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Background: This study aimed to evaluate T staging system for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using tumor volume (TV) and other prognostic factors. Methods: This study included 1309 cases. The TV and greatest tumor diameter (GTD) were semi-automatically measured. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of TV and GTD were used to predict survival. The regression analysis was used to describe the correlation between GTD and TV. Overall survival (OS) was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox’s proportional hazards regression model was applied for multivariate analysis. Results: Using the OS in pN0M0 patients (997 cases), we obtained 4 optimal cutoff values and divided all cases into 5 TV groups (V1: TV ≤ 2.80 cm3; V2: TV > 2.80–6.40 cm3; V3: TV > 6.40–12.9 cm3; V4: TV > 12.9–55.01 cm3; V5: TV > 55.01 cm3) with significant OS ( P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that age, visceral pleural invasion (VPI), and all TV cutoff points were independent factors of OS ( P < 0.05). For V3 and V4 groups, the OS in patients without VPI was better than that in patients with VPI. Using the values of TV, VPI, and N stages, we classified all cases into 5 stages from I to V depending on the OS. The OS in I, II, III, IV, and V stages were 71.3%, 65.5%, 59.8%, 47.7%, and 35.1% respectively ( P < 0.001). Conclusions: We proposed a new T staging system using TV as the main prognostic descriptor in NSCLC patients, which may provide a better comprehensive clinical value than GTD in clinical applications.

Background Inadequate accuracy of ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy (US-CNB) urges further improvement for the diagnosis and management of lymphoma to meet with the practitioners' increased reliance on this mini-invasive approach. Methods Data related to US-CNB of the deep-sited dominant lesions suspicious of lymphoma detected by computer tomography or positron-emission tomography/computer tomography for eligibility assessment of three prospective clinical trials were collected in advance. A retrospective analysis of the prospective data collection was performed, in which Viable-targeting US-CNB that Color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and/or contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) were employed to select viable area for biopsy target compared with Routine US-CNB that routine procedure of evaluation and guidance using gray-scale ultrasound with CDFI in terms of the yield of clinically actionable diagnosis and safety, and determinants for the successful US-CNB that established an actionable diagnosis were explored. The establishment of final diagnosis was based on surgical pathology or medical response to therapy with follow-up at least 6 months. Results A total of 245 patients underwent Routine US-CNB (N = 120) or Viable-targeting US-CNB (N = 125), of which 91 (91/120, 75.8%) and 112 (112/125, 89.6%) were revealed with actionable diagnoses, respectively (p = 0.004, OR 0.846, 95% CI: 0.753-0.952). And 239 patients established final diagnoses. Diagnostic yields of actionable diagnosis according to the final diagnoses were 78.4% (91/116) and 91.1% (112/123) (p = 0.006, OR 0.554, 95% CI: 0.333-0.920), 82.6% (90/109) and 92.5% (111/120) for malignancy, 84.0% (84/100) and 91.8% (101/110) for lymphoma, 85.1% (80/94) and 92.3% (96/104) for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, 66.7% (4/6) and 83.3% (5/6) for Hodgkin Lymphoma in Routine and Viable-targeting CNB groups, respectively. No major complications were observed. Dominant lesions with actionable diagnosis in US-CNB were with higher FDG-avid Standardized Uptake Value. Binomial logistic regression revealed that actionable diagnosis of US-CNB was correlated with group and ancillary studies. Conclusion Viable-Targeting US-CNB was superior to routine US-CNB in term of the yield of actionable diagnosis for deep-sited dominant lesions suspicious of lymphoma, which demonstrated a potential to be the initial approach in this setting.

Background To determine whether ultrasound elastography can distinguish reactive or metastatic small lymph nodes (sLN) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) staged cervical N0 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods A pilot study was performed involving the diagnostic performances of conventional high-frequency ultrasound (CHFU) and/or shear wave elastography (SWE) for predicting metastases in sLN of MRI-staged N0 NPC patients with reference to the histologically-proven ultrasound guided core needle biopsy (US-CNB). The diagnosis of CHFU was based on the superficial lymph node ultrasonic criteria with the five-point-scale (FPS). The mean (Emean), minimum (Emin) and maximum (Emax) of the elasticity indices were measured by SWE at the stiffest part of the sLN in kilopascal. Diagnostic performances were analyzed using a receiver operating curve (ROC) on a per-node basis. The authenticity of this article has been validated by uploading the key raw data onto the Research Data Deposit public platform (http://www.researchdata.org.cn), with the approval RDD number as RDDA2017000447. Results All 113 cervical sLN of 49 MRI-staged cervical N0 NPC patients underwent evaluation of CHFU and SWE; 38 sLN (FPS

