurrent pancreatic adenocarcinoma at the abdominal lymph node or stump after surgery. Patients and methods: Between October 1, 2006 and May 1, 2015, patients with recurrent pancreatic adenocarcinoma at the abdominal lymph node or stump after surgery were enrolled and treated with SBRT at our hospital. The primary end point was local control rate after SBRT. Secondary end points were overall survival, time to symptom alleviation, and toxicity, assessed using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. Results: Twenty-four patients with 24 lesions (17 abdominal lymph nodes and seven stumps) were treated with SBRT, of which five patients presented with abdominal lymph nodes and synchronous metastases in the liver and lung. The 6-, 12-, and 24-month actuarial local control rates were 95.2%, 83.8%, and 62.1%, respectively. For the entire cohort, the median overall survival from diagnosis and SBRT was 28.9 and 12.2 months, respectively. Symptom alleviation was observed in eleven of 14 patients (78.6%) within a median of 8 days (range, 1-14 days) after SBRT. Nine patients (37.5%) experienced Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0 grade 1-2 acute toxicities; one patient experienced grade 3 acute toxicity due to thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: SBRT is a safe and effective treatment for patients with recurrent pancreatic adenocarcinoma at the abdominal lymph node or stump after surgery. Further studies are needed before SBRT can be recommended routinely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This retrospective study evaluated the role of adjuvant radiotherapy (AR) after surgery in patients with uterine sarcoma and analyzed the prognostic factors of local-regional failure-free survival (LRFFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients and methods: A study of a total of 182 patients with uterine sarcoma was conducted between June 1994 and October 2014. Adjuvant radiotherapy was defined as postoperative external beam radiation to the pelvis (30-50 Gray/10-25 fractions at five fractions/week). The primary end point was LRFFS, and the secondary end point was OS. Kaplan-Meier curves were compared using the log-rank test. Cox regression analyses were used to determine prognosticators for LRFFS and OS. Results: The median follow-up time of all patients was 75 months, with a 5-year LRFFS of 62.1%. The 2-year and 5-year LRFFS rates were longer for those who received AR than for those who did not receive AR (83.4% vs 70.3%; 78% vs 55.3%; P=0.013). The 5-year OS of all patients was 56.2%, and no significant differences were observed in the 2-year and 5-year OS rates between these two groups (82.7% vs 71.4%; 64.1% vs 51.7%; P=0.067). Importantly, in patients with leiomyosarcoma, the 2-year and 5-year LRFFS and OS rates were longer for those who received AR than for those who did not receive AR (P=0.04 and P=0.02 for the 2-year and 5-year LRFFS, respectively). Conclusion: Patients with uterine sarcoma who were treated with AR after surgery demonstrated an improved LRFFS compared with those who were treated with surgery alone, especially those patients with leiomyosarcoma. Therefore, the role of personalized adjuvant radiation for patients with uterine sarcoma still requires further discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Limited-stage combined small cell esophageal carcinoma (LS-CSCEC) is a rare, poorly understood, underdiagnosed disease, with components of both small cell esophageal cancer and non–small cell esophageal cancer. We investigated the optimal treatment strategy and prognostic factors in patients with LS-C-SCEC. Patients and methods: LS-C-SCEC patients included in the analysis (from our hospital and the literature) were treated between January 1966 and December 2013. Patient treatment strategies included surgery (S), chemotherapy (CT), and radiation therapy (RT). The primary end point was overall survival (OS); the secondary end points included tumor complete response rates, patterns of failure, and toxicity. Kaplan–Meier curves were compared with the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine prognosticators for OS. Results: A total of 72 patients were included in the analysis: 24 (33%) from our hospital and 48 (67%) from the literature. The median OS of all patients was 15.0 months. Patients who received CT had a significantly longer median OS than did those who did not (OS 22.8 months vs 10.0 months) (P=0.03). Patients treated with multimodality therapy (including RT+CT [18%], S+CT [40%], or S+RT+CT [17%]) vs monotherapy (typically, S [18%]) had significantly improved OS (15.5 months vs 9.3 months) (P=0.02) and complete response rates. On multivariate analysis, tumor location (upper third of the esophagus) and type of treatment (monotherapy) were the only factors predictive of poor OS. Conclusion: Multimodality therapy (including RT+CT, S+CT, or S+RT+CT) improves OS for patients with LS-C-SCEC compared with monotherapy (typically, S). Additional studies are necessary to personalize multimodal treatment approaches to individual patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objectives: The aim of this paper was to investigate the efficacy and activity variation associated with phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signal transduction when combining erlotinib with radiation, using different administration schedules. Materials and methods: Erlotinib was delivered to A973 cancer cells in the following three ways: (1) irradiation after administration, (2) irradiation upon administration, and, (3) irradiation before administration. The cell-survival rates were detected using colony-forming assays, while cell apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry. The expression levels of C-MET, p-C-MET, AKT, and p-AKT were determined via Western blotting analysis, under 6 Gy irradiation with/without erlotinib. Results: The sensitizer enhancement ratios (SERs) of erlotinib irradiation after administration, irradiation upon administration, and irradiation before administration groups were 2.19, 1.53, and 1.38, respectively. A higher apoptosis rate was observed when irradiation was delivered after erlotinib. In addition, changes in cell apoptosis were found to be related to concurrent changes in C-MET, p-C-MET, AKT, and p-AKT expression. Protein expression increased in the combination groups, with trends showing a negative relationship with cell apoptosis. Conclusion: The radiosensitive effect of erlotinib varied because of the different administration schedules; this variation may be related to PI3K signal transduction and its associated regulating effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical success of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) as therapeutic agents has prompted great interest in their further development and clinical testing for a wide variety of malignancies. However, most studies have focused on the efficacy of TKI, and few studies have been done on the criteria for their discontinuation. The current standard for drug discontinuation is "until progression", based on change in tumor size. However, tumor size is not related to the gene expression which determines the efficacy of TKI in the final analysis, and it is also difficult to make a thorough and correct prediction based on tumor size when the TKI is discontinued. Nevertheless, clinical evaluation of the criteria for TKI discontinuation is still in its early days. Some promising findings have started to emerge. With the improving knowledge of EGFR and its inhibitors, it is expected that the criteria for discontinuation of EGFR inhibitor therapy will become clearer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]