• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2000

Purpose : To evaluate the side effects, pattern of failure, and survival rate according to the sequence of postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy, patients with stages II and III rectal cancer who had undergone curative resection were randomized to 'early radiotherapy group (arm I)' or' late radiotherapy group (arm II)', then we intend to determine the most effective sequence of the radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Materials and Methods . From January 1996 to March 1999, 313 patients with curatively resected stages II and III rectal cancer have been randomized to' early' or' late' radiation therapy group and received combined chemotherapy (5-FU 375 mg/m$^{2}$/day, ieucovorin 20 mg/m$^{2}$, IV bolus daily Dl-5, 8 cycles) and radiation therapy (whole pelvis with 45 Gy/25 fractions/s weeks). Arm I received radiation therapy from day 1 with first cycle of chemotherapy and arm II received radiation therapy from day 57 with third cycle of chemotherapy after completion of first two cycles. Preliminary analysis was peformed with 228 patients registered up to Jun 1998. Two out of the 228 patients were excluded because of double primary cancer. Median follow-up period was 23 months. Results :Local recurrence occurred in 11 patients (9.7$\%$) for arm I and 9 patients (8$\%$) for arm 11. There was no significant difference between both groups ( p=0.64). However, distant metastasis was found in 22 patients (19.5$\%$) for arm I and 35 patients (31.0$\%$) for arm II and which showed statistically significant difference between the two groups ( p=0.046). And neither 3-year disease-free survival (70.2$\%$ vs 59.2$\%$, p=0.2) nor overall survival (89.4$\%$ vs 88.0$\%$, p=0.47) showed significant differences. The incidence of leukopenia during radiation therapy and chemotherapy was 78.3$\%$ and 79.9$\%$ respectively but leukopenia more than RTOG grade 3 was only 2.1$\%$ and 6.0$\%$ respectively. The incidence of diarrhea more than 10 times per day was significantly higher in the patients for arm I than for arm II (71.2$\%$ vs 41.6$\%$, p=0.02) but this complication was controlled with supportive cares. Conclusion : Regardless of the sequence of postoperative adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy after curative resection for rectal cancer, local recurrence rate was low with combined chemoradlotherapy. But distant metastasis rate was lower in early radiation therapy group than in late radiation therapy group and the reason is unclear. Most patients completed these treatments without severe complication, so these were thought to be safe treatments but the treatment compliance should be improved.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2739-2745
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• 2014

