Long-Term Results of a Multi-Institutional Study of Dynamic Tumor Tracking-Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Lung Tumors

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

We had conducted a multi-institutional phase II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of dynamic tumor tracking-stereotactic body radiotherapy (DTT-SBRT) for lung tumors. The primary endpoint was 2-year local control, which was reported to be 95.2%. After the initial evaluation of the primary endpoint, the study was extended as an observational study which was designed to evaluate 5-year survival and late toxicities. We present the long-term results of DTT-SBRT for lung tumors.

MATERIALS/METHODS

The main eligibility criteria for the study were as follows: (1) primary or metastatic lung cancer with a diameter of 5 cm or less, and up to 3 lesions without any extrapulmonary lesions; (2) ineligibility to standard surgery, or patient's refusal of surgery; (3) ECOG-PS of 0 to 2; and (4) expected range of respiratory motion of 10 mm or more. The study included 48 patients from four institutions with the median age of 80 years (range, 49-90 years). Forty-two patients had primary non-small-cell lung cancer, and 6 patients had metastatic lung tumors. Forty-eight tumors (median diameter, 23.5 mm; range, 5-47 mm) in 48 patients were targeted for DTT-SBRT using a gimbal-mounted linear accelerator. Prior to treatment planning, spherical gold markers were placed around the tumor to detect internal tumor motion using fluoroscopy. The prescribed dose was 50 Gy in four fractions. Treatment beams were delivered with DTT according to a 4D model that predicts internal tumor motion with abdominal wall motion. DTT-SBRT was successfully delivered to all but one patient who had poor correlation between abdominal wall and tumor motion.

RESULTS

Median follow-up period at data cutoff was 5.0 years (interquartile range, 3.1-6.3 years). Twenty-nine patients died; the causes of death were cancer-specific in 10 patients, comorbidity in 14 patients (pulmonary disease, renal failure, cerebral infarction, other malignancies, etc.), and unknown in 5 patients without cancer recurrence. Overall survival at 5 years was 51.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 36.5-64.6%). Progression-free survival and local control at 5 years were 41.0% (95% CI, 27.0-54.5%) and 92.6% (95% CI, 78.7-97.6%), respectively. There were no grade 4-5 toxicities. One patient (2%) developed grade 3 radiation pneumonitis at 3 months. Grade 2 toxicities were observed in 9 patients (19%), including dyspnea, radiation pneumonitis, pleural effusion, rib fracture, and dermatitis.

CONCLUSION

Dynamic tumor tracking SBRT achieved the long-term efficacy with low incidence of severe toxicities in lung tumors with respiratory motion. In this elderly patient cohort, non-cancer deaths were observed more than cancer-specific deaths.

Distinctive alterations in the mesocorticolimbic circuits in various psychiatric disorders

AIM

Increasing evidence suggests that psychiatric disorders are linked to alterations in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine-related circuits. However, the common and disease-specific alterations remain to be examined in schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thus, this study aimed to examine common and disease-specific features related to mesocorticolimbic circuits.

METHODS

This study included 555 participants from four institutes with five scanners: 140 individuals with SCZ (45.0% female), 127 individuals with MDD (44.9%), 119 individuals with ASD (15.1%), and 169 healthy controls (HC) (34.9%). All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. A parametric empirical Bayes approach was adopted to compare estimated effective connectivity among groups. Intrinsic effective connectivity focusing on the mesocorticolimbic dopamine-related circuits including the ventral tegmental area (VTA), shell and core parts of the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) were examined using a dynamic causal modeling analysis across these psychiatric disorders.

RESULTS

The excitatory shell-to-core connectivity was greater in the all patients than in the HC group. The inhibitory shell-to-VTA and shell-to-mPFC connectivities were greater in the ASD group than in the HC, MDD, and SCZ groups. Furthermore, the VTA-to-core and VTA-to-shell connectivities were excitatory in the ASD group, while those connections were inhibitory in the HC, MDD, and SCZ groups.

