Molecular subtypes of breast cancer predicting clinical benefits of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery: a propensity-score-matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Based on the molecular expression of cancer cells, molecular subtypes of breast cancer have been applied to classify patients for predicting clinical outcomes and prognosis. However, further evidence is needed regarding the influence of molecular subtypes on the efficacy of radiotherapy (RT) after breast-conserving surgery (BCS), particularly in a population-based context. Hence, the present study employed a propensity-score-matched cohort design to investigate the potential role of molecular subtypes in stratifying patient outcomes for post-BCS RT and to identify the specific clinical benefits that may emerge. METHODS: From 2006 to 2019, the present study included 59,502 breast cancer patients who underwent BCS from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Propensity scores were utilized to match confounding variables between patients with and without RT within each subtype of breast cancer, namely luminal A, luminal B/HER2-negative, luminal B/HER2-positive, basal-like, and HER2-enriched ones. Several clinical outcomes were assessed, in terms of local recurrence (LR), regional recurrence (RR), distant metastasis (DM), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: After post-BCS RT, patients with luminal A and luminal B/HER2-positive breast cancers exhibited a decrease in LR (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.18, p < 0.0001; and, 0.24, p = 0.0049, respectively). Furthermore, reduced RR and improved DFS were observed in patients with luminal A (aHR = 0.15, p = 0.0004; and 0.29, p < 0.0001), luminal B/HER2-negative (aHR = 0.06, p = 0.0093; and, 0.46, p = 0.028), and luminal B/HER2-positive (aHR = 0.14, p = 0.01; and, 0.38, p < 0.0001) breast cancers. Notably, OS benefits were found in patients with luminal A (aHR = 0.62, p = 0.002), luminal B/HER2-negative (aHR = 0.30, p < 0.0001), basal-like (aHR = 0.40, p < 0.0001), and HER2-enriched (aHR = 0.50, p = 0.03), but not luminal B/HER2-positive diseases. Remarkably, when considering DM, luminal A patients who received RT demonstrated a lower cumulative incidence of DM than those without RT (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In patients with luminal A breast cancer who undergo BCS, RT could decrease the likelihood of tumor metastasis. After RT, the tumor's hormone receptor status may predict tumor control regarding LR, RR, and DFS. Besides, the HER2 status of luminal breast cancer patients may serve as an additional predictor of OS after post-BCS RT. However, further prospective studies are required to validate these findings.

IRAK2, an Immune and Radiation-Response Gene, Correlates with Advanced Disease Features but Predicts Higher Post-Irradiation Local Control in Non-Metastatic and Resected Oral Cancer Patients.

Gene Ontology (GO) analysis can provide a comprehensive function analysis for investigating genes, allowing us to identify the potential biological roles of genes. The present study conducted GO analysis to explore the biological function of IRAK2 and performed a case analysis to define its clinical role in disease progression and mediating tumor response to RT. Methods: We performed a GO enrichment analysis on the RNA-seq data to validate radiation-induced gene expression. A total of 172 I-IVB specimens from oral squamous cell carcinoma patients were collected for clinical analysis, from which IRAK2 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. This was a retrospective study conducted between IRAK2 expression and the outcomes of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients after radiotherapy treatment. We conducted Gene Ontology (GO) analysis to explore the biological function of IRAK2 and performed a case analysis to define its clinical role in mediating tumor response to radiotherapy. GO enrichment analysis to validate radiation-induced gene expression was performed. Clinically, 172 stage I-IVB resected oral cancer patients were used to validate IRAK2 expression in predicting clinical outcomes. GO enrichment analysis showed that IRAK2 is involved in 10 of the 14 most enriched GO categories for post-irradiation biological processes, focusing on stress response and immune modulation. Clinically, high IRAK2 expression was correlated with adverse disease features, including pT3-4 status (p = 0.01), advanced overall stage (p = 0.02), and positive bone invasion (p = 0.01). In patients who underwent radiotherapy, the IRAK2-high group was associated with reduced post-irradiation local recurrence (p = 0.025) compared to the IRAK2-low group. IRAK2 plays a crucial role in the radiation-induced response. Patients with high IRAK2 expression demonstrated more advanced disease features but predicted higher post-irradiation local control in a clinical setting. These findings support IRAK2 as a potential predictive biomarker for radiotherapy response in non-metastatic and resected oral cancer patients.

