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Abstract Background The polycomb group (PcG) family BMI1, acting downstream of the hedgehog (Hh) pathway, plays an essential role in the self-renewal of haematopoietic, neural, and intestinal stem cells, and is dysregulated in many types of cancer. Our recent report has demonstrated that Hh signalling activation can predict very earlier relapse of oesophageal cancers. As data were not available on the clinical role of BMI1 expression in oesophageal cancers after chemoradiotherapy (CRT), we analysed whether it could be also used to predict disease progression and prognosis in oesophageal cancer patients undergoing trimodality therapy of preoperative CRT and oesophagectomy. Methods Expressions of BMI1 and p16INK4A, a downstream target of PcG, were analysed in 78 patients with histologically confirmed oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after preoperative CRT by immunohistochemical staining. The association of BMI1 and p16INK4A expression with clinicopathologic characteristics was analysed by χ2-test. Survival analysis was carried out by the log-rank test using Kaplan-Meier method. Results Among 78 ESCC patients, 24 patients (30.8%) showed BMI1 positivity, mainly localised in the nuclei of tumour cells. Patients harbouring BMI1-positive tumour cells showed significantly poorer prognoses than those without such cells or residual tumours (mean disease-free survival (DFS) time 16.8 vs 71.2 months; 3-yr DFS 13.3% vs 49.9%, P=0.002; mean OS time 21.8 vs 76.6 months; 3-yr OS 16.2% vs 54.9%, P=0.0005). There was no significant correlation between p16INK4A expression and BMI1 expression. Conclusions Our study shows that BMI1 expression is a predictor of early relapse and poor prognosis in ESCC after CRT. These findings suggest that BMI1 signal activation might be involved in promoting cancer regrowth and progression after CRT, and might be indicative of emergence of ‘more aggressive’ cancer progenitor cells.

We evaluated the evolving structure of radiation oncology in Japan in terms of equipment, personnel, patient load and geographic distribution to identify and overcome any existing limitations. From March 2012 to August 2015, the Japanese Society for Radiation Oncology conducted a questionnaire based on the Japanese national structure survey of radiation oncology in 2011. Data were analyzed based on the institutional stratification by the annual number of new patients treated with radiotherapy per institution. The estimated annual numbers of new and total (new plus repeat) patients treated with radiation were 211 000 and 250 000, respectively. Additionally, the estimated cancer incidence was 851 537 cases with approximately 24.8% of all newly diagnosed patients being treated with radiation. The types and numbers of treatment devices actually used included linear accelerator (LINAC; n  = 836), telecobalt (n  = 3), Gamma Knife (n  = 46), 60Co remote afterloading system (RALS; n  = 24), and 192Ir RALS (n  = 125). The LINAC system used dual-energy functions in 619 units, 3D conformal radiotherapy functions in 719 and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) functions in 412. There were 756 JRS or JASTRO-certified radiation oncologists, 1018.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) radiation oncologists, 2026.7 FTE radiotherapy technologists, 149.1 FTE medical physicists, 141.5 FTE radiotherapy quality managers and 716.3 FTE nurses. The frequency of IMRT use significantly increased during this time. To conclude, although there was a shortage of personnel in 2011, the Japanese structure of radiation oncology has clearly improved in terms of equipment and utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Total cystectomy with urinary diversion is a current therapy in the patients with localized invasive bladder cancer. We treated T2-3 N0M0 bladder cancer patients with intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy with or without radiation in order to preserve bladder for their QOL. Methods: Both adriamycin and CDDP were infused through internal iliac artery in M-VAC chemotherapy (M-VAC I.A.) for 13 patients with good performance status (PS). Only CDDP was infused when external beam radiotherapy (CDDP plus RT) was applied simultaneously for 23 patients with poor PS. The effectiveness of the two therapies was assessed in these patients including 3 cases who underwent both therapies between January 2003 and December 2007. Results: The clinical response was assessed one month after the treatment. Complete response (CR) was achieved in 20 of 33 (61%) by M-VAC I.A. and/or CDDP plus RT. During the follow-up of 5-59 months (Av. 44.1 months), 18 of 20 patients (90%) were alive without disease; Fourteen cases were under observation without local or remote recurrence, and 4 cases showed local recurrence of superficial cancer which were all successfully treated by transurethral resection (TUR). Two of 20 patients developed invasive cancer; one died, and another was alive with metastasis after cystectomy. Partial response (PR) was found in 11 cases (33%). In 2 (6%) patients, favorable response was not observed; one died of ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection, and another was lost during follow up. Total bladder preservation rate and disease-specific survival rate were 74.4% and 83.5%, respectively. Conclusions: M-VAC I.A. and CDDP plus RT effectively contributed to the organ preservation in patients with localized invasive bladder cancer, especially when CR was achieved after the therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polaprezinc (PZ), an antiulcer drug, has been reported to have antioxidant properties. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of administering PZ for radiation-induced mucositis in head and neck cancer patients. Patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer were enrolled in this prospective study. PZ was prepared as an oral rinse. The PZ oral rinse was used four times per day during the course of radiotherapy. Sequential changes in radiation mucositis were assessed during and after radiotherapy according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3.0. Furthermore, a retrospective comparison analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of PZ for radiation-induced mucositis. A total of 32 patients were enrolled in the prospective study of the PZ oral rinse. Radiotherapy was performed up to a total dose of 60-66 Gy using a conventional schedule combined with chemotherapy. Of the 32 patients, 30 (93.8%) reported no complaints due to the PZ oral rinse. In addition, PZ was not associated with severe adverse effects. Among the patients who received PZ, grade 3 mucositis was observed in 29.0% based on the mucosal findings and in 39.3% based on the symptoms. In the patients who did not receive PZ, the incidence of grade 3 mucositis was 40.0% based on the mucosal findings and 60.7% based on the symptoms. Moreover, PZ promoted the recovery from mucositis caused by chemoradiotherapy and was not associated with reduced tumor response to radiotherapy. Therefore, the PZ oral rinse was well tolerated and proved to be efficient for the treatment of radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis.

