Correlation between hippocampal radiation doses and psychological condition for patients with stage T1-2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The study aimed to investigate the correlation between radiation doses to the hippocampi and the psychological status of patients with stage T1-2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) undergoing intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and recommend proper hippocampal dose limits for preserving patients' psychological well-being. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted involving 152 newly diagnosed NPC patients. The patients' psychological status was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) before and after radiotherapy. The hippocampi were manually delineated on treatment planning images, and dosimetric parameters were obtained from dose-volume histograms. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify influential dosimetric factors associated with anxiety and depression. RESULTS: The results showed that several dosimetric parameters to the hippocampi were significantly associated with anxiety but not depression. The optimal cut-off value for the independent predictor of anxiety was determined as D40 to hippocampi > 1500 cGy. Patients with D40 to hippocampi > 1500 cGy showed a higher probability for anxiety after radiotherapy. CONCLUSION: This study provides insights into the relationship between radiation doses to the hippocampi and the psychological status of stage T1-2 NPC patients undergoing IMRT. It suggests the importance of hippocampal protection for preserving patients' psychological well-being. Further studies are needed to validate these results.

A case report about oligodendrogliomas of the fourth ventricle.

RATIONALE: Oligodendrogliomas are usually located in the frontal, parietal and the temporal lobe, with the ones in the fourth ventricle quite rare. Hence we want to introduce a case about the rare disease. PATIENT CONCERNS: An eight-year old boy complained of progressive headache, dizziness and vomit for about 2 months. Then the slight ataxia was found by the physical examinations, with no sensory disturbances and other motor disturbances. DIAGNOSES: Abnormal signals on the fourth ventricle were found by the preoperative brain computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. So the patient accepted a gross total resection of the lesion with pathologically confirmed oligodendroglioma. INTERVENTIONS: Radiotherapy was then delivered in 27 fractions at 2Gy per fraction after the operation, with one fraction daily for five days weekly. No other therapies were used for the patient. OUTCOMES: The brain MRI was used for follow-up every three months until now when he has finished all therapies for more than one year. No progressive behaviors (for example, headache, dizziness, vomit and other symptoms about cerebellar tonsillar hernia) or images have been presented. And the follow-up will be continued. LESSONS: Although oligodendrogliomas are usually located in the frontal lobe, with the ones of fourth ventricle extremely rare, they must be kept in mind all times. Treatments applied to our case may be provided as a reference for clinicians. Furthermore, the maximal range of resection, histologically proved oligodendroglioma and the 1p/19q loss of heterozygosity are associated with favorable prognosis.

Clinical study of the time of repeated computed tomography and replanning for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To study the necessity of repeat computed tomography (CT) scan and replanning and know a more accurate time using weekly kilovoltage cone beam computed tomography (kV-CBCT) scans for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) during radiotherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Thirteen NPC patients treated with IMRT were enrolled into this prospective study. Weekly pretreatment kV-CBCT scans were performed on the 1st, 6th, 11st, 16th, 21st and 26th radiation time, respectively. Target delineations were contoured on all fractionated CBCT images, including the gross tumor volume of the primary nasopharyngeal tumor (GTVnx) and parotid glands. The volumes of GTVnx and parotid glands were calculated automatically using the Pinnacle3 8.0 system. Compared to the original GTVnx, the percentage of shrinking volume (ΔP) ≥ 50% was considered significantly. RESULTS: As the radiation proceeding, the GTVnx had a trend of shrinkage. Of all 13 patients, 11 cases (84.6%) had the volume shrinking ≥ 50% before the 21st radiation and 12 cases (92.3%) before the 26th radiation. And the parotid volume decreased significantly in the first four-week radiation, 6.45 ± 3.16cm3 (range, 3.06-13.9cm3) for the left parotid gland and 5.78 ± 2.39cm3 (range, 2.70-11.2cm3) for the right. Furthermore, only a little displacement occurred to bilateral parotid glands. CONCLUSION: The replanning for NPC patients with IMRT is necessary, and the time between the 21st to 25th radiations is appropriate.

