Multi-institutional feasibility study of intensity-modulated radiotherapy with chemotherapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

International Journal of Clinical Oncology - This multi-institutional clinical trial evaluated the feasibility of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for patients with locally advanced...     

Establishment of epigenetic markers to predict irradiation efficacy against oropharyngeal cancer

Irradiation, or chemoradiotherapy, is a curative treatment for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Its invasiveness, however, can often negate its efficacy. Therefore, developing methods to predict which patients would benefit from irradiation is urgent. Promoter DNA hypermethylation was recently reported to correlate with favorable OPSCC prognosis. It is still unclear, however, whether there is an association between promoter DNA methylation and response to irradiation. In this study, we analyzed DNA methylation in the specimens from 40 OPSCC patients who had undergone irradiation, using the Infinium assay. Our results showed significant correlation between high levels of promoter DNA methylation and better response to treatment (P < 0.01). We used the 10 most differentially‐methylated genes between responders and non–responders to develop a panel of predictive markers for efficacy. Our panel had high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy (92%, 93% and 93%, respectively). We conducted pyrosequencing to quantitatively validate the methylation levels of 8 of the 10 marker genes (ROBO1, ULK4P3, MYOD1, LBX1, CACNA1A, IRX4, DPYSL3 and ELAVL2) obtained by Infinium. The validation by pyrosequencing showed that these 8 genes had a high prediction performance for the training set of 40 specimens and for a validation set of 35 OPSCC specimens, showing 96% sensitivity, 89% specificity and 94% accuracy. Methylation of these markers correlated significantly with better progression‐free and overall survival rates, regardless of human papillomavirus status. These results indicate that increased DNA methylation is associated with better responses to irradiation therapy and that DNA methylation can help establish efficacy prediction markers in OPSCC.     

Is there a correlation between arthroscopic findings and the clinical signs and symptoms of patients with internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint? A prospective study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between clinical signs and symptoms of patients with internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and arthroscopic findings. The study included a sample of 67 patients who underwent TMJ arthroscopy. The variables evaluated were the arthroscopic findings of synovitis, chondromalacia, adhesion, and roofing. The Spearman correlation index was used to correlate these findings with the clinical signs and symptoms of internal derangement of the TMJ, namely maximum mouth opening, pain (visual analogue scale, VAS), and the Wilkes classification. The mean age of the population was 36.16 years, and 85% were female. There was a correlation between pain and synovitis (P = 0.0029, r = 0.3508), between mouth opening limitation and the amount of adhesion (P = 0.0004, r = ?0.4084), and between Wilkes classification and the presence of chondromalacia and disc displacement (P = 0.001, r = 0.374 and P = 0.0045, r = ?0.3357, respectively). No correlation was found between age and the presence of chondromalacia (P = 0.3444, r = 0.1147). Patients who had worse pain symptoms had more advanced stages of synovitis, and the increased presence of adhesions was associated with limitations in mouth opening. Furthermore, those with more advanced Wilkes stages had greater disc displacement and more severe stages of chondromalacia.     

Role of Social Support in the Relationship Between Financial Strain and Frequency of Exercise Among Older Japanese: A 19-year Longitudinal Study

BackgroundPrevious studies have reported that financial strain has deleterious effects on healthy behaviors. Moreover, social support is expected to mitigate these effects, but few studies have investigated the effects of exercise; thus, the investigation can deepen our understanding of the relationship between social support and physical activity/exercise. We examined the relationship between financial strain and frequency of exercise, and the role of social support in this relationship in old age.MethodsData came from a 19-year longitudinal study conducted between 1987 and 2006 of Japanese adults aged 60 or more with up to seven repeated observations. Frequency of exercise was assessed using a four-point scale. Financial strain was measured using the responses to three questions related to financial condition. This study considered both emotional and instrumental supports. Covariates included demographic and socioeconomic factors, health behaviors, and health condition.ResultsThe analysis included 3,911 participants. The results of a generalized estimation equation model showed that among females, greater financial strain in the previous wave was associated with reduced frequency of exercise (b = −0.018; 95% confidence interval, −0.032 to −0.004), and that as financial strain increased, those who received more instrumental support engaged in less exercise than those who received less support (b = −0.009; 95% confidence interval, −0.017 to −0.002). These relationships were not observed among males.ConclusionThis study provides evidence that financial strain is negatively correlated with frequency of exercise among older females. In addition, instrumental support is negatively correlated with frequency of exercise among females under financial strain.Key words: financial strain, social support, exercise, panel data analysis, old age