Anatomic distribution and clinical target volume margin of para-aortic lymph node metastasis in cervical cancer / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To determine the regional boundary of para-aortic lymph node (PAN) metastasis in cervical cancer, and to explore the clinical target volume (CTV) margin.Methods:Eight-six patients with cervical cancer metastasis to PAN below and above left renal vein (LRV) were retrospectively included in this study. The anatomical relationship of the metastatic PANs and surrounding structures were analyzed according tocontrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and three dimensional reconstruction images.Results:Eight-six patients had metastatic PANs belowLRV: metastatic nodes were located onthe medial side of ovarian vessels and ureters, behind the renal veins, duodenum, mesenteric vessels, in front of the anterior border of lumbar vertebra and psoas. The inferior mesenteric vein was close to the left anterior side of PANs. Where the duodenum appeared, no node was presenton the anterolateral side of the inferior vena cava (IVC).Above the LRV, 27 patients had retrocrural node involvement along the azygos and hemiazgos vein, and 25/27 cases were located below the junction level of cardia and oesophagus, and 5/27 patients had metastatic lymph nodes between IVC and the right crura of diaphragm, all below the level of coeliac trunk artery.Conclusions:CTV margin delineation of PAN below and above LRV is recommended:superiorly, the junction level of cardia and oesophagus; laterally, crura and the medial side of ovarian vessels and ureters and inferior mesenteric vein; anteriorly, the posterior side of the coeliac trunk artery and renal veins and duodenum, mesenteric vessels; posteriorly, the anterior border of lumbar vertebra and psoas.

Value of introvoxel incoherent motion imaging on evaluating concurrent chemoradiotherapy responseinpatientswithadvanceduterinecervixcancer / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the value of introvoxel incoherent motion(IVIM)using 3.0 T MRI to evaluate response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy(CCRT)in patients with advanced uterine cervix cancer. Methods From July 2015 to December 2016,63 patients with advanced(≥ⅡB)cervical cancer diagnosed by clinical and imaging study, who had completed CCRT plan in Henan Cancer Hospital, were prospectively enrolled.Pelvic MRI protocol including T1WI,T2WI,IVIM and dynamic contrasted enhanced scans were performed in each patient before CCRT and 3 weeks after starting therapy(total dose of 30 Gy), and at the end of therapy (total dose of 90 Gy, 8 weeks after therapy). The mean values of ADC, true molecular diffusion coefficient(D),pseudodiffusion coefficient(D*)and perfusion fraction(f)in each tumor at pre-therapy, in the middle of therapy and post-therapy were measured and recorded as ADC-pre, D-pre, D*-pre,f-pre;ADC-mid,D-mid,D*-mid,f-mid and ADC-post,D-post,D*-post,f-post,respectively;the change rates of these parameters during and after therapy (recorded as ΔADC-mid, ΔD-mid, ΔD*-mid, Δf-mid;ΔADC-post, ΔD-post, ΔD*-post, Δf-post) were also calculated. Patients were classified into response group and non-response group,according to response evaluation criteria in solid tumors after CCRT.MRI imaging study was performed in each patient within 1 month after CCRT to follow up,and tumor regression rate was calculated.The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare differences of parameters and their change rates between response group and non-response group. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to assess relationships between parameters, parameter change rates and tumor regression rate. Logistic regression model was applied to find potential ADC values for predicting therapeutic response. ROC was used to analyze efficacy of ADC values for evaluating therapeutic response in advanced uterine cervix cancer after CCRT. Results The mean value of tumor maximum diameter before and after therapy was (47.5 ± 12.9) and(12.8 ± 10.0)mm,tumor regression rate was(66.7 ± 33.6)%.Forty-eight patients were in the response group and 15 in the non-response group.The mean value of ADC-pre,D-pre,D*-pre and f-pre was 0.74(0.43, 1.14)×10-3,0.58(0.33,0.91)×10-3,12.12(2.30,21.4)×10-3mm2/s,9.65%(4.45%,13.89%),respectively.Tumor regression rate had positive correlation with ADC-pre and D-pre (r=0.773,0.840;P<0.05). Responders had increased ADC-pre, D-pre values than non-responders, which had statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Responders had increased ADC-mid, D-mid and f-mid values than non-responders, which had statistically significant difference (P<0.05), tumor regression rate had positive correlation with ADC-mid, D-mid and f-mid (r=0.808,0.834,0.563;P<0.05). Responders had increased ADC-post, D-post and f-post values than non-responders,which had statistically significant difference(P<0.05),tumor regression rate had positive correlation with ADC-post and D-post (r=0.799, 0.829;P<0.05).Tumor regression rate had positive correlation with ΔADC-mid,ΔD-mid,Δf-mid(r=0.526,0.573,0.454;P<0.05)and with ΔADC-post,ΔD-post, Δf-post (r=0.541, 0.555, 0.388;P<0.05). Responders had increased ΔADC-mid, ΔD-mid, Δf-mid and ΔADC-post, ΔD-post, Δf-post, which had statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed only ADC-pre and D-post could be independent factors to predict therapeutic response in advanced uterine cervix cancer after CCRT,values of B,Wald,odds ratio and P was 22.488,8.431,1.429, 0.004 and 16.542,8.517,1.779,0.004.ROC analysis showed the area under the curve(AUC)of ADC-pre, D-pre,ΔADC-mid,ΔD-mid,Δf-mid,ΔADC-post,ΔD-post and Δf-post for predicting therapeutic response in advanced uterine cervix cancer after CCRT were 0.890,0.926,0.942,0.851,0.803,0.929,0.951 and 0.906, respectively. Conclusion The IVIM parameters before and during CCRT process and their changes are valuable for predicting and evaluating therapeutic response in advanced uterine cervix cancer after CCRT, with high clinical practice value.

