Incidence of Strabismus Post-Plaque Brachytherapy in Patients With Uveal Melanoma.

Purpose: To determine the incidence and type of strabismus in patients with uveal melanoma treated with plaque brachytherapy.

Design: Multicenter, retrospective incidence estimation study.

Methods: A total of 438 eyes of 438 patients with uveal melanoma treated with plaque brachytherapy between October 2011 and May 2021.

Management of Uveal Melanoma: Updated Cancer Care Alberta Clinical Practice Guideline.

Objective: The purpose of this guideline update is to reassess and update recommendations in the prior guideline from 2016 on the appropriate management of patients with uveal melanoma.

Methods: In 2021, a multidisciplinary working group from the Provincial Cutaneous Tumour Team, Cancer Care Alberta, Alberta Health Services was convened to update the guideline. A comprehensive review of new research evidence in PubMed as well as new clinical practice guidelines from prominent oncology groups informed the update.

Dosimetric predictors of toxicity in a randomized study of short-course vs conventional radiotherapy for glioblastoma.

Purpose: There is no consensus on appropriate organ at risk (OAR) constraints for short-course radiotherapy for patients with glioblastoma. Using dosimetry and prospectively-collected toxicity data from a trial of short-course radiotherapy for glioblastoma, this study aims to empirically examine the OAR constraints, with particular attention to left hippocampus dosimetry and impact on neuro-cognitive decline.

Methods And Materials: Data was taken from a randomized control trial of 133 adults (age 18-70 years; ECOG performance score 0-2) with newly diagnosed glioblastoma treated with 60 Gy in 30 (conventional arm) versus 20 (short-course arm) fractions of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (ClinicalTrials.

Conventional Versus Hypofractionated Radiation for High-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients (CHIRP): 24-Month Patient-Reported Outcomes of the Randomized Phase 2 CHIRP Trial.

Purpose: In this study, we report the 24-month patient-reported outcomes of the randomized phase 2 CHIRP trial that compared conventional and hypofractionated radiation therapy (RT) in the treatment of high-risk prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: Men with high-risk localized prostate cancer were randomized to either conventional (78 Gy/39 fractions) or hypofractionated RT (68 Gy/25 fractions). All patients received pelvic nodal RT and adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy.

Early Metabolic Changes in 1H-MRSI Predictive for Survival in Patients With Newly Diagnosed High-grade Glioma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of specific threshold values for changes in metabolic metrics measured from 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to survival of patients with high-grade glioma treated with multimodality therapy.

Patients And Methods: Forty-four patients with newly diagnosed high-grade glioma were prospectively enrolled. Serial MRI and MRSI scans provided measures of tumor choline, creatine, and N-acetylaspartate (NAA).

Salvage Low-Dose-Rate Prostate Brachytherapy: Clinical Outcomes of a Phase 2 Trial for Local Recurrence after External Beam Radiation Therapy (NRG Oncology/RTOG 0526).

Purpose: We report efficacy of a prospective phase 2 trial (NCT00450411) of salvage low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy (BT) for local failure (LF) after prior external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with minimum 5-years' follow-up.

Methods And Materials: Eligible patients had low/intermediate risk prostate cancer (PCa) before EBRT and biopsy-proven LF >30 months after EBRT, with prostate-specific antigen <10 ng/mL and no regional/distant disease. The primary endpoint, late gastrointestinal and genitourinary adverse events (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.

Clinical Outcomes of the CHIRP Trial: A Phase II Prospective Randomized Trial of Conventionally Fractionated Versus Moderately Hypofractionated Prostate and Pelvic Nodal Radiation Therapy in Patients With High-Risk Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: Hypofractionated radiation therapy (HFRT) may offer treatment advantages for patients with prostate cancer. However, HFRT may also increase the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) or genitourinary (GU) toxicity compared with conventionally fractionated radiation therapy (CFRT). Several large trials have found that HFRT is well tolerated in mixed risk population studies.

Optimising prediction of early metastasis-free survival in uveal melanoma using a four-category model incorporating gene expression profile and tumour size.

Background: Largest basal diameter (LBD) appears to have independent prognostic value in uveal melanoma (UM).

Methods: All patients undergoing plaque brachytherapy or enucleation for UM involving the choroid and/or ciliary body between 2012 and 2019.

Results: A total of 348 patients with a mean age of 60±14 years were included and followed for a mean of 40±26 months (3.

Feasibility of performance-based functional assessment in brain tumour survivors.

Introduction: Rehabilitation and exercise interventions are beneficial for the physical and psychological health of cancer survivors. Current clinic-based performance status measures do not accurately capture the survivor's functioning, or rehabilitation and exercise needs. Our primary objective was to explore the feasibility of performing a performance-based functional assessment with brain tumour survivors as a means to inform needs for rehabilitation and exercise.

PROSPeCT: A Predictive Research Online System for Prostate Cancer Tasks.

Purpose: An online clinical information system, called Predictive Research Online System Prostate Cancer Tasks PROSPeCT), was developed to enable users to query the Alberta Prostate Cancer Registry database hosted by the Alberta Prostate Cancer Research Initiative. To deliver high-quality patient treatment, prostate cancer clinicians and researchers require a user-friendly system that offers an easy and efficient way to obtain relevant and accurate information about patients from a robust and expanding database.

