ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The effect of radiotherapy waiting time after last induction chemotherapy (IC-RT) on prognosis of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC) needs further discussion. METHODS: Three hundred and six patients with LANPC diagnosed pathologically by induction chemotherapy (IC) and radiotherapy (RT) from 2013 to 2018 were selected for this study. RESULTS: The IC-RT was a risk factor for the post-treatment progression of LANPC (OR = 1.017 95%CI: 1.003-1.031), For patients with LANPC, the IC-RT > 40 days significantly reduced 5-year PFS (70% vs. 55%; p = 0.0012), 5-year OS (84% vs. 73%; p = 0.028), 5-year DMFS (80% vs. 66%; p = 0.003), 5-year LRFS (77% vs. 67%; p = 0.012). Indicating that patients with stage IVa who IC-RT > 40 days were found to be a significant predictor of aggravated PFS (HR = 2.69; 95%CI: 1.57-4.6), OS (HR = 2.55; 95%CI: 1.29-5.03), DMFS (HR = 3.07; 95%CI: 1.64-5.76) and LRFS (HR = 2.26; 95%CI: 1.21-4.21). CONCLUSION: The prognosis of patients will be adversely affected if the IC-RT exceeds 40 days, especially for stage IVa patients.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms , Humans , Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/drug therapy , Induction Chemotherapy , Waiting Lists , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology , Chemoradiotherapy/adverse effects , Carcinoma/drug therapy , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Nematic order often breaks the tetragonal symmetry of iron-based superconductors. It arises from regular structural transition or electronic instability in the normal phase. Here, we report the observation of a nematic superconducting state, by measuring the angular dependence of the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetoresistivity of Ba0.5K0.5Fe2As2 single crystals. We find large twofold oscillations in the vicinity of the superconducting transition, when the direction of applied magnetic field is rotated within the basal plane. To avoid the influences from sample geometry or current flow direction, the sample was designed as Corbino-shape for in-plane and mesa-shape for out-of-plane measurements. Theoretical analysis shows that the nematic superconductivity arises from the weak mixture of the quasi-degenerate s-wave and d-wave components of the superconducting condensate, most probably induced by a weak anisotropy of stresses inherent to single crystals.
