Background: The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on oncological outcomes in patients with locally advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the oncological outcomes of platinum-based NAC for locally advanced UTUC. Methods: A total of 426 patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy at five medical centers between January 1995 and April 2017 were examined retrospectively. Of 426, 234 patients were treated as a high-risk disease (cT3-4 or cNþ) with or without NAC. NAC regimens were selected based on eligibility of cisplatin. We retrospectively evaluated tumor response, post-therapy pathological downstaging, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and prognosis stratified by a NAC use. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed for independent factors for prognosis. Results: Of 234 patients, 101 patients received NAC (NAC group) and 133 patients did not (Ctrl group). The regimens in the NAC group included gemcitabine and carboplatin (75%), and gemcitabine and cisplatin (21%). Pathological downstaging in the primary tumor was significantly higher in the NAC group than in the Ctrl group. NAC for locally advanced UTUC significantly prolonged progression-free, cancer-specific survival. Multivariate Cox regression analysis using an inverse probability of treatment weighted (IPTW) method showed NAC was selected as an independent predictor for prolonged progression-free, cancer-specific survival. However, the influence of NAC on overall survival was not statistically significant.
We investigate the caesium concentrations in soils in mountain areas near Gori nuclear power plant in Korea, focusing on the measurement limits to the 134 Cs. In order to lower the minimum detectable amount (MDA) of activity for the 134 Cs, we have used the ammonium molybdophosphase (AMP) precipitation method to get rid of the 40 K existing in natural radioactivity, which reduces the MDA activity about ten times smaller than those without the AMP precipitation method. The MDA results for the 134 Cs were found to be in the range between 0.015 and 0.044 Bq/kg-dry weight. In order to diminish the background, we also have measured a part of the soil samples in Yangyang, a small town in the east coast of Korea. However, it turns out that in order to detect the 134 Cs in the samples the MDA should be reduced to the level of mBq/kg-dry weight.
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