Cervical and upper thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinomas are associated with bad outcome. Studies with bigger sample sizes are required to define best treatment strategies.

PurposeDysphagia is a common initial presentation in locally advanced esophageal cancer and negatively impacts patient quality of life and treatment compliance. To induce fast relief of dysphagia in patients with potentially operable esophageal cancer high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy was applied prior to definitive radiochemotherapy.Material and methodsIn this single arm phase II clinical trial between 2013 to 2014 twenty patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (17 squamous cell and 3 adenocarcinoma) were treated with upfront 10 Gy HDR brachytherapy, followed by 50.4 Gy external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and concurrent chemotherapy with cisplatin/5-fluorouracil.ResultsTumor response, as measured by endoscopy and/or computed tomography scan, revealed complete remission in 16 and partial response in 4 patients (overall response rate 100%). Improvement of dysphagia was induced by brachytherapy within a few days and maintained up to the end of treatment in 80% of patients. No differences in either response rate or dysphagia resolution were found between squamous cell and adenocarcinoma histology. The grade 2 and 3 acute pancytopenia or bicytopenia reported in 4 patients, while sub-acute adverse effects with painful ulceration was seen in five patients, occurring after a median of 2 months. A perforation developed in one patient during the procedure of brachytherapy that resolved successfully with immediate surgery.ConclusionsBrachytherapy before EBRT was a safe and effective procedure to induce rapid and durable relief from dysphagia, especially when combined with EBRT.

Objectives: Many patients with breast cancer (BC) require cardiotoxic anthracycline-based chemotherapy. We intended to assess the early cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin utilizing cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Material and Methods: Forty-nine patients including 21 otherwise healthy females with BC at a mean age (±SD) of 47.62 ± 9.07 years and 28 normal controls at a mean age (±SD) of 45.18 ± 4.29 years were recruited. They underwent CMR and transthoracic echocardiography at baseline and 7 days after four biweekly cycles of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. Biventricular functional, volumetric, global strain, and tissue characterization findings were analyzed and compared with those of 28 controls. Results: In post-chemotherapy CMR, 4 patients (19.04%), three symptomatic and one asymptomatic, exhibited evidence of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. Significant differences in biventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-systolic volume index, and all 3D global strain values were noted after chemotherapy in comparison with the baseline (all P < 0.05). More than half of the study population showed a significant change in all right ventricular global strain values. One patient (4.76%) exhibited evidence of diffuse myocardial edema in post-chemotherapy CMR, and 3 patients (14.28%) showed myocardial fibrosis. The study participants were clinically followed up for 4–10 months (mean = 7 months). Overall, 8 patients (38.09%) complained of dyspnea on exertion and fatigue on follow-up. None of the CMR markers was associated with the development of symptoms. Conclusion: Our investigation revealed striking changes in CMR parameters in the follow-up of BC patients treated with cardiotoxic chemotherapy. These exclusive CMR features assist in the early initiation of preventive cardiac strategies.

Background: Ewing Sarcoma Family of Tumors (ESFTs) is the second most common primary tumors of bone in childhood. The decision regarding the op mal modality for achieving local tumor control remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to report the clinical features and outcome as well as reviewing risk factors in pa ents. Materials and Methods: This retrospec ve study included 75 ESFTs pa ents who were treated at cancer ins tute between 2004 and 2009. Files of all pa ents with ESFTs were reviewed retrospec vely and we called them for follow up. Specific data were collected with regard to the age at diagnosis, gender, tumor site and size, clinical stage, surgical procedure, plan of radiotherapy and treatment outcome (5-year and median survival). Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 21 that ranged from 1 to 52 years (SD = 9.6). The mean tumor size at diagnosis was 4.8±4.48 cm. The percent of biopsy only, par al and complete resec on was 54.7% (41 pa ents), 6.7% (5 pa ents) and 37.3% (28 pa ents) respec vely. Radiotherapy was done as defini ve treatment or postopera vely (adjuvant) in 46 (61.3%) and 16 (21.4%) pa ents respec vely. Overall 5 year survival was 24% and median survival for pa ents with and without metastases was 21±17 and 75±10 months. Conclusion: Presence of metastases, age at diagnosis, posi ve surgical margin and tumor size were the prognos c factors that influenced outcome of pa ents. This study suggests that radia on therapy is an acceptable local treatment modality in pa ents with Ewing sarcoma family.Keywords: Ew ing sarcom a, radiotherapy, m ultim odality treatm ent.

Background: Cervical cancer, the most common gynecological cancer, is a matter of concern, especially in developing countries. The present study investigates survival rates, associated factors, and post-treatment follow-up status in cervical cancer patients. Study Design: A retrospective cohort study. Methods: This study was conducted on 187 patients referred to an academic referral cancer center in Iran from 2014-2020. Overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were evaluated using Kaplan Meyer analysis. The event was defined as recurrence, metastasis, or death. Results: The patients came for post-treatment visits for a median of 36 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 18-51). The median OS and EFS were 24 and 18 months, respectively. The 1- and 3- year OS rates were 90% and 72%, respectively. The 1- and 3- year EFS rates were 76% and 61%, respectively. Stage≥III (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5, 6.5, P<0.001) and tumor size>4 cm (HR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.9, P=0.006) predicted lower OS. The most common histopathology was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (71.1%) with non-significant higher 3- year OS (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.33, 1.16, P=0.13). No significant difference in OS was found between adjuvant and definitive radiotherapy in both early and advance-staged patients (Log-rank=0.7 P=0.4, log-rank=1.6, P=0.2, respectively). Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, the survival of patients was lower compared to that in developed countries. Higher stage and tumor size led to shorter survival. The histopathology and type of treatment in comparable stages did not have any significant impact on survival.