Choi KH, et al. J Gynecol Oncol. 2018 Aug;30(1):e1. https://doi.org/10.3802/jgo.2019.30.e1

Purpose Quality assessment of breast cancer treatment in South Korea showed the upward standardization of the grade since 2013, but treatment disparities still have existed. This study analyzed the five year trend between 2013 and 2017 in the assessment of breast cancer treatment practice using the Korean health insurance data.Materials and Methods All the medical records including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy for 7,354 patients a year on average were evaluated. Twenty indices were consisted of one structural, 17 process-related, and 2 result-related factors. We calculated the coefficient of variation (CV) annually to determine the variation in adherence rate of evaluation indices according to the type of institution (advanced vs. general hospital vs. clinic).Results Based on the initial assessment in 2013, 10 out of 20 indicators showed significant variation among the types of institutions with a CV of less than 0.1%. Six of them had a CV decline of less than 0.1%. The CV was still 0.1% or higher in the four indicators, including the composition of professional staff, the implementation of target therapy, the average length of hospital stay, and the hospitalization cost. Regarding the first-grade of assessment, there was a statistically significant relationship between the institution type (p=0.029) and region (metropolitan vs. province, p<0.001).Conclusion There were disparities in the structural and systemic treatment factors depending on the institutional type. The quality improvement of the regional institutions and multidisciplinary experts for breast cancer is necessary.

Objectives: The pathologic nodal stage of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) patients is classified according to the number of lymph nodes (LNs), as revised in 2018. Previous studies showed that the LN ratio (LNR) could be also a significant prognostic factor in head and neck cancer, but there are few studies on the LNR in HPV-related [HPV(+)] OPC. The aim of the present study was to analyze the predictive value of the LNR for survival and recurrence in HPV(+) OPC patients. Materials and methods: HPV(+) OPC patients treated with surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy from January 2000 to March 2019 were evaluated. The patients were divided into two sets of three groups, according to LN numbers based on pathologic nodal stages, and LNRs by a cutoff value of 0.05. The medical records were reviewed, and the overall survival (OS), disease-free survival, locoregional recurrence, and distant metastasis incidence were analyzed. Results: Ninty patients were included and the median follow-up period was 38.2 months. There were no significant differences in OS in the LN number groups. However, there was a significant difference in OS in the LNR groups (P = 0.010). The incidence of distant metastasis in the LNR groups was significantly different (P = 0.005). Conclusion: The LNR in HPV(+) OPC patients may be a more useful tool to predict survival and distant metastasis than the LN number. Additional research and consensus on surgical pathology are needed before applying the LNR to adjuvant treatment decisions and pathologic nodal staging.

Patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are treated with rituximab in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP). The role of consolidative radiation therapy (RT) remains unclear among patients with advanced DLBCL who achieved complete remission (CR) after R-CHOP immunochemotherapy. The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the role of consolidative RT among these patients. The MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies comparing RT to no RT following CR after R-CHOP immunochemotherapy in Ann Arbor stage III–IV DLBCL patients. Overall survival (OS) was the primary endpoint, and disease-free survival (DFS) was the secondary endpoint. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the primary and secondary outcomes. Review Manager (version 5.4) was used to analyze the data. Six retrospective studies involving 813 patients who received R-CHOP ± consolidative RT were identified. OS was higher in the consolidative RT group, with an HR of 2.01 and a 95% CI of 1.30 to 3.12 (p = 0.002). DFS was also higher in the RT group, with an HR of 2.18 and a 95% CI of 1.47 to 3.24 (p < 0.0001). The results suggested that consolidative RT improved OS and DFS compared to no RT among advanced-stage DLBCL patients. Further research is needed to determine the optimal radiation fields and the appropriate indications for consolidative RT for advanced-stage DLBCL patients in the rituximab era.

Background: Early-stage primary gastrointestinal (GI) low-grade B-cell lymphoma shows good therapeutic response to primary radiotherapy. However, there is no clear guideline for the evaluation of response to radiation therapy currently. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the best response time and the clinical course after radiotherapy. Methods: Patients who underwent radiotherapy for treatment of primary GI low-grade B-cell lymphoma from September 2007 to December 2018 at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital were included. Early responders were defined by best response within 6 months after radiotherapy, and delayed responders after 6 months. Clinical and pathological factors associated with delayed response and survival analyses were performed to investigate the recurrence and survival during follow-up. Results: A total of 43 patients were evaluated and the number of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue and duodenal follicular lymphoma was 36 and 7, respectively. All of 43 patients showed complete remission to radiotherapy and the best response time after radiotherapy was a median of 3 months. There were 8 delayed responders with a median duration of 8.9 months. Early and delayed responders were characterized by a significant difference in depth of invasion beyond the mucosal layer. Conclusions: Delayed responders did not show differences in oncological outcomes compared with early responders. They were allowed to watch and wait for an additional 6 to 12 months without further treatment.

Purpose: Positron-emission tomography (PET)-CT has recently been used for diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy for myeloid sarcoma, but there is little research on predicting the response of radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between PET-CT variables and the response to radiotherapy in patients with myeloid sarcoma. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in myeloid sarcoma patients who received radiotherapy and PET-CT before and after radiotherapy. The response to radiotherapy was evaluated based on the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer PET response criteria, and binary regression analysis was performed to assess the factors predicting reductions in the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax). Results: Twenty-seven sites in 12 patients were included in the study. Complete metabolic responses were seen in 24 patients after radiotherapy, a partial metabolic response in one, and progressive metabolic disease in two patients. The prescribed dose of more than 3000 cGy₁₀ was significantly greater in the treatment control group (P = 0.024). In binary logistic regression analysis predicting reductions in the SUVmax of more than 70% after radiotherapy, the pretreatment SUVmax (≥ 7.5) and further chemotherapy after radiotherapy showed significant differences in univariate and multivariate analyses. Conclusion: Good metabolic responses (complete or partial) to radiotherapy were achieved in 92.6% of the myeloid sarcoma patients. Radiation doses < 3000 cGy₁₀ and increased SUVmax were related to treatment failure and high SUVmax before radiotherapy was a factor influencing SUVmax reduction. Further large-scale studies are needed.