Background:The prevalence of malnutrition is very high in patients with cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not a nutrition support team (NST) could benefit esophageal cancer patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy (CRT).Methods:Between June 2012 and April 2014, 50 esophageal cancer patients undergoing concurrent CRT were randomly assigned into two groups: The NST group and the control group. The nutritional statuses of 25 patients in the NST group were managed by the NST. The other 25 patients in the control group underwent the supervision of radiotherapy practitioners. At the end of the CRT, nutritional status, the incidence of complications, and completion rate of radiotherapy were evaluated. Besides, the length of hospital stay (LOS) and the in-patient cost were also compared between these two groups.Results:At the completion of CRF, the nutritional status in the NST group were much better than those in the control group, as evidenced by prealbumin (ALB), transferrin, and ALB parameters (P = 0.001, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively). The complication incidences, including bone marrow suppression (20% vs. 48%, P = 0.037) and complications related infections (12% vs. 44%, P = 0.012), in the NST group were lower and significantly different from the control group. In addition, only one patient in the NST group did not complete the planned radiotherapy while 6 patients in the control group had interrupted or delayed radiotherapy (96% vs. 76%, P = 0.103). Furthermore, the average LOS was decreased by 4.5 days (P = 0.001) and in-patient cost was reduced to 1.26 ± 0.75 thousand US dollars person-times (P > 0.05) in the NST group.Conclusions:A NST could provide positive effects in esophageal cancer patients during concurrent CRT on maintaining their nutrition status and improving the compliance of CRF. Moreover, the NST could be helpful on reducing LOS and in-patient costs.

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Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common type of esophageal cancer and is prevalent worldwide. Understanding the mechanisms underlying its formation and the search for more effective therapeutic strategies are critical due to the occurrence of chemotherapeutic drug resistance. The aim of the present study was to determine the functional relevance and therapeutic potential of carbohydrate sulfotransferase 15 (CHST15) in ESCC. CHST15 levels were measured in different ESCC cell lines and evaluated in ESCC tissues using tissue chip immunohistochemistry. Cell growth and apoptosis assays, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays, and clonogenic assays were conducted using TE-1 cells and lenti-shCHST15 virus constructs were used to investigate the function of CHST15 in cell proliferation and apoptosis. mRNA microarray analysis was performed to determine the underlying mechanism of CHST15 regulation in TE-1 cell proliferation and apoptosis. The results showed that knockdown of CHST15 inhibited TE-1 cell growth and proliferation, but induced cell apoptosis. CHST15 was more frequently detected in ESCC tissue compared with that in normal esophageal tissue. Microarray data analysis indicated that the inhibition of cell proliferation and activation of cell apoptosis in CHST15-knockdown cells may be caused by altered CHST15/ILKAP/CCND1 and CHST15/RABL6/PMAIP1 signaling axes, respectively.

Radiation therapy is crucial for curative treatment of lung cancer, which frequently leads to lung injury. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a group of RNAs longer than 200 nucleotides and lack protein-coding capacity. Increasing evidences demonstrate the important roles of lncRNAs in biological processes. However, the mechanism underlying the association of ionizing radiation with alterations in mRNA and lncRNA expression and lung injury remains unclear. In our study, the male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were exposed to a dose of 18 Gy of 6 MV X-ray and the transcriptome spectrum was studied. To identify the differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs induced by X-ray, the RNA sequencing data of lung tissues from irradiated and normal rats for 4, 8, and 16 weeks were analyzed, using |log2_ratio| ≥ 1 and q ≤ 0.05 as thresholds for significantly differential expression. The number of differentially expressed mRNAs was 1097 (686 up- and 411 down-) for 4-week radiotherapy group, 3006 (1935 up- and 1071 down-) for 8-week group and 1838 (1178 up- and 660 down-) for 16-week group. There were 606 (279 up- and 327 down-) differentially expressed lncRNAs in 4-week group, 1715 (831 up- and 884 down-) in 8-week group and 1043 (656 up- and 387 down-) in 16-week group. The differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly involved in cell cycle regulation and Fc receptor pathway, while the lncRNA target genes were significantly enriched in cellular stress response and regulation of cell migration. Moreover, compared with the control group, the irradiated group presented higher tissue specificity of lncRNAs. Radiation-induced lung injury, especially the dynamic network of lncRNAs and mRNAs, is worthy of study. Investigation on the regulatory details of related pathways is significant for the prevention of radiation-related lung injury, as well as the improvement of radiation therapy.

Background The potential of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a reliable biomarker for relapse/metastasis early detection and prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy (RT/CRT) initiation requires comprehensive investigation. Methods Treatment‐naive locally advanced ESCC patients with available baseline plasma samples were prospectively enrolled from November 2018 to January 2020. RT/CRT was delivered with a simultaneous integrated boost of radiation dose. Serial plasma samples were collected at baseline (T0), week 4 of RT/CRT (T1), 1‐3 (T2) and 3‐6 months post‐RT/CRT (T3). ctDNA was analysed using next‐generation sequencing of 474 cancer‐relevant genes. Results A total of 128 plasma samples from 40 eligible patients were analysed (median age: 64 [range: 40‐78], 88% males, 95% stage III/IV), and the median follow‐up time was 20.6 months (range: 12.2‐33.3). During the post‐RT/CRT surveillance including 36 patients, radiological progression was observed in 16 patients, and 69% (11/16) had detectable post‐RT/CRT ctDNA prior to radiological progression, with a median lead time of 4.4 months compared with radiological imaging. ctDNA positivity at T1 (hazard ratio, HR: 3.60, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.30‐10.01) or T2 (HR: 5.45, 95% CI: 1.72‐17.26) indicated inferior progression‐free survival (PFS). ctDNA clearance between T0‐T1 (HR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.08‐1.13) or T0‐T2 (HR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.02‐0.61) was associated with relatively favourable PFS. Similar results were obtained when focusing on patients without esophagectomy after RT/CRT. Notably, detectable ctDNA at T1 was a potential indicator of high local recurrence risks (HR: 4.43, 95% CI: 1.31‐15.04). Conclusions ctDNA was identified as a robust biomarker for early detection of disease progression and post‐RT/CRT prognosis stratification in ESCC. Detectable ctDNA at week 4 of RT/CRT might indicate higher local recurrence risks, implying the potential clinical utility of ctDNA tests in guiding post‐RT/CRT treatments for locoregional control in ESCC.