CONCLUSION

Impaired signaling in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine-related circuits could be an underlying neuropathogenesis of various psychiatric disorders. These findings will improve the understanding of unique neural alternations of each disorder and will facilitate identification of effective therapeutic targets. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Aberrant Large-Scale Network Interactions Across Psychiatric Disorders Revealed by Large-Sample Multi-Site Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Datasets

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS

Dynamics of the distributed sets of functionally synchronized brain regions, known as large-scale networks, are essential for the emotional state and cognitive processes. However, few studies were performed to elucidate the aberrant dynamics across the large-scale networks across multiple psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we aimed to investigate dynamic aspects of the aberrancy of the causal connections among the large-scale networks of the multiple psychiatric disorders.

STUDY DESIGN

We applied dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to the large-sample multi-site dataset with 739 participants from 4 imaging sites including 4 different groups, healthy controls, schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder (BD), to compare the causal relationships among the large-scale networks, including visual network, somatomotor network (SMN), dorsal attention network (DAN), salience network (SAN), limbic network (LIN), frontoparietal network, and default mode network.

STUDY RESULTS

DCM showed that the decreased self-inhibitory connection of LIN was the common aberrant connection pattern across psychiatry disorders. Furthermore, increased causal connections from LIN to multiple networks, aberrant self-inhibitory connections of DAN and SMN, and increased self-inhibitory connection of SAN were disorder-specific patterns for SCZ, MDD, and BD, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

DCM revealed that LIN was the core abnormal network common to psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, DCM showed disorder-specific abnormal patterns of causal connections across the 7 networks. Our findings suggested that aberrant dynamics among the large-scale networks could be a key biomarker for these transdiagnostic psychiatric disorders.

The association between clinical symptoms and later subjective quality of life in individuals with ultra-high risk for psychosis and recent-onset psychotic disorder: A longitudinal investigation

AIM

Subjective quality of life is a clinically relevant outcome that is strongly associated with the severity of clinical symptoms in individuals with ultra-high risk for psychosis and patients with recent-onset psychotic disorder. Our objective was to examine whether longitudinal changes in clinical symptoms are associated with quality of life in ultra-high risk individuals and patients with recent-onset psychotic disorder.

METHODS

Individuals with ultra-high risk and patients with recent-onset psychosis disorder were recruited in the same clinical settings at baseline and were followed up with more than 6 months and less than 5 years later. We assessed five factors of clinical symptoms using the positive and negative syndrome scale, and quality of life using the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire-short form. We used multiple regression to examine the relationships between clinical symptoms and quality of life while controlling for diagnosis, follow-up period, age, and sex.

RESULTS

Data were collected from 22 individuals with ultra-high risk and 27 patients with recent-onset psychosis disorder. The multiple regression analysis results indicated that the more severe anxiety/depression was at baseline, the poorer the quality of life at follow-up. Further, improvement of anxiety/depression and disorganized thoughts were associated with improvement in quality of life. The difference in diagnosis did not affect the association between clinical symptoms and quality of life.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that the improvement of anxiety/depression and disorganized thoughts is important in the early stages of psychosis before it becomes severe, affecting the quality of life.

A preliminary study of the safety and effectiveness of isoproterenol loading transesophageal echocardiography in atrial fibrillation

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Background

In patients with sludge or severe spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) in the left atrial appendage (LAA), isoproterenol loading transesophageal echocardiography (ISP-TEE) has been reported to check the presence of thrombus in the LAA, as the sludge or severe SEC disappears (Figure 1).

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess the safety of ISP-TEE for the identification of LAA thrombus and the hemodynamic changes in the LAA caused by ISP loading.

Methods

We prospectively enrolled 25 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and sludge or SEC in the LAA who underwent ISP-TEE from April 2020 to July 2021. ISP was administered intravenously to achieve the target heart rate (HR) defined as follows: Max HR [beats per minutes: bpm] = 220 – age (years), Target HR [bpm] = Max HR × 0.8. Patients with tachycardia exceeding Max HR before ISP administration, hemodynamic instability, and other contraindications to ISP were excluded from the study. To assess the safety of ISP-TEE, we evaluated patients’ condition, changes in systolic blood pressure (sBP) and HR before and after ISP loading. We also assessed the presence or absence of worsening heart failure, new arrhythmias other than atrial fibrillation, and cerebral infarction or transient ischemic attack during the examination, and after 24 hours. Hemodynamic evaluation was performed using LAA blood flow velocity, LAA tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) velocity, and LAA volume fraction (LAAVF) defined as follows: LAAVF (%) = (Max LAA volume – Min LAA volume) / Max LAA volume × 100. Quantification of LAA volume was performed using the stacked-contour method of a 3-dimensional TEE full-volume acquisition.

