Effect of time interval between surgery and the initiation of adjuvant therapy on the oncologic outcomes of early-stage endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the impact of time interval between surgery and initial adjuvant radiotherapy on oncologic outcomes in early-stage endometrial cancer. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included patients with stage I/II endometrial cancer who underwent surgical staging and adjuvant therapy at Songklanagarind Hospital from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2017. Patients were categorized into two groups: TI <6 weeks and TI ≥6 weeks. The effects of TI and clinicopathological factors on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using Cox proportional-hazards regression. RESULTS: In total, 177 patients were enrolled, with 52% receiving adjuvant radiotherapy at <6 weeks (overall median TI 5.7 weeks). The recurrence and death rates were 13% and 10.2%, respectively. The median follow-up time was 46.6 months. The overall 3-year RFS and OS rates were 88.2% and 85.2%, respectively. The TI significantly affected the 3-year RFS (94.4% vs 81.2%; P = 0.008) and 3-year OS (95.5% vs 83.2%; P = 0.012) in patients with TI <6 and ≥6 weeks, respectively. In multivariate analysis, the depth of myometrial invasion (MI), presence of lymphovascular space invasion, and TI were independent prognostic factors for both RFS and OS. Delaying the TI (≥6 weeks) was significantly associated with a worse RFS (hazard ratio [HR] 3.70; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34-10.22; P = 0.012) and an inferior OS (HR 3.80; 95% CI: 1.23-11.69; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: A delay in the TI between surgery and the initiation of adjuvant radiotherapy of ≥6 weeks negatively affected the oncologic outcomes in early-stage endometrial cancer.

Prognostic factors for post-recurrence survival among patients with locally advanced cervical cancer who underwent definitive concurrent chemoradiation.

Background: The prognostic factors affecting post-recurrence survival (PRS) in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) who receive concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) are not well established. This study aimed to assess the prognostic factors for PRS in patients with recurrent LACC who underwent CCRT as the primary treatment. Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with a first recurrence of cervical cancer (stage IB2-IVA), who were initially treated with CCRT and completed the planned radiotherapy from 2002 to 2018. Multivariate analysis of independent factors for PRS was performed with the Cox proportional-hazards model. Results: Of 1,658 patients with LACC primarily treated with CCRT, 424 (25.6%) had recurrence, with 142, 125, and 157 patients having locoregional, distant, and combined recurrence, respectively. Approximately 75% of recurrence cases were detected within 2 years after completed treatment, and 81.8% of cases demonstrated symptoms at recurrence diagnosis. The median PRS was 8.4 months, and the 1- and 5-year PRS rates were 36.0% and 5.3%, respectively. Multivariate analysis found that the recurrence-free interval (RFI) (p < 0.001), recurrence pattern (p < 0.001), white blood cell count (p < 0.001), and treatment at recurrence (p < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for PRS. Conclusion: The prognosis of recurrent LACC initially treated with CCRT was notably poor. RFI, recurrence pattern, white blood cell count, and treatment at recurrence were independent prognostic factors for PRS.

Impact of chemotherapy cycles on oncological outcomes in elders with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the association between chemotherapy (CMT) cycles and oncological outcomes in elders with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) who treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). METHODS: We retrospective studied 498 elders with LACC who treated with radiotherapy (RT) or CCRT between 2002 and 2018. Patients were divided into three groups: RT, CCRT with 1-4 and CCRT with 5-6 cycles of CMT. We compared progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among the three groups and explored survival prognostic factors via multivariate analysis and time-varying analysis effect. RESULTS: There were 453 eligible patients; 222, 119 and 112 patients who received RT, CCRT with 1-4 and CCRT with 5-6 cycles of CMT, respectively. Patients in the RT group had older age, poorer performance status, more treatment with conventional RT technique and earlier treatment year comparing with both CCRT groups. Patients who received 5-6 cycles of CMT were less to have underweight, comorbidities and anaemia compared with the RT group. There were patients with lower FIGO stage in 5-6 cycles than in 1-4 cycles of CMT and RT groups. The 5-year PFS and OS between RT, CCRT with 1-4 and CCRT with 5-6 cycles of the CMT group were significantly different. Performance status, comorbidity, histology, FIGO stage and total received 5-6 CMT cycles were significant prognostic factors of PFS and OS. However, the benefits of receiving 5-6 CMT cycles were evidenced only within the first 2.5 years. CONCLUSION: Elders with LACC who received 5-6 cycles of CMT concurrently with RT can improve PFS and OS, but the benefit persisted only within the first 2.5 years.

Factors Influencing Job Retention and Quality of Life amongst Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) amongst Thai nasopharyngeal cancer patients (NCP) and identify associated factors with QoL. METHODS: This study was based on secondary data from a cross-sectional study that aimed to develop the Thai version of functional assessment of cancer therapy with nasopharyngeal cancer subscale demographic data, clinical information of participants, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy with Nasopharyngeal cancer subscale (FACT-NP) were utilized. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test, rank-sum test, variance analysis, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Multiple linear regression with the stepwise model was used to determine multiple variable analysis. Statistical significance was defined at p-value < 0.05. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty NCP were included in the study with a mean age of 50.3±12.4 years. According to our findings, 68.3% were male, 81.7% were married or living with a partner, and 86.1% were Buddhism had the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status between 0-2 (95.2 %). The employment status, education level, economic status, ECOG, stage , and disease status significantly influenced patients' QoL. Patients who had active treatment and received prophylactic percutaneous gastrostomy  were also impacted by the FACT-NP score. In the multivariate analysis, employment status, ECOG, and disease status were shown to be significant factors that were associated with their QOL in the final model. CONCLUSION: Employment status was a socioeconomic factor that led to positive QOL amongst NCP.

Tumor volume as a prognostic factor on the median survival in locally advanced oral cancer treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Surgery has been the mainstay treatment for oral cancer. Those patients, who do not receive surgery are generally treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Many factors play a role in patients' survival; tumor volume might be one of those factors. This study aims to determine the effect of the pretreatment tumor volume on the survival of oral cancer. METHODS: Retrospective study of patients with histological confirmed squamous cell carcinoma, stage III-IV oral cancer, who received definitive CCRT. Tumor volume from pretreatment computed tomography (CT) scans were reviewed and analyzed. The optimal cut-off tumor volume was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: From 67 patients, half of the primary tumor sites were oral tongue. The median total tumor volume (TTV) was 73.25 cm3, while the median survival was 12.5 months (95% CI 10.9-20.3). The optimal cut-off TTV =52.9 cm3 (P < 0.0001). The median survival of the patients, who had tumor volume <52.9 cm3 were 34.4 months, and for tumor volume =52.9 cm3 were 8.6 months (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that TTV =52.9 cm3, and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc (VMAT) technique had significantly influenced on the overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: TTV had an influence on the overall survival of locally advanced oral cancer. In addition, TTV may be considered as a factor in selecting the appropriate treatment option for these patients.