Oncology Vol 28 No 1S

April 15, 2014

Of the patients who were eligible for breast conservation therapy (BCT), younger age and being married were associated with choosing mastectomy.

April 15, 2014

Preoperative and postoperative patient and tumor characteristics for breast cancer patients treated at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College with Intrabeam intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) are reported.

April 15, 2014

Although uncommon in women less than 40 years old, breast cancer in younger women may have unique biologic and treatment implications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate treatment of breast cancer in young women with respect to previously established clinical predictors of local therapy choice.

April 15, 2014

Results and outcomes of use of multicatheter interstitial high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT) to deliver accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) in a large cohort of women treated in a three-physician private practice setting over 10 years and 9 months are reported.

April 15, 2014

Radiotherapy for left-sided breast cancer has historically been associated with an elevated risk of cardiac mortality, based upon studies in the era predating computed tomography (CT)-based treatment planning. This study assessed the impact of tumor laterality on overall survival (OS) in a large cohort treated with modern techniques to determine if left-sided treatment is still associated with a heightened risk of cardiac mortality.

April 15, 2014

Conventional radiotherapy (RT) with proton-based RT in a series of patients with right- or left-sided breast cancer and anatomical variations resulting in technically challenging radiation plans are compared.

April 15, 2014

Although autologous and immediate reconstruction has potential advantages when compared with delayed and implant-based reconstruction for patients with breast cancer (BCA), concerns exist for potential increased complications and technical difficulty in the delivery of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT).

April 15, 2014

Breast cancer patients who develop a recurrence in the chest wall after mastectomy represent a high-risk subgroup that may benefit from early identification and more aggressive treatment. Traditional clinicopathologic factors have been proven useful for prognosis, but there remains a need to identify molecular markers with prognostic significance.

April 15, 2014

An investigation of the association between deteriorating economic environment and utilization of postlumpectomy radiation therapy (PLRT) using a difference-in-differences (DID) model.

April 15, 2014

Although recent data have been published regarding trends surrounding mastectomy with reconstruction for breast cancer, little data exist about predictors of immediate vs delayed reconstruction and the prevalence of reconstruction where it is traditionally contraindicated, such as inflammatory breast cancer and stage IV disease.

April 15, 2014

Significant effort has been expended over the past decade to reduce racial disparities in breast cancer care. Whether disparities in receipt of appropriate radiotherapy care for breast cancer persisted despite these efforts is unknown, as is the impact of being eligible for Medicare.

April 15, 2014

Patients with abnormal screening mammogram (abSM) often experience prolonged wait times for additional testing to resolve the cause of the abnormality. The purpose of this study was to initiate an intervention, termed ‘reflex testing’ (RefT), and analyze pre- and post-RefT timelines to determine if, where, and in whom RefT resulted in significant decreases in timelines for resolution of abSM of patients undergoing routine screening in an accredited community hospital-based breast center.

April 15, 2014

Due to the rarity of Paget disease (PD), the role of breast conserving surgery (BCS) and radiation therapy (RT) is not fully defined. The specific aims of this analysis are to study national patterns of care in the local management of PD and to determine breast cancer–specific survival (BCSS) by type of treatment in a large population-based cohort.

April 15, 2014

Recent expert consensus statements have endorsed use of accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) in select groups of low-risk women with early-stage breast cancer. APBI in the form of balloon brachytherapy is increasingly selected as a method of radiation treatment (RT).

April 15, 2014

In breast cancer, the primary site residual burden of disease (PRBD) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to correlate with poor prognostic outcomes. Currently, there is no established standard of care to offer patients with residual disease, in terms of adjuvant systemic treatment after full-dose neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

April 15, 2014

The World Health Organization predicts that 26.4 million new cancer cases will be reported in 2030 alone. It is necessary to establish an effective mentoring paradigm in radiological science, not just for medical students (MS) but also for high school (HS) and college undergraduate (UG) students, to promote a greater general awareness of the study of oncology as well as its therapeutic implementation.

April 15, 2014

There are over 3.0 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) diagnosed each year in the United States. Multiple treatment options exist for the treatment of these patients. We describe the outcomes of patients treated at a large private dermatology practice with electronic brachytherapy (eBx) who had a minimum follow-up duration of 1 year.