Impact of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy on the Risk of Stroke Stratified by Subtypes and Follow-Up Time.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) comprise 4 subtypes. Previous studies have not investigated the relationship between stroke risk, different HDP subtypes, and follow-up time, which was the purpose of this study. METHODS: Data of 17 588 women aged 18 to 45 years who had a history of HDP in Taiwan from 2000 to 2017 was retrospectively reviewed. After matching with confounders, 13 617 HDP women and 54 468 non-HDP women were recruited. RESULTS: HDP women had an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.71 (95% CI, 1.46-2.00) for stroke, and 1.60 (1.35-1.89) and 2.98 (2.13-4.18) for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, respectively (P<0.001 for all). The overall stroke risk in the HDP group was still 2.04 times 10 to 15 years after childbirth (1.47-2.83, P<0.001). Although the risks of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke persisted, their risk time trends were different. The risk of ischemic stroke reached peak during 1 to 3 years after childbirth with an aHR of 2.14 (1.36-3.38), while hemorrhagic stroke risk gradually increased and had an aHR of 4.64 (2.47-8.73) after 10 to 15 years of childbirth (both P<0.001). Among the 4 HDP subtypes, chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia had the highest stroke risk (aHR=3.86, 1.91-7.82, P<0.001), followed by preeclampsia-eclampsia (aHR=2.00, 1.63-2.45, P<0.001), and gestational hypertension (aHR=1.68, 1.13-2.52, P<0.05); chronic preexisting hypertension had the lowest stroke risk (aHR=1.27, 0.97-1.68, P>0.05). Furthermore, multiple HDP combined with preeclampsia had aHR of 5.48 (1.14-26.42, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of HDP on the risk of future stroke persisted for up to 17 years, both for ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. The presence of multiple HDP and preeclampsia further increase the stroke risk.

Impact of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination on the frequency of pneumonia-related hospitalization and survival in elderly patients with prostate cancer: A seven-year nationwide matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) is indicated for adults who have a high risk of pneumonia; however, its effectiveness in patients with prostate cancer who are at a risk of pneumonia because of age and cancer treatments, including androgen-deprivation therapy, is unknown. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2010, 38,735 patients with prostate cancer were diagnosed in Taiwan. After exclusions and exact matching for age, previous pneumonia, and influenza vaccination, 2188 vaccinated patients and 2188 unvaccinated patients were recruited. The incidence density of all-cause bacterial pneumonia hospitalizations was analyzed. RESULTS: Over 7 years of follow-up, patients who received the PPSV23 had a significantly lower incidence density, with 142.8 per 1000 person-years versus 162.0 per 1000 person-years for unvaccinated patients. More patients in the vaccinated cohort were never hospitalized for pneumonia compared with those in the unvaccinated cohort (64.2% vs 62.2%, respectively). After adjusting for the Charlson comorbidity index, cancer treatment modalities, and socioeconomic levels, the risk of pneumonia-related hospitalization in the PPSV23 vaccination cohort was 0.48 times lower than that in the unvaccinated cohort (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 0.48; P = .046). For patients who received the influenza vaccination, subgroup analysis demonstrated that PPSV23 vaccination significantly decreased the risk (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 0.45; P < .001). Compared with unvaccinated controls, PPSV23-vaccinated patients had a lower cumulative incidence for the first occurrence of pneumonia-related hospitalization (34.49% vs 36.36%; P = .178) and higher overall survival (47.5% and 42.3%, respectively; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination of elderly patients who have prostate cancer with the relatively common and inexpensive PPSV23 can decrease the risk of pneumonia and prolong survival.

