• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 1988

Fifty patients with residual, unresectable or recurrent rectal cancer were treated with external irradiation using a 6-MV linear accelerator at the Division of Therapeutic Radiology, Department of Radiology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical College during the period of April 1983 to December 1987. This paper describes the results of a retrospective analysis of the results of external irradiation for the residual, unresectable and recurrent rectal cancer in 46 patients. Four patients were lost to follow-up. Of the 46 patients, $18 (39\%)$ presented with unresectable primary lesions and $28 (61\%)$ with residual or recurrent rectal cancer. In $93\%$, the pathologic diagnosis was adenocarcinoma. Resonse to irradiation was observed in $22 (73\%)$ out of 30 patients who were treated for pain, $12 (86\%)$ out of 14 patients who were treated for mass, and $17 (77\%)$ out of 22 patients who were treated for bloody discharge. The actuarial postoperative 2-year and 3-year survival rates in recurrent and unresectable patients were $43\%$ and $22\%$, respectively. However, the post-RT 2-year survival rate was $13\% (6/46)$.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.173-180
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• 1995

Purpose: Unresectable rectal cancer has a grave prognosis. regardless of the therapy used and median survival is less than 1 rear. Also, it is reported by many authors that $50-80\%$ of unresectable lesions were rendered resectable by radiation therapy and the median survival time for the completely resected patients were better than that of the unresected patients. So we analyzed retrospectively our data for the better treatment outcome in these patients. Materials and MEthods:From 1980 to 1992, 45 patients with initially unresectable tumors in the rectum were treated with radiation therapy with/without surgery in Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center 10 MV radiation and multiple field technique (box or AP/PA) were used. The total dose was 28-70 Gy and median dose was 48 Gy. We evaluated the lesion status at 45-50 Gy for operability. If the lesions appeared to be resectable, the Patients were operated on 4-6 weeks after radiation therapy. But if the lesions were still fixed, the radiation dose was increased to 60-65 Gy. Results: For all patients, the 2-year actuarial survival was $13.3\%$ and median survival was 9.5 months. Of 6 patients who had received less than 45 Gy, only $17\%$ of patients responded, but in the patients who had received more than 45 Gy, $60\%$ of response rate was achieved Six of the 24 patients$(25\%)$ underwent surgical resections following RT. For patients undergoing curative resection. the two-rear survival was $50\%,$ but that of the patients without resection was $9.5\%$ (p<0.01). Survival of patients with complete response following RT was $50\%$ at 2 years. Survival of patients with partial response, stable disease and progressive disease after RT was $13.4\%,\;15.4\%,\;0\%$ respectively (P<0.05). Conclision: Our data suffests that the efforts which can increase the response rate and aggressive surgical approach are needed to achieve the better local control and survival in unresectable rectal cancers.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.127-132
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• 1993

Total of 53 patients of unresectable and recurrent rectal cancer treated with neutron beam during the period from Oct.1987 to Apr.1992 were analyzed. Dose fractionation for the neutron only group was 1.5 Gy per fraction,3 fraction per week,21 Gy/41/2 wks for 42 patients out of 53 ($76{\%}$). Neutron only but modified fractionation schedule ($10{\%}$ more or less of total dose) was applied for 9 patients, and mixed beam (neutron boost) was for 4 patients, Complete tumor response was obtained in 40 patients ($76{\%}$, response rate). Local control rate was 28 out of 53 ($53{\%}$). Statistically significant better prognostic factors for local control were age below 49 years old (15/22, $68{\%}$) than above 50 years old (13/31, $42{\%}$), male (20/32, $63{\%}$) than female (8/21, $38{\%}$), tumor size less than 5 cm and non-metastatic (16/24, $67{\%}$) than size more than 5 cm or metastatic (12/29, $41{\%}$). Major complication had developed in 7 patients ($13{\%}$). Two year overall survival rate by Kaplan-Meier method was $30{\%}$, but it was rised to, $47{\%}$ when the turner was less than 5 cm non-metastatic.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.235-246
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• 1988