Results

Among 25 patients, 13 patients had sludge or grade3 SEC, 7 patients had grade2 SEC, 5 patients had grade1 SEC. HR after ISP loading was significantly higher than before loading, but sBP did not change significantly before and after ISP loading. No complications due to ISP loading were observed during examination and after 24 hours. After ISP loading, there were 18 patients with grade 1 SEC or no SEC (classified as Group1), 7 patients had residual sludge or grade 2 to 3 SEC (classified as Group2). The differences in LAA blood flow velocity between before and after ISP loading was faster in Group1 than in Group2: 13.0 ± 10.5 vs 2.6 ± 4.2. p = 0.019. The differences in TDI velocity was also faster in Group1 than in Group2: 1.46 ± 1.14 vs 0.19 ± 0.50, p = 0.010. The differences in LAAVF was higher in Group1 than in Group2: 13.7 ± 10.3 vs 2.2 ± 2.0, p = 0.009.

Conclusions

In our study, no complications were observed in ISP-TEE for the identification of LAA thrombus. Patients with grade 1 SEC or no SEC, the LAA function was increased by ISP loading. These results may provide insights into the mechanisms of ISP loading on SEC in the LAA. Abstract Figure.

Effects of an elemental diet to reduce adverse events in patients with esophageal cancer receiving docetaxel/cisplatin/5-fluorouracil: a phase III randomized controlled trial-EPOC 2 (JFMC49-1601-C5)

Background

Oral mucositis (OM) is an unpleasant adverse event in patients receiving chemotherapy. A prospective feasibility study showed that elemental diet (ED), an oral supplement that does not require digestion, may prevent OM. Based on this, we established a central review system for oral cavity assessment by dental oncology specialists blinded to background data. We used this system to elucidate the preventive effect of an ED against OM in patients with esophageal cancer receiving docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) therapy.

Patients and methods

In this phase III, multicenter, parallel-group, controlled trial, patients consuming a normal diet orally were randomly assigned (1 : 1) to receive two cycles of DCF with (group A) or without (group B) an ED (Elental® 160 g/day). We assessed the incidence of grade ≥2 OM evaluated by two reviewers, changes in body weight, prealbumin, C-reactive protein, and DCF completion rate based on ED compliance.

Results

Of the 117 patients randomly assigned to treatment, four failed to start treatment and were excluded from the primary analysis; thus, groups A and B comprised 55 and 58 patients, respectively. There were no significant differences in background characteristics. Grade ≥2 OM was observed in eight (15%) and 20 (34%) patients in groups A and B, respectively (P = 0.0141). Changes in body weight and prealbumin during the two DCF cycles were significantly higher in group A than B (P = 0.0022 and 0.0203, respectively). During the first cycle, changes in C-reactive protein were significantly lower in group A than B (P = 0.0338). In group A (receiving ED), the DCF completion rate was 100% in patients with 100% ED compliance and 70% in patients failing ED completion (P = 0.0046).

Conclusions

The study findings demonstrate that an ED can prevent OM in patients with esophageal cancer receiving chemotherapy.

•

Patients receiving docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) chemotherapy commonly develop oral mucositis (OM).

•

An elemental diet (ED) was able to prevent OM in patients with esophageal cancer receiving DCF.

•

Grade ≥2 OM was observed in 15% of patients receiving the ED versus 34% of those not receiving the ED (P = 0.0141).

•

Body weight was maintained in the ED group, and hematologic toxicities were lower, compared with the non-ED group.

•

The DCF completion rate significantly correlated with ED compliance (P = 0.0046).

Dietary arachidonic acid improves age-related excessive enhancement of the stress response

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to understand whether the responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to stress increases excessively with aging in senescence-accelerated mice-prone 10 (SAMP10) and to investigate the role of arachidonic acid (ARA) in this process.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The area under the curve of CORT concentration (CORT-AUC), an index of the HPA axis responsiveness to stress, was assessed in SAMP10 subjected to a 30-minute restraint stress up to 120 minutes after the restraint stress onset. Furthermore, the HPA axis responsiveness was evaluated in aged SAMP10 fed 0.4% ARA-containing diet (ARA group) or control diet (CON group) for 4 weeks. Three weeks later, these mice were divided into a group with a 30-minute restraint stress (CON-S or ARA-S group) and a group without restraint stress (CON-NS or ARA-NS group). Hippocampi were collected after stress release and fatty acid and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein levels were evaluated in the nucleus and cytosol.