Cyproheptadine, an epigenetic modifier, exhibits anti-tumor activity by reversing the epigenetic silencing of IRF6 in urothelial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the second most common malignancy of the urinary system with high rate of recurrence, UC patients therefore needed to be treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy. Development of novel therapeutics with minimal side-effect is an urgent issue. Our previous study showed that cyproheptadine (CPH), an anti-histamine, exhibited antitumor activity in UC in vitro and in an xenograft model. However, the molecular mechanism of how CPH inhibits tumor progression is not fully understood. METHODS: Genes that were upregulated after treatment with CPH in UC cells, were examined by RNA-Seq. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was employed to detect IRF6 expression while COBRA assay and bisulphite pyrosequencing were used to examine promoter methylation of IRF6. Enrichment of total H3K27 acetylation and H3K4 mono-methylation were detected by western blotting. Colony formation and flow cytometry were used to examine proliferation and apoptosis in UC cells overexpressed or depleted with IRF6. Nude mice xenograft model was used to examine the effect of IRF6 in UC. RESULTS: Our result showed that several genes, including IRF6 were upregulated after treatment with CPH in BFTC905 UC cells. Further experiments found that treatment of CPH could restore the expression of IRF6 in several other UC cell lines, probably due to promoter hypomethylation and enrichment of H3K27 acetylation and H3K4 mono-methylation. These results may be due to the fact that CPH could alter the activity, but not the expression of epigenetic modifiers. Finally, re-expression of IRF6 in UC inhibited tumor growth in vitro and in an xenograft mouse model, by inducing apoptosis. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our results suggested that CPH may be an epigenetic modifier, modulating the expression of the potential tumor suppressor IRF6, in inhibiting tumor growth in UC.

E2F6 functions as a competing endogenous RNA, and transcriptional repressor, to promote ovarian cancer stemness.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal cancer of the female reproductive system. In that regard, several epidemiological studies suggest that long-term exposure to estrogen could increase ovarian cancer risk, although its precise role remains controversial. To decipher a mechanism for this, we previously generated a mathematical model of how estrogen-mediated upregulation of the transcription factor, E2F6, upregulates the ovarian cancer stem/initiating cell marker, c-Kit, by epigenetic silencing the tumor suppressor miR-193a, and a competing endogenous (ceRNA) mechanism. In this study, we tested that previous mathematical model, showing that estrogen treatment of immortalized ovarian surface epithelial cells upregulated both E2F6 and c-KIT, but downregulated miR-193a. Luciferase assays further confirmed that microRNA-193a targets both E2F6 and c-Kit. Interestingly, ChIP-PCR and bisulphite pyrosequencing showed that E2F6 also epigenetically suppresses miR-193a, through recruitment of EZH2, and by a complex ceRNA mechanism in ovarian cancer cell lines. Importantly, cell line and animal experiments both confirmed that E2F6 promotes ovarian cancer stemness, whereas E2F6 or EZH2 depletion derepressed miR-193a, which opposes cancer stemness, by alleviating DNA methylation and repressive chromatin. Finally, 118 ovarian cancer patients with miR-193a promoter hypermethylation had poorer survival than those without hypermethylation. These results suggest that an estrogen-mediated E2F6 ceRNA network epigenetically and competitively inhibits microRNA-193a activity, promoting ovarian cancer stemness and tumorigenesis.

Comparing stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) versus re-trans-catheter arterial chemoembolization (re-TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma patients who had incomplete response after initial TACE (TASABR): a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 75-85% of primary liver cancers and is prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region. Till now, trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is still one of common modalities in managing unresectable intermediate-stage HCC. However, post-TACE residual viable HCC is not uncommon, resulting in unsatisfied overall survival after TACE alone. Recently, stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) has been suggested to manage HCC curatively. However, evidence from phase-III trials is largely lacking. Hence, the present phase III randomized trial is designed to compare clinical outcomes between SABR and re-TACE for unresectable HCC patients who had incomplete response after initial TACE. METHODS: The present study is an open-label, parallel, randomized controlled trial. A total of 120 patients will be included into two study groups, i.e., SABR and re-TACE, with a 1:1 allocation rate. A 3-year allocating period is planned. Patients with incomplete response after initial TACE will be enrolled and randomized. The primary endpoint is 1-year freedom-form-local-progression rate. Secondary endpoints are disease-progression-free survival, overall survival, local control, response rate, toxicity, and duration of response of the treated tumor. DISCUSSION: SABR has been reported as an effective modality in managing intermediate-stage HCC patients, but evidence from phase-III randomized trials is largely lacking. As a result, conducting randomized trials to demarcate the role of SABR in these patients is warranted, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, where HBV- and HCV-related HCCs are prevalent. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Before enrolling participants, the present study was registered prospectively on ClinicalTrials.gov (trial identifier, NCT02921139 ) on Sep. 29, 2016. This study is ongoing.

