Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has high metastatic potential and is hard to detect early. This study aims to develop a deep learning model for NPC diagnosis using optical imagery. From April 2008 to May 2021, we analyzed 12,087 nasopharyngeal endoscopic images and 309 videos from 1,108 patients. The pretrained model was fine-tuned with stochastic gradient descent on the final layers. Data augmentation was applied during training. Videos were converted to images for malignancy scoring. Performance metrics like AUC, accuracy, and sensitivity were calculated based on the malignancy score. The deep learning model demonstrated high performance in identifying NPC, with AUC values of 0.981 (95% confidence of interval [CI] 0.965-0.996) for the Fujian Cancer Hospital dataset and 0.937 (0.905-0.970) for the Jiangxi Cancer Hospital dataset. The proposed model effectively diagnoses NPC with high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity across multiple datasets. It shows promise for early NPC detection, especially in identifying latent lesions.

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Objective:To improve the quality assurance (QA) skills of radiotherapy personnel and medical students and reduce the radiation risk of training by developing a remote training system for QA of medical electronic linear accelerators.Methods:This training system was built based on radiotherapy technology and quality control contents of medical electronic linear accelerators, and a virtual reality interactive software was developed using extended reality (XR) technology Unity 3D. A remote control module of multi-terminal platform was also developed. A multi-perspective evaluation system was adopted and a questionnaire was designed to analyze the application value of this system.Results:The training system reproduced the live environment and physical objects of medical electronic linear accelerator treatment room. It built a multi-terminal virtual simulation training system with radiotherapy technology as well as QA knowledge system. This system could provide 5G remote control of medical electronic linear accelerator for off-site quality control demonstration and guidance. By March 1, 2022, a total number of 133 people had been trained using this system, 76 valid questionnaires had been taken, of which 90.79% (69/76) of the respondents trusted the experimental results shown by the system and 88.16% (67/76) of the respondents considered the training system necessary.Conclusions:The training effect of this system is widely recognized. It fundamentally reduces the training radiation hazard and provides reference for the reform and progress of QA training mode of medical electronic linear accelerators.

Abstract Background Hypothyroidism (HT) and subclinical HT after radiotherapy is frequent in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients, results in negative impact on patients' quality of life. The percentage of thyroid volume receiving more than 40 Gy (V40) ≤ 85% was reported to be a useful dose constraint to adopt during intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning. This study aims to verify whether V40 ≤ 85% can be used as an effective dose constraint in IMRT planning in a randomized clinical trial. Methods This single-center 1:1 randomized clinical trial was conducted in Fujian province hospital between March 2018 and September 2022. All patients were treated with IMRT and randomized to induction chemo followed by concurrent chemo-IMRT or concurrent chemo-IMRT alone. Ninety-two clinically NPC patients were included in this study. The thyroid function tests were performed for all patients before and after radiation at regular intervals. Thyroid dose-constraint was defined as V40 ≤ 85%. The primary outcome in this study was subclinical HT. Results Median follow up was 34 months. Significant difference in the incidence of subclinical HT between the thyroid dose-constraint group and unrestricted group was observed (P = 0.023). The risk of subclinical HT in the thyroid dose-constraint group was lower than that in the unrestricted group (P = 0.022). Univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis indicated that thyroid dose-constraint was a protective effect of subclinical HT (HR = 0.408, 95% CI 0.184–0.904; HRadjusted = 0.361, 95% CI 0.155–0.841). Conclusion V40 ≤ 85% can be used as an effective dose constraint in IMRT planning to prevent radiation-induced subclinical HT.

(1) Background: Prophylactic percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) maintained nutritional status and improved survival of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). However, the role of PEG in patients’ quality of life (QoL) is still controversial. We aimed to investigate the effect of PEG on the QoL of patients with LA-NPC without progression. (2) Methods: Patients with LA-NPC between 1 June 2010 and 30 June 2014 in Fujian Cancer Hospital were divided into PEG and non-PEG groups. The QoL Questionnaire core 30 (QLQ-C30), incidence of adverse effects, weight, and xerostomia recovery were compared between the two groups of patients without progression as of 30 June 2020. (3) Results: No statistically significant difference in the scores of each QLQ-C30 scale between the two groups (p > 0.05). The incidence of xerostomia was higher in the PEG group than in the non-PEG group (p = 0.044), but the association was not seen after adjusting for gender, age, T, and N stage (OR: 0.902, 95%CI: 0.485–1.680). No significant difference in the incidence of other adverse effects as well as in weight and dry mouth recovery (p > 0.05). (4) Conclusion: PEG seems not to have a detrimental effect on long-term Qol, including the self-reported swallowing function of NPC patients without progressive disease.

