The prognostic effect of PNN in digestive tract cancers and its correlation with the tumor immune landscape in colon adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The present study investigated the expression, mutation, and methylation profile of PNN and its prognostic value in digestive tract cancers. The disparities in signaling pathways and the immune landscape in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) based on PNN expression were specifically explored. METHODS: The expression, mutation, methylation levels of PNN, and survival data in esophageal cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, COAD, and rectal adenocarcinoma were evaluated using several bioinformatic databases. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were performed to investigate the enriched biological functions and pathways in COAD. Several acknowledged bioinformatic algorithms were employed to assess the correlation between PNN expression and the tumor immune landscape in COAD. RESULTS: PNN was upregulated and remarkably related to tumor stage in digestive tract cancers. High expression of PNN was positively associated with poor progression-free survival and overall survival time, specifically in COAD. PNN expression was identified as an independent prognostic factor in COAD. GO and GSEA analyses revealed that PNN participates in multiple biological processes underlying carcinogenicity in COAD. Further investigation showed that PNN expression was significantly associated with tumor-infiltrating immune cells, immune cell functions, and several immune checkpoints in COAD. The PNN low expression group had a lower tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score and a higher immunophenoscore (IPS), indicating a better response to immunotherapy. CONCLUSION: PNN was highly expressed in digestive tract cancers and could act as an independent prognostic factor and a response predictor for immunotherapy in COAD.

Apatinib weakens resistance of gastric cancer cells to paclitaxel by suppressing JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Apatinib has experienced a long-term study in enhancing the sensitivity of various cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs. Currently, researches show that apatinib could attenuate the resistance of gastric cancer (GC) cells to paclitaxel (PTX), but the mechanism has not been fully elucidated, which therefore was explored in this study. PTX-resistant GC cell, namely HGC-27R, was established by exposure to stepwise-increasing PTX. The cell viability of HGC-27 and HGC-27R under PTX or apatinib at different concentrations was assessed by CCK-8 assay, while scratching test and invasion assay were used for investigating the harmful influence of GC cells resistance to PTX. The function of apatinib in HGC-27R was studied by performing functional experiments (flow cytometry, scratching test, and invasion assay). Western blot was performed to measure the expressions of proteins concerning apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and janus-activated kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway. PTX-resistant GC cell, namely HGC-27R, was successively constructed. HGC-27R cells showed resistance to PTX by promoting migratory and invasive capabilities. Apatinib not only inhibited cell viability of HGC-27 and HGC-27R, but also combined with PTX to suppress that of HGC-27R. Apatinib enhanced apoptosis, diminished migration and invasion of HGC-27R cells, elevated proapoptotic protein expression, and reduced Bcl-2, vimentin, snail, MMP-3, MMP-2, and MMP-9 expressions. The phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3 was repressed by apatinib. JAK2 partially reversed the effect of apatinib on enhancing sensitivity of GC cells to PTX. Apatinib strengthened sensitivity of GC cells to PTX by inhibiting JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Treatment patterns and outcomes change in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer in octogenarians and older: a SEER database analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in the world. AIMS: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to investigate the changes in the incidence, treatment patterns, and outcomes of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in octogenarians and older from 1995 to 2015. METHODS: Using the SEER database, we identified patients ≥ 80 years stage I-IIa NSCLC diagnosed from 1995 to 2015. Changes in the treatment patterns, incidence and proportion, and survival were assessed by years of diagnosis. RESULTS: In total, 25,394 patients were identified. The incidence number sharply increased from 260 in 1995 to 2120 in 2015. There was a tremendous increase in the proportion who underwent radiotherapy from 22.7% in 1995 to 50% in 2015 (P < 0.0001), with a corresponding decrease in surgical treatment, from 50 to 28.6% (P < 0.0001). The 2-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) improved for patients treated with radiation alone and relatively subtly for those who received surgery alone. CONCLUSION: At present, RT has replaced surgery as the most commonly used modality in early-stage NSCLC in patients ≥ 80 years in the United States. An improvement was observed in CSS and OS for patients treated with definitive RT and surgery.

Prospective evaluation of the setup errors and its impact on safety margin for cervical cancer pelvic conformal radiotherapy.

