Publications by authors named "Xuezhang Duan"

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most prevalent liver cancer after hepatocellular carcinoma and is characterized by high malignancy and poor prognosis. Gemcitabine combined with cisplatin is the standard first-line therapy for metastatic or unresectable ICC. The combination of immunotherapy and targeted therapy represents a promising new direction for ICC treatment.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with high morbidity and mortality. Radiotherapy technology is a common treatment modality that can be used in all stages of HCC. However, in some cases, radiotherapy fails in clinical practice mainly because of the patient's resistance to radiotherapy, creating a bottleneck for future breakthroughs.

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Purpose: Optimal treatment strategies for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with oligoprogression after first-line systemic therapy (FLST) remain undefined. We aimed to determine whether maintaining (ie, continuing) FLST plus radiation therapy (RT) for oligoprogressive lesions (m-FLST + RT) would result in progression-free survival (PFS) equal to or greater than that of second-line systemic therapy (s-SLST), either alone or with RT (s-SLST + RT).

Methods And Materials: From October 2018 to February 2024, 154 patients from 7 medical centers who developed oligoprogression after FLST were enrolled and assigned to 1 of 3 groups based on post-oligoprogression treatment strategy: m-FLST + RT, s-SLST + RT, or s-SLST-only.

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Background: Recent advancements in combination therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) have shown promise, but reliable serological prognostic indicators are currently lacking for patients undergoing triple combination therapy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. We aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of early alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) responses in these patients.

Methods: This retrospective research included 115 uHCC patients treated with SBRT in combination with immunotherapy and targeted therapy (triple therapy) at our institution from April 2021 to December 2022.

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Purpose: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a micro-invasive treatment for early-stage HCC patients. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has also been proven an effective and safe treatment for HCC patients. This multi-center study is to compare the efficacy of computed tomography (CT)-guided RFA and CT-based SBRT in naïve HCC patients with tumor diameters ≤5 cm.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to compare the survival benefits of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) to lenvatinib for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).
  • A total of 147 patients were analyzed, with 70 receiving SBRT and 77 undergoing lenvatinib treatment; after matching for baseline characteristics, the study evaluated overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and treatment response.
  • Results showed that SBRT led to significantly better median OS (14.5 months) and PFS (6.8 months) compared to lenvatinib (11.1 months OS and 5.0 months PFS), establishing SB
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Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical benefit and safety of the triple combination of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), lenvatinib, and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors with the dual combination of SBRT and lenvatinib in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC).

Methods And Materials: Patients with uHCC who received SBRT in combination with lenvatinib and PD-1 inhibitors or SBRT in combination with lenvatinib alone as first-line treatment from October 2018 to July 2022 were reviewed in this study. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

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Article Synopsis
  • A study evaluated the effectiveness of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for patients with centrally located hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that is challenging to surgically remove due to its proximity to major blood vessels.
  • The study involved 172 patients, showing promising survival rates: a 1-year overall survival rate of 97.7%, and 5-year rates of 76.3% for overall survival and 59.3% for progression-free survival.
  • The findings suggest that SBRT is a safe and effective treatment alternative for centrally located HCC, comparable to surgery combined with radiation therapy, with low rates of severe side effects.
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Background: The development of immunotherapy resistance is associated with a poor prognosis in patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are undergoing treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of subsequent radiotherapy (RT) for patients with advanced-stage HCC who had lesion enlargement or new lesions (NLs) during ICI therapy.

Methods: This retrospective observational study enrolled 36 patients with advanced-stage HCC who underwent subsequent RT for lesion enlargement or NLs during ICI therapy from two centers.

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Background And Objectives: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) involving portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) are presently lacking effective treatment options. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib with or without SBRT for HCC with PVTT.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective analysis included 37 patients treated with lenvatinib in combination with SBRT and 77 patients treated with lenvatinib alone from August 2018 to August 2021.

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Purpose: Lack of evidence on the benefit of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in combination with lenvatinib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our research compared the efficacy and safety of SBRT plus lenvatinib versus SBRT alone in clinical practice for the treatment of advanced HCC.

Methods: Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to reduce selection bias.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of combining regorafenib with PD-1 inhibitors as a second-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after first-line treatment failure, comparing it to regorafenib alone.
  • The results showed that the combination therapy led to significantly better outcomes, including higher objective response rates (ORR), disease control rates (DCR), and longer progression-free survival (PFS), although overall survival (OS) rates were similar between the two groups.
  • Safety profiles were comparable, with no significant differences in the rates of treatment-related adverse effects (TRAEs) between the combination and monotherapy groups.
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  • The study developed a new staging model specifically for assessing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients receiving radiotherapy treatments, aiming to improve prognosis classification.
  • It involved analyzing a training cohort of 658 patients and a validation cohort of 533 patients, categorizing them into four main stages based on tumor characteristics and overall health.
  • Results indicated that the staging model effectively distinguished between patient survival outcomes, with median survival significantly decreasing from stage I (63 months) to stage IV (less than 9 months), suggesting its potential utility for radiation oncologists.
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Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate the curative effect and safety of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with inferior vena cava (IVCTT) and right atrial tumor thrombus (RATT).

