Pay attention to the rehabilitation of cancer patients--Excerpts of the 2013 NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship

For some survivors, the consequences of cancer are minimal; these patients can return to a normal life after the completion of treatment. In fact, a majority of cancer survivors report being in good general health and experience good to excellent quality of life. A recent review suggests that at least 50% of survivors suffer from some late effects of cancer treat ment. The most common problems in cancer survivors are depression, pain, and fatigue. The guidelines suggest the following standards for survivorship care： （1） prevention of new and recurrent cancers and other late effects; （2） surveillance for cancer spread, recurrence, or second cancers; （3） assessment of late psychosocial and medical effects; （4） intervention for consequences of cancer and treatment （eg, medical problems, symptoms, psychologic distress, financial and social concerns）; and （5） coordination of care between primary care providers and specialists to ensure that all of the survivor＇s health needs are met. The NCCN Survivorship Panel hopes that these guidelines can help both oncologic and primary health care profession als lessen the burden left on survivors by their cancer experience so they can transition back to a rewarding life.     

A dosimetric comparison between 3D-Conformal radiation therapy and intensity modulated radiation therapy plans in the treatment of posterior fossa boost in children with high risk medulloblastom

Objective： The work is a comparative study between two modalities of radiation therapy, the aim of which is to compare 3D conformal radiation therapy （3D-CRT） and intensity modulated radiation therapy （IMRT） in treating posterior fossa boost in children with high risk medulloblastorna; dosimetrically evaluating and comparing both techniques as regard target coverage and doses to organs at risk （OAR）. Methods： Twenty patients with high risk medulloblastoma were treated by 3D-CRT technique. A dosimetric comparison was done by performing two plans for the posterior fossa boost, 3D-CRT and IMRT plans, for the same patient using Eclipse planning system （version 8.6）. Results： IMRT had a better conformity index compared to 3D-CRT plans （P value of 0.000）. As for the dose homogeneity it was also better in the IMRT plans, yet it hasn＇t reached the statistical significant value. Also, doses received by the cochleae, brainstem and spinal cord were significantly less in the IMRT plans than those of 3D-CRT （P value 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： IMRT technique was clearly able to improve conformity and homogeneity index, spare the cochleae, reduce dose to the brainstem and spinal cord in comparison to 3D- CRT technique.     

Intravenous preemptive analgesia modifies the distribution of lymphocyte subsets after radical mastectomy

Objective： In this study, we evaluated the effect of preemptive analgesia of flurbiprofen axetil （FA） and tramadol on immune response in patients undergoing radical mastectomy. Methods： In this prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 80 patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups （n = 20）. The FA group （group A） patients received FA before tracheal intubation and at the end of surgery. The tramadol group （group B） patients received tramadol before tracheal intubation and at the end of surgery. The control group （group C） patients received saline before tracheal intubation and at the end of surgery. The combination group （group D） patients received FA and tramadol before tracheal intubation and at the end of surgery. Cluster of differentiation and lymphocytes were measured. Results： The CD3, CD4, CD8 and lymphocytes decreased postoperatively of all groups except of group A and D at 0.5 h postoperatively （P 〈 0.05）. The CD3, CD4, CD8 and lymphocytes of group D were higher than those of group C at 0.5 h and 4 h postoperatively （P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： Preemptive analgesia using flurbiprofen axetil （FA） and tramadol may protect the immune system. The immune protective effect of FA may be better than that of tramadol. The combination of FA and tramadol may be the most effective among all the strategies.     

Impact of resveratrol on the expression of apoptosis related gene survivin and bax in human cancer cells

Objective： We explored the mechanism of apoptosis in human esophageal cancer Ecal09 cells by resveratrol. Methods： The suppressive ratio of resveratrol on Ecal09 cells proliferation was evaluated by MTT colorimetric assay and morphology was observed by transmission electron microscope. The expression of survivin and bax was analyzed by RT-PCR and Flow Cytometry （FCM）. Results： Resveratrol inhibited the growth of Ecal09 calls in a dose-and time-dependent man- ner, and the suppressive ratio arrived at 76.42%. Morphological apoptosis could be observed after treated with resveratrol.The bulk of some drug-treated cells turned small and the nuclear chromatin became condensed and rnarginated. The results determined by RT-PCR and FCM showed that resveratrol could down-regulate surviving, while up-regulate bax. Conclusion： Resveratrol could induce the apoptosis of human esophageal cancer Ecal09 cells, and its possible molecular mechanisms might be related to modulation the expression of survivin and bax.     

The latest advances of experimental research on targeted gene therapy for prostate cancer

The absence of effective therapies for castration-resistant prostate cancer （CRPC） establishes the need to de- velop novel therapeutic modality, such as targeted gene therapy, which is ideal for the treatment of CRPC. But its application has been limited due to lack of favorable gene vector and the reduction of ＂bystander effect＂. Consequently, scientists all over the world focus their main experimental research on the following four aspects： targeted gene, vector, transfer means and comprehensive therapy. In this paper, we reviewed the latest advances of experimental research on targeted gene therapy for prostate cancer.