AIM: The primary objective was to assess set-up errors (SE) and secondary objective was to determine optimal safety margin (SM). BACKGROUND: To evaluate the SE and its impact on the SM utilizing electronic portal imaging (EPI) for pelvic conformal radiotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 20 cervical cancer patients were enrolled in this prospective study. Supine position with ankle and knee rest was used during CT simulation. The contouring was done using consensus guideline for intact uterus. 50 Gy in 25 fractions were delivered at the isocenter with ≥95% PTV coverage. Two orthogonal (Anterior and Lateral) digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) was constructed as a reference image. The pair of orthogonal [Anterior-Posterior and Right Lateral] single exposure EPIs during radiation was taken. The reference DRR and EPIs were compared for shifts, and SE was calculated in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions. RESULTS: 320 images (40 DRRs and 280 EPIs) were assessed. The systematic error in the Z-axis (AP EPI), X-axis (AP EPI), and Y-axis (Lat EPI) ranged from -12.0 to 11.8 mm, -10.3 to 7.5 mm, and -8.50 to 9.70 mm, while the random error ranged from 1.60 to 6.15 mm, 0.59 to 4.93 mm, and 1.02 to -4.35 mm. The SM computed were 7.07, 6.36, and 7.79 mm in the Y-axis, X-axis, and Z-axis by Van Herk's equation, and 6.0, 5.51, and 6.74 mm by Stroom's equation. CONCLUSION: The computed SE helps defining SM, and it may differ between institutions. In our study, the calculated SM was approximately 8 mm in the Z-axis, 7 mm in X and Y axis for pelvic conformal radiotherapy.

SLC20A1 is a prospective prognostic and therapy response predictive biomarker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: SLC20A1, a prominent biomarker in several cancers, has been understudied in its predictive role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). METHODS: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to analyze HNSCC prognosis, SLC20A1 overexpression, and clinical characteristics. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis confirmed SLC20A1 expression in HNSCC tissues. Cellular behaviors such as invasion, migration and proliferation were assessed using Transwell, wound healing and colony formation assays. Immune system data were obtained from the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and CIBERSORT databases. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were used to explore biological parameters and pathways associated with SLC20A1 overexpression in HNSCC. RESULTS: In 499 HNSCC samples, SLC20A1 mRNA and protein expression were significantly higher than in 44 normal counterparts, confirmed by 24 paired samples. Patients were categorized based on SLC20A1 levels, survival status and overall survival. High SLC20A1 expression correlated with advanced T stage, increased risk scores and decreased survival. Stage, age and SLC20A1 expression emerged as independent predictive factors for HNSCC in univariate and multivariate analyses. SLC20A1 overexpression, which is associated with poor prognosis, may influence cell proliferation, migration, invasion, chemotherapy response, and the immune milieu. CONCLUSIONS: SLC20A1 overexpression in HNSCC, characterized by increased cellular invasion, migration and proliferation, is a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic response indicator.

A retrospective cohort study to observe the efficacy and safety of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) with adjuvant radiotherapy for T1a-MM/T1b-SM Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC).

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The clinical outcome of endoscopy submucosal dissection with subsequent radiotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma remain unclear. In this study we aim to investigate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic submucosal dissection with adjuvant radiotherapy in the treatment of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma involving the muscularis mucosae (T1a-MM) or the submucosa < 200 µm (T1b-SM1). METHODS: We analyzed 20 patients with pathologically confirmed T1a-MM or T1b-SM1 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection from 2016 to 2020 in Lihuili Hospital, 9 patients received adjuvant radiotherapy (RT group) and 11 patients received did not (non-RT group). RESULTS: All 20 patients underwent en bloc resection, and both the vertical and horizontal margins were negative. There was no recurrence or lymph node metastasis in the RT group, and no serious complications or death were observed. In the non-RT group, 2 patients had local recurrence and 1 had distant metastasis. None of the 20 patients died of esophageal carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant radiotherapy following endoscopic submucosal dissection may be a safe and effective method for the treatment of T1a-MM/T1b-SM1 superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The Application of Nimotuzumab Combined With Definitive Chemoradiotherapy Toward the Treatment of Locally Advanced Cervical Esophageal Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of nimotuzumab in combination with chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted from September 2012 to February 2017 among 50 locoregional-advanced cervical esophageal carcinoma (CEC) patients who received concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) combined with or without nimotuzumab at Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) was administrated on all patients. All patients were divided into two groups, of which 26 (Group A) received 200 mg (22 of 50) or 400 mg (4 of 50) of nimotuzumab per week with CRT and 24 (Group B) received definitive CRT. Results: The median follow-up time was 23 months. The median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 40.6 and 21.1 months for all, respectively. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates on the whole were 79.6%, 62.1%, and 47.8%. There was no statistical difference in overall response rate and disease control rate between the two groups. Patients treated with nimotuzumab (group A) had better PFS than the definitive CRT group (group B) (P < 0.05). However, the median OS was 41.4 months in group A and 32.4 months in group B, respectively (P = 0.517). Multivariate analysis showed that PFS among those with lower Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score (HR = 5.11; P < 0.01), stage II (HR = 9.52; P < 0.01) and the application of nimotuzumab combined with CRT (HR = 0.16; P < 0.01) was much longer. Furthermore, ECOG, stage, C-reactive protein (CRP) baseline, and histological grade can also be used as independent predictors of OS. Grade >3 adverse reactions were not observed. The most common adverse event related to nimotuzumab was mild fever and the occurrence rate was 19% (5 of 26). The incidence of anemia was 65.4% in group A and 87.5% in group B (P < 0.05). Conclusions: For locoregional-advanced CEC, nimotuzumab combined with IMRT and concomitant chemotherapy was tolerated and effective. In addition, patients with a normal pretherapeutic serum CRP level (CRP < 10 mg/L) can achieve better OS.