April 15, 2014

The long-term outcomes of radiation therapy (RT) in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who have benign lymphoepithelial cysts (BLECs) of the parotid glands are reported.

April 15, 2014

Electronic brachytherapy for skin cancer is now available without the need for room shielding. Advances in radiobiology and radiotechnology permit the treatment course to be given in eight fractions over 4 weeks. This report describes the experience with our first 565 treated lesions.

April 15, 2014

Thymic tumors are a rare disease and have been treated in a similar manner without convincing data. We present our institutional results of outcomes between invasive thymoma and thymic carcinoma.

April 15, 2014

Patients who sustain brain and spinal cord injuries are at risk for developing neurogenic heterotopic ossification (NHO), the formation of bone in extraskeletal soft tissue. The purpose of this study was to review the experience and to report the outcome of eight consecutively irradiated joints in four patients with NHO.

April 15, 2014

Linear accelerator–based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a treatment option for melanoma patients who have developed brain metastases. Few data are available on treatment of patients with ≥ 5 lesions. We sought to determine the effectiveness of SRS in patients with ≥ 5 melanoma brain metastases.

April 15, 2014

In the United States, an estimated 48 million individuals live without health insurance. The purpose of this study is to explore differences in key factors associated with insurance status among non-Medicare-aged adults diagnosed with the top 25 incident cancers using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) public-use database.

April 15, 2014

As the volume of radiation oncology information increases, the ability to gather and critically appraise high-quality information in order to answer clinical questions becomes increasingly challenging for radiation oncologists. Sharing knowledge about new information and practice variations is instrumental to high-quality radiation oncology practices.

April 15, 2014

The standard approach for palliation of bone metastasis (BM) is conventionally planned radiation (CRT). Randomized studies have shown the equivalence of hypofractionated vs conventionally fractionated regimens; yet, reported pain control is poor with either approach, resulting in some degree of pain relief in only 50% to 80% of cases and complete response in 15% to 60% of cases.

April 15, 2014

NRG Oncology is a member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network program and was created by the integration of three adult cooperative groups: the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG). The Publications Working Group, has begun the amalgamation of three publications databases into one to track progress in manuscript development and to provide access to a comprehensive bibliography that incorporates the past/current research of all three legacy groups.

April 15, 2014

With the increasing patient population in the oncology world and advancing technologies in radiation oncology in particular, there is an increasing need for assistance in providing high-quality care.

April 15, 2014

This retrospective analysis concentrates on our institutional experience with transarterial radioembolization (TARE) for the treatment of liver metastasis from neuroendocrine cancer.

April 15, 2014

Advances in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) head and neck target delineation and treatment planning have led to improved sparing of organs at risk (OARs). In this study, we compare three IMRT techniques for the treatment of common cases of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

April 15, 2014

Step-and-shoot intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and variable-dose-rate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) are two common treatment techniques for the definitive treatment of prostate cancer. In order to compare these two techniques in modern practice, we analyzed two cohorts of patients treated at our institution who were matched for PTV, prescribed dose, and patient characteristics.

April 15, 2014

Today’s health care system is evolving in its approach to the management of an ethnically diverse population, as it continues to struggle with the imperative of providing cost-effective care. This study attempts to assess the level of knowledge and interest current residents have in CAM teachings, with the goal of eventually incorporating such evidence-based study into training curriculum.

April 15, 2014

Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a significant toxicity following thoracic radiotherapy, with no method to predict individual risk. Our lab had previously shown that pulmonary metabolic response rate (PMRR) is highly predictive of RP in lung cancer. In this prospective study, we used PMRR as a surrogate marker to predict radiation-induced lung toxicity in lung cancer patients receiving thoracic radiotherapy.

April 15, 2014

We report the initial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) control and toxicity profile of patients treated using IBCL seeds with the QuickLink device for permanent prostate brachytherapy.

April 15, 2014

The clinical effect of perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) image-guided planning in patients treated for locally advanced and metastatic lung cancers is assessed.

April 15, 2014

To evaluate outcomes and toxicity of concurrent full-dose gemcitabine and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for patients with borderline resectable and locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma following induction chemotherapy.