CT-detected solitary thyroid calcification: an important imaging feature for papillary carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To evaluate computed tomography (CT) detection of solitary thyroid calcification for identifying thyroid papillary carcinoma and to determine whether the predictive ability changes when the size increases after enhancement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CT scans on all 96 patients with thyroid nodules who underwent both enhanced CT examination of neck and thyroidectomy from 2014 to 2016 in the Shandong Cancer Hospital affiliated to Shandong University were reviewed. The cases without calcification and the cases with peripheral calcification, multiple coarse calcifications, or punctate calcification were excluded. Imaging features, including location and size of the lesions, were reviewed on plain and contrast-enhanced CT. The patients were grouped by histological results. The comparisons were evaluated by using Fisher's exact test and binary logistic regression. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 96 patients (74 females, 22 males; mean age 49.8±11.3 years). Papillary thyroid carcinoma was observed in both solitary calcified thyroid nodules (85.4%) and solely coarse calcifications surrounded by low-density focus (58.2%). The difference was significant (P=0.006). Of 64 patients with an amplification of lesions after contrast enhancement, 58 (90.6%) were diagnosed with a malignant lesion. At the same time, of the 32 patients with no increase in size, 10 (31.2%) were diagnosed with carcinoma and 22 (68.8%) with nodular goiter. This difference was significant (P<0.001), and after binary logistic regression, increasing size was an independent risk factor for cancer. CONCLUSION: Solitary calcified thyroid nodules detected on CT represent a high risk for papillary thyroid carcinoma, especially when the size of the lesions increases after contrast- enhanced CT.

Comparison of long-term survival between temozolomide-based chemoradiotherapy and radiotherapy alone for patients with low-grade gliomas after surgical resection.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to compare the survival outcomes of temozolomide-based chemoradiotherapy (TMZ + RT) vs radiotherapy alone (RT-alone) for low-grade gliomas (LGGs) after surgical resection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective analysis, we reviewed postoperative records of 69 patients with LGGs treated with TMZ + RT (n=31) and RT-alone (n=38) at the Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University between June 2011 and December 2013. Patients in the TMZ + RT group were administered 50-100 mg oral TMZ every day until the radiotherapy regimen was completed. RESULTS: The median follow-up since surgery was 33 months and showed no significant intergroup differences (P=0.06). There were statistically significant intergroup differences in the progression-free survival rate (P=0.037), with 83.9% for TMZ-RT group and 60.5% for RT-alone group. The overall 2-year overall survival (OS) rate was 89.86%. Age distribution (≥45 years and <45 years) and resection margin (complete resection or not) were significantly associated with OS (P=0.03 and P=0.004, respectively). CONCLUSION: Although no differences were found in the 2-year OS between the TMZ + RT and RT-alone groups, there was a trend toward increased 2-year progression-free survival in the TMZ + RT group. With better tolerability, concurrent TMZ chemoradiotherapy may be beneficial for postoperative patients with LGGs. Age distribution and surgical margin are likely potential indicators of disease prognosis. The possible differences in long-term survival between the two groups and the links between prognostic factors and long-term survival may be worthy of further investigation.

Comparison of long-term survival and toxicity of simultaneous integrated boost vs conventional fractionation with intensity-modulated radiotherapy for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

AIM: In recent years, the intensity-modulated radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost (IMRT-SIB) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy with conventional fractionation (IMRT-CF) have been involved in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the potential clinical effects and toxicities are still controversial. METHODS: Here, 107 patients with biopsy-proven locally advanced NPC between March 2004 and January 2011 were enrolled in the retrospective study. Among them, 54 patients received IMRT-SIB, and 53 patients received IMRT-CF. Subsequently, overall survival (OS), 5-year progression-free survival (PFS), 5-year locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and relevant toxicities were analyzed. RESULTS: In the present study, all patients completed the treatment, and the overall median follow-up time was 80 months (range: 8-126 months). The 5-year OS analysis revealed no significant difference between the IMRT-SIB and IMRT-CF groups (80.9% vs 80.5%, P=0.568). In addition, there were also no significant between-group differences in 5-year PFS (73.3% vs 74.4%, P=0.773) and 5-year LRFS (88.1% vs 90.8%, P=0.903). Notably, the dose to critical organs (spinal cord, brainstem, and parotid gland) in patients treated by IMRT-CF was significantly lower than that in patients treated by IMRT-SIB (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Both IMRT-SIB and IMRT-CF techniques are effective in treating locally advanced NPC, with similar OS, PFS, and LRFS. However, IMRT-CF has more advantages than IMRT-SIB in protecting spinal cord, brainstem, and parotid gland from acute and late toxicities, such as xerostomia. Further prospective study is warranted to confirm our findings.