Methods: This retrospective study included fifteen advanced HCC patients with IVCTT and RATT who were treated with SBRT between 2013 and 2020. The prescribed dose delivered to the tumor was 45-50 Gy/7-10 fx.

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Background: Information about radiation-induced liver disease (RILD) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients preexisting hepatitis B cirrhosis with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) extended to the main portal vein treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is still inadequate and the predictive markers for RILD have not been cleared in these patients. The aim of the study is to identify factors that can be used to predict RILD and to evaluate the influence of RILD in these patients.

Methods: In our study, 59 patients were analyzed and evaluated from December 2015 to June 2019, according to the entry criteria.

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  • This study compares the effectiveness of two treatments for large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): hepatic resection (HR) and a combination of CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy (CK-SBRT) with transhepatic arterial chemotherapy embolization (TACE).
  • A total of 116 patients participated, and after matching for baseline differences, the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were assessed, showing similar outcomes for both treatment methods.
  • The results indicated that CK-SBRT+TACE had comparable local effects to HR, with an acceptable rate of liver injury in both treatment groups.
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  • This study investigates how stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) affects natural killer (NK) and NKT-like cells in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to understand potential correlations with patient prognosis.
  • Twenty-five HCC patients and 10 healthy controls were monitored, using flow cytometry to analyze NK and NKT-like cell markers before and after SBRT, with survival analysis conducted via the Kaplan-Meier method.
  • Results showed that SBRT increased NKT-like cells, altered receptor levels on NK cells, and identified specific NK cell markers linked to poorer or better survival outcomes, highlighting SBRT's influence on immune response in HCC treatment.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study compared the effectiveness of hepatic resection (HR) versus CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy (CK-SBRT) in treating small hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC) patients with hepatitis-related cirrhosis over a 5-year period.
  • - 317 sHCC patients were analyzed, and after matching to ensure balanced groups, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were similar between the HR and CK-SBRT groups after adjustments.
  • - The findings suggest CK-SBRT is a viable alternative to HR for certain sHCC patients, particularly those with specific medical conditions, and underscore the importance of platelet counts in evaluating treatment outcomes.
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The aim of our study was to evaluate the curative effect and safety of CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy in treating decompensated cirrhosis hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. From March 2011 to December 2015, 32 HCC patients who refused or were ineligible for other treatments were treated with CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy. Among these patients, 17 were Child-Pugh score 7 (53.

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Background: There is a lack of data on the biologically effective dose and the efficacy of stereotactic body radiotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and this study was conducted to explore the relation between BED and efficacy.

Methods: This study is designed as a mono-center study. The participants are randomized into three group, and received the following recommended schedule: 49Gy/7f, 54Gy/6f and 55Gy/5f with BED in correspondence to 83.

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Background: To explore the survival and side effects of repeated CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy (CK-SBRT) on hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Methods: 24 HCC patients were collected at The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from November 2011 to July 2016. They received second-course CK-SBRT with a prescribed dose of 50(48-55) Gy/5-8fx, and a single dose of 10 (7-11) Gy/fx.

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Background: To explore the association between biologically effective dose (BED) and survival rates in Child-Pugh A classification (CP-A) small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Methods: This retrospective study included 108 small HCC patients who were treated with SBRT between 2011 and 2014. The prescribed dose delivered to the tumor were 48Gy/8f, 49Gy/7f, 50Gy/5f and 54Gy/6f.

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Background: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma(sHCC) who were ineligible for surgery or ablation therapies.

Methods: From March 2011 to December 2012, 28 cases with sHCC which were ineligible or refused surgical resection, transplantation or local ablation were treated with CyberKnife SBRT. Median size of tumors was 2.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study of 161 individuals revealed that Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) survivors exhibited the highest psychological distress, followed by medical staff, logistics staff, medical students, and Chinese medical staff.
  • * Five psychological symptoms were notably severe in EVD survivors, and higher education levels were linked to lower general severity index scores, highlighting the need for mental health considerations in emergency response plans for future outbreaks.
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Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) refers to acute deterioration occurring in patients with chronic hepatitis B infected liver diseases. An abnormality in NK cells mediated cellular immunity is believed to be a contributing factor. We aimed to evaluate the characteristic of NK cells in the peripheral blood of HBV related ACLF.

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