Background: It remains controversial whether the application of chemotherapy has an impact on recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC) patients with salvage radiotherapy. Here, we aimed to evaluate treatment outcomes of rNPC patients and derive a prognostic model to assess the benefit of chemotherapy in patients with re-radiotherapy. Methods: This study was conducted as a retrospective study. In total, 340 rNPC patients treated with salvage intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or radiochemotherapy (RCT) from October 2006 to September 2019 were included in this study. Overall survival (OS) was the primary outcome. Kaplan-Meier method was employed to detect the prognostic difference with Log-rank tests. The Cox regression analysis was performed to explore the potential prognostic factors while the multivariate Cox analysis was used to identify candidate variables for the prognostic model of OS. Results: The 5-year actuarial rates of OS, progression-free survival, loco-regional progression-free survival, and distant metastases-free survival did not show significant difference between the IMRT and RCT groups ( P > .05). Age at recurrence and rT category were found to be the independent prognostic factors for OS. We found that rNPC patients suffered poor OS in the high-risk group (patients with higher age at recurrence and advanced rT category) (high-risk vs low-risk, HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.36-2.57, P < .001). Salvage RT alone may be superior to RCT for patients in the low-risk group (RCT group vs RT group, HR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.11-3.20, P = .038). Conclusion: Salvage RT combined with chemotherapy cannot improve survival outcomes for rNPC. More novel clinical trials should be explored to develop individualized strategies to improve survival and minimize toxicities.

目的:比较18F-FDG PET/CT、MRI在鼻咽癌局部复发和放疗后改变的鉴别诊断中的应用价值,并确定更合适的SUVmax诊断阈值,探索血浆EBV-DNA在发现鼻咽癌复发转移方面的意义.方法:选取2015年1月至2020年2月期间放疗结束至少6个月后在福建省肿瘤医院进行复查的鼻咽癌患者208例,均进行MRI、PET/CT及EB病毒DNA检查(均在1个月内完成).以活检病理结果或影像学的密切随访(至少1年)作为诊断鼻咽癌是否局部复发的标准,对患者的影像检查结果及相关参数进行比较分析.结果:共有83例患者确诊为鼻咽癌局部复发,125例确诊为无局部复发,后者中77例伴有区域复发和(或)远处转移.PET/CT和MRI对鼻咽癌局部复发的诊断敏感性、特异性、准确性分别为89.2％vs.67.5％,90.4％vs.92.0％,89.9％vs.82.2％.当诊断临界值SUVmax=3.85时,PET/CT的诊断准确性最高,与SUVmax=2.5相比,特异性(89.6％vs.68.0％)和准确性(89.4％vs.78.4％)均有显著提升.对纳入患者中治疗失败患者的EB病毒DNA分析发现,局部复发患者的血浆EBV-DNA检测敏感性低于区域复发或远处转移患者.局部复发肿瘤患者的SUVmax值与血浆EBV-DNA存在相关性.结论:18F-FDG PET/CT对鼻咽癌局部复发和放疗后改变的鉴别诊断效能优于MRI.SUVmax诊断阈值设为3.85时可获得更好的诊断效能.血浆EBV-DNA检测在鼻咽癌区域复发和远处转移方面较灵敏,局部复发者的阳性率并不高,对这部分患者的诊断价值仅提供参考.

Objectives: Our previous study revealed that percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) and intensive nutritional support may minimize body weight loss, maintain nutritional status, and offer better treatment tolerance for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). This study aimed to further explore the potential long-term survival benefits of PEG in LA-NPC. Methods: Between June 1, 2010 and June 30, 2014, a total of 133 consecutive LA-NPC patients who received prophylactic PEG (pPEG) feeding before the initiation of CCRT were included. Meanwhile, an additional 133 non-PEG patients, who were matched for age; sex; and tumor, node, and metastases stage, were selected as control cohort. The log-rank test was used to compare survival distributions between groups. Multivariate prognosis analysis was conducted using a Cox's proportional hazards regression model. Results: After a median follow-up time of 81 months (range: 4-119 months), pPEG was not associated with significant survival benefits in the whole cohort. However, the N3 NPC patients who underwent PEG had significantly higher 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) (84.0 and 76.0%, respectively) than those who did not undergo PEG (56.7 and 45.6%, respectively; p < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that PEG was an independent factor for N3 survival. Conclusion: PEG can maintain the nutritional status and improve the rate of treatment completion for LA-NPC patients who underwent CCRT, and these advantages can transfer into survival benefits in N3 NPC. Further multicenter prospective clinical trials are warranted.

