A non-socially-sensitive predictive model of prostate cancer for Asian males with benign prostatic hyperplasia: A multi-site cross-sectional case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common in aging Asian males and is associated with an excess risk of developing prostate cancer (PCa). However, discussions about socially-sensitive experiences such as sexual activity, which can significantly predict PCa risk, may be considered stigmatized in Asian culture. This study aimed to develop a predictive model for PCa risk in Asian males with BPH using non-socially-sensitive information. METHODS: A cross-sectional case-control study, with PCa patients as the cases and remaining as the controls, was conducted on a cohort of Taiwanese males with BPH from four medical institutions. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled, excluding those aged over 86 years or who had received human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Non-socially-sensitive variables such as obesity, occupational exposure, HPV infection, and PCa family history score (FH score) were included in a fully adjusted logistic regression model, and depicted using a nomogram. RESULTS: Among 236 BPH patients, 45.3% had PCa. Obesity, occupational exposure, HPV infection, and family history of PCa were significantly associated with PCa risk. The FH score (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.03-3.47, P = 0.041) had the highest impact, followed by HPV infection (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.03-2.11, P = 0.034), occupational exposure (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.15-1.51, P <0.001), and obesity (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.07-1.41, P = 0.005). The nomogram accurately depicted the predictive risk, and the model demonstrated robust performance compared to individual factors. In addition, the subgroup analysis results showed elderly age group could obtain more favorable predictive performance in our proposed model (AUC = 0.712). CONCLUSION: This non-socially-sensitive predictive model for PCa risk in Taiwanese males with BPH integrates multiple factors that could provide acceptable PCa risk-predictive performance, especially for elderly BPH patients over 70 years, aiding clinical decision-making and early cancer detection.

A matched case-control study in Taiwan to evaluate potential risk factors for prostate cancer.

The rising incidence rate of prostate cancer (PCa) worldwide has become a public health concern. PCa has a multifactorial etiology, and the link between human papillomavirus (HPV) and PCa has been widely investigated by numerous case-control studies. This age-matched, case-control study included 143 PCa patients and 135 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients, with prostatic specimens testing negative for malignancy, as control. Study participants were recruited from four major hospitals in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, period 2018-2020, looking into HPV infection and other PCa risk factors, including dietary habits, family history, personal lifestyle, and sexual behavior. Multiple logistic regression analysis and forward stepwise selection analysis were conducted to identify potential risk factors for PCa. HPV DNA was found in 10 of the 143 PCa cases (7%) and 2 of the 135 BPH controls (1.5%) (OR = 6.02, 95% CI = 1.03-30.3, p = 0.046). This association was slightly significant, and furthermore, high risk HPV was not found to be associated with PCa. Higher body mass index (BMI) (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.05-1.27, p = 0.003), more total meat consumption (OR = 2.74, 95% CI = 1.26-5.94, p = 0.011), exhibited association to PCa. However, PCa family history only presented a statistically significant difference by forward stepwise analysis (OR = 3.91, 95% CI = 1.17-13.12, p = 0.027). While much focus has been on the association between HPV and PCa, the results of this study indicate that more efforts should be directed towards investigating dietary habits, personal lifestyle and family history as factors for PCa. These results could serve as a basis for designing PCa prevention strategies.

Endocrine Dysfunction Following Stroke.

Endocrine dysfunction is known to occur after traumatic brain injury. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of various endocrine dysfunctions after a stroke. The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) was searched from 2001 to 2011 for patients with a diagnosis of stroke. Stroke patients were matched by diagnosis date, age, and sex to patients without a stroke. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to compare the incidence of goiter, acquired hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, pituitary dysfunction, and disorders of the adrenal glands between stroke and non-stroke patients. There were 131,951 patients in the stroke group, and 131,951 in the matched non- stroke group (mean age 66.1 ± 14.9 years). Stroke patients had significantly higher risk of acquired hypothyroidism (crude hazard ratio [cHR] = 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.44, 1.90; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.42, 1.91), pituitary dysfunction (cHR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.79, 2.99; aHR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.46, 2.52), and disorders of the adrenal glands (cHR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.52, 2.12; aHR =1.62, 95% CI: 1.36, 1.92) than non-stroke patients. Pituitary dysfunction and disorders of the adrenal glands were found in both hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke patients, while hypothyroidism was seen in ischemic stroke patients only. No significant association was found for goiter and thyroiditis. In conclusions, stroke survivors have an approximately 2-fold increased risk of developing acquired hypothyroidism, pituitary dysfunction, or disorders of the adrenal glands. These risks should be taken into account in the management of patients who have ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes. Graphical Abstract.