Effect of liver cirrhosis on metastasis in colorectal cancer patients: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the liver metastasis risk among colorectal cancer patients with liver cirrhosis. METHODS: This was a nationwide population-based cohort study of 2973 newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients with liver cirrhosis and 11 892 age-sex matched controls enrolled in Taiwan between 2000 and 2010. The cumulative risk by Kaplan-Meier method, hazard ratio by the multivariate Cox proportional model and the incidence density were evaluated. RESULTS: The median time interval from the colorectal cancer diagnosis to the liver metastasis event was 7.42 months for liver cirrhosis group and 7.67 months for non-liver cirrhosis group. The incidence density of liver metastasis was higher in the liver cirrhosis group (61.92/1000 person-years) than in the non-liver cirrhosis group (47.48/1000 person-years), with a significantly adjusted hazard ratio of 1.15 (95% CI = 1.04-1.28, P = 0.007). The 10-year cumulative risk of liver metastasis for the liver cirrhosis and the non-liver cirrhosis group was 27.1 and 23.6%, respectively (P = 0.006). For early cancer stage with locoregional disease patients receiving surgery alone without adjuvant anti-cancer treatments, patients with liver cirrhosis (10-year cumulative risk 23.9 vs. 15.7%, P < 0.001) or cirrhotic symptoms (10-year cumulative risk 25.6 vs. 16.6%, P = 0.009) both still had higher liver metastasis risk compared with their counterparts. For etiologies of liver cirrhosis, the 10-year cumulative risk for hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, other causes and non-liver cirrhosis were 29.5, 28.9, 27.5, 26.7 and 23.4%, respectively, (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that liver metastasis risk was underestimated and even higher in colorectal cancer patients with liver cirrhosis.

A nationwide cohort study suggests that hepatitis C virus infection is associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease.

The association of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains widely debated. Here we quantify this association by analysis of data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database and ICD-9 codes to identify 9430 adults with newly diagnosed HCV (years 1999-2006) and randomly selected 37,720 matched non-HCV control individuals. The incidence rate and risk of incident CKD were evaluated through the end of 2010. The frequency of CKD was 1.66-fold higher in the HCV than the non-HCV cohort (5.46 compared with 3.43 per 1000 person-years), and the adjusted hazard ratio remained significant at 1.28 (95% confidence interval, 1.12-1.46). A multivariate analysis was used to determine the influence of HCV on CKD risk with regard to age, gender, follow-up duration, and comorbidities. The risk for CKD in HCV-infected individuals was higher with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cirrhosis (8.44; 3.70-19.23), followed by men<50 years (2.32; 1.49-3.61), all individuals<50 years (1.90; 1.33-2.73), men overall (1.44; 1.22-1.71), and individuals followed for ≥6 years (1.35; 1.06-1.71); all with considerable significance. Thus, HCV infection is associated with an increased risk of CKD. Hence, high-risk HCV-infected individuals should be aggressively monitored for development of CKD.

The Effectiveness of 23-valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine on Elderly Colorectal Cancer Long-Term Survivors: A population-based exact-matched cohort study.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) long-term survivor is a rapid enlarging group. However, the effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) on this group is unknown. This nationwide population-based study in Taiwan was designed to examine the effect of PPSV23 on incidence rate ratio (IRR) of pneumonia hospitalization, cumulative incidence, and overall survival rate for these long-term CRC survivors. This cohort study was based on the Taiwan Cancer Registry and Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000-2017. After individual exact matching to covariates with 1:1 ratio, there were a total of 1,355 vaccinated and 1,355 unvaccinated survivors. After adjusted by multivariate Poisson regression model, vaccinated group had a non-significantly lower pneumonia hospitalization risk than unvaccinated, with an adjusted IRR of 0.879 (p = .391). Besides, vaccinated group had both lower cumulative incidence rate and higher overall survival time than unvaccinated.