目的 设计并实现图像引导放疗误差分析虚拟仿真教学培训系统,提高放疗工作人员及相关专业学生的操作技能,进一步推动精准放疗的发展.方法 借助unity 3D构建VR场景模型、C#语言和vs2017编译器进行编程,对立体定向放射治疗图像验证过程进行虚拟仿真设计,注重VR场景构建、学习提示、答题考核、虚拟软件页面及动作触发设计等内容的研发,分为教学模式和考核模式.采用线上评分系统记录使用情况,并上传到"实验空间"进行测试反馈,设计调查问卷分析系统的应用价值.结果 完成系统的开发,从2019年11月上线截至2020年7月,实验浏览量14985人次,实验测试489人次,实验通过率86.7％.回收实验应用价值调查有效问卷84份,其中90.47％的人认为图像引导放射治疗虚拟仿真教学培训系统的开发是有必要的,90.48％的人觉得能掌握知识点.结论 应用虚拟仿真技术对图像引导放疗误差分析系统进行设计研发,具有可行性及应用价值,值得推广.

Metastasis contributes to treatment failure in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Our study aimed at elucidating the role of insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) in NPC metastasis and the underlying mechanism involved. IGF2BP3 expression in NPC was determined by bioinformatics, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry analyses. The biological function of IGF2BP3 was investigated by using in vitro and in vivo studies. In this study, IGF2BP3 mRNA and protein levels were elevated in NPC tissues. In addition, IGF2BP3 exerted an oncogenic role by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), thereby inducing NPC cell migration and invasion. Further studies revealed that IGF2BP3 regulated the expression of key regulators of EMT by activating AKT/mTOR signalling, thus stimulating NPC cell migration and invasion. Remarkably, targeting IGF2BP3 delayed NPC metastasis through attenuating p-AKT and vimentin expression and inducing E-cadherin expression in vivo. Moreover, IGF2BP3 protein levels positively correlated with distant metastasis after initial treatment. Importantly, IGF2BP3 expression served as an independent prognostic factor in predicting the overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival of NPC patients. This work identifies IGF2BP3 as a novel prognostic marker and a new target for NPC treatment.

Background: Previous study revealed that prophylactic percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) maintain nutritional status of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). We aimed to further investigate the effect of PEG on the long-term quality of life of patients with LA-NPC. Methods: Patients with LA-NPC were selected and divided into PEG and non-PEG groups. The QLQ-C30 scores, incidence of adverse effects, weight and xerostomia recovery were compared between the two groups.Results: No statistically significant difference in the scores of each QLQ-C30 scales between the two groups (P>0.05). The incidence of xerostomia was higher in the PEG group than in the non-PEG group (P=0.044), but no significant difference in the incidence of the remaining adverse effects as well as in weight and dry mouth recovery (P>0.05). Conclusion: PEG seems not to have a detrimental effect on long-term quality of life, including the swallowing function of NPC patients.

Objective:To develop a remote training system for CT simulation positioning of radiotherapy using virtual reality technology, and to explore a new method of medical training.Methods:The 3DMax and Maya were employed to establish the 3D model. The unity3D engine was adopted to develop 3D virtual operation and interaction system. Java spring MVC architecture was utilized as the system background service. MySQL was used as the background database system. The users were assigned into two roles: teacher and student, and the modes were divided into teaching and assessment modes.Results:The function of the system covered the whole process of CT simulation positioning, mainly including modules of patient information management, CT simulation positioning machine cognition, body position fixation technology, CT positioning scanning, and emergency handling, etc. Since it was put into use in 2018, the system has been running stably, with 14 920 pages views and an 86.66% pass rate. Compared with the traditional training, the training efficiency has been significantly improved and has received unanimous recognition.Conclusions:The remote training system can effectively improve the clinical practice ability and humanistic care ability of the trainees, which has good autonomy, sharing, and innovation. At present, the system has been put online and has strong popularization with prospects for broad application.