Potential Efficacy of Allergen Removed Rhus Verniciflua Stokes Extract to Maintain Progression-Free Survival of Patients With Advanced Hepatobiliary Cancer.

Hepatobiliary cancers are among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Most of the early-stage, surgically resectable cases show recurrence, and when they do, the prognosis is dismal with limited available treatment options. Here, we report three patients with relapsed hepatobiliary cancers who presented relatively long progression-free survival with the administration of a natural product, allergen removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) extract. After commencement of RVS extract, they were progression-free for over 56 months in one case of recurred cholangiocarcinoma, and for over 16 and 114 months respectively, in two cases of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. These cases suggest that the RVS extract could be a potential alternative for advanced hepatobiliary cancer that has no other available treatment.

Prognostic Significance of Host-related Biomarkers for Survival in Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: This study identified host-related prognostic biomarkers for survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: This study was based on the retrospective review of the medical records of 135 patients with pathologically confirmed advanced NSCLC. The host-related biomarkers assessed in this study that reflected patient condition included hemoglobin (Hb) levels; platelet (PLT), neutrophil, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts; and ferritin concentrations. The overall survival (OS) was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using log-rank tests. Univariate and multivariate analyses of Cox proportional hazards regression were used to evaluate the prognostic impact for survival. RESULTS: Of the enrolled patients, 91.1% had stage IV NSCLC, 42.2% had ECOG-PS scores of 2, and 57% had undergone multiple rounds of prior systemic therapy. The prognostic factors included low Hb concentration (men: Hb < 13 g/dL, women: Hb < 12 g/dL; p = 0.046), increased neutrophil count (> 7,700 cells/µL; p < 0.001), decreased lymphocyte count (≤ 1500 cells/µL; p = 0.011), increased monocyte count (> 800 cells/µL; p < 0.001), and high ferritin level (men: > 200 ng/mL, women: > 150 ng/mL; p < 0.001), which were associated with poor OS and increased hazard of mortality. The multivariate proportional hazards model revealed that lymphocyte count, monocyte count, and ferritin level were independent host-related prognostic biomarkers for survival. Increased monocyte count (HR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.64-6.04; p < 0.001) and high ferritin level (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.24-2.64; p = 0.002) were significantly associated with poor survival, whereas increased lymphocyte count (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.40-0.83; p = 0.004) showed prolonged survival. CONCLUSION: Immune factors, such as lymphocyte and monocyte counts, as well as serum ferritin levels, are significant host-related prognostic biomarkers for survival with direct relevance to survival time in patients with advanced NSCLC.

The Role of Heart Rate Variability in Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

AIM: Several recent studies have suggested that assessing heart rate variability (HRV) is an easy method for obtaining prognostic information on cancer patients; however, these studies had limitations such as uncontrolled confounders and small numbers in a heterogeneous group. The intention of our study was to explore and validate the role of HRV variables in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHOD: A total of 167 patients who were eligible for HRV testing were consecutively enrolled from a regional hospital in South Korea. Demographic and clinical variables, including the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status grade, NSCLC stage, therapeutic intervention, and other data were also recorded. The effects of time-domain and frequency-domain indices of HRV were compared with other clinical factors to determine overall survival. RESULTS: Among the HRV parameters, standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) significantly predicted poor survival by univariate analysis. However, multivariate analysis revealed that it was not an independent prognosticator for survival in NSCLC patients, as the HRV parameters significantly correlated with the ECOG performance status grade. CONCLUSION: HRV variables should be used to monitor advanced NSCLC patients' general well-being and ability to perform the activities of daily living rather than to predict their overall survival.

The efficacy and safety of standardized allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua extract as maintenance therapy after first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Chemotherapy improves the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but tumor progression is often inevitable. Strategies are needed to improve the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy. Over recent years, there has been increasing interest in the role of maintenance therapy after first-line chemotherapy. We investigated the efficacy and safety of standardized allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes extract (aRVS) as maintenance therapy in patients with non-progressive disease following first-line chemotherapy. We reviewed the medical records of 33 patients with advanced NSCLC, who started treatment with aRVS in a state of tumor regression or stable disease after completion of four or six cycles of induction chemotherapy at the Integrative Cancer Center, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong from June 2006 to April 2012. The primary objective of this study was progression-free survival (PFS) of aRVS as maintenance therapy. Secondary objectives included assessments of disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), and the safety of aRVS treatment. The median PFS was 5.2 months with a 6- and 12-month PFS rate of 40.6% and 12.9%, respectively. The DCR was 93.9% and the median OS was 34.8 months. The overall survival rates at 12, 24, and 36 months were 84.2%, 76.7% and 49.9%, respectively. We observed no hematologic toxicity, nephrotoxicity, or hepatotoxicity during aRVS treatment. In conclusion, maintenance therapy with aRVS for patients with advanced NSCLC is well-tolerated and offers encouraging improved PFS and OS compared with historical controls. Our data provide further evidence that aRVS may be used beyond disease progression in this clinical setting.