Background To determine whether ultrasound elastography can distinguish reactive or metastatic small lymph nodes (sLN) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) staged cervical N0 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods A pilot study was performed involving the diagnostic performances of conventional high-frequency ultrasound (CHFU) and/or shear wave elastography (SWE) for predicting metastases in sLN of MRI-staged N0 NPC patients with reference to the histologically-proven ultrasound guided core needle biopsy (US-CNB). The diagnosis of CHFU was based on the superficial lymph node ultrasonic criteria with the five-point-scale (FPS). The mean (Emean), minimum (Emin) and maximum (Emax) of the elasticity indices were measured by SWE at the stiffest part of the sLN in kilopascal. Diagnostic performances were analyzed using a receiver operating curve (ROC) on a per-node basis. The authenticity of this article has been validated by uploading the key raw data onto the Research Data Deposit public platform (http://www.researchdata.org.cn), with the approval RDD number as RDDA2017000447. Results All 113 cervical sLN of 49 MRI-staged cervical N0 NPC patients underwent evaluation of CHFU and SWE; 38 sLN (FPS

Diagnostic performances of Five-Point-Scale scores for characterizing cervical small lymph node metastasis at different cut-off point. The diagnostic performances of Five-Point-Scale scores for characterizing cervical sLN at different cut-off point showed the optimal cut-off point was at 3 (=2 vsâ >â 2). (DOCX 15 kb)

Background Famitinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor against multiple targets, including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2/3, platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and stem cell factor receptor (c-kit). Previous studies have demonstrated anti-tumour activities of famitinib against a wide variety of advanced-stage solid cancers. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of famitinib with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We also evaluated the feasibility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (D-CEUS) as a predictor of early tumour response to famitinib and to correlate functional parameters with clinical efficacy. Methods The trial was conducted in subjects with stage III or IVa-b NPC using a 3 + 3 design of escalating famitinib doses. Briefly, subjects received 2 weeks of famitinib monotherapy followed by 7 weeks of famitinib plus CCRT. D-CEUS of the neck lymph nodes was performed at day 0, 8 and 15 after famitinib was administered before starting concurrent chemoradiotherapy. End points included safety, tolerability and anti-tumour activity. Results Twenty patients were enrolled (six each for 12.5, 16.5 and 20 mg and two for 25 mg). Two patients in the 25 mg cohort developed dose-limiting toxicities, including grade 4 thrombocytopenia and grade 3 hypertension. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were leukopenia, neutropenia and radiation mucositis. D-CEUS tests showed that more than 60% of patients achieved a perfusion parameter response after 2 weeks taking famitinib alone, and the parameter response was associated with disease improvement. In the famitinib monotherapy stage, three patients (15%) showed partial responses. The complete response rate was 65% at the completion of treatment and 95% 3 months after the treatment ended. After a median follow-up of 44 months, the 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and distant metastasis-free survival were 70% and 75%, respectively. Subjects with a decrease of perfusion parameter response, such as peak intensity decreased at least 30% after 1 week of famitinib treatment, had higher 3-year PFS (90.9% vs. 44.4%, 95% CI 73.7%–100% vs. 11.9%–76.9%, P

We sought to combine the Valsalva maneuver with MRI to evaluate eustachian tube function in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to correlate the extent of tumor invasion with the presence of middle ear effusion (MEE) and eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD).We performed MRI along the lengths of the eustachian tubes, before and after the Valsalva maneuver was performed, in 53 patients with untreated NPC. The images were reviewed by two radiologists.A total of 106 eustachian tubes and middle ears were studied. There was dysfunction in 37 eustachian tubes, which was always ipsilateral to the NPC. There was MEE in 26 ears of 22 patients. In all cases of MEE, there was ipsilateral ETD. ETD was correlated with tumor invasion of the ipsilateral pharyngeal recess (p0.001), pharyngeal opening of the eustachian tube (p0.001), the cartilaginous eustachian tube (p0.001), the eustachian cartilage (p0.001), Ostmann fat pad (p0.001), the levator veli palatine muscle (p0.001), and the tensor veli palatine muscle (p0.001). There was a strong correlation between the grade of parapharyngeal space invasion and ETD (r = 0.809; p0.001) and MEE (r = 0.693; p0.001).Combining the Valsalva maneuver with MRI is helpful in assessing the function of the eustachian tube in patients with NPC. The cause of MEE in patients with NPC is dysfunction of the eustachian tube opening, which is associated with tumor invasion around the eustachian tube.