Association of spironolactone use with risk of urinary tract cancer in the general population: A matched population-based cohort study.

PURPOSE: The correlation between spironolactone usage and cancer risk has sparked interest. The objective of this study is to examine the association between spironolactone use and the incidence of urinary tract cancer in the general population. METHODS: We conducted a matched population-based cohort study. The study population was obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (TNHIRD) during the period from 2000 to 2016. The multivariate Cox proportional hazard model was performed to examine the impact of spironolactone use on the risk of urinary tract cancer. A total of 8,608 individuals exposed to spironolactone were exact matched by 1:1 ratio with unexposed controls on factors including age, gender, comorbidities, CCI scores and socioeconomic status. The incidences of urinary tract cancer, including prostate, renal and bladder cancer, were estimated in both spironolactone exposed and non-exposed cohorts. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounding variables, the multivariate Cox regression analysis showed no significant association between spironolactone exposure and urinary tract cancer incidence, including bladder (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.72-1.96, p = 0.50), renal (aHR = 1.75, 95% CI = 0.99-3.07, p = 0.053), and prostate cancer (aHR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.43-1.04, p = 0.07). When the population was stratified into low (cumulative dose < = 29,300 mg) and high (cumulative dose >29,300 mg) dose of spironolactone, only high dose of spironolactone use was significantly associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer (aHR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.23-0.89, p = 0.02), while being associated with an elevated risk of renal cancer (aHR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.07-4.08, p = 0.03). However, no clear cumulative dose-response relationship was observed in theses associations. CONCLUSIONS: High cumulative dose of spironolactone may be potentially associated with a decreased incidence of prostate cancer and an increased incidence of renal cancer, while no significant association was observed with bladder cancer incidence. However, given the lack of support from the dose-response pattern, the available evidence is inconclusive to establish a definitive association between spironolactone use and urinary tract cancer.

Peptidylarginine Deiminase Type 2 Predicts Tumor Progression and Poor Prognosis in Patients with Curatively Resected Biliary Tract Cancer.

(1) Background: PADI2 is a post-translational modification (PTM) enzyme that catalyzes citrullination, which then triggers autoimmune disease and cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of peptidylarginine deiminase 2 (PADI2) protein expression in biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients. (2) Methods: Using immunohistochemistry, the PADI2 protein expression in BTC tissues was analyzed. The correlations between PADI2 protein expression and clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed using Chi-square tests. The Kaplan-Meier procedure was used for comparing survival distributions. We used Cox proportional hazards regression for univariate and multivariate analyses. From 2014 to 2020, 30 resected BTC patients were enrolled in this study. (3) Results: Patients with high PADI2 protein expression were associated with shorter progress-free survival (PFS; p = 0.041), disease-specific survival (DSS; p = 0.025), and overall survival (OS; p = 0.017) than patients with low PADI2 protein expression. (4) Conclusions: The results indicated that PADI2 protein expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for BTC patients regarding PFS, DSS, and OS.

Hazard-based risk grouping effectively stratifying breast cancer patients in post-irradiation long-term heart diseases: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Even though advanced radiotherapy techniques provide a better protective effect on surrounding normal tissues, the late sequelae from radiation exposure to the heart are still considerable in breast cancer patients. The present population-based study explored the role of cox-regression-based hazard risk grouping and intended to stratify patients with post-irradiation long-term heart diseases. Materials and methods: The present study investigated the Taiwan National Health Insurance (TNHI) database. From 2000 to 2017, we identified 158,798 breast cancer patients. Using a propensity score match of 1:1, we included 21,123 patients in each left and right breast irradiation cohort. Heart diseases, including heart failure (HF), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and other heart diseases (OHD), and anticancer agents, including epirubicin, doxorubicin, and trastuzumab, were included for analysis. Results: Patients received left breast irradiation demonstrated increased risks on IHD (aHR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.06-1.26; p < 0.01) and OHD (aHR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.15; p < 0.05), but not HF (aHR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.96-1.28; p = 0.14), when compared with patients received right breast irradiation. In patients who received left breast irradiation dose of >6,040 cGy, subsequent epirubicin might have a trend to increase the risk of heart failure (aHR, 1.53; 95% CI, 0.98-2.39; p = 0.058), while doxorubicin (aHR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.26-1.32; p = 0.19) and trastuzumab (aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.33-2.62; p = 0.89) did not. Older age was the highest independent risk factor for post-irradiation long-term heart diseases. Conclusion: Generally, systemic anticancer agents are safe in conjunction with radiotherapy for managing post-operative breast cancer patients. Hazard-based risk grouping may help stratify breast cancer patients associated with post-irradiation long-term heart diseases. Notably, radiotherapy should be performed cautiously for elderly left breast cancer patients who received epirubicin. Limited irradiation dose to the heart should be critically considered. Regular monitoring of potential signs of heart failure may be conducted.