Statin and metformin therapy in prostate cancer patients with hyperlipidemia who underwent radiotherapy: a population-based cohort study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the association between the use of statins and/or metformin and patient survival in prostate cancer patients in Taiwan. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients who had hyperlipidemia and received radiotherapy were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database 2000-2010. The survival rate was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to examine the association of mortality. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the risk of mortality in patients with diabetes. RESULTS: The study included 567 patients. Patients who used statins or metformin after prostate cancer diagnosis had longer average survival times (9.3 years and 8.1 years, respectively; P=0.001) compared with patients who persistently used or used the medicines prior to cancer diagnosis. Multivariate Cox regression analysis found that patients treated with statins after cancer diagnosis were significantly associated with a lower risk of mortality (aHR =0.24, 95% CI =0.09-0.66) compared to patients who did not use statins during the study period. Patients treated with metformin after cancer diagnosis were significantly associated more with an increased risk of mortality (aHR =6.78, 95% CI =2.45-18.77) compared to patients who did not use metformin during the study period. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the average survival time was similar among different medicine use groups in patients with diabetes. CONCLUSION: The finding suggests that statins and metformin use after prostate cancer diagnosis may increase survival in patients with hyperlipidemia and radiotherapy.

Comparison of Elixhauser and Charlson Methods for Predicting Oral Cancer Survival.

Cancer survival correlates not only with the features of primary malignancy but also with the degree of underlying comorbidities. Of the multiple methods used for evaluating the impact of comorbidities on survival, the Charlson and Elixhauser methods are most common. This study compared these 2 comorbidity measures for predicting survival in oral cancer patients. Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance claims data (2008-2011), we acquired data regarding patients' characteristics, comorbidities, and survival from 3583 oral cancer patients. Comorbidity was classified according to both the Charlson comorbidity and Elixhauser comorbidity based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision. The Elixhauser comorbidity score and Charlson comorbidity score were also calculated. The prediction of survival was determined using measures of discrimination, including the Akaike information criterion and Harrell C (C-statistic). The mean age of the study cohort was 52 ±â€Š10 years, and 94.9% of the patients were male. The median follow-up time was 30.1 months, and the 3-year overall survival was 61.6%. Elixhauser comorbidity method added higher discrimination, compared with the Charlson comorbidity method (Harrell C, 0.677 vs 0.651). Furthermore, the Elixhauser comorbidity score outperformed the Charlson comorbidity score in continuous variable (Harrell C, 0.654 vs 0.646) and category (Harrell C, 0.658 vs 0.645). The Elixhauser method is a superior comorbidity risk-adjustment model for oral cancer survival prediction. Utilization of the Elixhauser comorbidity method may be encouraged for risk adjustment in oral cancer study.

Fabrication of inverted zinc oxide photonic crystal using sol-gel solution by spin coating method.

Inverted zinc oxide photonic crystal structures were fabricated from polystyrene sphere (PSS) template using the sol-gel solution of ZnO by spin-coating method. It is easily able to control and fabricate the photonic crystal structures using the self-organized PSS with a size of 193 nm. The inverted ZnO photonic crystal structures observed show the (111) tendency of the hexagonal compact arrangement formation. The resulting structures possess the photonic band gaps in the near-ultraviolet range and exhibit an enhanced photoluminescence spectrum. The technology can effectively increase the light output intensity or efficiency for the applications of optoelectronic devices.

Serum amyloid a as a predictive marker for radiation pneumonitis in lung cancer patients.

PURPOSE: To investigate serum markers associated with radiation pneumonitis (RP) grade ≥3 in patients with lung cancer who were treated with radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Pretreatment serum samples from patients with stage Ib-IV lung cancer who developed RP within 1 year after radiation therapy were analyzed to identify a proteome marker able to stratify patients prone to develop severe RP by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). Dosimetric parameters and 3 biological factors were compared. RESULTS: Serum samples from 16 patients (28%) with severe RP (grade 3-4) and 42 patients (72%) with no or mild RP (grade 0-2) were collected for analysis. All patients received a median of 54 Gy (range, 42-70 Gy) of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy with a mean lung dose (MLD) of 1502 cGy (range, 700-2794 cGy). An m/z peak of 11,480 Da was identified by SELDI-TOF-MS, and serum amyloid A (SAA) was the primary splitter serum marker. The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of SAA (0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.87-1.00) was higher than those of C-reactive protein (0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.94), interleukin-6 (0.79; 95% CI, 0.65-0.94), and MLD (0.57; 95% CI, 0.37-0.77). The best sensitivity and specificity of combined SAA and MLD for predicting RP were 88.9% and 96.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline SAA could be used as an auxiliary marker for predicting severe RP. Extreme care should be taken to limit the lung irradiation dose in patients with high SAA.