A total of 93 patients with rectal cancer treated with radiotherapy at department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yonsei Cancer Center between January 1974 and December 1983 are retrospectively analysed. The patients are divided into three groups as follows: I. Postoperative radiotherapy, II. Postoperative recurrent, III. Unresectable or Inoperable group. In postoperative radiotherapy group, overall 5 year survival rate is $34.8\%$ and prognostic factors are presence of obstruction and degree of differentiation. In postoperative recurrent group, overall 2 year survival rate is $7.4\%$ with median survival of 13 months and prognostic factors are RT responsiveness and sex, and the local failure rate is $22.7\%$. In unresectable or inoperable group, overall 2 year survival rate is $19.8\%$ with median survival of 12.6 months and prognostic factors are RT responsiveness and RT dose. The complications for RT are not significant and are acceptable in all patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 2017

Purpose: Although the technical developments of radiotherapy have been remarkable, there are currently few reports on the treatment results of radiotherapy for local recurrence of rectal cancer treated with surgery alone as initial treatment in this three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy era. Thus, we retrospectively evaluated the treatment results of radiotherapy for local recurrence of rectal cancer treated with surgery alone as the initial treatment. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two patients who underwent radiotherapy were enrolled in this study. The dose per fraction was 2.0-3.5 Gy. Because the treatment schedule was variable, the biological effective dose (BED) was calculated. Results: Local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) rates from the completion of radiotherapy were calculated. The 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year LC rates were 51.5%, 24.5%, 19.6%, 19.6%, and 13.1%, respectively. LC rates were significantly higher for the high BED group (${\geq}75Gy_{10}$) than for the lower BED group (<$75Gy_{10}$). All patients who reported pain achieved pain relief. The duration of pain relief was significantly higher for the high BED group than for the lower BED group. The 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year OS rates were 82.6%, 56.5%, 45.2%, 38.7%, and 23.2%, respectively. There was a trend toward higher OS rates in with higher BED group compared to lower BED group. Conclusion: For patients with unresectable locally recurrent rectal cancer treated with surgery alone, radiotherapy is effective treatment. The prescribed BED should be more than $75Gy_{10}$, if the dose to the organ at risk is within acceptable levels.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2000

Purpose :We conducted a prospective non-randomized clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and toxic of the preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced unresectable rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: Between January 1995 and June 1998, 37 conecutive patients with locally unresectable advanced rectal cancer were entered into the study. With 3- or 4- fields technique, a total of 45 Gy radiation was delivered on whole pelvis, followed by 5.4 Gy boost to the primary tumor in some cases. Chemotherapy was done at the first and fifth week of radiation with bolus i.v. 5-Fluorouracil (FU) 370$\~$450 mg/m$^{2}$, days 1$\~$5, plus Leucovorin 20 mg/m$^{2}$, days 1$\~$5. OF 37 patients, 6 patients did not receive all planned treatment course (refusal in 4, disease progression in 1, metastasis to lung in 1). Surgical resection was undergone 4$\~$6 weeks after preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Results :Complete resection rate with negative margins was 94$\%$ (29/31). Complete response was seen in 7 patients (23$\%$) clinically and 2 patients (6$\%$) pathologically. Down staging of tumor occured in 21 patients (68$\%$). Treatment related toxicity was minimal except grade III & IV leukopenia in 2 patients, respectively. Conclusion : Preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer was effective in inducing down staging and complete resection rate. Treatment related toxicity was minimal. Further follow up is on-going to determine long term survival following this treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3941-3944
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• 2013