Anatomic distribution and clinical target volume of metastatic inguinal nodes in gynecological malignancies / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To determine the anatomic distribution of metastatic inguinal nodes in gynecological malignancies,and to explore the delineation of clinical target volume(CTV). Methods A retrospective study was performed among 34 patients with gynecological malignancies and inguinal lymph node metastases. According to the anatomic distribution of metastatic inguinal nodes, CTV covering more than 95% of inguinal lymph nodes and the relationship of inguinal nodes with the femoral vein, greater saphenous vein and its branches, superficial fascia, and deep fascia were analyzed using vascular enhancement images obtained by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging as well as 3D reconstruction using the Eclipse Planning System. Results The 34 patients had a total of 145 positive inguinal nodes. In the 131 superficial nodes below the inguinal ligament, 129 were located between the superficial fascia and the deep fascia;the upper group of superficial nodes,containing 25 nodes,was located at 1 cm above the public symphysis and along superficial iliac circumflex vein;the middle group,containing 85 superficial nodes and 11 patients with single superficial node metastasis,was located at the same level of the public symphysis and close to the junction of the saphenous vein and the femoral vein;the lower group, containing 21 superficial nodes,was beneath the public symphysis and along the greater saphenous vein and medial and lateral superficial femoral veins.The 14 deep nodes were located on the medial side of the femoral vein. There were no positive nodes on the posterolateral side of the link between the posterolateral edge of the femoral vein and medial edge of the sartorius muscle. The upper edge of CTV kept 142 lymph nodes beneath the upper edge of the superior pubis ramus and left 3 lymph nodes up to the upper edge of the femoral head. The lower edge of CTV kept 143 lymph nodes above the lower edge of the lesser trochanter and left 2 lymph nodes at 2 cm beneath the lower edge of the lesser trochanter. Conclusions For CTV covering 98% of positive inguinal nodes, the anterior edge is the superficial fascia;the medial edge is composed by the inguinal ligament and the border of medial muscle to the femoral vessels;the posterolateral edge is the link between the posterolateral edge of the femoral vein and the medial edge of the sartorius muscle;the upper edge is the upper border of the femoral head;the lower edge is the lower border of the lesser trochanter.

The application of Omaha system in the clinical nursing for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with TACE / 介入放射学杂志

Objective To discuss the clinical application value of Omaha system-based targeting nursing care for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).Methods A total of 60 advanced HCC patients,who were planned to receive TACE,were prospectively and randomly divided into the control group (n=30) and the observation group (n=30).Routine nursing mode was adopted for the patients in the control group,while Omaha system nursing model was employed for the patients in the observation group.The patients of the observation group were evaluated with Omaha system at the time of admission,the key common problems were screened out and targeted nursing measures were employed.Meanwhile,on the days of admission and discharge all the patients of both groups were asked to fill in the forms of Hamilton depression scale (HAMD-17),Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA),social support rating scale (SSQ) and numerical pain rating scale (NRS);and the degrees of depression,anxiety,social support and pain were respectively assessed.Results Both nursing modes could improve the degrees of depression and anxiety as well as the social support system of HCC patients,but the curative effect of these two aspects in the observation group were obviously better than those in the control group (P＜0.05).No statistically significant difference in the improvement of pain degree existed between the two nursing models,but Omaha system-based targeting nursing mode could alleviate the patient's pain to a certain extent.Conclusion For patients with advanced HCC,Omaha system-based targeting nursing care can alleviate the patient's negative emotion and promote the patients to establish effective social support system,this nursing mode is superior to conventional nursing mode.Therefore,Omaha system-based targeting nursing has great application potential in clinical practice.