April 15, 2014

A retrospective study was performed to investigate potential prognostic indicators and evaluate treatment outcomes in patients diagnosed with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer (LAUPC), treated with chemotherapy alone (C), concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT), induction C followed by concurrent chemoradiation (C-CRT), CRT followed by chemotherapy (CRT-C), or C-CRT followed by C (C-CRT-C).

April 15, 2014

To compare toxicity and treatment outcomes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive vs HIV-negative patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal who underwent definitive concurrent chemoradiation at a single institution.

April 15, 2014

Cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is defined as an abnormal collection of vessels with multiple enlarged feeder arteries and dilated venous outflow, associated with risks of blood shunting and hemorrhage. Treatment options include surgery, embolization, or stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).

April 15, 2014

In this study, we perform a single-institution retrospective analysis of outcomes of patients treated with high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy (HDR-ISBT) for gynecologic malignancies. Locoregional control (LRC), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and long-term toxicity were evaluated.

April 15, 2014

We sought to explore a potential dose-response relationship with tumor downstaging after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for rectal cancer. To this end, we conducted a case-control analysis of 152 patients treated preoperatively, with and without a concomitant boost.

April 15, 2014

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is increasingly utilized for the treatment of inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) alone or in combination with other local treatment modalities. However, proximity to bowel often precludes the ability to deliver the full prescription dose to the planning target volume (PTV). In this study, we evaluate our experience using the technique of radiation therapy (RT)–dose-painting (DPRT) to decrease the dose received to critical structures with the PTV.

April 15, 2014

We updated our evidence-based dosimetric guidelines for treatment of men with clinically localized prostate cancer and introduced independent dose-volume histogram (DVH) analysis using MatLab. In doing so, we sought to evaluate whether the interventions above would translate into improvement in dosimetric endpoints for organs at risk (OARs).

April 15, 2014

This retrospective study presents the results of a multidisciplinary approach adopted in two cancer centers where patients diagnosed with stage IV SCC of the anal canal (liver-predominant disease) and a good performance status (ECOG 0–2) were offered a full course of concomitant chemoradiation followed by cisplatin-based palliative chemotherapy.

April 15, 2014

Small-animal irradiation is a critical part of translational studies in radiation oncology. The ability to deliver a small, highly focused radiation field allows for evaluation of radiation effects, as well as quantification of acute and late toxicities, in an assortment of tissues.

April 15, 2014

For the current study, we evaluated the effect of adjuvant RT on survival as well as treatment-related toxicity in patients with localized pancreatic cancer who underwent Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy).

April 15, 2014

Herein, we report the 6-year update from the Johns Hopkins Pancreas Multidisciplinary Clinic (PMDC) and evaluate the impact of an MDC on the clinical care recommendations of patients with pancreatic cancer.

April 15, 2014

Several reports over the last few decades have documented treatment-related toxicity or acceleration of demyelination in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with external beam radiotherapy. We propose to conduct a study investigating the acute and late toxicities of radiosurgery in MS patients in order to determine the risks associated with this modality in MS patients.

April 15, 2014

Here, we report findings from a series of 82 Y-90 microsphere brachytherapy treatments.

April 15, 2014

Long-term effects of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (NADT) with radiotherapy (RT) on patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have not been characterized in prospective multicenter studies. We evaluated the effects of NADT on HRQOL for 2 years among patients undergoing RT for newly diagnosed prostate cancer.

April 15, 2014

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide, the incidence of which is increasing in the United States. In this report, we analyze predictors of overall survival (OS) for a large cohort of patients diagnosed with HCC at an urban academic cancer center.

April 15, 2014

Advances in radiotherapy technology have led to an increase in stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) treatments.

April 15, 2014

Our purpose is to review a series of hypofractionated plans to report our ipsilateral lung dose-volumes and corresponding lung included in the field at the central plane.

April 15, 2014

Risk factors for radiation-induced skin toxicity (ST) are poorly understood, and there are limited data examining the relationship between race/ethnicity and the development of ST. We evaluated risk factors for radiation-induced ST in a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of patients receiving postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) for breast cancer.

April 15, 2014

The therapeutic index of treating cancer with ionizing radiation (IR) can be increased by minimizing normal tissue toxicity. Unfortunately, the therapies that have been developed to date have had limited efficacy. Therefore, identifying novel targets to protect normal tissue is essential during treatment.

