PURPOSE To investigate outcomes for elderly patients treated with chemotherapy (CT) alone versus chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in the modern era by using a large national database. PATIENTS AND METHODS Elderly patients (age ≥ 70 years) with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer clinical stage I to III who received CT or CRT were identified in the National Cancer Data Base between 2003 and 2011. Hier...

BACKGROUND The clinical benefits of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and primary prophylactic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) are debated. OBJECTIVE To evaluate by a meta-analysis the effect of CRT and prophylactic ICD therapy in patients with LVSD. METHODS Eligible trials evaluating the effect of CRT vs. no-C...

INTRODUCTION Increased expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been described in left ventricular dysfunction in the course of chronic heart failure. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a unique treatment method that may reverse the course of chronic heart failure (CHF) with reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF). We aimed to evaluate the IL-6 system, including soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) ...

Objective: To assess prospectively the effect of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) on New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, cardiac function, cardiopulmonary exercise performance, and neurohormonal activation during 24 months’ follow up. Design: Controlled study. Patients and Results: 124 patients with severe congestive heart failure (ejection fraction, 35%, NYHA III– IV) an...

PURPOSE Whether preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is better than postoperative CRT in oncologic outcome and toxicity is contentious in prospective randomized clinical trials. We systematically analyze and compare the treatment result, toxicity, and sphincter preservation rate between preoperative CRT and postoperative CRT in stage II-III rectal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS We searched Med...

Abstract Background There is an long-standing debate whether cardiac resynchronisation therapy-defibrillation (CRT-D) preferred over CRT-pacemaker (CRT-P). No randomised controlled trials have been designed to compare these treatments. However, several observational studies performed so far providing controversial results. Methods PubMed, CENTRAL and Embase until October 2021 were screened for ...

OBJECTIVE To assess prospectively the effect of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) on New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, cardiac function, cardiopulmonary exercise performance, and neurohormonal activation during 24 months' follow up. DESIGN Controlled study. PATIENTS AND RESULTS 124 patients with severe congestive heart failure (ejection fraction < 35%, NYHA III-IV) a...

Although neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard treatment for advanced rectal cancer (RC), markers to predict the treatment response have not been fully established. In 73 patients with advanced RC who underwent CRT in a neoadjuvant setting, we retrospectively examined the associations between the clinical effects of CRT and blood cell counts before and after CRT. Clinical or patho...

The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) monotherapies with CRT-ICD combined therapy. Databases were searched to identify studies that compared CRT or ICD alone with CRT-ICD combined therapy in patients with heart failure. The primary outcome was rate of death for any cause, and second...