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Acute GVHD (aGVHD) is an important risk factor for predicting the incidence or severity of chronic GVHD (cGVHD). Transplant outcome can be influenced by the onset time of aGVHD in patients who have received allogeneic PBSC transplants (PBSCTs). The medical records of 134 patients who survived more than 3 months after myeloablative allogeneic PBSCT were retrospectively reviewed. In all, 38 patients (28.4%) developed grade II-IV aGVHD before day +28 (early aGVHD) and 25 patients (18.7%) after day +28 (late aGVHD). The 5-year cumulative incidence of cGVHD was 78.9% in the early-aGVHD group and 56.6% in the late-aGVHD group (P=0.034). The 5-year OS was 51.0% for the early-aGVHD and 80.8% for the late-aGVHD group (P=0.406). Infection was the primary cause of death for the early-aGVHD group (51.4 vs 16.7%, P=0.017), whereas relapse of the primary disease was higher among the patients with late aGVHD, although this was statistically insignificant (58.3 vs 25.7%, P=0.309). In a multivariate analysis, early aGVHD was identified as a risk factor for developing cGVHD (hazard ratio (HR) 2.278, P=0.004). The development of aGVHD early after allogeneic PBSCT increased the risk of cGVHD and infection-related death rate when compared with the late onset of aGVHD.

Phase stoichiometry, texture, and the presence of microdomains in high quality MBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x (M-123, M=Y or a rare earth metal) thin film specimens were investigated using Raman microspectroscopy methods. Complementary diffraction space mapping (DSM) measurements on the same specimens (using 17 keV X-rays from a synchrotron radiation source in symmetric and asymmetric reflection geometries) provided information on their state of epitaxy, interplanar tilt, strain, crystallite twinning, and orthorhombicity. The effects of substrate crystallography and the presence of a buffer layer on the epitaxial quality of the overlying M-123 film were also studied using DSM. A correlation between the interfacial strain present in each thin film specimen and the degree of twinning detected in the M-123 film microstructure was observed. The observed strain relief (complementing crystallite twinning) is consistent with a mechanism based on microdomain formation due to the oxygen atom reordering accompanying the transition of the tetragonal phase of MBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x to the orthorhombic phase during the M-123 film deposition/oxygenation process.

The change in microstructure associated with the decrease in critical current density (Jc) of Yba2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films with increasing thickness was examined. Samples of pulse laser deposited YBCO films varying in thickness from 0.19 to 3.0 μm on rolling-assisted biaxially textured substrates with an architecture of CeO2/YSZ/CeO2/Ni were prepared by tripod polishing for cross-sectional electron microscopy. More randomly oriented grains in the upper portion of the YBCO film surface were observed with increasing film thickness, resulting in less cube texture. In addition, increases in mismatch across the boundaries of the c-axis grains with increasing time during deposition, along with the development of BaCeO3 and Y2BaCuO5 phases at the YBCO/CeO2 interface, contributed to the degradation of film properties. Surface outgrowths of the YBCO film were examined as well as the defect structures and second-phase formations within the films.

A new approach for the production of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) oxide buffer layers directly on metal rolling-assisted biaxially textured substrates (RABiTS) is described in this paper. This represents a significant advance over existing techniques and avoids the need for complicated steps to avoid substrate oxidation during direct deposition of oxides. Current densities of about 1 MA/cm2 have been achieved for YBa2Cu3O7-δ layers on the YSZ buffer, with an intermediate CeO2 layer. The process consists of reactive sputtering of a YxZr1−xN film directly on the RABiTS, which adopts its biaxial texture. This nitride film is then converted to YSZ via a thermal oxidation step. The YSZ films retain the texture of the nitride film (and of the RABiTS) through local syntaxy. In many cases, YSZ films exhibit improved biaxial texture over that of the RABiTS substrate. Nitrides can be sputter deposited at much higher rates relative to oxides, making the approach industrially scalable and economical.