Impact of preeclampsia/eclampsia on hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke risk: A 17 years follow-up nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSES: The long-term risk of stroke in women with preeclampsia/eclampsia is a concerning issue. In this study we further investigated different stroke subtypes and differentiated follow-up time intervals. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2017, 1,384,427 pregnant women were registered in the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. After excluding women with previous stroke history and exact matching with all confounders, 6,053 women with preeclampsia/eclampsia and 24,212 controls were included in the analysis sample. RESULTS: Over the 17-year follow-up, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for stroke in women with preeclampsia/eclampsia was 2.05 (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.67-2.52, p<0.001). The 17 years overall aHR of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke were 1.98 and 3.45, respectively (p<0.001). The stroke subtypes, hemorrhagic and ischemic, had different time trend risks, and hemorrhagic stroke risks kept higher than that of ischemic stroke. The aHR of ischemic stroke reached a peak during 1-3 years after childbirth (aHR = 3.09). The aHR of hemorrhagic stroke reached a peak during 3-5 years (aHR = 7.49). CONCLUSIONS: Stroke risk persisted even after decades, for both ischemic and hemorrhagic subtypes. Women with preeclampsia/eclampsia history should be aware of the long-term risk of stroke.

Clinical outcomes of benign brain tumors treated with single fraction LINAC-based stereotactic radiosurgery: Experience of a single institute.

Objectives: Accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a noninvasive and effective treatment modality widely used for benign brain tumors. This study aims to report 20-year treatment outcomes in our institute. Materials and Methods: From May 2001 to December 2020, 127 patients treated with LINAC-based single-fraction SRS for their benign brain lesions were included. A neurosurgeon and two radiation oncologists retrospectively reviewed all data. Computed tomography (CT) simulation was performed after head-frame fixation under local anesthesia. All planning CT images were co-registered and fused with gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging taken within 3 months for lesions targeting and critical organs delineation. The marginal dose was prescribed at 60%-90% isodose lines, respectively, to cover ≥95% planning target volume. Outcome evaluations included clinical tumor control rate (TCR), defined as the need for salvage therapy, and radiological response, defined as no enlargement of >2 cm in the maximal diameter. Overall survival (OS) and adverse reaction (defined according to CTCAE 5.0) were also analyzed. Results: The present study included 76 female and 51 male patients for analysis. The median age was 59 years (range, 20-88 years). Their diagnoses were vestibular schwannoma (VS, n = 54), nonvestibular cranial nerve schwannoma (n = 6), meningioma (n = 50), and pituitary adenoma (n = 17). Totally 136 lesions were treated in a single fraction, predominantly skull base tumors, accounting for 69.1%. Median and mean follow-up duration was 49 and 61 months (range, 1-214 months), Overall TCR was 92.9%. The 5-year disease-specific TCR for VS, nonvestibular schwannoma, meningioma, and pituitary adenoma were 97.4%, 91.7%, 93.8%, and 83.3%. Salvage therapy was indicated for eight patients at 4-110 months after SRS. Among symptomatic patients, post-SRS symptom(s) was improved, stable, and worse in 68.2%, 24.3%, and 3.6%, respectively. Radiological response rate for 111 evaluable patients was 94.6% (shrinkage, 28.8%; stable, 65.8%). OS was 96.1% without treatment-related mortality. One patient with post-SRS cranial nerve injury (0.8%, involving the trigeminal nerve, grade 2 toxicities). No grade 3-4 acute or late toxicity was found. Conclusion: Our results suggested that LINAC-based SRS effectively controls tumor growth and tumor-related neurological symptoms for patients with benign brain tumors. SRS is less aggressive, associated with low neurological morbidity and no mortality. Continuous follow-up is indicated to conclude longer outcomes.