RESULTS

The CORT-AUC of aged SAMP10 was 21% significantly higher than that of young SAMP10. In the ARA group, hippocampal ARA was 0.5% significantly higher than that in the CON group. CORT-AUC in the ARA group was 24% significantly lower than that in the CON group. The ratio of GR protein levels in the nucleus and cytosol in the ARA-S group was 1.72 times significantly higher than that in the ARA-NS group but no difference was observed between the CON-S and CON-NS groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Dietary ARA seems to suppress age-related excessive enhancement of the HPA axis responsiveness via attenuation of age-related decline in hippocampal GR translocation into the nucleus after stress loading, which may contribute to an improvement of mental health.

Association of Education and Depressive Symptoms with Tooth Loss

Previous evidence suggests the association of lower educational attainment and depressive symptoms with tooth loss. The hypothesis of this study was that these factors may exacerbate the effect on tooth loss beyond the sum of their individual effects. We aimed to clarify the independent and interactive effects of educational attainment and depressive symptoms on the number of missing teeth among community residents. Cross-sectional data of 9,647 individuals were collected from the general Japanese population. Dental examination was conducted by dentists. Educational attainment was categorized into 3 levels based on the number of educational years: ≤9, >9 to ≤12, and >12 y. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess depressive symptoms; a total score of ≥16 and/or the use of medications for depression indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. In the multivariate analysis with adjustment for conventional risk factors, educational attainment was identified as a determinant of the number of missing teeth (>9 to ≤12 y of education: coefficient = 0.199, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.135 to 0.263, P < 0.001; ≤9 y of education: coefficient = 0.318, 95% CI, 0.231 to 0.405, P < 0.001: reference, >12 y of education). An analysis that included interaction terms revealed that the relationship between "≤9 y of education" and the number of missing teeth differed depending on the depressive symptoms, indicating a positive interactive association (coefficient for interaction = 0.198; 95% CI, 0.033 to 0.364, P for interaction = 0.019: reference, >12 y of education). Our study suggests the presence of a significant association between educational attainment and tooth loss, as well as a partial interactive association between "≤9 y of education" and "depressive symptoms" in the general Japanese population.

Deep learning for screening of pulmonary hypertension using standard chest X-ray

Background

Early detection of pulmonary hypertension (PH) is crucial to ensure that patients receive timely treatment for the progressive clinical course. The chest X-ray (CXR), a routine method at hospitals, has recommended in order to reveal features supportive of a diagnosis of PH. However, it is well known that the sensitivity and specificity are low.

Purpose

We tested the hypothesis that application of artificial intelligence (AI) to the CXR could identify PH.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled 900 data with paired CXR and right heart catheter (RHC), including the pulmonary artery pressure, from October 2009 to December 2018. We trained a convolutional neural network to identify patients with PH as actual value of pulmonary artery pressure, using the CXR alone (Figure). The diagnosis of PH was performed using hemodynamic measurements according to the most recent World Symposium standards: mean PAP ≥20 mmHg. We have compared the area under the curve (AUC) by human observers, measurements of CXR images, and AI for detection of PH.

Results

Subjects were divided into two groups with PH (439 patients; mean age, 66±14 years; 233 male) and without PH (461 patients; mean age, 68±12 years; 278 male). In an independent set, AI was the highest diagnostic ability for detection of PH (AUC: 0.71). The AUC by the AI algorithm was significantly higher than the AUC by measurements of CXR images and human observers (0.71 vs. 0.60 and vs. 0.63, all compared p&lt;0.05).

Conclusion

Applying AI to the CXR (a classical, universal, low-cost test) permits the CXR images to serve as a powerful tool to screen for PH.