A nonvacuum reel-to-reel dip-coating system has been used to continuously fabricate epitaxial Gd 2 O 3 buffer layers on mechanically strengthened, biaxially textured Ni-(3 at.% W-1.7 at.% Fe), defined as Ni-alloy, metal tapes. Because of its significance as a seed layer, optimum processing conditions (postannealing speed and temperature) of Gd 2 O 3 buffer layers have been studied. Highly textured films were obtained under reducing (96% Ar + 4% H 2 ) atmosphere at temperatures between 1100° and 1150°C; postannealing speed did not significantly affect the crystalline quality of the Gd 2 O 3 . Scanning electron microscopy revealed a continuous, dense, and crack-free surface morphology for these dip-coated buffers. The Gd 2 O 3 layer thickness led to pronounced differences in the growth characteristics of the subsequent YSZ and CeO 2 layers deposited by rf-magnetron sputtering. Epitaxial YBCO films grown by pulsed laser deposition on the short prototype CeO 2 /YSZ/Gd 2 O 3 /Ni-(3 at.% W-1.7 at.% Fe) conductors yielded self-field critical current densities (J c ) as high as 1.2 x 10 6 A/cm 2 at 77 K. Pure Ni tapes were used to assess the viability of dip-coated buffers for long length coated conductor fabrication. The YBCO films, grown on 80 cm long and 1 cm wide CeO 2 /YSZ/Gd 2 O 3 buffered Ni tapes by the industrially scalable ex situ BaF 2 precursor process, exhibited end-to-end self-field J c values of 6.25 x 10 5 A/cm 2 at 77 K. These results demonstrate the reproducible epitaxy of solution-derived seed layers on pure Ni and Ni-alloy tapes as well as underscore the viability of solution approaches for the production of long length YBCO-based coated conductors.

We investigated the influence of a chemisorbed S template with c(2 × 2) structure on the epitaxial growth of different oxide buffer layers on {100}〈100〉 Ni. The sulfur superstructure spontaneously forms on the Ni surface during the texturing anneal as a consequence of segregation. However, depending on the initial S bulk concentration and/or specific annealing conditions, the S layer can cover less than the entire substrate's surface. We show that an incomplete c(2 × 2) coverage causes degradation of the seed buffer layer texture as compared to the substrate texture. A simple step consisting of an H2S predeposition anneal can be used to control the superstructure coverage and optimize the seed layer texture.

Low-cost, non-vacuum bulk solution technique has been developed to deposit epitaxial Gd 2 O 3 and La 2 Zr 2 O 7 (LZO) buffer layers directly onto both textured Ni and mechanically strengthened biaxially textured Ni–W(3 at.%)–Fe(1.7 at.%) (hereafter referred to as Ni–W) substrates. A reel-to-reel continuous dip-coating unit was used to produce meter lengths of highly textured, crack-free Gd 2 O 3 and LZO buffers on Ni and Ni–W tapes. Auger electron spectroscopy analysis of the textured Ni–W substrates indicated the presence of sulfur segregation to the surface, which possibly facilitated the growth of solution seed layers directly on Ni–W substrates. On dip-coated seed layers, a reel-to-reel sputtering unit was used to deposit epitaxially 200 nm thick YSZ layers followed by 10 nm thick CeO 2 to complete the RABiTS architecture. Pulsed laser deposition was used to grow YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− δ (YBCO) films on these tapes in short lengths. YBCO films with J c values of 1.2×10 6 and 1.9×10 6 A/cm 2 at 77 K were obtained on Gd 2 O 3 and LZO buffered Ni–W substrates, respectively. YBCO films grown by ex situ BaF 2 precursor process on 80 cm long, 1 cm wide CeO 2 /YSZ/Gd 2 O 3 /Ni tapes exhibited end-to-end J c of 6.25×10 5 A/cm 2 at 77 K and self-field. This demonstrates that the solution layers provide a very good crystallographic template for the growth of high current density YBCO films, with performance approaching that of vacuum-deposited seed layers.

We investigated the dependence of critical current density (Jc) on thickness of Yba2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films grown by pulsed laser deposition on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) and on rolling-assisted biaxially textured substrates (RABiTS). The thickness of YBCO films varied from 0.19 to 3 μm. The highest Jcs of 5.3 and 2.6 MA/cm2 at 77 K, self-field were obtained for 0.19-μm YBCO films on STO and RABiTS, respectively. Jc was found to decrease exponentially with YBCO thickness on both substrates. However, the results suggest different mechanisms are responsible for the Jc reduction in the two cases. On STO, growth of a-axis grains within c-axis films and broadening of the in-plane texture were observed in thick films. On RABiTS, degradation in cube texture as well as development of a porous surface morphology were found to correlate with film thickness.