April 15, 2014

Oral squamous cell carcinoma encompasses 90% of all oral malignancies. It is considered the sixth most common malignancy and is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early detection of premalignant lesions or cancerous oral lesions would improve the survival to a greater extent.

April 15, 2014

Fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) may offer several benefits in the treatment of symptomatic or growing meningioma but has not been examined extensively in the literature. Our primary aim was to describe the rates of tumor control and side effects in patients treated with CyberKnife SRS for meningioma.

April 15, 2014

A typical patient with a brain metastasis (BM) dies within an average of 8 months following the initial treatment of his or her brain tumor(s). Cause-specific mortality is rarely assessed or recorded, and the BM is often assumed to be the culprit.

April 15, 2014

Lymphoepithelioma is a rare tumor of the head and neck region, the optimal management of which remains to be defined. We evaluated and report on management outcomes from a large cohort of patients with modern management for this diagnosis.

April 15, 2014

Oral tongue cancers have been classically managed with upfront surgical resection, whereas radiation therapy (RT) and chemotherapy (CT) have been generally reserved in the adjuvant setting for patients who possess high-risk features and those with unresectable disease. We wanted to determine the role of RT, surgery, and CT for patients with oral tongue cancer.

April 15, 2014

Midline and central lesions of the brain requiring conventional radiation therapy (RT) present complex difficulties in dose avoidance to organs at risk (OAR). In either the definitive or adjuvant setting, proper RT coverage of these lesions involves unnecessary treatment of large volumes of normal brain. We propose a class solution for these lesions using proton therapy (PrT).

April 15, 2014

The outcomes of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patients treated with surgery and radiation therapy (RT) are evaluated and compared.

April 15, 2014

For patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), eliminating coverage to the contralateral high level II (HLII) lymph nodes and contralateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RPLNs) in the clinically uninvolved side of the neck is associated with minimal risk of failure in these regions and significantly improves patient-reported quality of life (QOL).

April 15, 2014

Adjuvant therapy is not recommended after resection of oral tongue cancer in the absence of risk factors for recurrence. Having reported a 73% locoregional control rate for patients managed with surgery alone for ‘low-risk’ oral tongue cancer, this series examines our experience treating locoregional failures.

April 15, 2014

The efficacy and tolerability of chemoradiation (CRT) for locoregionally advanced cutaneous nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) are investigated.

April 15, 2014

The clinical significance of tumor lymphangiogenesis continues to be an area of active research. We hypothesize that high peritumoral and intratumoral lymphatic vessel density (LVD) predict for inferior oncologic outcomes, including local failure (LF), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).

April 15, 2014

Treatment of T4 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is challenging due to the close proximity of the tumor to the central nervous system. We evaluated our disease control and toxicity outcomes for patients with T4 NPC treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and chemotherapy.

April 15, 2014

Conventional matching techniques of craniospinal irradiation (CSI) require patients to be in the prone position in order to use skin surface markers to align matched or gapped adjacent fields. Because of safety concerns regarding field overlap with a blind match, there has been reluctance to treat patients supine. Here, we present the clinical outcomes of patients treated with our supine CSI technique using a gradient match of brain and spinal fields.

April 15, 2014

Racial and ethnic disparities in limb salvage surgery have been reported among adult sarcoma patients. The purpose of this work was to explore treatment patterns by ethnicity and gender in a cohort of pediatric sarcoma patients.

April 15, 2014

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is increasingly used in the treatment of hypopharyngeal carcinoma for functional organ-sparing. We retrospectively reviewed our single-institution experience treating stage I–IVa hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) patients with definitive IMRT +/− chemotherapy.

April 15, 2014

Repeat radiation for recurrent brain tumors may be performed in the pediatric population with acceptable short- and long-term toxicity. Establishment of dose-volume guidelines will facilitate treatment planning for these challenging cases.

April 15, 2014

We hypothesize that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), daily image guidance, and reduced planning margins will have fewer significant late effects and improved functional outcomes than those treated with conventional techniques.

April 15, 2014

The purpose of this study was to develop a workflow process that enables quantitative assessment of different image registration techniques used for head and neck simulation CT to diagnostic CT coregistration.

April 15, 2014

Optic nerve sheath meningiomas (ONMs) typically present with unilateral vision loss, visual disturbance, and/or eye pain or pressure. ONMs are generally not amenable to surgery due to morbidity, visual deterioration. For this reason, radiation is often used as primary treatment.