Neural network

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Effectiveness of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir for Hepatitis C: Real-World Experience and Clinical Features of Retreatment Cases

Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P) are direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) that achieve a high sustained virological response (SVR) rate for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We investigated G/P effectiveness for HCV patients based on real-world experience and the clinical features of retreatment cases. HCV patients (n = 182) were compared for clinical features and outcomes between first treatment (n = 159) and retreatment (n = 23) G/P groups. Overall, 77 patients (42.3%) were male, the median age was 68 years, and 86/66/1/4 cases had genotype 1/2/1 + 2/3, respectively. An SVR was achieved in 97.8% (178/182) of cases by intention-to-treat analysis and 99.4% (178/179) of cases by per-protocol analysis. There were no remarkable differences between the first treatment and retreatment groups for male (42.8% vs. 39.1%, p = 0.70), median age (68 vs. 68 years, p = 0.36), prior hepatocellular carcinoma (5.8% vs. 8.7%, p = 0.59), or the fibrosis markers AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) (0.5 vs. 0.5, p = 0.80) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index (2.2 vs. 2.6, p = 0.59). The retreatment group had a significantly more frequent history of interferon treatment (12.3% vs. 52.2%, p < 0.01) and the Y93H mutation (25.0% vs. 64.7%, p = 0.02). The number of retreatment patients who had experienced 3, 2, and 1 DAA treatment failures was 1, 3, and 19, respectively, all of whom ultimately achieved an SVR by G/P treatment. In conclusion, G/P was effective and safe for both HCV first treatment and retreatment cases despite the retreatment group having specific resistance mutations for other prior DAAs. As G/P treatment failure has been reported for P32 deletions, clinicians should consider resistance mutations during DAA selection.

Resting-state EEG beta band power predicts quality of life outcomes in patients with depressive disorders: A longitudinal investigation

BACKGROUND

Quality of life is severely impaired in patients with depressive disorders. Previous studies have focused on biomarkers predicting depressive symptomatology; however, studies investigating biomarkers predicting quality of life outcomes are limited. Improving quality of life is important because it is related not only to mental health but also to physical health. We need to develop a biomarker related to quality of life as a therapeutic target for patients with depressive disorders. Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) is easy to record in clinical settings. The index of bandwidth spectral power predicts treatment response in depressive disorders and thus may be a candidate biomarker. However, no longitudinal studies have investigated whether EEG-recorded power could predict quality of life outcomes in patients with depressive disorders.

METHODS

The resting-state EEG-recorded bandwidth spectral power at baseline and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (QOL)-26 scores at 3-year follow-up were measured in 44 patients with depressive disorders.

RESULTS

The high beta band power (20-30 Hz) at baseline significantly predicted QOL at the 3-year follow-up after considering depressive symptoms and medication effects in a longitudinal investigation in patients with depressive disorders (β = 0.38, p = 0.01).

LIMITATIONS

We did not have healthy subjects as a comparison group in this study.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that resting-state beta activity has the potential to be a useful biomarker for predicting future quality of life outcomes in patients with depressive disorders.

Brain morphological and functional features in cognitive subgroups of schizophrenia

AIM

Previous studies have reported different brain morphologies in different cognitive subgroups of patients with schizophrenia. We aimed to examine the brain structures and functional connectivity in these cognitive subgroups of schizophrenia.

METHODS

We compared brain structures among healthy controls and cognitively deteriorated and preserved subgroups of patients with schizophrenia according to the decline in IQ. Connectivity analyses between subcortical regions and other brain areas were performed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging among the groups.

RESULTS

Whole brain and total cortical gray matter, right fusiform gyrus, left pars orbitalis gyrus, right pars triangularis, left superior temporal gyrus and left insula volumes, and bilateral cortical thickness were decreased in the deteriorated group compared to the control and preserved groups. Both schizophrenia subgroups had increased left lateral ventricle, right putamen and left pallidum, and decreased bilateral hippocampus, left precentral gyrus, right rostral middle frontal gyrus, and bilateral superior frontal gyrus volumes compared with controls. Hyperconnectivity between the thalamus and a broad range of brain regions was observed in the deteriorated group compared to connectivity in the control group, and this hyperconnectivity was less evident in the preserved group. We also found hyperconnectivity between the accumbens and the superior and middle frontal gyri in the preserved group compared with connectivity in the deteriorated group.

