Publications by authors named "Miao-Fen Chen"

Laryngeal cancer accounts for 10% of head and neck cancers, with glottic cancers comprising two-thirds of cases in our country [...

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  • A multicenter study analyzed the effectiveness of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging for evaluating the response of salivary gland carcinoma (SGC) patients after radiation therapy (RT), involving 115 patients over a span of 17 years.
  • The study found that 70% of patients showed metabolic complete response (CR) on PET/CT; those with metabolic CR had significantly better long-term outcomes compared to those without.
  • The imaging technique demonstrated high accuracy and specificity, particularly in cases with higher pre-treatment tumor aggressiveness, aiding in the early detection of viable tumors and guiding further treatment decisions.*
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Background: Spheroids generated by tumor cells collected from malignant pleural effusion (MPE) were shown to retain the characteristics of the original tumors. This ex vivo model might be used to predict the response of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to anticancer treatments.

Methods: The characteristics, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status, and clinical response to EGFR-TKIs treatment of enrolled patients were recorded.

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Background: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of proton beam therapy (PBT) and carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) by a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing clinical evidence.

Methods: A systematic literature search was performed to identify studies comparing the clinical outcomes of PBT and CIRT. The included studies were required to report oncological outcomes (local control [LC], progression-free survival [PFS], or overall survival [OS]) or adverse events.

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This study aimed to investigate the dose parameters and incidence of radiotherapy (RT)-associated toxicity in patients with left breast cancer (LBC) treated with proton-RT, compared with photon-RT. We collected data from 111 patients with LBC who received adjuvant RT in our department between August 2021 and March 2023. Among these patients, 24 underwent proton-RT and 87 underwent photon-RT.

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  • The study aimed to determine if postoperative chemoradiotherapy (POCRT) leads to better outcomes than postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) alone for patients with high-risk salivary gland carcinoma (SGC).
  • A total of 411 patients were analyzed, with results showing that POCRT significantly improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for those with nodal metastasis, compared to PORT alone.
  • POCRT also improved locoregional control (LRC) rates in patients with residual tumors after surgery, highlighting its effectiveness for specific subgroups like those with adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC).
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Background And Purpose: This study compared the survival outcomes following postoperative chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and postoperative radiotherapy (RT) alone for patients with gingival cancer with negative surgical margins and only bone invasion.

Materials And Methods: Of the 2579 gingival cancer cases reviewed from 2002 to 2018, 156 were enrolled in the study (CCRT: 63 patients; RT: 93 patients). The primary endpoints were the impact of adjuvant treatment (RT vs.

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Malnutrition has been reported to be associated with reduced survival and deficient anticancer immunity, and undernourishment is a frequent comorbidity in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between nutritional status and immunologic factors, and its prognostic value for HNC. We retrospectively reviewed 212 HNC patients who had undergone a nutrition evaluation based on the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and curative radiotherapy (RT).

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  • - The study examines the outcomes and survival rates of patients with localized upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) after major surgical procedures, focusing on a well-defined group of 476 patients diagnosed with pT2N0M0.
  • - Results indicated that patients with tumors located in the renal pelvis, ureter, or both had varying 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates, suggesting that tumor location significantly impacts prognosis.
  • - Key negative prognostic factors identified include age over 60, prior bladder cancer, ureteral involvement, and positive surgical margins, highlighting the need for closer monitoring and possible additional treatment for at-risk patients post-surgery.
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Background: The risk of critical limb ischemia (CLI) which causes ischemic pain or ischemic loss in the arteries of the lower extremities in long-term uterine cancer (UC) survivors remains unclear, especially in Asian patients, who are younger at the diagnosis of UC than their Western counterparts.

Aim: To conduct a nationwide population-based study to assess the risk of CLI in UC long-term survivors.

Methods: UC survivors, defined as those who survived for longer than 5 years after the diagnosis, were identified and matched at a 1:4 ratio with normal controls.

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Radiotherapy with proton therapy (PT) has dosimetric advantages over photon therapy, which helps to enlarge the therapeutic window of radiotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We evaluated the response of HCC to PT and examined the underlying mechanisms. The human liver cancer cell lines HepG2 and HuH7 and the murine liver cancer cell line Hepa1-6 were selected for cell and animal experiments to examine the response induced by PT irradiation.