Ki-67 expression in stage III cervical squamous cell carcinoma and its correlation with sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (Ki-67) in stage III cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and its correlation with the effect of chemotherapy on sensitivity to radiotherapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In 50 patients with stage III cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 25 patients were treated with radiotherapy and 25 patients were treated with chemoradiotherapy. The expression of Ki-67 in the biopsy specimens of cervical SCC was detected by immunohistochemistry at diagnosis and after 10 Gy radiotherapy. The correlation of Ki-67 positive cells percentage and chemotherapy with sensitivity to radiotherapy was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In 25 patients with more than 48% Ki-67 positive cells at diagnosis, the rate of complete response (CR) was 72.0% (18/25). In 25 patients with less than 48% Ki-67 positive cells at diagnosis, the CR rate was 40.0% (10/25), with a significant difference between them (P = 0.023). In 26 patients with more than 31% decrease of Ki-67 positive cells after 10 Gy radiotherapy, the CR rate was 84.6% (22/26). In 24 patients with less than 31% decrease of Ki-67 positive cells after 10 Gy radiotherapy, the CR rate was 25.0% (6/24), showing a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). In the cases of Ki-67<48%, decrease of Ki-67 positive cells of chemoradiotherapy group after 10 Gy radiotherapy was significantly higher than that of the radiotherapy group (P = 0.023). In the cases of Ki-67 ≥ 48%, no difference in the decease of Ki-67 positive cells between the chemoradiotherapy and radiotherapy groups was found (P = 0.173). For the radiotherapy-sensitive patients with CR recently, the 2-year progression free survival (PFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate were 85.7% and 92.9%, respectively, both were significantly higher than those of radiotherapy-insensitive patients (18.2% and 40.9%, P < 0.05 for both).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>In stage III cervical SCC, the expression of Ki-67 before and after treatment with 10 Gy radiotherapy may be used as a biomarker to predict tumor response to radiation, and guide the choice of therapeutic strategies. Yet, the effect of chemotherapy as a radiosensitizer is unconspicuous.</p>

Prognostic factors and treatment of bilateral ureteral obstruction caused by advanced cervical cancer / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:This study aimed to analyze the prognostic factor of bilateral hydronephrosis caused by advanced cervical cancer and evaluate its value of treatment. Methods:A total of 40 patients with bilateral ureteral obstruction secondary to cervical cancer were diagnosed through computerized tomography, radioactive nephrogram, and blood tests for renal function. The placement of retrograde internal double-J ureteral stents was performed under a cystoscope in 13 patients. The placement of antegrade internal double-J ureteral stents via percutaneous nephrostomy was performed in 25 patients. Two cases had external ureteral stents via percutaneous nephrostomy. Twenty-nine patients underwent radiotherapy after normalization of their blood urine nitrogen and creatinine levels. The prognostic value of the treatment and renal function before placement of ureteral stents and radiotherapy after placement of ureteral stents were analyzed. Results:The normalization rate of renal function after ureteral stenting was 91.3%(21/23). The median survival time was longer in patients with untreated cervical cancer than that in patients with recurrent cervical cancer (χ2=9.379, P=0.009). After ureteral stenting, the median survival time was longer in patients who underwent radiation therapy than that in patients untreated with radiation (χ2=17.329, P=0.000). The median survival time was not significantly influenced by renal function before placement of ureteral stents (χ2=1.37, P=0.242). Conclusion:The patient with bilateral ureteral obstruction from untreated cervical cancer or from recurrent pelvic disease after surgical therapy should be considered for ureteral stenting followed by appropriate radiation.

Numerical Analysis of Hypothermia Effects in the Head and Neck by a New Model / 航天医学与医学工程

Objective To develop a new vascular heat transfer model in the neck to analyze temperature field affected by vertebral artery. Methods With numerical simulation based on the experimental dimension data, a new model along the axial temperature distributions of blood vessels of neck was established as neck surface under normal temperature condition and during hypothermia therapy. In addition, the results were compared with those based on conventional models without vertebral arteries considered. Results It was showed that vertebral arteries played an essential role in the process of transporting blood to the brain, and it was more effective to cool the vertebral arterial blood than any other major cervical arteries in order to cool the blood before entering the Circle of Willis. Conclusion All the results obtained in this study may offer some theoretical supports to the medical proposal to cool down the brain by hypothermia therapy, for example, by covering the head and neck with ice helmet.