CONCLUSION

These findings provide evidence of prominent structural and functional brain abnormalities in deteriorated patients with schizophrenia, suggesting that cognitive subgroups in schizophrenia might be useful biotypes to elucidate brain pathophysiology for new diagnostic and treatment strategies.

Mismatch Negativity Predicts Remission and Neurocognitive Function in Individuals at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis

BACKGROUND

In the early intervention in psychosis, ultra-high risk (UHR) criteria have been used to identify individuals who are prone to develop psychosis. Although the transition rate to psychosis in individuals at UHR is 10% to 30% within several years, some individuals at UHR present with poor prognoses even without transition occurring. Therefore, it is important to identify biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of individuals at UHR, regardless of transition. We investigated whether mismatch negativity (MMN) in response to both duration deviant stimuli (dMMN) and frequency deviant stimuli (fMMN) could predict prognosis, including remission and neurocognitive function in individuals at UHR.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Individuals at UHR (n = 24) and healthy controls (HC; n = 18) participated in this study. In an auditory oddball paradigm, both dMMN and fMMN were measured at baseline. Remission and neurocognitive function after > 180 days were examined in the UHR group. Remission from UHR was defined as functional and symptomatic improvement using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score and Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS) positive subscales. Neurocognitive function was measured using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). We examined differences in MMN amplitude at baseline between those who achieved remission (remitters) and those who did not (non-remitters). Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify predictors for functioning, positive symptoms, and neurocognitive function.

RESULTS

Compared with the HC group, the UHR group had a significantly attenuated dMMN amplitude (p = 0.003). In the UHR group, GAF scores significantly improved during the follow-up period (mean value 47.1 to 55.5, p = 0.004). The dMMN amplitude at baseline was significantly larger in the remitter (n = 6) than in the non-remitter group (n = 18) (p = 0.039). The total SOPS positive subscale scores and fMMN amplitude at baseline could predict BACS attention subscore at the follow-up point (SOPS positive subscales, p = 0.030; fMMN, p = 0.041).

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that dMMN and fMMN predicted remission and neurocognitive function, respectively, in individuals at UHR, which suggests that there are both promising biomarker candidates for predicting prognosis in individuals at UHR.

540 Assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction from echocardiographic images using machine learning algorithm

Background

Precise and reliable echocardiographic assessment of LVEF is needed for clinical decision-making. LVEF is currently determined through an observer dependent process that requires manual tracing. To remove this manual tracing step, which is both time-consuming and user dependent, automatic computer aided diagnosis systems may be useful in the clinical setting.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a 3-dimensional convolutional neural networks (3DCNN) could estimate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and differentiate types of heart failure (preserved EF/reduced EF) using conventional 2-dimensional echocardiographic images.

Methods

We developed a deep learning model to automatically estimate LVEF from echocardiographic data. The 3DCNN model was trained on a dataset of 340 patients. The dataset creation consisted of three main steps: firstly, for each exam, cine-loops showing the parasternal and apical views were manually selected; then, 10 sequential frames were extracted from each 1 beat and; finally, each frame was pre-processed to fit the learning model. Each patient has 2 views, resulting in a total of 6,800 images. Reference LVEF measurement was calculated by two highly experienced readers in each case.

Results

A good correlation was found between estimated LVEF based on apical 2 and 4 chamber views and reference LVEF (r =0.88, p &lt;0.001) (Figure). For classification of heart failure types based on LVEF (LVEF ≥50% or &lt;50%), the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve by the 3DCNN algorithm was over 0.95.

Conclusions

The 3DCNN can be applied to estimate and classify the LVEF in the clinical setting. Furthermore, this work will serve as a driver for future research using million image databases.

Abstract 540 Figure.

P1526 Updated prevalence of lambls excrescences using the latest three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography

Background

Lambl’s excrescences (LEs), filiform strands that occur at sites of cardiac valves, have been suggested the cause cryptogenic stroke. The diagnosis is primarily based upon the echocardiographic study, but conventional two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography has limitation to detect such as small strands. Latest three dimensional-transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) have high-resolution images with many slices, so small structures are able to be clearly visible and detected.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of LEs using the latest 3D-TEE images.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed consecutive 140 patients who underwent 3D-TEE from November 2018 to May 2019. Forty-seven patients were excluded due to unmeasurable, such as mitral valve prolapse, severe aortic stenosis, prosthetic valves and poor-quality images. We carefully evaluated the mitral and aortic valve leaflets in order to find mobile string structure (diameter &lt;1 mm and length 1–20 mm) in each cardiac cycle. Total analyzed images were over 50 slices per one patient.