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Background: The prognosis of patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is particularly poor in those who were staged as ypT3/T4 and/or ypN+. This study investigated whether adjuvant chemoradiotherapy was associated with improved clinical outcomes in these patients.

Methods: we identified patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were staged as ypT3/T4 and/or ypN+ after being treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by esophagectomy between the years 2013 and 2019.

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Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an aggressive head and neck cancer. Evidence showed that some pathogenic bacteria are associated with periodontitis and oral cancer. The change in oral microbiome composition and the role of the specific periodontal pathogen in OSCC were investigated.

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Background: We investigated the use of a standardized reporting system to study perioperative complications and oncologic outcomes after radical cystectomy in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with bladder cancer. Methods: We reviewed retrospective outcomes in 141 ESRD patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy between 2004 and 2015. Complications were graded using the Clavien−Dindo classification system with 0−2 classified as “No Major Complications” and Clavien 3−5 as “Major Complications”.

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Background: Whether nephroureterectomy (NU) provides survival benefits in patients with stage IV upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) remains unclear. We compared the effect of chemotherapy (CT) alone with that of CT combined with NU (CT + NU) on the overall survival (OS) of patients with stage IV nonmetastatic UTUC (nmUTUC) and metastatic UTUC (mUTUC).

Patients And Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included the data of patients with UTUC undergoing CT alone or CT + NU from the Chang Gung Cancer Database (2002-2015) and followed them until August 2017.

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Importance: The majority of the patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) experience taste dysfunction (TD) during or after radiotherapy (RT). However, prospectively collected data for taste dysfunction have been limited, especially in the era of intensity-modulated RT (IMRT).

Objective: To evaluate the taste function in patients with HNC receiving IMRT by investigating the association between time course and recovery of TD in both acute and late phases.

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Locoregional control is a significant prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Historically, the use of radiotherapy (RT) for HCC was limited owing to the low radiotolerance of the liver and the need for high RT doses for disease control. We aimed to examine if 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) has a role in the tumor inhibition and the radiation response of HCC in vitro and in vivo, and explore the underlying mechanisms.

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To investigate postoperative complications and oncologic outcomes of prophylactic nephroureterectomy and/or cystectomy in dialysis patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC), we retrospectively reviewed the records of dialysis patients with UC and a final status of complete urinary tract extirpation (CUTE, i.e., the removal of both kidneys, ureters, and bladder) between January 2004 and December 2015.

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Undernourishment is reported to impair treatment response, further leading to poor prognosis for cancer patients. We aimed to investigate the role of nutritional status on the prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus, and its correlation with anticancer immune responsiveness. We retrospectively reviewed 340 esophageal-SCC patients who completed curative treatment and received a nutrition evaluation by the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PGSGA) score at the beginning and completion of neoadjuvant treatment at our hospital.

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Radiotherapy (RT) is the main treatment modality for prostate cancer (PCa). This study investigated the role of IL-6 in biological sequelae following irradiation and highlighted the effects of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) on the radiation response of PCa and its relationship with IL-6 signaling. Human and murine PCa cell lines were used to examine the response to irradiation and .

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Purpose: The survival outcome of lung cancer patients with coexisting liver cirrhosis has thus far received limited attention in the literature. In this study, we evaluated whether liver cirrhosis is an independent risk factor for the survival of patients with lung cancer.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective, multicenter, propensity-matched study of lung cancer patients with and without liver cirrhosis.

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Introduction: In treating nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients, excellent tumor control and patient survival rates can be achieved in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). However, treatment-related toxicities affect the quality of life (QoL) of NPC survivors. This study was devised to estimate the life expectancy (LE), quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and survival-weighted psychometric scores (SWPS) in NPC patients.

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Introduction: Hyperlipidemia is associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) mediated by endothelial damage. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains numerous angiogenic growth factors. Currently, evidence supporting the use of PRP for ED treatment is limited.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients undergoing second-line hormonal therapies, specifically enzalutamide and abiraterone acetate.
  • Utilizing a large dataset from 2014 to 2017, researchers compared MACE rates between patients on second-line therapy and those receiving first-line androgen-deprivation therapy, revealing higher event rates in the second-line group.
  • Results indicated that second-line hormonal therapy significantly increased the risk of MACE, including acute coronary syndrome and heart failure, while the risk for ischemic stroke was similar between both treatment groups.
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