Objective The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of chemoradiotherapy with or without bevacizumab in patients with newly diagnosed International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IVB cervical cancer. Methods 41 patients with stage IVB cervical cancer who underwent chemoradiotherapy between August 2015 and December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. This study included 11 patients who received bevacizumab before or after radiotherapy (group A) and 30 patients who received conventional chemoradiotherapy without bevacizumab (group B). We excluded the following patients: those with dual primary cancers; those whose pathologic diagnosis was neither squamous cell carcinoma nor adenocarcinoma; those who did not undergo radiotherapy; or those from whom follow-up data could not be collected. We analyzed the treatment responses, toxicities, progression-free survival, and overall survival rates. Results A total of 41 patients were included in the analysis. The median follow-up was 19 months (range 3–108). The response rates at 3 months after treatment were 90.9% in group A and 83.3% in group B (p=0.54). After completing all treatments, the complete response rates were 81.8% in group A and 47% in group B (p=0.04). Grade ≥3 gastrointestinal toxicities, including bleeding, fistula, perforation, and obstruction, were more frequent in group A (54.5%) than in group B (6.7%) (p=0.003). The 12 month progression-free survival and overall survival rates were similar in both arms (12 month progression-free survival: 45.5% vs 46.7%, respectively, p=0.22; 12 month overall survival: 81.8% vs 72.9%, respectively, p=0.57). Patients with node-only metastasis had better 12 month progression-free survival in group B than in group A (59.1% vs 42.9%, respectively, p=0.04). However, the responses to both treatments did not differ in patients with organ metastasis. Conclusions Bevacizumab for stage IVB cervical cancer is associated with higher complete response rates. However, patients treated with bevacizumab experienced more bowel toxicities. Bevacizumab did not improve progression-free survival among patients with node-only metastasis.

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common disease in the world and the fourth most common cause of death. It is diagnosed through esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy; however, there are limitations in finding lesions in the early stages. Recently, research has been actively conducted to use liquid biopsy to diagnose various cancers, including gastric cancer. Various substances derived from cancer are reflected in the blood. By analyzing these substances, it was expected that not only the presence or absence of cancer but also the type of cancer can be diagnosed. However, the amount of these substances is extremely small, and even these have various variables depending on the characteristics of the individual or the characteristics of the cancer. To overcome these, we collected methylated DNA fragments using MeDIP and compared them with normal plasma to characterize gastric cancer tissue or patients’ plasma. We attempted to diagnose gastric cancer using the characteristics of cancer reflected in the blood through the cancer tissue and patients’ plasma. As a result, we confirmed that the consistency of common methylated fragments between tissue and plasma was approximately 41.2% and we found the possibility of diagnosing and characterizing cancer using the characteristics of the fragments through SFR and 5′end-motif analysis.

Introduction: The treatment for advanced-stage or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is largely palliative. Due to the rarity of the disease, there are few randomized controlled trials and large-scale prospective studies. Therefore, the treatment of advanced-stage CTCL remains challenging. Patient concerns and diagnosis: A 64-years-old man who had received narrowband UVB phototherapy for several years presented with a generalized rash with widespread polycyclic erosions and painful ulcers on his hands and feet. We restaged him as stage III CTCL. Interventions and outcomes: He was treated with high-dose radiation for curative purposes and 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy to both hands and feet. At the 2-year follow-up after the end of radiotherapy, the irradiated skin had recovered to normal soft, smooth skin with localized fibrosis and hypopigmented skin. He reported an excellent quality of life, and his hands and feet were free to move. Conclusion: CTCL at an advanced stage could require dose escalation with local radiotherapy for curative purposes. High-dose 3-dementional conformal radiation therapy could be effective and has tolerable toxicities.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the prostate is a rare and biologically aggressive malignancy lacking a standardized management strategy. De novo primary SCC arising without prior androgen deprivation therapy or radiotherapy is uncommon and presents significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We present the clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, treatment strategy, and early therapeutic response of de novo primary SCC of the prostate in a 56-year-old male with end-stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis. The patient presented with gross hematuria and a bulky prostate mass invading the bladder with bilateral pelvic lymphadenopathy despite low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed pure SCC, staged as cT4N1M0. Because systemic chemotherapy was contraindicated and surgery was not feasible, definitive whole-pelvis radiotherapy with a simultaneous integrated boost was administered. Marked tumor regression was observed one month after treatment. Subsequent imaging demonstrated extensive tumor necrosis with fistulous communication in the context of locally invasive disease. Because long-term oncologic durability could not be assessed owing to non-oncologic clinical deterioration, these findings suggest that definitive radiotherapy may provide meaningful locoregional tumor control in selected medically inoperable patients with de novo prostatic SCC.