Results

Among 93 patients, 83 patients (89%) was detected the presence of LEs. No difference in age and gender were found between patients with LEs and patients without LEs. Of the total 83 patients, there were 35 patients with strands on mitral valve, 32 patients with strands on aortic valve, and 16 patients with strands on both valves. Distribution of LEs at each valve leaflet were shown in Figure. Right coronary cusp of aortic valve (42%) and P2 of mitral valve (35%) were high prevalence among leaflets.

Conclusions

3D-TEE provides an update prevalence of LEs. The prevalence of LEs might be potentially high in the real world.

Abstract P1526 Figure.

Final overall survival results of WJTOG3405, a randomized phase III trial comparing gefitinib versus cisplatin with docetaxel as the first-line treatment for patients with stage IIIB/IV or postoperative recurrent EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Primary analysis of the phase III study WJTOG 3405 demonstrated superiority of progression-free survival (PFS) for gefitinib (G) in patients treated with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) gefitinib compared with cisplatin plus docetaxel (CD) as the first-line treatment of stage IIIB/IV or postoperative recurrent EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. This report presents final overall survival (OS) data.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients were randomized between G (250 mg/day orally) and cisplatin (80 mg/m2 intravenously) plus docetaxel (60 mg/m2 i.v.), administered every 21 days for three to six cycles. After the exclusion of 5 patients, 172 patients (86 in each group, modified intention-to-treat population) were included in the survival analysis. OS was re-evaluated using updated data (data cutoff, 30 September 2013; median follow-up time 59.1 months). The Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test were used for analysis, and hazard ratios (HRs) for death were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

OS events in the G group and CD group were 68 (79.1%) out of 86 and 59 (68.6%) out of 86, respectively. Median survival time for G and CD were 34.9 and 37.3 months, respectively, with an HR of 1.252 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.883-1.775, P = 0.2070]. Multivariate analysis identified postoperative recurrence and stage IIIB/IV disease as independent prognostic factors, with an HR of 0.459 (95% CI: 0.312-0.673, P < 0.001). Median survival time (postoperative recurrence versus stage IIIB/IV disease) were 44.5 and 27.5 months in the G group and 45.5 and 32.8 months in the CD group, respectively.

CONCLUSION

G did not show OS benefits over CD as the first-line treatment. OS of patients with postoperative recurrence was better than that of stage IIIB/IV disease, even though both groups had metastatic disease.This study was registered with UMIN (University Hospital Medical Information Network in Japan), number 000000539.

P6432Predictive value of rest-MCG and stress-MCG in patients with angina pectoris

Background

Thousands of patients present themselves annually to the emergency department or private clinic with chest pain. Categorizing different types of angina is clinically important and is one of the cornerstones for pre-test-probability.

In patients with angina pectoris, symptoms mostly occurred during physical exertion and usually lasted a short time. This paper examines Magnetocardiography (MCG) in patients with angina pectoris. Cardiac electromagnetic activity is recorded by MCG which is a non-invasive, non-contact, and radiation-free multichannel mapping technique. We present results focusing on resting- and stress-MCG in order to detect true coronary artery disease.

Method

We examined 131 patients (66±12 yrs., 94 male) with angina pectoris who were asymptomatic during the time in the emergency department. Troponin and ECG were in normal range. These patients had complex cardiovascular risk factors – arterial hypertension in 87%, hyperliproteinemia in 63%, nicotine consumption in 23%, diabetes mellitus in 14%.

The cardiac magnetic field was registered over the anterior chest wall with a 64-channel gradiometer system in a magnetically shielded room (CS-MAG III, BMP GmbH). Rest- and Stress-MCG measurement were performed before patients received an invasive ischemia investigation. We calculated in total 9 MCG parameters that could serve as indicators in the diagnosis of ischemia and coronary artery disease (CAD): T-wave dispersion, T-wave vectors MCG (VMCG), T-Scores, ST-Fluc-Score and PLP-Score.