April 15, 2014

Intraoperative Cs-131 brachytherapy has been demonstrated to be safe, well tolerated, and convenient for patients, rendering high local control and minimal toxicity for patients with brain metastases. In this study, we reviewed serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images along with diffusion-weighted images (DWIs) for distinct local changes and assessed their clinical relevance and measured apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values.

April 15, 2014

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an emerging treatment strategy with increasing clinical applications in patients with head and neck cancers (HNCs), including mainly those with recurrent, previously irradiated (rHNC), locally advanced unresectable primary, or metastatic HNCs who have shown radioresistance to conventional radiotherapy, amongst others. The aim of this study was to reduce treatment toxicity of SBRT for patients with HNCs using highly noncoplanar 4π RT.

April 15, 2014

Treatment options for recurrent gliomas include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The majority of patients receive radiotherapy as part of their primary treatment, and multiple reirradiation fractionation schedules have been used in an attempt to decrease toxicity. We sought to report our institutional experience with reirradiation in the management of recurrent gliomas.

April 15, 2014

Radiation to the spine may be associated with gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity, including nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and esophagitis. Proton therapy is expected to reduce this due to decreased exposure of the GI system when posterior-anterior beams are utilized.

April 15, 2014

Radiation therapy delivered to the lower neck has long been associated with an increased risk of subsequent development of hypothyroidism. The purpose of this study was to define dosimetric predictors of increased hypothyroidism risk for oropharyngeal (OPC) patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to be used to guide treatment planning.

April 15, 2014

At median follow-up of 40 months, patients with node-positive thyroid cancer were most likely to recur in the neck rather than in the thyroid bed or distantly. Increasing nodal burden is associated with significantly increased risk of locoregional recurrence.

April 15, 2014

Postoperative radiation consolidation following resection of a symptomatic brain metastasis has traditionally been administered as whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT). Given the increasing survival in some cancer patients, an increasing number of centers are offering postoperative cavity consolidation in the form of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).

April 15, 2014

The outcomes of chordomas and chondrosarcomas treated with preoperative, postoperative, and definitive CyberKnife radiosurgery are determined. The goals of preoperative radiosurgery are to improve disease-free survival (DFS) by achieving clean margins and to decrease morbidity by achieving a smaller resection volume.

April 15, 2014

Involved-field radiotherapy (IFRT) after cytotoxic chemotherapy has become the standard of care in treating pediatric patients with Hodgkin disease. However, recent interest in shrinking the treatment volume to involved-node radiotherapy (INRT) may allow lower doses to critical organ structures. We dosimetrically compared IFRT and INRT treatment approaches.

April 15, 2014

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of oropharyngeal cancer patients to evaluate the incidence of hypothyroidism after definitive radiation therapy.

April 15, 2014

In this small cohort of patients, we were able to show increased incidence of thyroid abnormalities after radiotherapy as compared with the normal population.

April 15, 2014

The main aim of this study is to assess the acute and late toxicity as well as clinical outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer treated with SIB-IMRT at a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center.

April 15, 2014

CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a minimally invasive alternative for patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The purpose of this project is to determine the effects of dose and other clinical parameters on the rate of pain relief, duration of response, and rate of adverse effects in the treatment of TN using CyberKnife SRS.

April 15, 2014

We retrospectively evaluated rates of central nervous system toxicity following proton therapy in potentially high-risk patients in order to assess the incidence, clinical and dosimetric risk factors, and natural course of radiation treatment effects.

April 15, 2014

Despite the success of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) as a treatment modality for early-stage non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), some patients develop localized intrathoracic recurrences after treatment. Effective salvage therapy for these patients has typically been limited. We examine our institutional experience using SBRT for salvage of intrathoracic recurrence after definitive SBRT for early-stage NSCLC.

April 15, 2014

Here, we review patient outcomes and toxicity data of unbiopsied positron emission tomography (PET)-positive pulmonary lesions treated with SBRT for presumed non–small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).

April 15, 2014

To report on the Roswell Park Cancer Institute experience with iridium-192 high-dose-rate (HDR) intraoperative brachytherapy (IOBT) in minimally invasive, video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS) for localized pulmonary malignancy involving the chest wall.

