Publications by authors named "Li-Zhi Liu"

The Chinese Society for Therapeutic Radiology Oncology, the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, the Head and Neck Cancer International Group, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, and the American Society for Radiation Oncology collaboratively developed evidence-based guidelines and a comprehensive contouring atlas for neck target volume delineation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. These guidelines address five key challenges in modern radiotherapy practice: margin design of clinical target volume; nodal target volume delineation after induction chemotherapy; delineation of equivocal nodes evident on imaging; low-risk clinical target volume delineation based on regional stepwise extension patterns; and modifications for anatomical boundaries of lymphatic areas. Developed through a rigorous systematic review and expert appraisal process by a panel of 50 international, multidisciplinary members from 17 countries and regions, these guidelines incorporate the latest advances in nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosis and treatment.

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The Chinese Society for Therapeutic Radiology Oncology, the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, Head and Neck Cancer International Group, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, and the American Society for Radiation Oncology jointly developed evidence-based guidelines and a contouring atlas for primary target volume delineation for radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The guidelines systematically address three crucial challenges: margin design of clinical target volumes; target volume delineation after induction chemotherapy; and low-risk clinical target volume delineation based on local stepwise extension patterns. Based on a comprehensive systematic review and critical appraisal by an international multidisciplinary panel of 50 nasopharyngeal carcinoma specialists from 17 countries and regions, these guidelines are in keeping with advances in nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosis and treatment, embodying contemporary treatment concepts, and elaborating on the differences in practice.

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Background The prognostic implications of middle neck involvement, defined as cervical lymph node metastasis between the caudal border of the hyoid bone and the cricoid cartilage, remain unclear in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Purpose To investigate the prognostic significance of middle neck involvement in patients with N1 or N2 NPC. Materials and Methods This retrospective analysis included patients with N1 or N2 NPC without distant metastasis treated between April 2009 and December 2017.

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Importance: With the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade toripalimab, omitting highly toxic concurrent cisplatin may be feasible for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) without compromising survival.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of toripalimab incorporated into induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy, without concurrent cisplatin, for locoregionally advanced NPC.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Open-label, multicenter, randomized phase 3 clinical trial conducted from August 2021 to July 2022 at 13 hospitals in China, enrolling 532 patients with T4N1M0 or T1-4N2-3M0 NPC; 400 (75.

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Importance: Approximately 20% to 30% of patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) experience disease relapse despite definitive chemoradiotherapy. The programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade camrelizumab has demonstrated considerable value in recurrent or metastatic NPC, while its role in locoregionally advanced NPC is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adjuvant camrelizumab for patients with locoregionally advanced NPC.

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Background: The peritumoral region possesses attributes that promote cancer growth and progression. However, the potential prognostic biomarkers in this region remain relatively underexplored in radiomics.

Aim: To investigate the prognostic value and importance of peritumoral radiomics in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

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Advanced extranodal extension (ENE) in cervical lymph nodes (CLNs) increases the risk of distant metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The 9th NPC staging system classifies N1/N2 patients with advanced CLN ENE as N3 due to similar outcomes. However, the prognostic impact of advanced ENE in retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLNs) remains unclear.

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Application of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) is limited by its poor toughness. This research focuses on modifying PLA using thermoplastic elastomers (TPO), primarily due to their dual advantages of enhancing performance and reducing application costs. Two thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers (TPO) (NS06, Versify2300) were blended to prepare a superior elastomer TPO(NV) (NS06:Versify2300 = 80:20).

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Background: To identify the diagnosis and treatment strategies by analyzing the clinical characteristics and treatment methods of RNNCLR.

Methods: A total of 210 patients pathologically diagnosed with RNNCLR were retrospectively included. Clinical characteristics, MRI features, treatment methods, and survival outcomes were analyzed.

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Article Synopsis
  • Accurate staging for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is vital for treatment and prognosis, using the AJCC/UICC TNM system as a standardized approach, necessitating ongoing updates to reflect modern care practices.
  • The study aimed to enhance the accuracy and relevance of the TNM-8 system for NPC by analyzing patient data from 2014-2015 and undergoing rigorous validation processes leading to the development of TNM-9.
  • Results from over 4,900 patients highlighted that advanced extranodal extension was a key negative prognostic factor, prompting a proposed restructuring of staging for nonmetastatic cases from TNM-8 classifications.
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Both concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and induction chemotherapy (ICT) followed by CCRT are standard care of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, tailoring personalized treatment is lacking. Herein, we established a radiogenomic clinical decision support system to classify patients into three subgroups according to their predicted disease-free survival (DFS) with CCRT and ICT response.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on predicting distant metastasis (DM) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using detailed MRI reports, which is essential for improving treatment outcomes.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 792 non-distant metastatic NPC patients and identified 469 imaging variables to develop predictive models using gradient boosting tree (GBT) techniques.
  • The results showed that the GBT models, particularly those focusing on factors like the number of metastatic cervical nodes, had better predictive accuracy (AUC of 0.76) compared to the traditional tumor node-staging system (AUC of 0.67).
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Article Synopsis
  • This clinical trial explored the effectiveness of adding sintilimab, a PD-1 inhibitor, to standard chemoradiotherapy for patients with high-risk, locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
  • Results showed that the sintilimab group had significantly better event-free survival rates compared to the standard therapy group at a median follow-up of nearly 42 months.
  • The trial also reported that a high percentage of patients experienced grade 3-4 adverse events, indicating a need for monitoring side effects in this treatment approach.
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Background: This study aimed to explore the incidence of occult lymph node metastasis (OLM) in clinical TNM (cTNM) small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients and develop machine learning prediction models using preoperative intratumoral and peritumoral contrast-enhanced CT-based radiomic data.

