Prospective randomized clinical study of neoadjuvant concomitant chemoradiotherapy compared with short-course radiotherapy in rectal cancer

[...]. The aim and the goals of the study. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and short-course radiotherapy as well as evaluate prognostic and predictive factors for stage II and III resectable rectal cancer patients. The goals of the study were as follows: 1. To compare 3 and 5 years overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in two treatment groups: preoperative SCRT and conventianal CRT both with delayed surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy in CRT arm. 2. To compare quality of life for stage II-III RC patients treated with two diffent treatment methods. 3. To evaluate prognostic value of clinical factors (age, sex, clinical stage of RC, clinical T, N categories etc) for stage II-III RC patients. 5. To evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA genes mutations for stage II-III RC patients. [...]

Susirgusiųjų sėklidžių vėžiu 1998–2002 išgyvenamumas Lietuvoje

The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival of patients with testicular cancer in Lithuania during 1998–2002 and factors that influenced the survival. Material and methods. The survival rates of testicular cancer patients were evaluated using the data of the Lithuanian Cancer Registry for 1998–2002. The survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test in order to compare the survival rates. The observed survival rates were calculated. Results. The 5-year observed survival rate in Lithuania was 71.2% (95% CI, 64.4%–77.5%). The survival of testicular cancer patients depended on age at the time of diagnosis, histology of tumor, stage and extent of disease. Conclusions. The survival of patients with testicular cancer in Lithuania was substantially lower than in other European countries. The better survival was associated with younger age and lesser extent of metastases

Survival of Patients With Testicular Cancer in Lithuania During 1999–2002

The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival of patients with testicular cancer in Lithuania during 1998–2002 and factors that influenced the survival.Material and methods. The survival rates of testicular cancer patients were evaluated using the data of the Lithuanian Cancer Registry for 1998–2002. The survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test in order to compare the survival rates. The observed survival rates were calculated.Results. The 5-year observed survival rate in Lithuania was 71.2% (95% CI, 64.4%–77.5%). The survival of testicular cancer patients depended on age at the time of diagnosis, histology of tumor, stage and extent of disease.Conclusions. The survival of patients with testicular cancer in Lithuania was substantially lower than in other European countries. The better survival was associated with younger age and lesser extent of metastases

The Role of VEGFA, COX2, HUR and CUGBP2 in predicting the response to neoadjuvant therapy in rectal cancer patients

Background and objectives: The e ectiveness of neoadjuvant therapy, which is commonly used for stage II-III rectal cancer (RC) treatment, is limited. Genes associated with the pathogenesis of RC could determine response to this treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential predictive value of VEGFA, COX2, HUR and CUGBP2 genes and the associations between post-treatment changes in gene expression and the e cacy of neoadjuvant therapy. Materials and Methods: Biopsies from RC and healthy rectal tissue of 28 RC patients were collected before neoadjuvant therapy and 6-8 weeks after neoadjuvant therapy. The expression levels of VEGFA, COX2, HUR, CUGBP2 genes were evaluated using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The results reveal a significantly higher expression of VEGFA, COX2 and HUR mRNA in RC tissue compared to healthy rectal tissue (p<0.05), and elevated VEGFA gene expression in pre-treatment tissues was associated with a better response to neoadjuvant therapy based on T-stage downstaging (p<0.05). The expression of VEGFA, HUR and CUGBP2 genes significantly decreased after neoadjuvant therapy (p<0.05). Responders to treatment demonstrated a significantly stronger decrease of VEGFA and COX2 expression after neoadjuvant therapy than non-responders (p<0.05). Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the pre-treatment VEGFA gene expression might have predictive value for the response to neoadjuvant therapy, while the post-treatment decrease in VEGFA and COX2 gene expression could indicate the e ectiveness of neoadjuvant therapy in RC patients

Preoperative long-course chemoradiotherapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy versus short-course radiotherapy without adjuvant chemotherapy both with delayed surgery for stage II–III resectable rectal cancer: 5-Year survival data of a randomized controlled trial

Background and objective: At present, there are common recommendations for treatment for stage II–III resectable rectal cancer patients: preoperative conventional chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with delayed surgery in 6–8 weeks or preoperative short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) followed by immediate surgery. The aim of this study was to compare overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in two treatment groups: preoperative SCRT and CRT both with delayed surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy in CRT arm. Materials and methods: A total of 150 patients were randomly assigned to two groups: 75 to CRT (preoperative conventional CRT, 50 Gy/25 fr with fluorouracil and leucovorin on the 1st and the 5th week of RT followed by TME surgery in 6–8 weeks and 4 cycles of adjuvant fluorouracil/leucovorin every 4 weeks; then follow-up) and 75 to SCRT (preoperative short-course RT, 25 Gy/5 fr followed by TME surgery in 6–8 weeks; then follow-up). The data of 140 patients (72 in CRT and 68 in SCRT group) were included in statistical analysis. Primary end points were OS and DFS. Results: Median follow-up was 60.5 (range, 5–108) months. The 5-year DFS was 67% in the CRT group (n = 72) and 45% in the SCRT group (n = 68) (P = 0.013; HR = 1.88; 95% CI, 1.13–3.12; P = 0.015). The 5-year OS was 79% and 62% in the CRT and SCRT groups, respectively (P = 0.015; HR = 2.05; 95% CI, 1.13–3.70; P = 0.017). The 5-year OS for intent-to-treat (ITT) population (n = 150) was 78% in the CRT and 58% in the SCRT group (P = 0.003; HR = 2.28; 95% CI, 1.30–4.00; P = 0.004). Conclusions: The 5-year DFS and OS were significantly better in the CRT than the SCRT group. For ITT population, OS was also significantly better after CRT versus SCRT