Sol-gel processing of La2Zr2O7 (LZO) buffer layers on biaxially textured Ni–1.7% Fe–3% W alloy substrates using a continuous reel-to-reel dip-coating unit has been studied. The epitaxial LZO films obtained have a strong cube texture and uniform microstructure. The effects of increasing the annealing speed on the texture, microstructure, and carbon content retained in the film were studied. On top of the LZO films, epitaxial layers of yttria-stabilized zirconia and Ceria (CeO2) were deposited using rf sputtering, and YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) films were then deposited using pulsed laser deposition. Critical current densities (Jc) of 1.9 MA/cm2 at 77 K and self-field and 0.34 MA/cm2at 77 K and 0.5 T have been obtained on these films. These values are comparable to those obtained on YBCO films deposited on all-vacuum deposited buffer layers and the highest ever obtained using solution seed layers.

Power applications of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coated conductors will require stabilization against thermal runaway. We have developed conductive buffer layers to electrically couple the HTS layer to the underlying metal substrate. The structure comprises the layer sequence of SrRuO3 (SRO) on LaNiO3 (LNO) on biaxially textured Ni substrates. We report baseline investigations of compatibility of SRO/LNO multilayer structure with processing of Yba2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) and demonstrate biaxially textured YBCO films on conductively buffered Ni tapes. These YBCO coatings exhibit self-field Jc values as high as 1.3 × 106 A/cm2 at 77 K, and the entire structure (HTS + conductive buffers + metal substrate) shows good electrical connectivity. These results demonstrate that SRO/LNO buffer layers may provide a basis for stabilized coated conductors.

Progress made in the fabrication of rolling assisted biaxially textured substrates (RABiTS) and epitaxial deposition or formation of HTS on such substrates is reported. Significant progress has been made in understanding the role of meso-scale defects such as grain boundaries on long-range current flow of HTS conductors made using the RABiTS approach. Both experimental and theoretical calculations suggest that in well-textured samples these commonly present defects do not provide an intrinsic barrier to current flow in long-length conductors. Significant progress has also been made in the reel-to-reel deposition of oxide buffer layers and in the fabrication of long-length superconductors using the ex situ BaF 2 technique. Finally, non-magnetic, mechanically strengthened, biaxially textured metal templates have been fabricated with high quality oxide buffer layers. Epitaxial formation of YBCO on such substrates yields critical current densities over 1 MA/cm 2 at 77 K, 0 T.

Y-BaF2-Cu precursor films for Y-Ba2Cu3O7-y (YBCO) coated conductors have been deposited on both uncoated nickel and Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrate (RABiTSTM) tapes by electron beam coevaporation. The water partial pressure was kept constant at 1×10-5 Torr during the deposition in order to control the oxygen content in the precursor films. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy measurements indicate an average composition of Y:Ba:Cu of 1.05:2.10:3.0 with a standard deviation of less than 2.0%. This result was obtained for both moving and stationary tapes. The thickness variation of such precursor films is less than 2.5% over lengths of up to 1 m. Films up to 5 µm thick have been deposited on a stationary tape. An end-to-end Jc of 100 000 A cm-2 from a 1 m length of RABiTSTM sample has been obtained with the highest Jc of 774 000 A cm-2 in a short section within the tape. The present research demonstrates a possible route for industrial scale-up using electron beam coevaporation of YBCO precursors.

A reel-to-reel electron beam evaporation system has been developed to continuously deposit Y–BaF2–Cu precursor for ex situ YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) processed films. The quality of a YBCO film on biaxially textured, oxide buffered, Ni tape strongly depends on the condition of the precursor deposit. For continuous precursor deposition, a uniform cation stoichiometry (i.e., Y:Ba:Cu=1:2:3) over the entire length of precursor film is essential. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry studies indicated that the partial pressure of water vapor during the deposition has a significant effect on cation deposition rates and the oxygen content in the precursor film. The oxygen content of the precursor is increased and the precursor stability upon exposure to air is improved by introduction of water vapor during precursor deposition. High quality precursor films with a thickness of 300 nm have been deposited on lengths of rolling-assisted, biaxially textured substrates in the reel-to-reel electron beam evaporation system. In this paper, long length precursor deposition processing will be discussed. Properties of some post-annealed YBCO films will also be presented.

