Abstract Purpose: We investigated whether blockage the Transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß signaling ameliorated established liver radiation-induced liver fibrosis (RILF). Materials and Methods: A replication-defective adenoviral vector expressing the extracellular portion of mouse TßRII and the Fc portion of human immunoglobulin IgG fusion protein(AdT RIIFc) was produced. The entire liver was exposed to 30 Gy irradiation to generate a RILF model (RILFM). Then, RILFM animals were treated with AdT RIIFc (1× 1011 PFU, TßRII), Control virus (1×1011 PFU, AdGFP), or saline (SALIN). Delayed radiation liver injury was assessed using histology, morphometry, and immunohistochemistry. Chronic oxidative stress damage, hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation, and hepatocyte regeneration were also analyzed. Results: Blocking TGF-ß signaling with AdT RIIFc successfully mitigated established radiation induced liver fibrosis (RILF). Compared with RILFM or AdGFP rats, AdT RIIFc-treated mice exhibited less oxidative stress damage, less HSC activation, preserved liver function. Conclusions: Modulation of TGF-ß with AdT RIIFc is feasible and ameliorates established radiation-induced liver fibrosis. These data confirm the putative role of TGF-ß in delayed radiation-induced liver damage. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-208.
To investigate the potential impact of fractionation regimes and overall treatment time (OTT) on lymphopenia during definitive radiotherapy (RT) and its associations with patient outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Subjects consisted of 115 patients who had received definitive chemoradiation therapy (CRT) with different doses and fractions for unresectable stage III NSCLC. Clinical and laboratory records were reviewed to assess the changes in total lymphocyte counts (TLCs) during definitive RT. The associations of the TLCs with the clinical and treatment features, and outcomes were analyzed.The median reduction of TLCs in the entire cohort was 1300 cells/μL (interquartile range [IQR], 950-1510 cells/μL). Of all patients, 63 (54.8%) experienced severe lymphopenia (SL) (TLC nadir < 500 cells/μL), which occurred at a median of the 5th week following RT initiation, not at the completion of RT or upon treatment with maximal doses. SL risk was increased over the first 5 weeks (odds ratio [OR] = 3.455, P = 0.007), after which, no increased risk was observed (OR = 0.562, P = 0.216). The median TLCs remained low and failed to recover to the initial normal values of their pre-RT level after 2 months of RT completion. Patients without SL exhibited significantly improved progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.544, P = 0.010) and overall survival (HR = 0.463, P = 0.011) after controlling for confounding variables in multivariate analyses. The incidence of SL was significantly lower (71.1% reduction in risk (OR = 0.289, P = 0.007)) in patients who received hypofractionated RT with an OTT within 4 weeks, compared to those who had an OTT of more than 4 weeks (32.1% vs 62.1%, P = 0.006). Multivariate analyses revealed that OTT within 4 weeks (OR = 0.322, P = 0.032) was significantly associated with a decreased risk of developing SL after controlling for confounding factors.Hypofractionated RT was significantly associated with a decreased risk of SL and improved survival during definitive radiotherapy for unresectable stage III NSCLC.
Abstract Objective: It remains unclear whether adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) improves survival outcome of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients after surgery. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil (S-1)-based adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy in resected PDAC patients with defined high-risk pathological features. Methods: We conducted a single-arm, prospective, and interventional study at Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University from December 2012 to December 2019 and the last follow-up was conducted in December 2021. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University on December 27, 2012 (approval No. B2012-139). Resected PDAC patients with high-risk pathological features, including positive resection margin, pathological T3-4N1-2M0 disease, peripancreatic fat invasion, microvascular invasion, and perineural invasion, were recruited. Primary endpoint was overall survival and secondary endpoints were disease-free survival, treatment toxicity, and 2-, 5-year survival rates. Results: A total of 54 patients were recruited. Mean age was 63.6 years old (±7.2). The distribution of T and N stages were 24.1% for T1, 46.3% for T2, 27.8% for T3, 1.9% for T4, 33.3% for N1, and 11.1% for N2. Seven patients had R1 resection. The median overall survival and disease-free survival were 27.1 and 13.7 months, respectively, while no fatal adverse events were recorded. Subgroup analyses showed differences in survival outcomes among patients with microvascular invasion, different N stages, and preoperative CA 19-9 levels. Further, a Cox proportional hazard model demonstrated associations of lymph node metastases, CA 19-9 level, and microvascular invasion with overall survival and disease-free survival. Conclusion: S-1-based adjuvant CRT showed promising efficacy and manageable toxicity in resected PDAC patients with high-risk pathological features.
Abstract Background: To address the need for immunotherapy in patients with advanced primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), combination with radiotherapy (RT) has emerged as a promising strategy. In preclinical studies, irradiated tumors released tumor antigens to synergistically increase the antitumor effect of immunotherapy. Hence, we investigated whether RT enhances the efficacy of anti-programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitors in advanced HCC in real-world practice. Methods: Between August 2018 and June 2021, 172 patients with advanced primary HCC were enrolled in the tertiary center (Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University); 95 were treated with a combination of RT and the inhibitor of PD-1 (RT-PD1 cohort), and 77 were administered anti-PD-1 therapy (PD1 cohort). The first cycle of PD-1 inhibitors was administered within 60 days or concurrently with RT. Propensity score matching for bias reduction was used to evaluate the clinical outcomes. Results: Among 71 propensity-matched pairs, median progression-free survival was 5.7 months in the RT-PD1 cohort vs. 2.9 months in the PD1 cohort ( P <0.001). Median overall survival was 20.9 months in the RT-PD1 cohort vs. 11.2 months in the PD1 cohort ( P = 0.018). Compared with patients in the PD1 cohort, patients in the RT-PD1 cohort had significantly higher objective response rates (40.8%, 29/71 vs. 19.7%, 14/71, P = 0.006) and disease control rates (62.0%, 44/71 vs. 31.0%, 22/71, P <0.001). The incidences of toxic effects were not significantly different between the two cohorts. Conclusions: RT plus anti-PD-1 therapy is well tolerated. RT enhances the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy in patients with advanced primary HCC by improving survival outcomes without increased toxic effects.