Results

All of the 131 patients received an invasive diagnostic. 43 patients exhibited a CAD. Resting MCG could identify 28/43 patients correctly (SENS of 65%, NPV of 66%). Stress-MCG was able to identify 42/43 correctly (SENS 98%, NPV 88%).

Conclusions

Stress-MCG seems to be a highly sensitive method in detecting CAD in patients with stable angina. In diagnostics, it should be complemented by other indicators such as troponin to improve its specificity.

Randomized clinical trial of extensive intraoperative peritoneal lavage versus standard treatment for resectable advanced gastric cancer (CCOG 1102 trial)

BACKGROUND

A survival benefit of extensive intraoperative peritoneal lavage (EIPL) has been reported in patients with gastric cancer with positive peritoneal cytology. The hypothesis of this study was that EIPL may reduce peritoneal recurrence in patients with advanced gastric cancer who undergo surgery with curative intent.

METHODS

This was an open-label, multi-institutional, randomized, phase 3 trial to assess the effects of EIPL versus standard treatment after curative gastrectomy for resectable gastric cancer of T3 status or above. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS); secondary endpoints were overall survival, peritoneal recurrence-free survival and incidence of adverse events.

RESULTS

Between July 2011 and January 2014, 314 patients were enrolled from 15 institutions and 295 patients were analysed (145 and 150 in the EIPL and no-EIPL groups respectively). The 3-year DFS rate was 63·9 (95 per cent c.i. 55·5 to 71·2) per cent in the EIPL group and 59·7 (51·3 to 67·1) per cent in the control group (hazard ratio (HR) 0·81, 95 per cent c.i. 0·57 to 1·16; P = 0·249). The 3-year overall survival rate was 75·0 (67·1 to 81·3) per cent in the EIPL group and 73·7 (65·9 to 80·1) per cent in the control group (HR 0·91, 0·60 to 1·37; P = 0·634). Peritoneal recurrence-free survival was not significantly different between the two groups (HR 0·92, 0·62 to 1·36; P = 0·676). No intraoperative complications related to EIPL were observed.

CONCLUSION

EIPL did not improve survival or peritoneal recurrence in patients who underwent gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer. Registration number: 000005907 (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm).

S-1 and irinotecan plus bevacizumab versus mFOLFOX6 or CapeOX plus bevacizumab as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (TRICOLORE): a randomized, open-label, phase III, noninferiority trial

Background

Combination therapy with oral fluoropyrimidine and irinotecan has not yet been established as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We carried out a randomized, open-label, phase III trial to determine whether S-1 and irinotecan plus bevacizumab is noninferior to mFOLFOX6 or CapeOX plus bevacizumab in terms of progression-free survival (PFS).

Patients and methods

Patients from 53 institutions who had previously untreated mCRC were randomly assigned (1 : 1) to receive either mFOLFOX6 or CapeOX plus bevacizumab (control group) or S-1 and irinotecan plus bevacizumab (experimental group; a 3-week regimen: intravenous infusions of irinotecan 150 mg/m2 and bevacizumab 7.5 mg/kg on day 1, oral S-1 80 mg/m2 twice daily for 2 weeks, followed by a 1-week rest; or a 4-week regimen: irinotecan 100 mg/m2 and bevacizumab 5 mg/kg on days 1 and 15, S-1 80 mg/m2 twice daily for 2 weeks, followed by a 2-week rest). The primary end point was PFS. The noninferiority margin was 1.25; noninferiority would be established if the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the hazard ratio (HR) of the control group versus the experimental group was less than this margin.

Result

Between June 2012 and September 2014, 487 patients underwent randomization. Two hundred and forty-three patients assigned to the control group and 241 assigned to the experimental group were included in the primary analysis. Median PFS was 10.8 months (95% CI 9.6-11.6) in the control group and 14.0 months (95% CI 12.4-15.5) in the experimental group (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.70-1.02; P < 0.0001 for noninferiority, P = 0.0815 for superiority). One hundred and fifty-seven patients (64.9%) in the control group and 140 (58.6%) in the experimental group had adverse events of grade 3 or higher.

Conclusion

S-1 and irinotecan plus bevacizumab is noninferior to mFOLFOX6 or CapeOX plus bevacizumab with respect to PFS as first-line treatment of mCRC and could be a new standard treatment.

Clinical trials number

UMIN000007834.