Role of modern radiotherapy in managing patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer. Several treatment options are available for managing HCC patients, classified roughly as local, local-regional, and systemic therapies. The high post-monotherapy recurrence rate of HCC urges the need for the use of combined modalities to increase tumor control and patient survival. Different international guidelines offer treatment recommendations based on different points of view and classification systems. Radiotherapy (RT) is a well-known local-regional treatment modality for managing many types of cancers, including HCC. However, only some of these treatment guidelines include RT, and the role of combined modalities is rarely mentioned. Hence, the present study reviewed clinical evidence for the use of different combined modalities in managing HCC, focusing on modern RT's role. Modern RT has an increased utility in managing HCC patients, mainly due to two driving forces. First, technological advancement (e.g., stereotactic body radiotherapy and advanced proton-beam therapy) enables precise delivery of radiation to increase tumor control and reduce side effects in the surrounding normal tissue. Second, the boom in developing target therapies and checkpoint-blockade immunotherapy prolongs overall survival in HCC patients, re-emphasizing the importance of local tumor control. Remarkably, RT combines with systemic therapies to generate the systemic therapy augmented by radiotherapy effect, a benefit now being actively investigated.

Effectiveness of individual audio-visual coaching, respiratory modulated stereotactic body radiotherapy for localized hepatocellular carcinoma: Analysis of 29 cases from a single academic radiotherapy center.

OBJECTIVES: Recently, Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) has been suggested for managing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) curatively. Thus, we conducted this clinical study to evaluate retrospectively the effect of individualized audio-visual (AV) coaching, respiratory modulated SBRT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2014 and 2018, 29 patients with inoperable Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0-B HCC received AV coaching, respiratory-modulated SBRT. We constructed a task-oriented multidisciplinary team to establish a standard operation process of respiratory modulation procedures and developed our AV coaching devices. In the training period, a goodness-of-fit test was applied individually. SBRT was delivered with a total dose of 40-54 Gy in 5-6 fractions individually. Freedom from local progression (FFLP) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using SPSS (version 17, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) life tables. RESULTS: The patient characteristics were as follows: 32.7 ± 16 mm in maximum tumor diameter (range 11-94); BCLC stage 0: 3.4%, BCLC A: 48.3%, BCLC B: 48.3%; Child-Pugh classification A: 86.2%, Child-Pugh classification B: 13.8%, and a median of 2 prior liver-directed treatments (range 0-7). One-, 2-, and 3-year rates of FFLP of SBRT were 96.6%, 96.6%, and 96.6%, respectively. One-, 2-, and 3-year rates of OS were 81.5%, 72.4%, and 67.2%, respectively. No adverse event (AE) occurred in 41.4% of patients, 48.3% developed grade (G) 1-2 AE, 10.3% had G3 AE and none had G4-5 AE. CONCLUSION: Respiration-modulated SBRT is a promising noninvasive treatment option for patients with inoperable and localized HCC. Our data show that SBRT provides comparable tumor control to historical curative options like surgery and radiofrequency ablation of localized tumors. Thus, we are conducting a further prospective clinical trial with the intent to demarcate the clinical effectiveness of SBRT in a larger population of patients with HCC.