We report the development of an all-sputter-deposited buffer multilayer architecture for the growth of high critical current density ( J c ) YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− δ (YBCO) films on metallic tapes. The structure comprises the layer sequence of CeO 2 /YSZ/LNO (YSZ: yttria stabilized zirconia, LNO: LaNiO 3 ) on biaxially textured Ni substrates. X-ray diffraction analysis of the base LaNiO 3 (LNO) layers indicated that well textured films can be obtained at deposition temperatures ( T dep ) between 450°C and 500°C, while higher T dep yielded polycrystalline films. The degree of LNO crystallinity was also influenced by the oxygen partial pressure during the growth. Scanning electron microscopy observations revealed a smooth, dense and crack-free surface morphology, independent of film thickness in the range of 50–300 nm. Subsequent YSZ and CeO 2 films were deposited to complete the buffer-layer structure. Epitaxial YBCO films grown by pulsed laser ablation on the CeO 2 /YSZ/LNO/Ni multilayer structure have self-field J c values as high as 1.3×10 6 A/cm 2 at 77 K. Effects of the LNO base-layer thickness on the quality of buffers and on the superconducting properties of YBCO films showed no remarkable differences. The present results demonstrate a viable approach for the production of long length YBCO superconducting wires.

In the presence of pinning, two vortex-liquid regions were identified: a glassy liquid (GL), where vortices remain coupled in the {ital ab} plane as manifested by non-Ohmic resistivity, and a regular liquid (RL), where resistivity becomes Ohmic as vortices become decoupled. The field dependence of the Hall angle is linear in the RL and nonlinear in the GL. Since the boundary (H{sub k}-T) between the GL and RL shifts to higher temperatures and magnetic fields as pinning increases, vortices may be decoupled and depinned simultaneously when the H{sub k}-T line merges into the vortex depinning line. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}

The mixed state Hall effect has been studied in high quality HgBa2CaCu2O6+δ thin films while the pinning strength is modified by the irraddition of columnar defects. It has been shown that the pinning strength can be significantly improved by columnar defects. The sign reversal in Hall resistivity is found to be nearly independent of pinning while the scaling behavior between Hall resistivity (ρxy) and longitudinal resistivity (ρxx) is influenced by pinning. The exponent β in the scaling law β xy ∼ β decrease from 1.8 ± 0.1 to 1.5 ± 0.1 as pinning is enhanced. This results suggest that the sign reversal and the scaling are unrelated, and pinning is not the mechanism of the sign reversal.

A transistor called the channel-base transistor (CBT), which is constructed by making channels through the base of the conventional bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), is proposed. In principle, a CBT can be treated as a combination of a BJT and a normally-off junction-type field-effect transistor (E-JFET). Silicon planer CBTs have been fabricated with BJTs on the same wafer for comparison. The electrical characteristics of CBTs are similar to those of a conventional BJTs, but the variations of current gain with temperature and emitter current in CBTs are much less than those in the BJTs. In addition, the magnitude of current gain of CBTs is higher than that of comparable BJTs. Transistor-transistor-logic (TTL) NAND-gate ICs implemented with CBTs have been fabricated. The temperature variations of parameters in CBT ICs are less than those in BJT ICs. Experiments have shown that silicon CBT discrete devices and ICs can be used over a wide range of temperatures from -60 degrees C to 200 degrees C. Experimental and theoretical analysis results for CBTs are presented. >

Coated conductor applications in power technologies require stabilization of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) layers against thermal runaway. Conductive La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) has been epitaxially grown on biaxially textured Ni substrates as a single buffer layer. The subsequent epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) coatings by pulsed laser deposition yielded self-field critical current densities (Jc) of 0.5×106 A/cm2 at 77 K, and provided good electrical connectivity over the entire structure (HTS+conductive-buffer+metal substrate). Property characterizations of YBCO/LSMO/Ni architecture revealed excellent crystallographic and morphological properties. These results have demonstrated that LSMO, used as a single, conductive buffer layer, may offer potential for use in fully stabilized YBCO coated conductors.

Although patients with T-cell phenotype lymphomas are generally accepted to have worse prognosis than B-cell phenotype lymphomas, the studies comparing outcomes after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) between peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) and with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are few. In this study, we compared outcomes after ASCT between 23 patients with PTCLs and 54 patients with DLBCL. Univariate analysis showed that the timing of ASCT, complete response (CR) at ASCT, favorable lactate dehydrogenase/performance/stage, low/low-intermediate (L-LI) International Prognostic Index (IPI) and L-LI age-adjusted IPI (aaIPI) at ASCT were significant predictors of both OS and EFS. Multivariate analysis showed that CR and L-LI aaIPI at ASCT were favorable for both OS (hazard ratio (HR), 0.34; 95% CI, 0.14–0.81; P=0.016 and HR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.12–0.57; P=0.001) and EFS (HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17–0.85; P=0.020 and HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.17–0.77; P=0.008). B-cell or T-cell phenotype, however, had no impact on OS (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.27–1.18; P=0.126) or EFS (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.30–1.30; P=0.206). In conclusion, when compared to patients with DLBCL, patients with PTCLs did not have inferior outcomes after ASCT. T-cell phenotype itself may not have an effect on outcomes of PTCL patients who underwent ASCT.