The effect of combined TPF and intensity modulated radiotherapy after TPF induction chemotherapy on locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil (TPF) regimen followed by intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) on locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: A total of 150 patients with locally advanced NPC [American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 2009 stage IIIa-IVb] received 2 or 3 cycles of a TPF regimen as induction chemotherapy. A group of 67 participants (TPF group) continued to receive TPF chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and the remaining 83 participants (P group) received cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy. RESULTS: A median follow-up of 35 months (4-66 months) showed that there was no significant difference between P group and TPF group in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The incidence rate of myelosuppression at 3-4 degrees was 16.9% and 34.3% in the P group and TPF group (P=0.029), respectively, and the oral mucosa reaction at 3-4 degrees was 18.1% and 37.3% in the P group and TPF group, respectively (P=0.007). The 3-4-degree skin reaction in the P group and TPF group was 15.7% and 29.9% (P=0.030), respectively. The rate of liver function injury in the P group was significantly lower than that in TPF group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the concurrent TPF regimen and IMRT showed no significant improvement in OS and PFS in patients with advanced NPC, but exhibited more severe hematologic toxicity, oral mucosal responses, skin reactions, and liver functional impairment.

Dose-Volume and Radiobiological Model-Based Comparative Evaluation of the Gastrointestinal Toxicity Risk of Photon and Proton Irradiation Plans in Localized Pancreatic Cancer Without Distant Metastasis.

Background: Radiobiological model-based studies of photon-modulated radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer have reported reduced gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity, although the risk is still high. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of 3D-passive scattering proton beam therapy (3D-PSPBT) in limiting GI organ at risk (OAR) toxicity in localized pancreatic cancer based on dosimetric data and the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model. Methods: The data of 24 pancreatic cancer patients were retrospectively analyzed, and these patients were planned with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and 3D-PSPBT. The tumor was targeted without elective nodal coverage. All generated plans consisted of a 50.4-GyE (Gray equivalent) dose in 28 fractions with equivalent OAR constraints, and they were normalized to cover 50% of the planning treatment volume (PTV) with 100% of the prescription dose. Physical dose distributions were evaluated. GI-OAR toxicity risk for different endpoints was estimated by using published NTCP Lyman-Kutcher-Burman (LKB) models. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare the dosimetric data, and ΔNTCPIMRT-PSPBT and ΔNTCPVMAT-PSPBT were also computed. Results: Similar homogeneity and conformity for the clinical target volume (CTV) and PTV were exhibited by all three planning techniques (P > 0.05). 3D-PSPBT resulted in a significant dose reduction for GI-OARs in both the low-intermediate dose range (below 30 GyE) and the highest dose region (D max and V 50 GyE) in comparison with IMRT and VMAT (P < 0.05). Based on the NTCP evaluation, the NTCP reduction for GI-OARs by 3D-PSPBT was minimal in comparison with IMRT and VMAT. Conclusion: 3D-PSPBT results in minimal NTCP reduction and has less potential to substantially reduce the toxicity risk of upper GI bleeding, ulceration, obstruction, and perforation endpoints compared to IMRT and VMAT. 3D-PSPBT may have the potential to reduce acute dose-limiting toxicity in the form of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea by reducing the GI-OAR treated volume in the low-to-intermediate dose range. However, this result needs to be further evaluated in future clinical studies.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer in octogenarians and older: an alternative treatment.