April 15, 2014

Radiation esophagitis (RE) represents an inflammatory reaction to radiation therapy (RT). We hypothesized that aspects of the physiologic acute-phase response (APR), specifically increased platelet and decreased hemoglobin levels, predict RE.

April 15, 2014

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is increasingly used as the primary treatment for early-stage medically inoperable non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although the role of SBRT is established in the treatment of peripheral lung tumors, the outcomes and toxicities of SBRT for central lung tumors are not well characterized. This study investigates our institutional experience with SBRT for central tumors in NSCLC patients.

April 15, 2014

Treatment of central lung tumors with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) has been associated with higher rates of toxicities than in patients with peripheral tumors. Here, we report our institution’s experience in treating central lung tumor patients with SABR, compared with patients treated for peripheral lung tumors.

April 15, 2014

Four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) is used to account for respiratory motion in radiation treatment planning, but image artifacts resulting from the acquisition and postprocessing limit its accuracy.

April 15, 2014

Radioembolization with yttrium-90 (Y-90) microspheres is a treatment option for primary and metastatic liver tumors. We aim to demonstrate correlation between activity measured within the patient and the administered activity and to describe the distribution within the liver.

April 15, 2014

In patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), there are few established predictors of outcomes. Pretreatment maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) has recently been debated as a prognosticator of progression-free survival (PFS). Here, we present a retrospective series with up to 86 months follow-up evaluating potential prognosticators of outcomes.

April 15, 2014

Technical advances in radiotherapy (RT), especially stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR), have allowed many non–small-cell lung cancer patients once considered untreatable to be eligible for locally effective therapies. Some patients will experience recurrence or will present with multiple lung primaries. We review the success and impact of SABR in patients who have undergone multiple course therapy.

April 15, 2014

Preoperative chemoradiation is a standard treatment for esophageal cancer. However, significant treatment-related toxicities are common in this group of patients. We wished to understand the clinical predictors for high-grade (≥ 3) acute toxicities from chemoradiation.

April 15, 2014

Recent data suggest that metformin is a potent radiosensitizer in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, metformin use is associated with improved response to chemoradiotherapy in multiple tumor types. Based on these data, clinical trials incorporating metformin and radiotherapy are currently in development.

April 15, 2014

The purpose of this study was to determine the standard practice patterns of the use of PET/CT imaging in non–small-cell lung cancer treatment planning by radiation oncologists nationwide.

April 15, 2014

This study examined circulating tumor cell (CTC) counts as measured by a novel EpCAM-independent assay and compared CTC counts with multiple known patient and tumor prognostic factors to determine the utility of pretreatment CTC levels as a preliminary prognostic biomarker for patients undergoing definitive radiation therapy (RT) for NSCLC.

April 15, 2014

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has become the treatment of choice for early-stage non–small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) in nonoperative candidates. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy and toxicity of SBRT for stage T2 NSCLC.

April 15, 2014

Radiographic lung density changes are observed in most patients after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for lung cancer. In this study, we assessed the relationship between SBRT dose and our treatment technique. Follow-up CT density changes were used as a surrogate for lung injury from SBRT.

April 15, 2014

Early experiences with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for treatment of intrathoracic lesions have demonstrated excellent local control rates, upwards of 90% for primary and metastatic lesions in the lung parenchyma. We describe our institutional experience with SBRT treatment of central lung lesions and patient outcomes.

April 15, 2014

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is gaining prominence as an effective treatment for early-stage inoperable non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date, little attention has been paid to the radiation dose delivered to the breast tissue in female patients.

April 15, 2014

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has been established as the standard of care in medically inoperable patients with peripherally located early-stage non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our objective is to report outcomes, toxicity, and dose-volume histogram (DVH) data for patients receiving helical tomotherapy–based SBRT.

April 15, 2014

Findings suggest that triapine radiochemotherapy provides improved cancer-related survival in women with stage IIIB cervical cancer.

April 15, 2014

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has excellent control rates for low- and intermediate-risk prostate carcinoma. The role of SBRT for high-risk disease remains less studied. We present long-term results on a cohort of patients with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)-defined high-risk disease treated with SBRT.

April 15, 2014

We report an update of our previously published experience for primary treatment of prostate cancer with CyberKnife SBRT, assessing efficacy and toxicity.

