Search

Objective The technique of radiotherapy is associated with the recurrence pattern and prognosis of postoperative treatment for medulloblastoma. Our aim was to assess recurrence patterns and survival in patients with medulloblastoma between three-dimensional conformation (3D-CRT) and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). To analyze the factors affecting the prognosis, such as the use of 3D-CRT or IMRT, the time interval of surgical and radiotherapy, whether there is chemotherapy and chemotherapy regimen.Methods In this study, 36 patients with medulloblastoma were conducted investigating and data were analyzed from May 2009 to September 2017. The median survival of each group was calculated for different clinical stages,pathological types and treatment methods. The PFS and OS for patients curves were derived by Kaplan-Meier estimation, and which were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model between the IMRT and 3D-CRT treatment groups.Results Up to the follow-up date, 7 of the 9 patients in the 3D-CRT group had recurrence and 9 of the 27 patients in the IMRT group had recurrence. The 2-year and 5-year PFS of the IMRT group were 74.1% and 65.8%, and which of the 3D-CRT group were 55.6% and 22.2%, respectively. The PFS was significantly higher for patients treated with IMRT compared with 3D-CRT (P0.05). There was no statistical difference in the chemotherapy-free group, the EP chemotherapy regimen and the temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy group in the 2-year and 5-year PFS and OS(P>0.05). The results of multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis showed that the residual, recurrence or metastasis before radiotherapy were independent prognostic factors affecting PFS(P

Background Brain metastasis is an important cause of breast cancer-related death. Aim We evaluated the relationships between breast cancer subtype and prognosis among patients with brain metastasis at the initial diagnosis. Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was searched to identify patients with brain metastasis from breast cancer between 2010 and 2015. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify factors that were associated with survival among patients with initial brain metastases. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to compare survival outcomes according to breast cancer subtype. Results Among 752 breast cancer patients with brain metastasis at diagnosis, 140 patients (18.6%) underwent primary surgery and 612 patients (81.4%) did not undergo surgery, while 460 patients (61.2%) received chemotherapy and 292 patients (38.8%) did not receive chemotherapy. Multivariable analysis revealed that, relative to HR+/HER2– breast cancer, HR–/HER2– breast cancer was associated with significantly poorer overall survival (hazard ratio: 2.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.99–3.21), independent of age, sex, race, marital status, insurance status, grade, liver involvement, lung involvement, primary surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The median overall survival intervals were 12 months for HR+/HER2−, 19 months for HR+/HER2+, 11 months for HR−/HER2+, and 6 months for HR–/HER2– ( P < .0001). Relative to HR+/HER2– breast cancer, HR–/HER2– breast cancer was associated with a significantly higher risk of mortality among patients, and the association was stronger among patients who received chemotherapy ( p for interaction = .005). Conclusions Breast cancer subtype significantly predicted overall survival among patients with brain metastasis at diagnosis.

This study focused on increasing the freezing rate in cell vitrification cryopreservation by using a cryopreservation container possessing rigid mechanical properties and high heat-transfer efficiency. Applying a fast freezing rate in vitrification cryopreservation causes a rapid temperature change in the cryopreservation container and has a substantial impact on mechanical properties; therefore, a highly rigid cryopreservation container that possesses a fast freezing rate must be developed. To produce a highly rigid cryopreservation container possessing superior heat transfer efficiency, this study applies an electrochemical machining (ECM) method to an ANSI 316L stainless steel tube to treat the surface material by polishing and roughening, thereby increasing the freezing rate and reducing the probability of ice crystal formation. The results indicated that the ECM method provided high-quality surface treatment of the stainless steel tube. This method can reduce internal surface roughness in the stainless steel tube, thereby reducing the probability of ice crystal formation, and increase external surface roughness, consequently raising convection heat-transfer efficiency. In addition, by thinning the stainless steel tube, this method reduces heat capacity and thermal resistance, thereby increasing the freezing rate. The freezing rate (3399 ± 197 °C/min) of a stainless steel tube after interior and exterior polishing and exterior etching by applying ECM compared with the freezing rate (1818 ± 54 °C/min) of an original stainless steel tube was increased by 87%, which also exceeds the freezing rate (2015 ± 49 °C/min) of an original quartz tube that has a 20% lower heat capacity. However, the results indicated that increasing heat-transferring surface areas and reducing heat capacities cannot effectively increase the freezing rate of a stainless steel tube if only one method is applied; instead, both techniques must be implemented concurrently to improve the freezing rate.