Surgery is the standard modality for early-stage I-II non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Generally, patients who are >80 years old tend to have more comorbidities and inferior physical status than younger patients. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) may provide an alternative treatment for this group of patients. Here, we report our experience using SBRT to in the management of early-stage NSCLC in patients >80 years old. Patients aged ≥80 years old who were diagnosed with early-stage NSCLC and treated with definitive lung SBRT from January 2000 to January 2018 were retrospectively analysed. Local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and treatment-related toxicities were analysed for patients >80 years old. A total of 153 patients were included, with a median age of 85 years (range, 80-94). The median follow-up period and OS was 39.8 months (range, 10-101 months) and 76 months, respectively. The 3-year OS, PFS, CSS, RRFS and LRFS were 65.3, 58.0, 75.7, 73.9 and 85.3%, respectively. Radiation pneumonitis grade 0-1, grade 2, grade 3 and grade 4 was observed in 135 (88.2%), 13 (8.5%), 4 (2.61%) and 1 (0.6%) patient(s), respectively. On multivariate analyses, tumor size, pretreatment C-reactive protein (CRP) value, histology and pretreatment physical state were significantly associated with OS. Definitive lung SBRT appears to have high LRFS and OS without causing high-grade radiation-related toxicities in early-stage NSCLC patients who were >80 years old.

Prospective evaluation of XRCC-1 Arg194Trp polymorphism as bio-predictor for clinical outcome in locally advanced laryngeal cancer undergoing cisplatin-based chemoradiation.

BACKGROUND: To determine X-ray repair cross-complementing 1 gene (XRCC-1) Arg194Trp polymorphism as bio-predictor for clinical outcome in advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma undergoing cisplatin-based chemoradiation (CRT). METHODS: A total of 150 patients were enrolled in this prospective study. XRCC-1 Arg194Trp genotyping categorized patients as wild (C/C) and polymorphic (C/T or T/T). The primary endpoint was to assess acute radiation-induced toxicity (ARIT). RESULTS: A significant correlation of skin (P- .04) and oral mucosal ARIT (P- .01) was noticed in the XRCC-1 polymorphic variant. A higher treatment response was noted in the polymorphic variant, and it shows a trend toward significance (P- .08). With 33 months of median follow-up, 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of wild vs polymorphic variant were 34.6% vs 46.9% (P- .066) and 50.6% vs 62.2% (P- .12). CONCLUSION: XRCC-1 polymorphic variants have significantly higher grade of >2 ARIT and may have improved trend for treatment response and PFS.

Could excision repair cross-complementing group-1 mRNA expression from peripheral blood lymphocytes predict locoregional failure with cisplatin chemoradiation for locally advanced laryngeal cancer?

AIM: The association of excision repair cross-complementing 1 mRNA (ERCC-1 mRNA) expression with the outcome has been reported with immunohistochemistry (IHC) using tumor tissue in head and neck cancer. We evaluated ERCC-1 mRNA expression by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) as bio-predictor of locoregional failure (LRF) to chemoradiation (CRT) for locally advanced laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LALSCC). METHODS: A total of 107 male patients with LALSCC were enrolled in this prospective study. ERCC-1 mRNA expression by PBLs was determined by RT-PCR. Definitive CRT was delivered with 35 mg/m2 weekly cisplatin. Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor 1.1 (RECIST 1.1) were used in evaluating treatment response. The primary objective was to assess LRF. The influence of patient characteristics, treatment response, weekly cisplatin cycles, ERCC mRNA expression was determined for LRF, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: A total of 98 patients completed definitive CRT. The median value of 2-ΔΔCT ERCC-1 mRNA expression was 3.9; based on which it was categorized as low and high. Correlation of ERCC-1 expression with treatment response was insignificant (P- .38). With a median follow-up of 33 months; 2-year LRF, PFS, and OS was 63.3%, 34.7% and 79.4%. The 2-year LRF, PFS and OS for low versus high expression were 53.1% versus 73.5% (P-value = 0.036), 44.9% versus 24.4% (P-value = 0.047) and 81.6% versus 77.2% (P-value = 0.33), respectively. In multivariate analysis, ERCC-1 expression, T-stage, N-stage and tumor subsite are predictive factors for LRF; T-stage and nodal recurrence for OS; stage and treatment response for PFS. CONCLUSION: LALSCC patient with ERCC-1 mRNA low expression was associated with lower LRF rate, and improved PFS.