Purpose To analyze the clinical implications of metastatic cervical lymph nodes in unresectable thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Methods and materials 208 thoracic esophageal SCC patients treated with concurrent CRT were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to different status of metastatic cervical lymph nodes: 1. CLN(-), no evidence of metastatic cervical lymph nodes; 2. CPLN(+), evidence of enlarged cervical paraesophageal lymph node without any other metastatic cervical lymph nodes; 3. OCLN(+), any other situations of enlarged cervical lymph nodes. The prognostic factors were examined univariately, then selected for inclusion in a multivariate Cox regression model. Results Three-year OS of CLN(−),CPLN(+), and OCLN(+) groups were 39%, 33%, and 15% (logrank p =0.001). On univariate analysis, variables significantly associated with OS included sex, primary esophageal tumor location, length and cervical nodal disease. On multivariate analysis, primary tumor location (HR1.5, 95%CI 1.1–1.9, p =0.005), tumor length (HR1.5, 95%CI 1.1–2.0, p =0.010) and cervical nodal disease (HR1.2, 95%CI 1.0–1.5, p =0.014) were prognostic factors on OS. Conclusions (1) Primary tumor location, tumor length, and cervical nodal disease were significant prognostic factors on OS in esophageal SCC patients. (2) Patients with CPLN(+) disease tended to have a potential better long-term survival than those with OCLN(+) disease, and metastatic CPLN could be considered as local disease. The survival benefit in CPLN(+) subgroup might be contributed by the patients who presented with upper third thoracic tumors and shorter tumor length. Further investigation is needed.

The aim of this study is to discover regional invasion routes for nasopharyngeal adenoid cystic carcinoma (NACC) through analyses of the magnetic resonance (MR) images and comparison with keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma (KSCC). Both MR results and clinical records were retrospectively reviewed for 18 patients with NACC and 182 patients with KSCC. The metastasis routes of NACC were identified by analysis of MR images of patients who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). There were significant differences in skull base invasion and cavernous sinus invasion (p = 0.020 and 0.028, respectively) while parapharyngeal space invasion rate was not. The laryngopharynx invasion rate and external pterygoid muscle invasion rate were higher in NACC patients than that in KSCC patients (16.7% vs. 0.5 %, p = 0.002; 27.8% vs. 11.0%, p = 0.040, respectively). Paralysis of the cranial nerves had a significant higher incidence in the NACC group compared to the KSCC group (66.7% vs. 8.2%, p < 0.001). There was significant difference in invasion to the neural foramen between the NACC and KSCC groups (66.7% vs. 36.3%, p = 0.020). Foramen ovale was a common invasion site, significantly higher in NACC patients than in KSCC patients (50.0% vs. 24.1%, p = 0.018). Based on the MRI findings, a regional invasion model of NACC with two possible routes has been built, including aggressive local infiltration along submucosa to laryngopharynx or external pterygoid muscle, and extension from pharyngonasal cavity, through cranial nerve canal to cavernous sinus. The significant difference in overall survival (OS) time between the two different invasion routs and the recurrent rates in different regions also supported the validity of the invasion model.

Purpose The aim of the study was to describe the clinical and computed tomography (CT) findings of primary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) of the lung. Materials and methods The clinical data and CT findings of 35 patients with histologically proven primary LELC of the lung were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical data included age, sex, smoking history, signs and symptoms, tumor location, tumor size, stage, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded small nuclear RNA status, treatment, and outcomes. Pretreatment CT scans of the thorax were used to access the tumor site, size, contour, density, vascular and/or bronchial involvement, relationship with pleura, and lymphadenopathy. Results The distinct clinical features of primary lung LELC include no significant predilection for sex, minimal association with a history of smoking, strong association with EBV in Asians, and a predilection for early or locally advanced stage of the disease. Most patients received complete resection and/or chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The 2- and 5-year overall survival rates for all patients were 81% and 51%, respectively. The common CT findings of primary lung LELC include peripheral nodules that have direct contact with the adjacent pleural surface, with a lesion density that is homogenous and sometimes heterogenous. Conclusions Radiologists should consider the diagnosis of LELC when encountering solitary peripheral pulmonary nodules that have direct contact with the pleural surface in EBV endemic areas, and an EBV-encoded small nuclear RNA test should be performed on histologic specimens of patients meeting these clinical criteria.

Rationale and Objectives: To evaluate the dual-phase helical computed tomography (CT) appearance of small hepato- cellular carcinoma (SHCC) with hypodense and to evaluate its correlation with pathology. Materials and Methods: The helical CT dual-phase appearance of 33 lesions with keeping hypodense was retrospectively analyzed, all lesions were confirmed as SHCC by histopathology. CT appearance included border, inner density. Results: In 33 lesions, which were confirmed as SHCC by pathology, keeping hypodense during hepatic arterial phase and portal venous phase, 19 lesions are ill-defined borders and 14 lesions are well-defined borders, 22 lesions show homogenous hypodense and 11 lesions show heterogeneous hypodense in non-enhancing CT scan; however, only 9 lesions are ill-defined borders and the other 24 lesions are well-defined borders with slightly irregular contours, only 9 lesions show homogenous hypodense and the other 24 lesions show heterogenous hypodense with flecks of more hypodense in enhancing CT scan. Conclusion: SHCC with hypodense prefers to have a well-defined border with slightly irregular contour, and flecks of more hypodense in the lesion in dual-phase enhancing helical CT scan.