This MR-based, vendor-independent model can be helpful for predicting pCR probability in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients only using pre-treatment imaging.

It has been suggested that pre-procedural oral simethicone improves visibility in upper GI tract endoscopy. We examined three-hundred-thirty patients referred for upper endoscopy who were randomized and were required to swallow a placebo solution or one of three liquid simethicone solutions 15 min prior to the examination. These solutions contained 65 mg, 65 mg and 195 mg of drug dissolved in 90 ml, 30 ml and 90 ml of water, respectively. Patients treated with both dosages of simethicone revealed significantly less foam and bubbles in both the stomach and the duodenum compared to placebo. Only the 90 ml volume adequately cleared both locations. The reduction of examination time could be found both in patients with an intact stomach and in patients with or without gastric bile reflux, but was most striking in patients with previous gastric resection (examination time being reduced by almost 50% and the need of adjunctive lavage being reduced about 20 fold compared to placebo). In conclusion, pre-procedural oral simethicone should be routinely considered in patients with previous gastric resection. The utility of the drug is less evident in patients with normal gastric anatomy.

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Background and purpose: An early tumor regression index (ERI TCP) was previously introduced and found to predict pathological response after neo-adjuvant radio-chemotherapy of rectal cancer. ERI TCP was tested as a potential biomarker in predicting long-term disease-free survival. Materials and methods: Data of 65 patients treated with an early regression-guided adaptive boosting technique (ART) were available. Overall, loco-regional relapse-free and distant metastasis-free survival (OS, LRFS, DMFS) were considered. Patients received 41.4 Gy in 18 fractions (2.3 Gy/fr), including ART concomitant boost on the residual GTV during the last 6 fractions (3 Gy/fr, D mean : 45.6 Gy). Chemotherapy included oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). T2-weighted MRI taken before (MRI pre) and at half therapy (MRI half) were available and GTVs were contoured (V pre , V half). The parameter ERI TCP = Àln[(1 À (V half /V pre)) Vpre ] was calculated for all patients. Cox regression models were assessed considering several clinical and histological variables. Cox models not including/including ERI TCP (CONV_model and REGR_model respectively) were assessed and their discriminative power compared. Results: At a median follow-up of 47 months, OS, LRFS and DMFS were 94%, 95% and 78%. Due to too few events, multivariable analyses focused on DMFS: the resulting CONV_model included pathological complete remission or clinical complete remission followed by surgery refusal (HR: 0.15, p = 0.07) and 5-FU dose >90% (HR: 0.29, p = 0.03) as best predictors, with AUC = 0.75. REGR_model included ERI TCP (HR: 1.019, p < 0.0001) and 5-FU dose >90% (HR: 0.18, p = 0.005); AUC was 0.86, significantly higher than CONV_model (p = 0.05). Stratifying patients according to the best cutoff value for ERI TCP and to 5-FU dose (> vs <90%) resulted in 47-month DMFS equal to 100%/69%/0% for patients with two/one/zero positive factors respectively (p = 0.0002). ERI TCP was also the only variable significantly associated to OS (p = 0.01) and LRFS (p = 0.03). Conclusion: ERI TCP predicts long-term DMFS after radio-chemotherapy for rectal cancer: an independent impact of the 5-FU dose was also found. This result represents a first step toward application of ERI TCP in treatment personalization: additional confirmation on independent cohorts is warranted.

HighlightsMost recurrences occurred within the primary tumor or initially affected lymph nodes.All sites of loco-regional recurrence had received 92–106% of the prescribed dose.No isolated nodal failure occurred, supporting the use of selective nodal irradiation.

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Objectives We aimed to assess extracellular volume (ECV) through non-gated, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) before and after radiation therapy (RT) in patients with esophageal cancer (EC). Materials and methods EC patients who had undergone CT before and after RT were retrospectively assessed. Patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease or with heavily artifacted CT were excluded. ECV was calculated using density values for the myocardial septum and blood pool. Data were reported as mean and standard deviation or median and interquartile range according to their distribution; t test or Wilcoxon and Pearson r or Spearman ρ were subsequently used. Results Twenty-one patients with stage ≥ IB EC, aged 64 ± 18 years, were included. Mean and maximum RT doses were 21.2 Gy (16.9–24.1) and 42.5 Gy (41.8–49.2), respectively. At baseline (n = 21), hematocrit was 39% ± 4%, ECV 27.9% ± 3.5%; 35 days (30–38) after RT (n = 20), hematocrit was 36% ± 4%, lower than at baseline (p = 0.002), ECV 30.3% ± 8.3%, higher than at baseline (p = 0.081); at follow-up 420 days (244–624) after RT (n = 13), hematocrit was 36% ± 5%, lower than at baseline (p = 0.030), ECV 31.4% ± 4.5%, higher than at baseline (p = 0.011). No patients showed signs of overt cardiotoxicity. ECV early after RT was moderately positively correlated with maximum RT dose (ρ = 0.50, p = 0.036). Conclusions In EC patients, CT-derived myocardial ECV was increased after RT and may thus appear as a potential early biomarker of cardiotoxicity.