IRAK2, an IL1R/TLR Immune Mediator, Enhances Radiosensitivity via Modulating Caspase 8/3-Mediated Apoptosis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Predicting and overcoming radioresistance are crucial in radiation oncology, including in managing oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). First, we used RNA-sequence to compare expression profiles of parent OML1 and radioresistant OML1-R OSCC cells in order to select candidate genes responsible for radiation sensitivity. We identified IRAK2, a key immune mediator of the IL-1R/TLR signaling, as a potential target in investigating radiosensitivity. In four OSCC cell lines, we observed that intrinsically low IRAK2 expression demonstrated a radioresistant phenotype (i.e., OML1-R and SCC4), and vice versa (i.e., OML1 and SCC25). Next, we overexpressed IRAK2 in low IRAK2-expression OSCC cells and knocked it down in high IRAK2-expression cells to examine changes of irradiation response. After ionizing radiation (IR) exposure, IRAK2 overexpression enhanced the radiosensitivity of radioresistant cells and synergistically suppressed OSCC cell growth both in vitro and in vivo, and vice versa. We found that IRAK2 overexpression restored and enhanced radiosensitivity by enhancing IR-induced cell killing via caspase-8/3-dependent apoptosis. OSCC patients with high IRAK2 expression had better post-irradiation local control than those with low expression (i.e., 87.4% vs. 60.0% at five years, P = 0.055), showing that IRAK2 expression was associated with post-radiation recurrence. Multivariate analysis confirmed high IRAK2 expression as an independent predictor for local control (HR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.016 - 0.760; P = 0.025). In conclusion, IRAK2 enhances radiosensitivity, via modulating caspase 8/3-medicated apoptosis, potentially playing double roles as a predictive biomarker and a novel therapeutic target in OSCC.

Emerging Challenges of Radiation-Associated Cardiovascular Dysfunction (RACVD) in Modern Radiation Oncology: Clinical Practice, Bench Investigation, and Multidisciplinary Care.

Radiotherapy (RT) is a crucial treatment modality in managing cancer patients. However, irradiation dose sprinkling to tumor-adjacent normal tissues is unavoidable, generating treatment toxicities, such as radiation-associated cardiovascular dysfunction (RACVD), particularly for those patients with combined therapies or pre-existing adverse features/comorbidities. Radiation oncologists implement several efforts to decrease heart dose for reducing the risk of RACVD. Even applying the deep-inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) technique, the risk of RACVD is though reduced but still substantial. Besides, available clinical methods are limited for early detecting and managing RACVD. The present study reviewed emerging challenges of RACVD in modern radiation oncology, in terms of clinical practice, bench investigation, and multidisciplinary care. Several molecules are potential for serving as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Of these, miRNAs, endogenous small non-coding RNAs that function in regulating gene expression, are of particular interest because low-dose irradiation, i.e., 200 mGy (one-tenth of conventional RT daily dose) induces early changes of pro-RACVD miRNA expression. Moreover, several miRNAs, e.g., miR-15b and miR21, involve in the development of RACVD, further demonstrating the potential bio-application in RACVD. Remarkably, many RACVDs are late RT sequelae, characterizing highly irreversible and progressively worse. Thus, multidisciplinary care from oncologists and cardiologists is crucial. Combined managements with commodities control (such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes), smoking cessation, and close monitoring are recommended. Some agents show abilities for preventing and managing RACVD, such as statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs); however, their real roles should be confirmed by further prospective trials.

Haptoglobin genotypes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

AIM: Haptoglobin polymorphisms are associated with different cancers; however, the occurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in relation to haptoglobin polymorphisms has not been reported. In this study, the distribution of haptoglobin genotypes among patients with NPC was investigated and the prognostic significance of haptoglobin genotypes was further analyzed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Haptoglobin genotypes were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresis. The genotypes were determined in the sera of 49 NPC patients and in 134 controls. RESULTS: The haptoglobin genotypes of patients with NPC were as follows: Hp 1-1, 2%; Hp 2-1, 39%; Hp 2-2, 59%. The frequency of the Hp 2-2 genotype was much higher in NPC patients than in control individuals (p=0.044). Furthermore, NPC patients with the Hp 2-2 genotype had advanced T stages (p=0.001) and larger primary tumor volumes (p=0.035) than those with Hp 2-1 or 1-1. CONCLUSION: An increased frequency of the Hp 2-2 genotype was associated with NPC. The Hp 2 allele was also overexpressed in NPC patients. NPC patients with the Hp 2-2 genotype had advanced T stage and a larger primary tumor volume. Hp 2-2 may be a negative prognostic factor in NPC.