Randomized phase III trial to evaluate radiopharmaceuticals and zoledronic acid in the palliation of osteoblastic metastases from lung, breast, and prostate cancer: report of the NRG Oncology RTOG 0517 trial.

Background: Skeletal-related events (SREs), common sequelae of metastatic cancer, are reduced by bisphosphonates. In this study, it was postulated that radiopharmaceuticals, added to bisphosphonates, could further decrease the incidence of SREs.

Methods: NRG Oncology RTOG 0517 randomized patients with breast, lung, and prostate cancer and blastic bone metastases to either zoledronic acid (ZA) alone or ZA plus radiopharmaceuticals (Sr-89 or Sm-153).

Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy for the Management of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ of the Breast.

Multiple long-term studies have demonstrated a propensity for breast cancer recurrences to develop near the site of the original breast cancer. Recognition of this local recurrence pattern laid the foundation for the development of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) approaches designed to limit the radiation treatment field to the site of the malignancy. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the efficacy of APBI in general, and intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), in particular, for the management of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

RTOG 9804: a prospective randomized trial for good-risk ductal carcinoma in situ comparing radiotherapy with observation.

Purpose: The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9804 study identified good-risk patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a breast cancer diagnosis found frequently in mammographically detected cancers, to test the benefit of radiotherapy (RT) after breast-conserving surgery compared with observation.

Patients And Methods: This prospective randomized trial (1998 to 2006) in women with mammographically detected low- or intermediate-grade DCIS, measuring less than 2.5 cm with margins ≥ 3 mm, compared RT with observation after surgery.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis in sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma.

Background: Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) is an uncommon neoplasm characterized by local extension and an aggressive course. Treatment often includes a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, although the optimal strategy remains unclear. Here, we present the first reported case of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis from SNUC.

Mammographic findings after intraoperative radiotherapy of the breast.

Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT) is a form of accelerated partial breast radiation that has been shown to be equivalent to conventional whole breast external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in terms of local cancer control. However, questions have been raised about the potential of f IORT to produce breast parenchymal changes that could interfere with mammographic surveillance of cancer recurrence. The purpose of this study was to identify, quantify, and compare the mammographic findings of patients who received IORT and EBRT in a prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial of women with early stage invasive breast cancer undergoing breast conserving therapy between July 2005 and December 2009.

The use and misuse of positron emission tomography in lung cancer evaluation.

This article discusses the potential benefits and limitations of positron emission tomography (PET) for characterizing lung nodules, staging the mediastinum, identifying occult distant metastasis, determining prognosis and treatment response, guiding plans for radiation therapy, restaging during and after treatment, and selecting targets for tissue sampling. The key findings from the medical literature are presented regarding the capabilities and fallibilities of PET in lung cancer evaluation, including characterization of pulmonary nodules and staging in patients with known or suspected non-small-cell lung cancer. The discussion is limited to PET imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose.

Close or positive margins after mastectomy for DCIS: pattern of relapse and potential indications for radiotherapy.

Purpose: Mastectomies result in very high local control rates for pure ductal carcinoma in situ; however, close or involved tumor margins are occasionally encountered. Data regarding the patterns of relapse in this setting are limited.

Methods And Materials: Between 1994 and 2002, the pathology reports of 574 patients who had undergone mastectomy at our institution for pure ductal carcinoma in situ were retrospectively reviewed.

Initial size and dynamics of viral fusion pores are a function of the fusion protein mediating membrane fusion.

Background Information: Protein-mediated merger of biological membranes, membrane fusion, is an important process. To investigate the role of fusogenic proteins in the initial size and dynamics of the fusion pore (a narrow aqueous pathway, which widens to finalize membrane fusion), two different fusion proteins expressed in the same cell line were investigated: the major glycoprotein of baculovirus Autographa californica (GP64) and the HA (haemagglutinin) of influenza X31.

Results: The host Sf9 cells expressing these viral proteins, irrespective of protein species, fused to human RBCs (red blood cells) upon acidification of the medium.