KORTUC, a novel hydrogen peroxide­based radiosensitizer for the enhancement of brachytherapy in patients with unresectable recurrent uterine cervical cancer.

Kochi Oxydol Radiation Therapy for Unresectable Carcinoma (KORTUC) is a novel radiosensitizer invented by Professor Ogawa at Kochi University (Japan) in 2006. The current study aimed to report the experience of the present authors with the use of KORTUC treatment in combination with interstitial brachytherapy (ISBT), with or without external beam (EB) radiotherapy (RT), in patients with locally recurrent cervical cancer (LRCC), who were likely to have a high risk of poor prognosis. Between April 2012 and January 2020, 14 female patients (15 tumoral lesions) with LRCC underwent KORTUC with ISBT. Their previous treatments included surgery (n=4), radiation therapy (n=8) and surgery plus RT (n=3). The primary lesions were located in the vaginal stump (n=5), pelvic wall (n=3), cervix (n=3), vaginal wall (n=2) and lymph nodes (n=2). At 2 h before RT, KORTUC was injected intratumorally via direct colposcopy. The dose of KORTUC ranged from 4-12 ml, adjusted for the tumor size. For patients who underwent ISBT, KORTUC was administered before and after insertion of the applicator before irradiation. Intratumoral injection of KORTUC was completed without any technical or safety issues in all 15 patients; it was well tolerated with no adverse events observed. KORTUC also showed preferable efficacy; a clinical complete response was observed in 87% of patients and the initial response rate was 100%. The 2-year local control rate in patients who underwent ISBT + KORTUC was 79%, whereas it was 63% in the re-irradiation group which was significantly lower (P=0.02) than that in the non-irradiation group (100%). Based on this finding, KORTUC with external irradiation is considered to be an optimal treatment strategy for patients with newly diagnosed LRCC this disease. Additionally, KORTUC may be an effective radiation response enhancer in multiple cancer types in which locoregional control after RT alone remains poor.

Early administration of IL-6RA does not prevent radiation-induced lung injury in mice.

BACKGROUND: Radiation pneumonia and subsequent radiation lung fibrosis are major dose-limiting complications for patients undergoing thoracic radiotherapy. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine and plays important roles in the regulation of immune response and inflammation. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether anti-IL-6 monoclonal receptor antibody (IL-6RA) could ameliorate radiation-induced lung injury in mice. METHODS: BALB/cAnNCrj mice having received thoracic irradiation of 21 Gy were injected intraperitoneally with IL-6RA (MR16-1) or control rat IgG twice, immediately and seven days after irradiation. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to examine the plasma level of IL-6 and serum amyloid A (SAA). Lung injury was assessed by histological staining with haematoxylin and eosin or Azan, measuring lung weight, and hydroxyproline. RESULTS: The mice treated with IL-6RA did not survive significantly longer than the rat IgG control. We observed marked up-regulation of IL-6 in mice treated with IL-6RA 150 days after irradiation, whereas IL-6RA temporarily suppressed early radiation-induced increase in the IL-6 release level. Histopathologic assessment showed no differences in lung section or lung weight between mice treated with IL-6RA and control. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that early treatment with IL-6RA after irradiation alone does not protect against radiation-induced lung injury.

Carbon-ion beam irradiation effectively suppresses migration and invasion of human non-small-cell lung cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Control of cancer metastasis is one of the most important issues in cancer treatment. We previously demonstrated that carbon particle irradiation suppresses the metastatic potential of cancer cells, and many studies have reported that photon irradiation promotes it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of carbon beam on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell aggressiveness and gene expression. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A549 (lung adenocarcinoma) and EBC-1 (lung squamous cell carcinoma) cells were treated with 290 MeV/nucleon carbon ion beam at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba or with 4-MV X-ray at Osaka University. We tested proliferative, migratory, and invasive activities by cell proliferation assay, Boyden chamber assay, and Matrigel chemoinvasion assay, respectively. cDNA microarray and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were also performed to assess mRNA expression alteration. RESULTS: X-irradiation increased cell proliferation of A549 cells at 0.5 Gy, whereas high-dose X-ray reduced migration and invasion of A549 cells. By contrast, carbon beam irradiation did not enhance proliferation, and it reduced the migration and invasion capabilities of both A549 and EBC-1 cells more effectively than did X-irradiation. Carbon beam irradiation induced alteration of various gene expression profiles differently from X-ray irradiation. mRNA expression of ANLN, a homologue of anillin, was suppressed to 60% levels of basal expression in carbon beam-irradiated A549 cells after 12 h. CONCLUSION: Carbon beam effectively suppresses the metastatic potential of A549 and EBC-1 cells. Carbon beam also has different effects on gene expressions, and downregulation of ANLN was induced only by carbon beam irradiation.

Postoperative radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer: results of the 1999-2001 patterns of care study nationwide process survey in Japan.

To investigate the practice process of postoperative radiation therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Japan. Between April 2002 and March 2004, the Patterns of Care Study conducted an extramural audit survey for 76 of 556 institutions using a stratified two-stage cluster sampling. Data on treatment process of 627 patients with NSCLC who received radiation therapy were collected. Ninety-nine (16%) patients received postoperative radiation therapy between 1999 and 2001 (median age, 65 years). Pathological stage was stage I in 8%, II in 17%, IIIA in 44%, and IIIB in 20%. The median field size was 9 cmx11 cm, and median total dose was 50 Gy. Photon energies of 6 MV or higher were used for 64 patients, whereas a cobalt-60 unit was used for five patients. Three-dimensional conformal treatment was used infrequently. Institutional stratification influenced several radiotherapy parameters such as photon energy and planning target volume. Smaller non-academic institutions provided worse quality of care. The study confirmed continuing variation in the practice of radiotherapy according to stratified institutions. Outdated equipment such as Cobalt-60 units was used, especially in non-academic institutions treating only a small number of patients per year.