Hypofractionated radiotherapy for primary or secondary oligometastatic lung cancer using Tomotherapy.

BACKGROUND: To retrospectively review the outcome of patients with primary or secondary oligometastatic lung cancer, treated with hypofractionated Tomotherapy. METHODS: Between April 2007 and June 2011, a total of 33 patients with oligometastatic intrapulmonary lesions underwent hypofractionated radiotherapy by Tomotherapy along with appropriate systemic therapy. There were 24 primary, and 9 secondary lung cancer cases. The radiation doses ranged from 4.5 to 7.0 Gy per fraction, multiplied by 8-16 fractions. The median dose per fraction was 4.5 Gy (range, 4.5-7.0 Gy), and the median total dose was 49.5 Gy (range, 45-72 Gy). The median estimated biological effective dose at 10 Gy (BED10) was 71.8 Gy (range, 65.3-119.0 Gy), and that at 3 Gy (BED3) was 123.8 Gy (range, 112.5-233.3 Gy). The mean lung dose (MLD) was constrained mainly under 1200 cGy. The median gross tumor volume (GTV) was 27.9 cm3 (range: 2.5-178.1 cm3). RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 25.8 months (range, 3.0-60.7 months). The median overall survival (OS) time was 32.1 months for the 24 primary lung cancer patients, and >40 months for the 9 metastatic lung patients. The median survival time of the patients with extra-pulmonary disease (EPD) was 11.2 months versus >50 months (not reached) in the patients without EPD (p < 0.001). Those patients with smaller GTV (≦27.9 cm3) had a better survival than those with larger GTV (>27.9 cm3): >40 months versus 12.85 months (p = 0.047). The patients with ≦2 lesions had a median survival >40 months, whereas those with ≧3 lesions had 26 months (p = 0.065). The 2-year local control (LC) rate was 94.7%. Only 2 patients (6.1%) developed ≧grade 3 radiation pneumonitis. CONCLUSION: Using Tomotherapy in hypofractionation may be effective for selected primary or secondary lung oligometastatic diseases, without causing significant toxicities. Pulmonary oligometastasis patients without EPD had better survival outcomes than those with EPD. Moreover, GTV is more significant than lesion number in predicting survival.

Upfront gefitinib/erlotinib treatment followed by concomitant radiotherapy for advanced lung cancer: a mono-institutional experience.

BACKGROUND: Upfront tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) has proved effective for selective advanced lung cancer patients in Taiwan. We hypothesized that early integration of radiotherapy during TKI treatment would decrease the chance of drug resistance and prolong progression-free survival (PFS). METHODS: This study included 25 patients with stage IIIb or IV non-squamous cell, non-small cell lung cancer (NSqCLC) who responded to upfront TKI treatment. Multi-target radiotherapy was administered during the TKI treatment course. Tomotherapy comprising a hypofractionated schedule with a dose of 40-50 Gy in 16-20 fractions was used for individual metastatic lesions. RESULTS: The patients' median follow-up duration was 30 months (range, 9-62 months). Of the 23 patients who had stage IV disease, 9 had oligometastases (≤5 gross target volumes) and 14 were in the more advanced stages of the disease. Twelve patients received more than 1 cycle of radiotherapy (median, 3; range, 2-6) with TKI being the only systemic treatment before they were salvaged with chemotherapy. The overall response rate after radiotherapy was 84.0%, and the median PFS was 16 months. The 3-year overall survival rate was 62.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 39.1-85.8%). Toxicities were generally tolerated but it is necessary to prevent radiation-induced pneumonitis. CONCLUSION: We showed that combined first-line TKI therapy and early multi-target radiotherapy are very effective in selected patients that respond to TKI, when the status of mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are not known before the treatment. Our data may aid expansion of the effectiveness of TKI treatment through radiotherapy in Asian patients with stage IV NSqCLC.