Background: The use of preoperative chemoirradiation is the commonest treatment strategy employed in Malaysia for locally advanced rectal cancer. We need to determine the local control and survival rates for comparison with established rates in the literature. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed all newly diagnosed patients with rectal adenocarcinoma who underwent long course preoperative radiotherapy (RT) at the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) between $1^{st}$ January 2004 and $31^{st}$ December 2010. The aim of the study was to determine the radiological response post radiotherapy, pathological response including circumferential resection margin (CRM) status, 3 years local control, 3 years overall survival (OS) and 3 years disease free survival (DFS). Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software. Kaplan-Meier and log rank analysis were used to determine survival outcomes. Results: A total of 507 patients with rectal cancer underwent RT at HKL. Sixty seven who underwent long course preoperative RT were eligible for this study. The median age at diagnosis was 60 years old with a range of 26-78 years. The median tumour location was 6 cm from the anal verge. Most patients had suspicion of mesorectum involvement (95.5%) while 28.4% of patients had enlarged pelvic nodes on staging CT scan. All patients underwent preoperative chemo-irradiation except for five who had preoperative RT alone. Only 38 patients underwent definitive surgery (56.7%). Five patients were deemed to be inoperable radiologically and 3 patients were found to have unresectable disease intraoperatively. The remaining 21 patients defaulted surgery (31.3%). The median time from completion of RT to surgery was 8 weeks (range 5.6 to 29.4 weeks). Fifteen patients (39.5%) had surgery more than 8 weeks after completion of RT. Complete pathological response was noted in 4 patients (10.5%). The pathological CRM positive rate after RT was 18.4%. With a median follow-up of 38.8 months, the 3 year local control rate was 67%. The 3 years rate for CRM positive (<2 mm), CRM clear (>2 mm) and pCR groups were 0%, 88.1% and 100% respectively (p-value of 0.007). The 3 year OS and DFS were 57.3% and 44.8% respectively. Conclusions: In conclusion, the approach of long course preoperative chemoirradiation for rectal cancer needs to be re-examined in our local setting. The high rate of local recurrence is worrying and is mainly due to patient defaulting post-preoperative chemoirradiation or delayed definitive surgery.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2006

Purpose: It is well known from clinical experience that acute complications of chemoradiation therapy vary from patients to patients. However, there are no known factors to predict these acute complications before treatment starts. The human XRCC1 gene is known as a DNA base excision repair gene. We investigated the possibilities of XRCC1 gene polymorphisms as a predictor for the acute complications of chemoradiation therapy in colorectal cancer patients. Materials and Methods: From July 1997 to June 2003, 86 colorectal cancer patients (71 rectal cancer, 13 sigmoid colon cancer and 2 colon cancer patients) were treated with chemoradiation therapy at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Inha University Hospital. Twenty-two patients were in stage B, 50 were in stage C, 8 were in stage D and 6 patients were unresectable cases. External radiation therapy was delivered with 10MV X-ray at a 1.8 Gy fraction per day for a total dose of radiation of $30.6{\sim}59.4 Gy$ (median: 54 Gy). All the patients received 5-FU based chemotherapy regimen. We analyzed the acute complications of upper and lower gastrointestinal tract based on the RTOG complication scale. The initial and lowest WBC and platelet count were recorded during both the RT period and the whole treatment period. Allelic variants of the XRCC1 gene at codons 194, 280 and 399 were analyzed in the lymphocyte DNA by performing PCR-RFLP. Statistical analyses were carried out with the SAS (version 6.12) statistical package. Results: When all the variables were assessed on the multivariate analysis, recurrent disease revealed the factors that significantly correlated with upper gastrointestinal acute complications. Arg399Gln polymorph isms of the XRCC1 gene, the radiation dose and the frequencies of chemotherapy during radiation therapy were significantly correlated with lower gastrointestinal complications. Arg399Gln polymorph isms also affected the decrease of the WBC and platelet count during radiation therapy. Conclusion: Although the present sample size was too small for fully evaluating this hypothesis, this study suggests that Arg399Gln polymorph isms of the XRCC1 genes may be used as one of the predictors for acute complications of chemoradiation therapy in colorectal cancer patients.