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a fundamental outcome in oncology patients and quality of life (QOL) assessment requires clinically relevant questionnaires. The purpose of this study was translation and definition of measurement properties and the clinical validity of Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-OG25 module in Persian patients with oesophagus, oesophagogastric junction (OGJ) or gastric cancers. Materials and Methods: The translation procedure followed European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) guidelines. Both EORTC QLQ-OG25 and a core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) were administered to patients with oesophagus (150), OG junction (93) and gastric (32) cancer undergoing multi-modal treatments. Convergent and discriminant validity, Cronbach's alpha coefficient and known-groups comparisons were used to examine reliability and validity. Results: In all, 275 patients (mean age 62 years) completed both questionnaires. Compliance rate was high and the questionnaire module was well accepted. We found good reliability for multi-item subscales of QLQ-OG25 (Cronbach's alpha coefficients 0.76-0.89). About 73% had TNM staging and scales distinguished between clinically distinct groups of patients. However, patients in palliative group experienced compromised functional status and worse treatment-associated symptoms than those in the potentially curative group. Test-retest scores were consistent. Multi-trait scaling analysis demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusions: Overall, the Persian version of QLQ-OG25 demonstrated psychometric and clinical validity that supports its application as a supplement to the original tool (EORTC QLQ-C30) when assessing HRQL in patients with upper-gastrointestinal (GI) cancer both in curative and palliative phases.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.132-138
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish general guidelines for the treatment of patients with early glottic cancer(T1-2N0M0), by assessing the role of primary radiation therapy and by analyzing the tumor-related and treatment-related factors that influence treatment results. We also studied the results of hypofractionated radiation therapy for early glottic cancer. Material and Methods: This retrospective study comprised 48 patients who suffered from early glottic cancer and were treated by primary radiotherapy at Inha University Hospital, between May 1997 and October 2004. T-stage distribution showed 38 patients as T1 and 10 patients as stage T2. Thirty-eight patients underwent hypofractionated radiotherapy using a 6 MY photon beam, a total tumor dose of 63Gy, in 5 weekly fractions of 2.25Gy, with an overall radiation treatment time of 38 days. Ten patients in the T2 stage tolerated a total dose of 63-72 Gy(median 68.4Gy) in 5 weekly fractions of 1.8-2.0Gy, with an overall radiation treatment time of 40-87 days(median 51 days). All patients were followed up for at least 3 years. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the prognostic factors affecting the treatment results. Result: The 5-year survival rate was 92% for all patients, 94% for T1 patients and 91% for T2 patients. The local control rate was 93.5% for all patients, 95% for T1 and 92.2% for T2 patients. Three patients suffered a relapse following radiotherapy, and underwent subsequent salvage surgery. We included T-stage, tumor location, total radiation dose, field size and overall radiation treatment time as potential prognostic factors. Only T-stage was found to be statistically significant in the univariate analysis, but in the multivariate analysis, it was not found to be significant. Conclusion: High curative and voice preservation rates were obtained with hypofractionated radiotherapy. Further study with a larger number of patients is needed to determine the prognostic factors affecting treatment results.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.294-300
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• 2015

Purpose: To evaluate survival rates and prognostic factors related to treatment outcomes after bladder preserving therapy including transurethral resection of bladder tumor, radiotherapy (RT) with or without concurrent chemotherapy in bladder cancer with a curative intent. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively studied 50 bladder cancer patients treated with bladder-preserving therapy at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center from January 1999 to December 2010. Age ranged from 46 to 89 years (median, 71.5 years). Bladder cancer was the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage II, III, and IV in 9, 27, and 14 patients, respectively. Thirty patients were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and 20 patients with RT alone. Nine patients received chemotherapy prior to CCRT or RT alone. Radiation was delivered with a four-field box technique (median, 63 Gy; range, 48.6 to 70.2 Gy). The follow-up periods ranged from 2 to 169 months (median, 34 months). Results: Thirty patients (60%) showed complete response and 13 (26%) a partial response. All patients could have their own bladder preserved. Five-year overall survival (OS) rate was 37.2%, and the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 30.2%. In multivariate analysis, tumor grade and CCRT were statistically significant in OS. Conclusion: Tumor grade was a significant prognostic factor related to OS. CCRT is also considered to improve survival outcomes. Further multi-institutional studies are needed to elucidate the impact of RT in bladder cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.123-129
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• 1985

A retrospective analysis was undertaken of 46 patients who were referred with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus during the period of March 1979 through October 1982, and who were treated by curative radiotherapy in the Department of Therapeutic Radiology Seoul National University Hospital. The overall two-year actuarial survival rate was $20\%$ Survival was analyzed with respect to the site of the cancer, its size, radiation dose, and degree of response. Patients with the best two-year survival rate are the ones who had the tumor no of more than 5cm in length $(39.3\%)$ or confined to the upper third of the esophagus $(29.5\%)$. An optimum radiation dose ranged from 1600 to 1700 rets. Patients to complete response had $42.4\%$ of two-year actuarial survival, but those to no response had $0\%$ of survival.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.195-202
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• 1999

