Corrigendum: Comparative efficacy of Jaungo, a traditional herbal ointment, and a water-in-oil type non-steroidal moisturizer for radiation-induced dermatitis in patients with breast cancer: a prospective, randomized, single-blind, pilot study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1216668.].

Clinicopathological Outcomes in Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Undergoing Preoperative Short-Versus Long-course Chemoradiotherapy With Delayed Surgery.

BACKGROUND/AIM: We aimed to compare the clinicopathological outcomes in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer after short- or long-course concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) followed by delayed surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of 94 patients with cT3-4N0-2M0 rectal cancer who received CCRT between 2010 and 2017 were reviewed. Short-course radiotherapy (RT) was delivered with a median total dose of 25 Gy in five fractions (n=27), and long-course RT was delivered with a median total dose of 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions (n=67). The following concurrent chemotherapy regimens were administered: 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin in 58 and capecitabine in 24; in 12 cases agents were unknown. The median interval between CCRT and surgery was 8 weeks. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered after surgery in 80 patients (5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin, n=54; capecitabine, n=9; other, n=14; and unknown, n=3). Propensity-score matching analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 4.3 years. There were no statistically significant differences between the short- and long-course RT groups in sphincter preservation (85.2% vs. 92.5%, p=0.478), pathological complete remission (18.5% vs. 14.9%, p=0.905), downstaging (44.4% vs. 26.9%, p=0.159), and negative circumferential resection margin (92.6% vs. 89.6%, p=0.947) rates. No differences were found in survival outcomes between the short- and long-course groups at 3 years (overall survival: 91.8% vs. 88.1%, p=0.790; disease-free survival, 75.2% vs. 72.5%, p=0.420; locoregional relapse-free survival, 90.5% vs. 98.4%, p=0.180; and distant metastasis-free survival, 79.6% vs. 73.5%, p=0.490). Similar results were observed after PSM. CONCLUSION: Clinically, short-course CCRT may be a feasible alternative to long-course CCRT in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Comparative efficacy of Jaungo, a traditional herbal ointment, and a water-in-oil type non-steroidal moisturizer for radiation-induced dermatitis in patients with breast cancer: a prospective, randomized, single-blind, pilot study.

Background: Radiation-induced dermatitis (RID) is one of the most prevalent side-effects of conventional cancer therapies; however, there is no standard treatment for its prevention. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety of Jaungo (mainly composed of Lithospermum erythrorhizon Siebold & Zucc. and Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diel) and the water-in-oil-type non-steroidal moisturizer for the prevention of RID in patients with breast cancer (BC). Methods: This is a prospective, single-blind, pilot randomized controlled trial. Between March 2021 and July 2022, 50 patients were randomly selected to use Jaungo or the moisturizer while undergoing postoperative radiation therapy (RT). Assessments were conducted nine times-every week while the patients underwent RT and 2 weeks after the end of therapy. The primary outcome was the incidence rate of RID grade ≥2. The secondary outcomes were the incidence rate of maximum grade RID, time to RID onset, RID-related quality of life (QOL) score, pain intensity, and adverse events. Results: The incidence rate of RID grade ≥2 was 24.0% and 20.0% in the Jaungo and the moisturizer groups, respectively, with no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.733). Regarding the secondary outcomes, the incidence rate of maximum grade RID (p = 0.890), mean time to RID onset (p = 0.092), cumulative incidence rate of RID (p = 0.280), RID-related QOL score, and maximum pain intensity (p = 0.844) also did not differ significantly between the groups. None of the subjects in either group experienced severe adverse effects, although one participant in the moisturizer group had mild fever and insomnia. Conclusion: These findings suggest that Jaungo has preventive efficacy without severe side-effects against RID in patients with BC that is comparable to that of the water-in-oil type non-steroidal moisturizer. Further extensive randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes are warranted to validate our findings. Clinical Trial Registration: Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS), https://cris.nih.go.kr, identifier KCT0005971.

Comparative Efficacy of Jaungo, A Traditional Herbal Ointment, and the Water-in-Oil Type Non-Steroidal Moisturizer for Radiation-Induced Dermatitis in Patients With Breast Cancer: A Study Protocol for a Prospective, Randomized, Single-Blinded, Pilot Study.

Background: Radiation-induced dermatitis (RID) is a common complication of radiation therapy (RT). Although it has a high prevalence and can even trigger the premature end of conventional cancer therapies, there is no standard management. This study aims to evaluate whether topical use of Jaungo (Shiunko), a traditional herbal ointment mainly composed of Lithospermi radix and Angelica sinensis, could reduce RID compared to the water-in-oil type non-steroidal moisturizer in patients with breast cancer. Methods: This is a prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled pilot trial that investigates the effect of topical application of Jaungo for the prevention of RID in postoperative breast cancer patients scheduled for RT, in comparison with the non-steroidal moisturizer, with a random distribution of 50 patients across the two groups. RT will be administered for 5-7 weeks with a biological equivalent dose (BED10) of 60 Gy or more, and the interventions will be applied 3 times a day during RT duration. Participants will be assessed a total of nine times, including eight visits during the period of RT and one visit at a 2-week follow-up period after the end of treatment. The incidence and severity of RID, quality of life, skin reaction symptoms, and maximum pain related to RID will be measured. The incidence rate of grade 2 or higher RID using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) in the two groups will be statistically compared as the primary outcome. The types and frequencies of adverse events will be also collected and evaluated. All assessments will be performed by independent radiology oncologists. Discussion: This trial is currently ongoing and is recruiting. This study will determine the preventive efficacy of Jaungo in RID with postoperative breast cancer patients and provide evidence in traditional Korean medicine clinical practice.

Dose response of commercially available optically stimulated luminescent detector, Al2O3:C for megavoltage photons and electrons.

This study examined the dose response of an optically stimulated luminescence dosemeter (OSLD) to megavoltage photon and electron beams. A nanoDot™ dosemeter was used to measure the dose response of the OSLD. Photons of 6-15 MV and electrons of 9-20 MeV were delivered by a Varian 21iX machine (Varian Medical System, Inc. Milpitas, CA, USA). The energy dependency was <1 %. For the 6-MV photons, the dose was linear until 200 cGy. The superficial dose measurements revealed photon irradiation to have an angular dependency. The nanoDot™ dosemeter has potential use as an in vivo dosimetric tool that is independent of the energy, has dose linearity and a rapid response compared with normal in vivo dosimetric tools, such as thermoluminescence detectors. However, the OSLD must be treated very carefully due to the high angular dependency of the photon beam.

Manual acupuncture improved quality of life in cancer patients with radiation-induced xerostomia.

PURPOSE: Radiotherapy-induced xerostomia seriously reduces the quality of life (QOL) for patients with head and neck cancer. This study aimed to investigate the effects of manual acupuncture on objective and subjective assessment of symptom changes in patients with cancer who have with radiation-induced xerostomia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve (12) patients with radiation-induced xerostomia were randomized into 2 groups (real or sham acupuncture). Acupuncture was conducted twice weekly for 6 weeks in a single-blind setting. The effect was evaluated by measuring whole salivary flow rates (stimulated and unstimulated) and questionnaire-based assessment of subjective symptoms pre- and post-treatment (3 and 6 weeks after acupuncture treatment). RESULTS: Both groups showed a slight increase in whole salivary flow rates, with no significant difference between them. However, real acupuncture markedly increased unstimulated salivary flow rates, and improved the score for dry mouth according to the xerostomia questionnaire, by 2.33 points versus 0.33 in the controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed the significantly meaningful amelioration of the subjective sensation of xerostomia closely associated with QOL in patients with head and neck cancer treated with irradiation.