April 15, 2014

We sought to develop a model for predicting prostate cancer recurrence by evaluating post-treatment PSA kinetics in patients with clinical failures.

April 15, 2014

To determine if a deformable bladder planning contour (DBPC) can help minimize repeat cone beam computed tomographies (CBCTs) during a course of prostate image-guided volumetric arc radiation therapy (IG-VMAT).

April 15, 2014

To retrospectively analyze the efficacy and toxicity of image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) in the management of prostate cancer (PCA) recurrence after primary cryotherapy.

April 15, 2014

Transperineal ultrasound allows clinicians to both detect the anatomy of the pelvis in comparable detail with MRI and appreciate intrafraction motion of the prostate and nearby critical structures in order to deliver more precise radiotherapy.

April 15, 2014

Photoacoustic imaging is a promising complement to ultrasound imaging for intraoperative brachytherapy seed visualization. Work is ongoing for eventual translation into human clinical trials.

April 15, 2014

To evaluate the feasibility and toxicity of hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and flattening filter-free (FFF) beams.

April 15, 2014

The American Brachytherapy Society consensus guidelines state that prostate volume > 50 mL is a relative contraindication to high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. We reviewed our experience with HDR brachytherapy to determine if prostate volume affected prostate target coverage or the risk of acute urinary toxicity.

April 15, 2014

We provide evidence that irradiating tumors at a time point when formation of androgen-induced double-strand breaks is ongoing provides superior control when compared with radiation that is delivered when tumors are fully deprived of androgens. These results may have significant implications for altering current clinical management of intermediate-and high-risk prostate cancer treated with definitive radiotherapy.

April 15, 2014

TraceIT hydrogel, injected endoscopically under local anesthesia in an office setting, can be considered a feasible option to precisely map tumor location with margins to facilitate targeted RT. The precise delineation of tumor margins on cone beam CT (CBCT) obtained with TraceIT could significantly improve an oncological outcome with minimal side effects.

April 15, 2014

We report the short-term pain evolution, side effects, and hematologic profile of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) undergoing Ra-223 treatment.

April 15, 2014

The objective of this ongoing phase I/II trial is to determine the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of postprostatectomy 3D conformal radiation therapy (CRT), hormone therapy, and concurrent docetaxel in patients with high-risk pathologic T2–3N0M0 prostate cancer.

April 15, 2014

Long-term salvage rates for men who undergo standard fraction radiation therapy (SFRT) due to biochemical failure after prostatectomy remain suboptimal. There is a poor understanding as to which patients are curable with standard salvage doses of radiation.

April 15, 2014

Our prostate brachytherapy technique at the Medical University of South Carolina evolved from implanting free seeds using a Mick Applicator (MA) (Mick Radio-Nuclear Instruments, Inc) to using intraoperatively built custom-linked (IBCL) seeds constructed with the QuickLink device (C.R. Bard, Inc). In this work, we compare dosimetric and early clinical outcomes using free seeds and IBCL seeds.

April 15, 2014

While biochemical progression-free survival (BPFS) for prostate cancer treated with brachytherapy is excellent, reported outcomes differ between groups. One hypothesis that has been proposed for improved biochemical outcomes is prescribing to a planning target volume (PTV) that extends substantially beyond the prostate. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the effect of overlap vs underlap between prescription isodose lines and prostate contours on BPFS. We also assessed whether these spatial differences are correlated with increased acute toxicity.

April 15, 2014

The use of neoadjuvant radiotherapy is the standard of care in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer. The aim of our study was to identify if patients underwent radiation first vs surgery and if the treatment patterns changed with time.

April 15, 2014

To review our local control (LC), survival, and swallowing outcomes using an innovative endoesophageal brachytherapy technique. Further, we conducted a dose-volume comparison for clinical target volume (CTV) using the standard 1-tube vs our novel 3-tube technique.

April 15, 2014

Standard treatment of patients with stage II and III rectal cancer consists of a multimodality approach, including the use of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

April 15, 2014

The proximity of the pancreas to the bowel presents a unique challenge for pancreatic cancer stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). This study explores the safety and effectiveness of a novel approach optimizing pancreatic tumor coverage and duodenal sparing.