Purpose : We peformed this study to evaluate the prognostic factors and the effect of induction chemotherapy in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods : A retrospective analysis was done for 130 patients with locally advanced NSCLC treated with curative radiotherapy alone or induction chemo-radiotherapy from January 1986 to October 1996. Eighty-five patients were treated with radiotherapy alone, forty-five with induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Age, sex, performance status, histopathologic type, and stage were evenly distributed in both groups. The patients were treated with 6 MV or 10 MV X-ray. Conventional fractionation with daily fraction size 1$.8\~2.0$ Gy was done. Of the patients, 129 patients received total dose above 59.6 Gy ($56\~66$ Gy, median 60 Gy). Induction chemotherapy regimen were CAP (Cyclo-phosphamide, Adriamycin, Cisplatin) in 6 patients, MVP (Mitomycin, Vinblastine, Cisplatin) in 9 patients, MIC (Mitomycin, Ifosfamide Cisplatin) in 13 patients, and EP (Etoposide, Cisplatin) in 17 patients. Chemotherapy was done in $2\~5$ cycles (median 2). Results : Overall 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rate (YSR) for all patients were $41.5\%,{\;}13.7\%,{\;}and{\;}7\%$, respectively (median survival time 11 months). According to treatment modality, median survival time, overall 1-, 2-, and 3-YSR were 9 months, $32.9\%,{\;}10.\5%,{\;}6\%$ for radiotherapy alone group, and 14 months, $57.8\%,{\;}20\%,{\;}7.6\%$ for induction chemotherapy group, respectively (f=0.0005). Complete response (CR) to overall treatments was $25\%$ (21/84) in radiotherapy alone and $40.5\%$ (17/42) in induction chemotherapy group (p=0.09). The Prognostic factors affecting overall survival were hemoglobin level (p=0.04), NSE (neuron-specific enolase) level (p=0.004), and respense to overall treatment(p=0.004). According to treatment modalities, NSE (neuron-specific enolase) (p=0.006) and response to overall treatment (p=0.003) were associated with overall survival in radiotherapy alone group, and response to overall treatment (p=0.007) in induction chemotherapy group. The failure Pattern analysis revealed no significant difference between treatment modalities. But, in patients with CR to overall treatment, distant metastasis were found in 11/19 patients with radiotherapy alone, and 3/13 patients with induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy (p=0.07). Locoregional failure patterns were not different between two groups (10/19 vs 6/13). Conclusion : Induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy achieved increased 2YSR compared to radiotherapy alone, At least in CR patients, there was decreased tendency in distant metastasis with induction chemotherapy. But, locoregional failures and long-term survival were not improved. Thus, there is need of more effort to increasing local control and further decreasing distant metastasis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.314-320
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• 2000

Purpose :To investigate whether changes in plasma concentrations of transforming growth factor-$\beta$1(TGF-$\beta$1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-$\alpha$) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) could be used to identify the development of radiation-induced pneumonitis in the lung cancer patients. Methods and Materials :Seventeen patients with lung cancer (11 NSCLC, 6 SCLC) were enrolled in a prospective study designed to evaluate clinical and molecular biologic correlation of radiation-induced pneumonitis. The study began in May 1998 and completed in July 1999. All patients were treated with radiotherapy with curative intent : 1.8 Gy per day, 5 fractions per week. Serial measurements of plasma TGF-$\beta$1, TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-6 were obtained in all patients before, weekly during radiotherapy and at each follow-up visits after completion of treatment. These measurements were quantified using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All patients were evaluated for signs and symptoms of pneumonitis at each follow-up visit after completion of radiotherapy. High resolution CT (HRCT) scans were obtained when signs and symptoms of pneumonitis were developed after completion of radiotherapy. Results : Thirteen patients eventually developed signs and symptoms of clinical pneumonitis 씬file four patients did not. TGF-$\beta$ 1 levels were elevated in all 13 patients with pneumonitis, which showed characteristic pattern of elevation (38.45 ng/ml at pretreatment, 13.66 ng/ml during radiotherapy, then 60.63 ng/ml at 2-4 weeks after completion of radiotherapy). The levels of TNF- $\alpha$ and IL-6 were also elevated In the group of patients who developed pneumonitis but the pattern was not characteristic. Conclusions : Changes in plasma TGF$\beta$-1 levels before, during and after radiotherapy appears to be a useful means by which to identify patients at risk for the development of symptomatic pneumonitis. Other cytokines like TNF- $\alpha$ and IL-6 shows no meaningful changes in association with radiation pneumonitis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.303-310
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• 1998