Methods: By conducting a retrospective analysis involving 242 eligible patients from 4 centeres, we determined the incidence of OLM in cTNM SCLC patients. For each lesion, two ROIs were defined using the gross tumour volume (GTV) and peritumoral volume 15 mm around the tumour (PTV).

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Objectives: This study aimed to construct a radiomics-based model for prognosis and benefit prediction of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) versus intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC) following induction chemotherapy (IC).

Materials And Methods: A cohort of 718 LANPC patients treated with IC + IMRT or IC + CCRT were retrospectively enrolled and assigned to a training set (n = 503) and a validation set (n = 215). Radiomic features were extracted from pre-IC and post-IC MRI.

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Background And Purpose: Whether concurrent chemoradiotherapy would provide survival benefits in patients with stage II and T3N0 NPC with adverse factors remains unclear in IMRT era. We aimed to assess the value of concurrent chemotherapy compared to IMRT alone in stage II and T3N0 NPC with adverse features.

Materials And Methods: 287 patients with stage II and T3N0 NPC with adverse factors were retrospectively analyzed, including 98 patients who received IMRT alone (IMRT alone group) and 189 patients who received cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy (CCRT group).

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The AJCC/UICC TNM classification describes anatomic extent of tumor progression and guides treatment decisions. Our comprehensive analysis of 8,834 newly diagnosed patients with non-metastatic Epstein-Barr virus related nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) from six Chinese centers indicates certain limitations in the current staging system. The 8th edition of the AJCC/UICC TNM classification inadequately differentiates patient outcomes, particularly between T2 and T3 categories and within the N classification.

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Article Synopsis
  • Polyethylene (PE)-based elastomers can significantly improve the compatibility and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) materials, specifically in PP/PE blends.
  • Researchers investigated the cooling and crystallization behaviors of new PP/PE copolymers and random polypropylene blends using advanced techniques like X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry.
  • Findings suggest that the crystallization process enhances compatibility and toughness in these blends, leading to better impact performance at both low and room temperatures, which is crucial for recycling plastic waste.
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Background: Radiotherapy-related toxicities of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) caused by a standard dose of 70 Gy remain a critical issue. Therefore, we assessed whether a radiotherapy dose of 60 Gy was non-inferior to the standard dose in patients with low-risk stage III NPC with a favourable response to induction chemotherapy (IC).

Patients And Methods: We did a single-arm, single-centre, phase II clinical trial in China.

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Background: Previous studies demonstrated that induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by de-escalated chemoradiotherapy adapted to tumor response was effective in treating childhood nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but the toxicity profile of this treatment strategy, and whether childhood patients with advanced stages can obtain enough benefits from it requires further investigation.

Methods: We conducted a single-center phase II trial (NCT03020329). All participants received 3 cycles of paclitaxel liposome, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF)-based IC.

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Background: Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a type of epithelial malignancy that is positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and affects several populations worldwide. Due to the high rates of relapse and metastasis following primary treatment, there is an urgent need to identify new candidates for NPC therapy. Recently, circular RNA (circRNA) has emerged as a promising target for cancer diagnosis and prevention.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the energy band structure, density of states, and optical properties of MoS monolayers doped with alkaline earth metals (Be/Mg/Ca/Sr/Ba) using first principles calculations.
  • Results show that all doped systems are structurally stable and experience lattice distortions, which effectively suppress the recombination of electron-hole pairs and reduce the energy needed for electron transfer between bands.
  • Doping enhances the static dielectric constant and polarizability, with the Sr-MoS system showing the highest permittivity, while Be/Mg/Ca-MoS systems demonstrate better visible light absorption and potential as photo-catalysts for water splitting.
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Lymph node necrosis (LNN), including retropharyngeal nodal necrosis and cervical nodal necrosis, which is related to radiotherapy/ chemotherapy resistance, is a common phenomenon in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study was to assess the prognostic value of LNN at different N stages in NPC patients. In total, 1,665 newly diagnosed NPC patients at stage TxN1-3M0 from two centers were enrolled.

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Chemotherapy remains controversial for stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma because of its considerable prognostic heterogeneity. We aimed to develop an MRI-based deep learning model for predicting distant metastasis and assessing chemotherapy efficacy in stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This multicenter retrospective study enrolled 1072 patients from three Chinese centers for training (Center 1, n = 575) and external validation (Centers 2 and 3, n = 497).

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Objectives: To evaluate whether MRI-based T stage (T), [F]FDG PET/CT-based N (N), and M stage (M) are superior in NPC patients' prognostic stratification based on long-term survival evidences, and whether TNM staging method involving T + N + M could improve NPC patients' prognostic stratification.

Methods: From April 2007 to December 2013, 1013 consecutive untreated NPC patients with complete imaging data were enrolled. All patients' initial stages were repeated based on (1) the NCCN guideline recommended "T + N + M" ("MMP") staging method; (2) the traditional "T + N + M" ("MMC") staging method; (3) the single-step "T + N + M" ("PPP") staging method; or (4) the "T + N + M" ("MPP") staging method recommended in present research.

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