Abstract. The metastatic lymph node status (N classification) is an important prognostic factor for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the prognostic assessment of three different lymph node staging methods, namely standard lymph node (pN) staging, metastatic lymph node ratio (LNR) and log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) in CRC patients who undergo curative resection (R0). Data were retrospectively collected from 192 patients who had undergone R0 resection. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, Cox proportional hazards model and accuracy of the three methods (pN, LNR and LODDS) were compared to evaluate the prognostic effect. Univariate analysis demonstrated that pN, LNR and LODDS were all significantly correlated with survival (P=0.001, P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). The final result of the 3-step multivariate analysis demonstrated that LODDS was superior to the other two N categories. Patients in the same pN or LNR classifications may be classified into different LODDS stages with different prognoses. Thus, LODDS may be a meaningful prognostic indicator and superior to the pN and LNR classifications in CRC patients who undergo curative (R0) resection.

MRPWI of the liver does not only show the anatomy of HCC lesions but also reflects hemodynamic changes of HCC before and after TACE to a certain extent. It is very useful for clinical evaluation of the efficacy of TACE for HCC.

Objective: To investigate the treatment effectiveness and side effects of stereotactic radiotherapy for brain glioma. Methods : From Jun. 1995 to Dec. 1998 cases of brain gliomas were treated by stereotactic radiotherapy, among which 151 cases were treated by stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and the other 238 cases, by fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT). In the SRS group, the marginal tumor dose was 20 to 30 Gy (median, 2.6 Gy). One to 6 isocenters (median, 2.48) and 5 to 21 irradiation arcs (median, 8.45) were applied. In the FSRT group, the per-fraction marginal tumor dose was 8 to 12 Gy with 1 to 6 isocenters (median, 2.53), 6 to 20 irradiation arcs (median, 8.25) and 2-5 fractions delivered everyday or every other day. Results: Three months after treatment, the complete and partial response rates were 13.9% and 45.7% in SRS group respectively. The stable disease rate was 17.2%. The total effective rate was 76.8%. In FSRT group, the complete and partial remission rates were 19.7% and 47.9% respectively. The stable disease rate was 20.6%. The total effective rate was 88.2%. The total effective rate of FSRT group was higher than that in SRS group (χ 2 =9.874, P =0.020). The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rate of all patients was 54.3%, 29.3%, 16.5% respectively. The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rate in SRS group and FSRT group was 52.3% vs 26.5%, 11.9% vs 55.5%, and 31.1 vs 19.3% respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups (χ 2 =2.16, P =0.1417). The brain edema caused by the main radiation was more severe in the SRS group than in FSRT group (χ 2 =4.916, P =0.027). Conclusion: It is effective for brain glioma to be treated by stereotactic radiotherapy. Compared with SRS, the FSRT has the advantage of good effect and less side response.