Purpose : To evaluate the results of the treatment of locally advanced but resectable rectal cancers and to analyze prognostic factors. especially with the emphasis on the treatment time factor. Materials and Methods : There were 71 patients with rectal cancer who had been treated by curative surgical procedure and postoperative radiotherapy from August 1989 to December 1993. The minimum follow up period was 24 months and the median follow-up was 35 months Radiation therapy had been given by 6 MV linear accelerator by parallel opposing or four-box portals. Whole pelvis was treated up to 5040 cGy in most cases. Systemic chemotherapy had been given in 94$\%$ of the patients, mostly with 5-FU/ACNU regimen. Assessment for the overall and disease-free survival rates were done by life-table method and prognostic factors by Log-Rank tests. Results : Five-year overall survival, disease-free survival were 58.8$\%$ and 57$\%$, respectively. Two-year local control rate was 76.6$\%$. Stage according to Modified Astler-Coller (MAC) system, over 4 positive lymph nodes, over 6weeks interval between definitive surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy and over 7 days of interruption during radiotherapy period were statistically significant, or borderline significant prognostic factors. Conclusion : The treatment results of patients with rectal cancers are comparable to those of other large institutes. The treatment results for the patients with bowel wall penetration and/or positive regional lymph nodes were still discouraging for their high local recurrence rate for the patients with MAC 'c' stage diseases and high distant metastases rate even for the patients with node-negative diseases. Maybe more effective regimen of chemotherapy would be needed with proper route and schedule. To maximize postoperative adjuvant treatment. radiotherapy should be started at least within 6 weeks after surgery and preferably as soon as wound healing is completed. Interruption of treatment during radiotherapy course affects disease-free survival badly, especially if exceeds 7 days. So, the total treatment period trout definitive surgery to the completion of radiotherapy should be kept as minimal as possiable.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.5041-5045
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• 2016

Background: Patients with recurrent or progressive lung cancer experience a significant symptom burden, negatively affecting quality of life and reducing life expectancy. Thoracic re-irradiation can be used for palliative treatment to relieve symptoms or as a curative treatment. Methods: Using patient charts, we identified and reviewed 28 cases that had received palliative thoracic re-irradiation for recurrent lung cancer. Results: Before re-irradiation, 32% of patients had stage III non-small cell lung cancer and six had small cell lung cancer. The median interval between treatments was 18.7 months. Median follow-up was 31.2 months from the initial radiotherapy and 5 months after re-irradiation. A better performance status before re-irradiation (<80 vs >80, p=0.09) and a lower overlap 90% isodose (<70 vs >70, p=0.09) showed trends toward improved survival. Grade 1-2 toxicity from re-irradiation was recorded in 12/28 patients, and no grade 3 or 4 acute toxicity was encountered. Conclusion: The role of palliative treatment in survival is not clear but it can provide symptomatic relief in patients, with no high grade toxicity. Further studies with greater patient numbers and longer follow-up times should facilitate determination of the role of this treatment in toxicity and effects on survival.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.681-688
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• 1996

Most patients with carcinoma of the cervico-thoracic esophagus present with locally advanced disease. For this reason, therapeutic efforts have been largely palliative, focused on eradicating locoregional dis- ease, and have been attended by high morbidity rates. A 61 year old man was diagnosed to advanced cervicothoracic esophageal cancer(Type 1) and reli ved concurrent chromo-radiotherapy for 2 months in St. Mary's Hospital. And then he underwent transhiatal subtotal esophagectomy and radical dissection of cervical and superior mediastinal Iymph nodes with thoracoscopy. The histologic diagnosis was early esophageal cancer(Type 0-llb, SM2) and the curability of operation was calculated to highly curative(Clll). And the postoperative course was unevenful.