High quality superconducting HgBa2CaCu2Ox (Hg-1212) thin films have been reproducibly fabricated using cation-exchange method. The thin films have pure Hg-1212 phase and have smooth surface morphology. The superconducting transition temperatures of these films are in the range of 120–124 K. The critical current density Jc is up to 3.2×106 A/cm2 at 77 K and drops only by a factor of 2 at 100 K and self field. At 110 K, a Jc of 7.8×105 A/cm2 has been obtained. X-ray diffraction pole figures show that these films are epitaxially grown on LaAlO3(001) substrates, which is consistent with a χmin of 19% obtained using Rutherford backscattering/channeling analysis.

We have studied the effects of halogenizing HgBa2CaCu2O6+δ (Hg-1212) thin films and have found that the addition of chlorine/fluorine significantly enhances (1) the reproducibility and stability of Hg-1212 thin films, (2) the phase purity of Hg-1212 to over 90%, and (3) the magnetic critical current density (Jc,mag) both at zero field and in-field. A possible mechanism of preventing contamination of precursor materials by chlorine/fluorine doping is proposed.

The effect of Na- and Li-doping in Hg-based cuprates has been studied. It has been found that superconductivity can be achieved in samples containing small amount of Na or Li. While little change is found in the crystalline structure, the formed superconducting phase have the onset Tc typically above 140 K and zero-resistance Tc up to 136K. More interestingly, the processing temperature for the doped Hg-1223 can be reduced significantly to near 700 °C which is promising for thin films growth on many technologically compatible substrates.

Superconducting Hg‐based cuprate thin films have been fabricated on (100) SrTiO3 substrate using rf sputtering and post‐Hg‐vapor annealing. These films are dominated by c‐axis‐oriented Hg‐1223 phase as indicated by x‐ray diffraction and SQUID measurements. Using four‐probe technique, the Tc,onset was found to be 130–132 K and Jc was up to 8.5×104 A/cm2 at 77 K and zero field.

The temperature dependence of the upper (H(c2)) and lower (H(c1)) critical fields has been deduced from Hall probe magnetization measurements of high quality MgB2 single crystals along the two main crystallographic directions. We show that Gamma(H(c2))=H(c2 axially ab)/H(c2 axially c) and Gamma(H(c1))=H(c1 axially c)/H(c1 axially ab) differ significantly at low temperature (being approximately 5 and approximately 1, respectively) and have opposite temperature dependencies. We suggest that MgB2 can be described by a single field dependent anisotropy parameter gamma(H) (=lambda(c)/lambda(ab)=xi(ab)/xi(c)) that increases from Gamma(H(c1)) at low field to Gamma(H(c2)) at high field.

The normal-state Hall effect is studied in thin-film samples of the isomorphic pair of superconductors ${\mathrm{HgBa}}_{2}{\mathrm{CaCu}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{6+\ensuremath{\delta}}$ (Hg-1212) and ${\mathrm{TlBa}}_{2}{\mathrm{CaCu}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$ (Tl-1212). A comparison of the slopes of inverse Hall mobility $H\mathrm{cot}{\ensuremath{\theta}}_{H}{(T}^{2}),$ together with a comparison of characteristic temperature ${T}^{*}{/T}_{c}$ below which there is a systematic deviation from ${T}^{2},$ suggests that Hg-1212 has twice the charge-carrier density of Tl-1212 for samples with close to optimal ${T}_{c}.$ This is attributed to the significant role played by the redistribution of oxygen as a result of exchanging Hg and Tl cations.

