Objectives Definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (ccrt) is currently a therapeutic option for locally advanced esophageal cancer. However, clinical practice differs with respect to the target volume for irradiation. The purpose of the present study was to analyze failure patterns and survival, and to determine the feasibility of using involved-field irradiation (ifi) with concurrent chemotherapy for T4 squamous cell carcinoma (scc) of the esophagus.Methods Between January 2003 and January 2013, 56 patients with clinical T4M0 scc of the esophagus received ccrt using ifi. The radiation field included the primary tumour and clinically involved lymph nodes. Target volumes and sites of failure were analyzed, as were treatment-related toxicity and survival time.Results In this 56-patient cohort, 13 patients (23.2%) achieved a complete response, and 21 (37.5%) achieved a partial response, for a total response rate of 60.7%. The major toxicities experienced were leucocytopenia and esophagitis, with 14 patients (25.0%) experiencing grade 3 toxicities. At a median follow-up of 34 months, 48 patients (85.7%) had experienced failure: 39 (69.6%) in-field, 7 (12.5%) elective nodal, and 19 (33.9%) distant. Only 1 patient (1.8%) experienced isolated elective nodal failure. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 39.3%, 21.4%, and 12.5% respectively. ConclusionsFor patients with T4M0 scc of the esophagus, definitive ccrt using ifi resulted in an acceptable rate of isolated elective nodal failure and an overall survival comparable to that achieved with elective nodal irradiation. A limited radiation therapy target volume, including only clinically involved lesions, would therefore be a feasible choice for this patient subgroup.

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Photoreflectance (PR) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques were used to characterize the AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) wafers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The line shape of the PR GaAs signal is closely related to the cleanliness of the MBE system. The Franz–Keldysh oscillations of the GaAs signal become sharper, well defined, and the oscillation amplitude increases slightly as the MBE system is cleaned up. The dc current gain of the HBT devices was observed to increase accordingly. The origin for this correlation is discussed. The PL spectra of the HBT device wafers indicate that the intensity of the free-to-bound transition corresponding to the donor to valence band becomes strong in high gain device wafers.

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Background: Sintilimab + docetaxel showed encouraging efficacy and tolerable safety profile in advanced Chinese NSCLC pts who had failed first-line therapy. This study aims to explore potential circulating biomarker(s), especially dynamics of ctDNA, predicting therapeutic response and long-term outcome.Methods: Advanced NSCLC pts who had failed standard platinum doublet or EGFR-TKI without receiving any ICIs before would be enrolled in this single-arm phase II study. Docetaxel (75mg/m2, day 1) + Sintilimab (200mg, day 3) every 3 weeks for 4-6 cycles followed by Sintilimab maintenance were prescribed until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or up to 2 years. 10 mL blood would be drawn from each patient immediately after enrollment (baseline, C0D0) and after two cycles of treatment. ctDNA was detected via a 448-gene panel. bTMB was calculated as the number of mutations divided by sequence length (1.16Mb). Positivity was defined as 2 somatic variants, 1 somatic variant within a sample was considered negative. Clonality was defined as AF/AFmax 50%.Results: Pts with positive ctDNA after 2 courses of treatment (at 6 th week) displayed inferior prognosis (mPFS, 91d vs NR, ctDNA (+) vs ctDNA (-) after 2 treatment courses respectively, P < 0.0001; mOS, 147d vs 467d, P ¼ 0.0039). Irrespective of driver mutations (EGFR, ERBB2 in this study), ctDNA residual at 6 th week was an independent risk factor for progression or death (HR ¼ 100 [4.10-2503.00], P ¼ 0.005, Cox Regression). Furtherly, clearance of clonal mutations and no clonal formation at 6 th week were associated with longer PFS (mPFS 89d vs 266d, ], P ¼ 0.003); Clearance of clonal mutations was associated with longer OS (mOS 147d vs 467d, HR ¼ 7. 01 [1.30-37.69], P ¼ 0.0048). Baseline bTMB was not associated with the efficacy of Sintilimab+ Docetaxel treatment.Conclusions: ctDNA residual, as well as dynamics of clonality in ctDNA could predict long-term clinical benefit of sintilimab + docetaxel in pts with previously treated advanced NSCLC, irrespective of driver mutations as well as bTMB. Further validation of ctDNA residual and dynamics of clonality as robust predictive biomarkers is warranted.