Objective. This pilot study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Methods. This study was a pilot randomized controlled trial, which was conducted with cooperation between Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), China, and Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS), Iran. Forty participants with CIPN were randomly assigned (1 : 1) to receive twelve sessions of acupuncture (20 minutes each session over 4 weeks) or take one 300 mg tablet of vitamin B1 and three 300 mg capsules of gabapentin per day for 4 weeks, after which both groups were followed up for 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was CIPN symptom severity measured by the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). The secondary endpoints included sensory neuropathy grade evaluated by the National Cancer Institute-Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE), neurophysiological assessment of CIPN by the nerve conduction study (NCS), and the patient overall satisfaction with treatment. Safety was assessed at each visit. Results. The NRS and NCI-CTCAE sensory neuropathy grading scales decreased significantly over time in both groups (both P<0.001), with a significantly higher reduction in the acupuncture group (P<0.001 and P=0.03, respectively). In addition, the acupuncture group showed a higher overall satisfaction with the treatment at the end of treatment and after 4 weeks follow-up, in comparison with the vit B1 and gabapentin group (P=0.01 and P=0.001, respectively). The NCS (except for the latency of the sural nerve) in the acupuncture group improved significantly (P<0.05), while improvement in the vit B1 and gabapentin group was not observed (P>0.05). Conclusion. Our study revealed that acupuncture, as a kind of traditional Chinese therapeutic method, is significantly effective and safe in the treatment of CIPN. Moreover, acupuncture is more effective than using vitamin B1 and gabapentin as the conventional treatment. Trial registration. This trial is registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20190615043900N1).

Objective: Cervical carcinoma is the third most common gynecologic cancer, after ovarian and uterine cancersin Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy (response rate) and toxicity of adding Medium Dose Rate(MDR) brachytherapy with concurrent chemotherapy to External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT) for the treatment oflocally advanced uterine cervical carcinoma. Methods: This phase I-II study was conducted in 2007-2008 at the cancerinstitute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Patients were treated with pelvic EBRT (50 Gy in 25 Fraction) withconcomitant chemotherapy to obtain tumor shrinkage and permit optimal intra-cavitary placement. One week after thecompletion of EBRT, patients were treated by 12 Gy MDR Intra-cavitary brachytherapy for two periods of one daywith a one week interval and concomitant platinum based chemotherapy. Response rate was evaluated by gynecologicphysical examination and pelvic MRI +- GD within three months of treatment. Acute and late toxicity were assessedusing Radiation Therapy Oncology Group criteria. Results: A total of 33 patients with locally advanced cervical cancerwere treated according to the above described treatment protocol. The patients mean age was 53.2 (range 31–78) years.Three months after the completion of treatment, the complete clinical, pathologic and radiologic response rate accordingto WHO-criteria was 81.8% (27 patients). Six cases had a partial response or stable disease. After 48 months, averagedisease free survival periods were 45.1, 23.0, 33.4 and 8 months for stage IIB, IIIA, IIIB and: IVA lesions (according toThe International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system). The most frequently observed side effectswere leukopenia, anemia, proctitis, cystitis, nausea and vomiting (mostly grade 1 and 2). Conclusion: Concomitantbrachytherapy and chemotherapy with platinum compounds can be well tolerated and is effective in the treatment oflocally advanced cervical cancer.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of the kidney is a rare and highly malignant neoplasm. The median age for renal PNET is 27 years but it can be seen also in a wide age range between 3 and 78 years. We performed a Medline search for the term renal PNET and identified 79 cases up till December of 2010. We report here a new case of renal PNET and a literature review for published data for evaluation of clinicopathological prognostic factors, with an emphasis on prognosis in two groups of adults and children-adolescents: 18 years of age or under and over 18 years.