ObjectiveTo make a comprehensive review of the value of radiomics for prediction of therapeutic responses to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).MethodRelevant literatures about the therapeutic response evaluation of LARC by using radiomics were collected to make an review.ResultRadiomics had good predictive value in terms of complete pathologic response (pCR) and treatment effectiveness of NCRT in patients with LARC.ConclusionRadiomics, a new imaging diagnostic technique, plays an important role in the prediction of the efficacy of NCRT in LARC.
ObjectiveTo study the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in predicting and evaluating the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in the middle-low locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).MethodsThe patients were included prospectively who were clinically diagnosed as the LARC and were scheduled to undergo the NCRT and total mesorectal excision (TME) in the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital from February 2018 to November 2019. The routine MRI and DCE-MRI were performed before and after the NCRT, then the TME was performed. According to the score of tumor regression grade (TRG), the patients with TGR score of 0, 1 or 2 were classified as the response to NCRT group, and those with TRG score of 3 were classified as the non-response to NCRT group; in addition, the patients with TGR score of 0 or 1 were classified as the good-response group, with TRG score of 2 or 3 were classified as the poor-response group. The differences of quantitative perfusion parameters of DCE-MRI between two groups were compared, including the volume transfer constant (Ktrans), flux rate constant (Kep), and extravascular extracellular volume fraction (Ve) and the change rates of these parameters (ΔKtrans, ΔKep, and ΔVe).ResultsForty-one patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in this study, including 27 cases in the response to NCRT group and 14 cases in the non-response to NCRT group; 11 cases in the the good-response group and 30 cases in the poor-response group. ① The values of Ktrans before the NCRT and the ΔKtrans in the response to NCRT group were higher than those in the non-response to NCRT (P<0.05), while the other indexes had no significant differences between these two groups (P>0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) of Ktrans and ΔKtrans in predicting the efficacy of NCRT were 0.954 and 0.709, respectively. When the optimal thresholds of Ktrans and ΔKtrans were 0.122/min and –24.2%, the specificity and sensitivity were 85.7%, 96.3% and 100%, 51.7%, respectively. ② The Ktrans value in the good-response group was higher before NCRT and which was lower after NCRT as compared with the poor-response group (P<0.05). The absolute value of the the ΔKtrans and ΔKep in the good-response group were higher than those in the poor-response group (P<0.05). The other indexes had no significant differences between these two groups (P>0.05). The AUC of Ktrans before NCRT in predicting the efficacy of NCRT was 0.953. When the optimal thresholds of Ktrans before NCRT was 0.158 /min, the specificity and sensitivity were 88.7% and 90.9%, respectively. The AUC of ΔKtrans in predicting the efficacy of NCRT was higher than that of the ΔKep (0.952 versus 0.764, Z=2.063, P=0.039). When the optimal threshold of ΔKtrans was –38.8%, the specificity and sensitivity were 76.7% and 100%, respectively.ConclusionsDCE-MRI can predict and evaluate the effect of NCRT in patients with middle-low LARC, especially Ktrans and ΔKtrans (change rate before and after NCRT) have a high diagnostic efficiency.
Objective To explore the clinical value, latest research progress, and clinical controversy of total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Method We searched and reviewed on the latest literatures about studies of the clinical research of TNT in LARC. Results TNT could make the tumor downstage rapidly and improve the patients’ treatment compliance. In terms of organ preservation rate, 3-year disease-free survival and pathological complete remission rate, TNT had advantages and was a especial potential treatment strategy compared with traditional methods. Conclusions TNT decreases local recurrence rate and improves the long-term survival. For LARC patients with strong desire for organ preservation, TNT is a good treatment choice and has the value of clinical promotion.
Objective To analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various neoadjuvant therapy , provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment, and provide direction for further research and exploration. Method The recent domestic and international medical databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, VIP database, CNKI, WanFang database, etc.) were searched and the relevant literature on neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) were reviewed. Results Neoadjuvant therapy could decrease tumor staging, increase anal reserving rate, and reduce local recurrence rate, but it does not significantly reduce the rates of distant metastasis and lateral lymph node metastasis, nor does it improve long-term survival. More and more optimization neoadjuvant therapy had emerged. Molecular targeted drugs and immunotherapy were being attempted for clinical using, combined with research on emerging biomarkers, to improve the therapeutic efficacy of LARC patients, reduce treatment related side effects, and improve patient survival benefits. Conclusions Neoadjuvant therapy is the standard treatment strategy for LARC, and the exploration of neoadjuvant treatment models is expected to further improve treatment effectiveness, reduce toxic side effects, and improve survival prognosis. By combining tumor molecular biology indicators to identify and screen beneficiaries, it is expected to become an important direction for future research.