April 15, 2014

Neoadjuvant chemoradiation or a short course of pelvic radiation therapy followed by surgery is the standard of care for patients diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer. For patients who are not surgical candidates, delivery of a tumor boost is frequently considered. The present analysis compares dosimetry of endorectal brachytherapy (ERBT) with three different image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) techniques.

April 15, 2014

Intriguing data suggest that clinical complete response following neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) may obviate the need for definitive resection in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

April 15, 2014

Effective cancer screening should detect disease at an earlier, more curable stage and thus reduce the incidence of late-stage diagnosis. In the last 3 decades, the Pap smear has become widely practiced in the US and is effective in the early diagnosis and prevention of cervical cancers.

April 15, 2014

Laparoscopic hysterectomy is increasingly replacing total abdominal hysterectomy as the standard approach in the management of endometrial cancer. An uncommon but reported complication of this minimally invasive approach is the recurrence of disease at the surgical entry site, known as port- or trocar-site metastasis.

April 15, 2014

The purpose of this study is to describe the outcomes of definitive radiation in medically inoperable early-stage endometrial carcinoma. Although early-stage disease usually results in favorable overall survival (OS) after surgery, there is a growing cohort of patients who are medically inoperable secondary to morbid obesity.

April 15, 2014

While it is known that definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for cervical cancer should be completed within 56 days, many patients experience delays which prolong treatment. Our objective is to evaluate factors predictive of prolonged treatment time, including time of stent placement, in this patient population.

April 15, 2014

Despite improvements in public health and important advancements in clinical care, cervical cancer is still an important condition among older women.

April 15, 2014

We report the initial analysis on the tolerability and toxicity of radiotherapy “sandwiched” with carboplatin and paclitaxel in surgically staged carcinosarcoma.

April 15, 2014

Obesity is a significant problem in the US, and an increase in body mass index (BMI) has an unclear effect on outcomes for patients with cervical carcinoma who receive definitive chemoradiation.

April 15, 2014

Adjuvant chemotherapy coupled with intravaginal radiotherapy (RT) seems to provide a good outcome in terms of low rate of isolated pelvic recurrence. However, given the rate of distant metastasis, further intensification of systemic therapy is still needed in this group of patients.

April 15, 2014

There is a paucity of data on the clinical outcomes in women with uterine clear-cell carcinoma. The purpose of this study is to report single-institution clinical outcomes in patients with early-stage uterine clear-cell carcinoma.

April 15, 2014

Sinonasal carcinomas are rare, highly morbid neoplasms originating in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. The mainstay of treatment over the past 2 decades has been a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. We sought to characterize trends in the initial management of sinonasal malignancy with a particular focus on the impact of hospital volume on surgical care and outcomes.

April 15, 2014

Rhabdomyosarcomas are the most common soft tissue tumors in the pediatric population, and they have a high propensity for local recurrence. Adjuvant radiation therapy is often used in their management and has a vital role in maximizing local control.

April 15, 2014

Some published reports indicate that radiation therapy (RT) may be overutilized in adult patients at end of life (EOL), defined as within 30 days of death. With regard to the pediatric population, very little data exist evaluating the use of RT at EOL.

April 15, 2014

Radiation-induced cerebrovascular injury in the form of accelerated arteriosclerosis of blood vessels is a well-known phenomenon. Delayed cerebrovasculopathy in pediatric cancer patients as a result of cranial irradiation has been reported to present as Moyamoya disease or intracerebral hemorrhage.

April 15, 2014

The treatment of pediatric low-grade gliomas (LGGs) generally begins with maximal safe resection. Radiation therapy (RT) and chemotherapy are typically reserved for patients with incomplete resection and/or disease progression. We report long-term treatment outcomes and toxicities in a cohort of pediatric patients with LGG after RT.

April 15, 2014

Complications in pediatric patients receiving anesthesia-assisted radiation therapy (AART) are rare, but the procedure is time-, space-, and resource-consuming. We analyzed our experience with AART for identifiable patterns regarding age and gender in children receiving daily proton radiation therapy.

April 15, 2014

It is well known that survival of patients with p16-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma has a poor prognosis with standard chemoradiation. Studies have not compared the addition of surgery to chemoradiation as a method to improve survival. This study was designed to assess the benefit in progression-free survival (PFS) based on p16 status when surgery is included as part of the treatment paradigm for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx.