Long-term outcomes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with helical tomotherapy using simultaneous integrated boost technique: A 10-year result

BackgroundTo evaluate the long-term survival and treatment-related toxicities of helical tomotherapy (HT) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.MethodsOne hundred and ninety newly diagnosed non-metastatic NPC patients treated with HT from September 2007 to August 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. The dose at D95 prescribed was 70-74Gy, 60-62.7Gy and 52-56Gy delivered in 33 fractions to the primary gross tumor volume (pGTVnx) and positive lymph nodes (pGTVnd), the high risk planning target volume (PTV1), and the low risk planning target volume (PTV2), respectively, using simultaneous integrated boost technique. The statistical analyses were performed and late toxicities were evaluated and scored according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (version 3.0).ResultsThe median follow-up time was 145 months. The 10-year local relapse-free survival (LRFS), nodal relapse-free survival (NRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were 94%, 95%, 86%, and 77.8%; respectively. Fifty (26.3%) patients had treatment-related failures at the last follow-up visit. Distant metastasis, occurred in 25 patients, was the major failure pattern. Multivariate analysis showed that age and T stage were independent predictors of DMFS and OS, Concomitant chemotherapy improved overall survival, but anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody therapy failed. The most common late toxicities were mainly graded as 1 or 2.ConclusionsHelical tomotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost technique offered excellent long-term outcomes for NPC patients, with mild late treatment-related toxicities. Age and clinical stage were independent predictors of DMFS and OS. And, concurrent chemotherapy means better OS. Further prospective study is needed to confirm the superiority of this technology and to evaluate the roles of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody treatment

Rare solid and cystic presentation of hemangiopericytoma/ solitary fibrous tumor: A case report

Hemangiopericytoma/Solitary Fibrous Tumor (HPC/SFT) is a rare fibroblastic sarcoma characterized by hyper-vasculature and STAT6 trans-nuclear localization. Cystic HPC/SFT is extremely rare. Due to the scarcity of cystic HPC/SFT cases, diagnostic and treatment guidelines are not well established. To our knowledge, we present the first case of cystic HPC/SFT observed in the liver. In addition, the patient had over 6 years of recurrent hypervascular solid HPC/SFT in the brain, bone, leptomeninges, liver and lung prior to developing a cystic HPC/SFT. Briefly, a 37-year-old Caucasian female with a history of HPC/SFT presented with several enlarging cystic hepatic lesions on surveillance MRI. The cystic/nonenhancing nature of these liver metastases were confirmed by contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Due to diagnostic uncertainty, two of these hepatic cysts were removed laparoscopically and pathology confirmed cystic HPC/SFT with a high MIB-1 index. Previously, in 2014, the patient was diagnosed with solid intracranial grade III pseudopapillary mesenchymal HPC/SFT in the posterior fossa and underwent subtotal resection followed by external beam radiation. In 2017, she had recurrent intracranial, vertebral, and intraspinal intradural extramedullary HPC/SFTs followed by surgery, proton therapy, and SRS radiotherapy. In 2019, after an uneventful pregnancy and birth, routine surveillance revealed metastases in the liver requiring an extended right hepatectomy. In 2020-2021 two solid hypervascular hepatic HPC/SFT were found and treated with microwave ablation. Shortly afterwards, several rapidly growing hepatic cystic HPC/SFT lesions developed. Of note, she has not taken any systemic therapy, indicating the cystic tumors are from metastases rather than cystic degradation as a sequela of therapy. Overall, this case highlights that cystic metastasis are a potential clinical manifestation of solid HPC/SFT. Moreover, cystic HPC/SFT can co-exist with the more typical primary solid hypervascular HPC/SFTs in the same patient. Lastly, in this case cystic HPC/SFT had a higher growth rate and propensity to metastasize as compared to the solid equivalent.Peer reviewe

Cytotoxic and cytocompatible comparison among seven photoinitiators-triggered polymers in different tissue cells

Photoinitiators (PIs) are widely used for photopolymerization in industrial area and recently paid close attention to in biomedical field. However, there are few reports on their toxicity to human health. Here we explored cytotoxicity and cytocompatibilty of seven commercial and industrial-used PIs for developing their potential clinical application. Phenylbis(acyl) phosphine oxides (BAPO), 2-Benzyl-2-(dimethylamino)-4′-morpholinobutyrophenone (369), 4,4’-Bis(diethylamino) benzophenone (EMK), Diphenyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide (TPO), and 2-Isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) caused different extent cytotoxicities to four tissue types of cells at the concentrations of 1 to 50 μM under a non-irradiation condition, of which the BAPO cytotoxicity was the highest, whereas Ethyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phenylphosphinate (TPOL) and Methyl benzoylformate (MBF) displayed the lowest cellular toxicity. The cell lines and primary cells appeared highly sensitive to BAPO toxicity, the primary lymphocytes relatively to photoinitiator 369 (369) and EMK toxicities, LO2 cells to EMK and TPO toxicities, the primary lymphocytes and HUVEC-12 cells to MBF toxicity, but only HEK293T cells not to 369 toxicity. Furthermore, these PIs led to increasing cytotoxicity to different extents after exposure to 455 nm blue light, which is consistent with non-irradiation tendency. All the cells presented low sensitivity to TPOL and MBF, of which TPOL-triggered polymer is dramatically superior in its cytocompatibility to MBF, and in its transparency to clinically exclusively-used camphorquinone (CQ). The novel findings indicate that BAPO is the most toxic among the seven PIs, but TPOL and MBF are the least toxic, directing their development and application. Combined their triggered polymer cytocompatibility and color with reported deep curing efficiency, TPOL is more promising to be applied especially to clinical practice.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 81172824) and Guangzhou City Science and Technology Program Synergistic Innovation Major Project (grant num- ber: 201604020146) to F.Y. Xing

Full-Scale Demonstration of Enzyme-Treated Coal Combustion for Improved Energy Efficiency and Reduced Air Pollution

The application of a new biochemical combustion technology, using a nanoenzyme (3EC) product, was studied in a 450 MW power plant. The enzyme changes the structure of the coal during the treatment process. The boiler performance and amount of air pollution were measured and analyzed. There was a clear decrease in the slagging observed on the heat-exchanger tubes. This is attributed to the formation of a softer, more porous iron-containing aluminosilicate slag structure. As a result, the slag does not cling to the heat-exchange tubes as tightly. Burning the enzyme-treated coal resulted in a decrease in NO_<i>x</i> emissions by 16.72–21.43% during the entire test period and a decrease in SO₂ emissions by 5.42–7.31% during the 85% load condition compared to emissions from the raw coal tests. In addition, sub-micrometer particles and mercury distribution were also influenced by the enzyme

Double-Protected All-Inorganic Perovskite Nanocrystals by Crystalline Matrix and Silica for Triple-Modal Anti-Counterfeiting Codes

Novel fluorescence with highly covert and reliable features is quite desirable to combat the sophisticated counterfeiters. Herein, we report a simultaneously triple-modal fluorescent characteristic of CsPbBr₃@Cs₄PbBr₆/SiO₂ by the excitation of thermal, ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light for the first time, which can be applied for the multiple modal anti-counterfeiting codes. The diphasic structure CsPbBr₃@Cs₄PbBr₆ nanocrystals (NCs) was synthesized via the typical reprecipitation method followed by uniformly encapsulation into silica microspheres. Cubic CsPbBr₃ is responsible for the functions of anti-counterfeiting, while Cs₄PbBr₆ crystalline and SiO₂ are mainly to protect unstable CsPbBr₃ NCs from being destroyed by ambient conditions. The as-prepared CsPbBr₃@Cs₄PbBr₆/SiO₂ NCs possess improved stability and are capable of forming printable ink with organic binders for patterns. Interestingly, the fluorescence of diphasic CsPbBr₃@Cs₄PbBr₆/SiO₂ capsule patterns can be reversibly switched by the heating, UV, and IR light irradiation, which has been applied as triple-modal fluorescent anti-counterfeiting codes. The results demonstrate that the perovskite@silica capsules are highly promising for myriad applications in areas such as fluorescent anti-counterfeiting, optoelectronic devices, medical diagnosis, and biological imaging