The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of obesity on radiation-induced gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity. The cases of 54 patients with prostate cancer, treated with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (RT), were reviewed. For each patient, the body mass index (BMI), distance between the prostate and rectum (D) on a computerised tomography scan and the dosimetric parameters of the rectum and bladder in the planning data of RT, were analyzed. GI and GU toxicity was assessed during and following RT. The results of the patients with a BMI of <25 (lower BMI) were compared with those of the patients with a BMI of ≥25 (higher BMI). The higher BMI group exhibited significantly lower doses of V 60 and V 65 in the rectum than the lower BMI group. No significant differences were found in D and bladder doses between the two groups. The incidence of acute GI and GU toxicity and late GI and GU toxicity were 41.7, 19.4, 35.3 and 5.7% in the lower BMI group, respectively, and 27.8, 27.8, 5.9 and 35.3% in the higher BMI group, respectively. In addition, a significant difference was found in the incidence of late GU toxicity between the two groups. Among patients who underwent RT for prostate cancer, those with higher BMIs had a tendency to show lower incidences of GI toxicity and higher incidences of GU toxicity than patients with lower BMIs. To conclude, an increased effort must be made to reduce rectal doses in patients with lower BMIs. Conversely, increased care for GU toxicity must be provided for overweight patients.

Background: Although anticoagulation therapy is commonly used in the prostate cancer population, there are only a few studies about the correlation between radiation proctitis and anticoagulation therapy. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether low-dose aspirin increases the severity of acute radiation proctitis in an experimental animal model., Methods: Wistar rats were used in the present study. The rats were administered either aspirin at doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg, or saline, daily before and after irradiation. The rats were irradiated to the rectum as a single fraction of 25 Gy. The rectal mucosal changes of each rat were evaluated macroscopically and pathologically on the tenth day following irradiation. The findings of proctitis were graded from 0 to 4, and then were compared with regard to the status., Results: No apparent correlations were observed between the administration of aspirin and the severity of radiation proctitis in the macroscopic findings and in the morphological mucosal damage in the pathological examination. The proportion of rats with a severe degree of mucosal inflammation was 90.0%, 100.0%, 16.7% and 100.0% at 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, and 20 mg/kg of aspirin, or saline, respectively. The rats receiving aspirin at the dose of 20 mg/kg showed significantly milder inflammation than the other groups (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: In the present study, low-dose aspirin did not increase the severity of acute radiation proctitis. In addition, aspirin might decrease the severity of radiation-induced mucosal inflammation in the rectum., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Problems have been reported in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), such as the friability of the organ itself. This report presents possible solutions to such problems. Although our patient suffered from locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer, she remained well at 18 mo after RFA with no evidence of recurrence. To ameliorate the side effects of RFA, after a palliative bypass procedure, the subject was treated with combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After this regimen had been administered, a contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan confirmed that RFA is a viable approach to the treatment of pancreatic cancer as the chemoradiotherapy had resulted in marked tumor shrinkage and pancreatic fibrosis; i.e., sufficient tumor ablation was achieved without serious RFA-related complications, such as pancreatitis or pancreatic fistulae. The present case suggests that RFA combined with preceding chemoradiotherapy is safe and effective for the palliative treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.