The role of surgery and radiation in advanced gastric cancer: A population-based study of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy is the standard approach for advanced gastric cancer, while the role of local therapy such as surgery and radiation for this population remains controversial. Our purpose is to evaluate the effect of local therapies on cancer specific survival (CSS) for advanced gastric cancer patients. METHODS: Four subgroups of patients in different treatment strategies: surgery, radiation (RT), surgery and radiation (Surgery+RT), no surgery/no radiation (No Surgery/No RT) were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-registered database. The risk factors and the survival outcomes were analyzed by multivariable Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS: A total of 10,354 patients were eligible with 6658 males and 3696 females. The 5-year CSS in the four subgroups of "Surgery", "RT", "Surgery+RT" and "No Surgery/No RT" were respectively 8.9%. 5.7%, 19.8% and 3.2%, which were significantly different in multivariate Cox regression (P<0.001) and univariate log-rank test (P<0.001). Advanced stage categories were defined as stage I, II and III of T/N category according to different initial T and N status following American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging principle. Further analysis showed that patients in the group of "Surgery+RT" have significant benefits of survival specifically on stage II and III of T/N category. "Surgery+RT" group and "Surgery" group patients have similar survival time in stage I of T/N category. Moreover, we also found CSS benefits from the administration of "Surgery+RT" in the patients aged both ≥75 and <75 years. Remarkably, patients in "Surgery" group have no different survival time with "RT" group in age category of 75 years and older. CONCLUSIONS: Local therapies, including surgery, radiation, and combination of both might associate to improve survival in advanced gastric cancer patients, but confounding due to disease extent and physical status cannot be excluded.

Disparities of age-based cancer-specific survival improvement with various clinicopathologic characteristics for kidney cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Whether or not age is a predictor of kidney cancer survival is currently unknown but debated. It is also unknown whether improved kidney cancer survival is associated with age with particular clinicopathologic characteristics. The aim of this study was to evaluate kidney cancer survival in four age-based subgroups of patients by analyzing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-registered database. METHODS: Age-based survival disparity by sex, race, marital status, year of diagnosis, pathological grade, histological type, and stage was measured. The impact of age and further parameters on disease specific mortality was evaluated by multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. RESULTS: Results showed that 8-year cancer-specific survival was 79.6% in those aged ≤49 years, 70.6% in those aged 50-64 years, 65.3% in those aged 65-74 years, and 56.0% in those aged 75-84 years. These differences were significant as judged by a univariate log-rank test (P<0.001) and multivariate Cox regression (P<0.001). Age-based survival improvement was most obvious in patients diagnosed from 2005 to 2009 and with the following clinicopathologic characteristics: female, white race, low pathological grade, and localized stage. There was no obvious disparity of age-based survival improvement with regard to marital status or histologic type. No age-based survival improvement was observed in patients of the black race, pathological grade IV, or distant stage (P=0.05, P=0.07, and P=0.07, respectively). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that age is an independent prognostic factor for survival in patients with kidney cancer and that age-based survival improvement is associated with particular clinicopathologic characteristics.

Prognostic Impact of Different Histological Types on Gastric Adenocarcinoma: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database Analysis.

The clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of gastric mucinous adenocarcinoma (MAC) and signet ring cell carcinoma (SRC) are still controversial. We designed our study to evaluate the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of MAC, SRC and ordinary gastric adenocarcinoma (OGAC) by analyzing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-registered database. The 5-year overall survival (OS) of patients with SRC was significantly lower than that of patients with MAC (P = 0.001) and OGAC (P < 0.001), and there was no significant difference in 5-year OS between MAC and OGAC (P = 0.804). Furthermore, there were no significant differences of 5-years OS among these three groups at stage I, II and III (all P > 0.05) and no significant difference between MAC and OGAC at stage IV (P = 0.110). Patients in SRC group had significantly worse survival than those in MAC and OGAC at stage IV (both P = 0.008), with 5-year OS of 3.3%, 5.8%, and 5.8%, respectively. However, the histological type was not found to be an independent prognostic factor of gastric cancer according to the multivariate analysis with Cox regression.

The recommended treatment strategy for locally advanced gastric cancer in elderly patients aged 75 years and older: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database analysis.

BACKGROUND: As patients aged 75 years and older are often underrepresented in randomized clinical trials, the external validity of clinical trials-based recommendations in older gastric patients was still controversial. The aim of this study is to explore the recommended treatment strategy for locally advanced gastric cancer in elderly patients. METHODS: We designed our study to specifically evaluate the cancer-specific survival (CSS) of four subgroups of patients according to four different treatment modalities: adjuvant radiation (RT), surgery only, RT only and no surgery/no RT by analyzing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-registered database. Kaplan-Meier methods were adopted and multivariable Cox regression models were built for the analysis of survival outcomes and risk factors. RESULTS: The 5-year CSS was 43.8 % in adjuvant RT, 28.5 % in surgery only, 14.9 % in RT only and 1.4 % in no surgery/no RT, which had significant difference in univariate log-rank test (P < 0.001) and multivariate Cox regression (P < 0.001). Moreover, we observed significant survival benefits in adjuvant RT group in all age categories, including age 75-79 years, age 80-84 years and age ≥85 years (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Surgery and adjuvant RT may be the recommended treatment strategy in elderly patients with locally advanced gastric cancer, especially for patients medically fit for the combined modality therapy.