Circadian as a prognostic factor for radiation responses in patients with cervical cancer: A nested case­control study.

The radiation response of cervical cancer is thought to be enhanced by the levels of melatonin due to its roles in the circadian cycle and cancer growth. In the present study, the roles of circadian rhythms and melatonin levels as prognostic factors for predicting the radiation response in patients with cervical cancer were examined. In this nested case­control study, patients with good and poor responses to radiotherapy were assessed in terms of the time­of­day radiation treatment was administered and further influencing factors. The radiation time was determined, as the subjects were either irradiated in the morning (06.00­10.00 am) or afternoon (04.00­06.00 pm). Data on tumour size and other biological parameters were collected and analysed by binary logistic regression. Among the 56 patients examined, most subjects had good radiation responses. Most patients were <50 years old with an initial body weight of >50 kg, no pain prior to radiation, low erythrocyte sedimentation rates, normal intravenous urography results, moderate or good differentiation on pathology and histo­pathologically non­keratinised cells. According to the multivariate analysis, the irradiation time as a surrogate of the circadian cycle (morning vs. afternoon), the initial haemoglobin (Hb) level and the clinical tumour size were significant predictors of the radiation response. The circadian cycle, tumour size and Hb levels may affect the radiation response in patients with cervical cancer. In addition, the morning group had better 5­year overall survival, but it was not significant, possibly due to the small cohort size. Further research is required to identify more relevant prognostic factors using different radiotherapy techniques [National Clinical Trial (NCT) no. NCT05511740, registration date, 08/20/2022].

Higher Level of Fatty Acid Synthase Enzyme Predicts Lower Rate of Completing Debulking Surgery in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The most dominant histopathologic type of ovarian cancer is epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Primary debulking surgery determines the treatment success and prognosis of advanced stage EOC. To maintain survival and progression, cancer cells need fatty acid synthase enzyme (FASN). The aim of this study was to evaluate preoperative serum FASN and CA 125 as predictors of primary debulking surgery results in patients with EOC. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional study was performed on consecutive patients who underwent debulking surgery for suspected ovarian cancer at Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung from 2017 to 2019. Before debulking surgery, blood samples were examined for the serum levels of FASN and CA 125 using ELISA. RESULTS: There were 53 patients enrolled in this study. Compared with the optimal debulking surgery group, the significant suboptimal debulking surgery group had significantly lower mean serum levels of FASN (0.46 ± 0.144 vs. 0.36 ± 0.128, p = 0.012) and CA 125 (964.22 ± 1722.5 vs. 264.98 ± 251.8, p = 0.002). The cutoff value was highest for the combination of FASN and CA 125 [410.06, area under the curve (AUC) = 77.5% (95% CI 65.5% to 81.9%, p = 0.001)] than for FASN alone [0.375, AUC = 71.3% (95% CI 56.8% to 85.8%, p = 0.009)] and CA 125 alone [222.5, AUC = 75.3% (95% CI 62.5% to 88.1%, p =0.002)]. CONCLUSION: The serum levelof FASN was correlated with suboptimal debulking surgery.

Pulsatility Index and Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α Expression Predict the Clinical Response after External Radiation in Patients with Stage IIB to IVA Cervical Cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression in predicting the clinical response after radiation in patients with cervical cancer. Methods: A prospective cohort was carried on in Department of Obstetric and Gynecology Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital/ Faculty of Medicine, Padjadjaran University, during the period of July 2017 to March 2018 which include 51 samples with stage IIB to IVA cervical cancer. Tumor perfusion and oxygenation were evaluated using color Doppler ultrasound indices (pulsatility index and resistance index) and the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). The clinical response was assessed 2 months after external radiation. Result: Among 51 patients, 31 patients demonstrated good response and 20 patients demonstrated poor response to radiation. The mean value of PI was significantly lower in patients who demonstrated good response as compared to patients with poor response (0.84±0.916 vs. 1.70±1.260, p = 0.004). The mean value of RI did not differ significantly (0.29±0.112 vs. to 0.36±0.189 p =0.173). HIF-1α expression was significantly lower in patients who demonstrated good response as compared to patients with poor response (1.83±1.529 vs. 6.55±2.625, p = 0.0001). In multivariate model, PI and HIF-1α expression both predicted the clinical response after radiation. Conclusion: PI and HIF-1α expression predict the clinical response after radiation in patients with cervical cancer.