A low-cost, non-vacuum reel-to reel dip-coating system has been used to continuously fabricate epitaxial Gd2O3 buffer layers on mechanically strengthened, biaxially textured Ni- (3at.%W-1.7at%Fe), defined as Ni-alloy, metal tapes. X-ray diffraction analysis of the seed Gd2O3 layers indicated that well textured films can be obtained at processing temperatures (Tp) between 1100 and 1175°C. Processing speed did not significantly affect the crystalline quality of the Gd2O3. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a continuous, dense and crack-free surface morphology for these dip-coated buffers. The Gd2O3 layer thickness led to remarkable differences in the growth characteristics of the subsequent YSZ and CeO2 layers deposited by rfmagnetron sputtering. Epitaxial YBCO films grown by pulsed laser deposition on the short prototype CeO2/YSZ/Gd2O3/Ni-(3at%W-1.7at%Fe) conductors yielded self-field critical current densities (Jc) as high as 1.2×106 A/cm2 at 77 K. Pure Ni tapes were used to asses the viability of dip-coated buffers for long length coated conductor fabrication. The YBCO films, grown on 80 cm long and 1 cm wide CeO2/YSZ/Gd2O3 buffered Ni tapes by the industrially scalable ex-situ BaF2 precursor process, exhibited end-to-end self-field Jc of 6.25×105 A/cm2 at 77 K.

Sol-gel processing of La2Zr2O7 (LZO) buffer layers on biaxially textured Ni-3 at.% W alloy substrates using a continuous reel-to-reel dip-coating unit has been studied. The epitaxial LZO films obtained have a strong cube texture and uniform microstructure. The effect of increasing the annealing speed on the texture, microstructure and the carbon content retained in the film were studied. On top of the LZO films, epitaxial layers of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) and Ceria (CeO2) were deposited using rf sputtering, and YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) films were then deposited using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). A critical current density (Jc) of 1.9 MA/cm2 at 77K and self-field and 0.34 MA/cm2 at 77K and 0.5T have been obtained on these films. These values are comparable to those obtained on YBCO films deposited on all-vacuum deposited buffer layers, and are the highest ever obtained using solution seed layers. The use of all-solution buffers for coated conductor processing has also been explored. A critical current density of 1.1 MA/cm2 at 77 K and self-field was obtained on YBCO films grown be PLD on LZO buffered nickel substrates.

Background This study was designed to identify the significance of lymphovascular invasion as a prognosticator for tumor recurrence and survival in rectal cancer patients treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and total mesorectal excision (TME). Methods Between January 2003 and October 2010, the study included 328 patients with primary rectal cancer who had received preoperative CRT followed by TME. We analyzed the clinicopathologic factors that may be associated with survival, such as age, gender, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) value, pathologic T and N stage, tumor response, histologic grade, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and perineural invasion. Results Higher pathologic T and N stage, poor tumorresponse, high-grade histology, and positive LVI were adverse prognostic factors for both disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) on the multivariate analysis. Perineural invasion was a significant adverse prognostic factor affecting DFS (P = 0.046) but not OS (P = 0.08). Increased T and N stage and distant recurrence, but not local recurrence, were significant factors associated with LVI. The LVI-negative group had a higher DFS (71.4 versus 56.2%, P = 0.012) and OS rate (86.7 versus 63.4%, P = 0.020) at 5 years than the LVI-positive group did. Conclusions Positive LVI had a negative impact on survivalin patients with rectal cancer who received preoperative CRT and TME and is significantly associated with an increased chance of distant recurrence. Based on this finding, more tailored adjuvant chemotherapy is warranted for advanced rectal cancer patients with LVI to reduce the distant dissemination of tumor.

e14663 Background: We investigated the efficacy and safety of S-1 plus cisplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy in patient with curatively resected gastric adenocarcinoma. Methods: Korean patients with s...

8057 Background: Although novel molecular markers have been introduced as independent predictors of outcome in lymphomas, their applicability in routine practice is still limited due to technical a...

628 Background: Signaling through the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway is responsible for balancing cell survival and apoptosis. Accordingly, the present study analyzed 14 SNPs of the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway genes and their impact on the prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer. Methods: Four hundred and forty-four consecutive patients with surgically resected colorectal adenocarcinoma were enrolled in the present study. The genomic DNA was extracted from fresh colorectal tissue and 14 polymorphisms of the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway genes determined using a real-time PCR genotyping assay. Results: Pathologic stages after surgery were as follows: stage 0/I (n=85, 19.1%), stage II (n=149, 33.6%), stage III (n=147, 33.1%), and stage IV (n=63, 14.2%). Univariate and multivariate survival analysis including stage, age, site of disease, adjuvant chemotherapy, and CEA level showed that these polymorphisms were not associated with progression-free or overall survival. For the clinicopathologic parameters, CEA level and TNM stage were significant prognostic factors in a Cox model for survival. Conclusions: None of the 14 SNPs of the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway genes investigated in this study was found to be an independent prognostic marker for Korean patients with surgically resected colorectal cancer. No significant financial relationships to disclose.