Methods: PROSPeCT was designed and implemented to make it easy for users to query the prostate cancer patient database by creating, saving, and reusing simple and complex definitions.

Gene Expression Profiling as an Adjunctive Measure to Guide the Management of Indeterminate, High-Risk Choroidal Melanocytic Lesions: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: To describe our early experience with gene expression profiling (GEP) assessment for juxtafoveal, subfoveal, and peripapillary indeterminate high-risk melanocytic lesions to assist in making early treatment decisions in patients who did not feel comfortable with either close observation or definitive treatment.

Methods: A prospective cohort of patients with indeterminate lesions who underwent GEP were enrolled. Nonparametric statistical analysis was utilized given the small sample size.

The Use of Intravitreal Anti-VEGF and Triamcinolone in the Treatment of Radiation Papillopathy.

Background/aims: To evaluate a treatment regimen for radiation papillopathy.

Methods: This is a prospective noncomparative interventional case series of patients who developed radiation papillopathy after plaque brachytherapy for uveal melanoma. Treatment consisted of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) (1.

Initial clinical assessment of "center-specific" automated treatment plans for low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To report results of an initial pilot study assessing iodine-125 prostate implant treatment plans created automatically by a new seed-placement method.

Methods And Materials: A novel mixed-integer linear programming method incorporating spatial constraints on seed locations in addition to standard dose-volume constraints was used to place seeds. The approach, described in detail elsewhere, was used to create treatment plans fully automatically on a retrospective basis for 20 patients having a wide range of prostate sizes and shapes.

Unexpected Seed Migration in Prostate Brachytherapy Implants Coincident with Change in Seed Stranding Product.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to determine if significant seed migration occurred when our institution changed seed products by comparing patterns of seed migration in implants containing different stranding material.

Methods And Materials: Day 0 and Day 30 CT scans were registered by the contoured prostate center of mass. An implant reconstruction program identified seeds on CT according to the pre-plan, enabling one-to-one correspondence between Day 0 and Day 30 seeds.

A Patient-Specific Anisotropic Diffusion Model for Brain Tumour Spread.

Gliomas are primary brain tumours arising from the glial cells of the nervous system. The diffuse nature of spread, coupled with proximity to critical brain structures, makes treatment a challenge. Pathological analysis confirms that the extent of glioma spread exceeds the extent of the grossly visible mass, seen on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Quantifying I placement accuracy in prostate brachytherapy using postimplant transrectal ultrasound images.

Purpose: The quality of a prostate brachytherapy implant depends on the accurate placement of sources. This study quantifies the misplacement of I sources from the intended location using intraoperative ultrasound images.

Methods And Materials: I sources were manually identified in the postimplant ultrasound images and compared to the preoperative plan.

Moments of von Mises and Fisher distributions and applications.

The von Mises and Fisher distributions are spherical analogues to the Normal distribution on the unit circle and unit sphere, respectively. The computation of their moments, and in particular the second moment, usually involves solving tedious trigonometric integrals. Here we present a new method to compute the moments of spherical distributions, based on the divergence theorem.

Radiation plus Procarbazine, CCNU, and Vincristine in Low-Grade Glioma.

Background: Grade 2 gliomas occur most commonly in young adults and cause progressive neurologic deterioration and premature death. Early results of this trial showed that treatment with procarbazine, lomustine (also called CCNU), and vincristine after radiation therapy at the time of initial diagnosis resulted in longer progression-free survival, but not overall survival, than radiation therapy alone. We now report the long-term results.

Does location of prostate cancer by sextant biopsies predict for relapse after (125)I seed implant brachytherapy?

Purpose: To report on the importance of cancer location from diagnostic prostate biopsies in predicting biochemical relapse for patients treated with (125)I seed implant brachytherapy as monotherapy for favorable risk disease; specifically, to assess the clinical significance of potentially underdosing the base region of the prostate gland.

Methods And Materials: Of 1145 consecutive patients, 846 had pretreatment biopsies allowing for sextant analysis and consequent evaluation of biochemical failure tendencies. Biochemical failure was defined as a posttreatment rise in the nadir prostate-specific antigen (PSA) by at least 2 ng/mL.

Distinguishing prostate-specific antigen bounces from biochemical failure after low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize benign prostate-specific antigen (PSA) bounces of at least 2.0 ng/mL and biochemical failure as defined by the Phoenix definition after prostate brachytherapy at our institution, and to investigate distinguishing features between three outcome groups: patients experiencing a benign PSA bounce, biochemical failure, or neither.

Material And Methods: Five hundred and thirty consecutive men treated with low-dose-rate brachytherapy with follow-up of at least 3 years were divided into outcome groups experiencing bounce, failure, or neither.

Late Toxicity and Outcomes in High-risk Prostate Cancer Patients Treated With Hypofractionated IMRT and Long-term Androgen Suppression Treatment.

Objective: To assess late toxicity and outcomes in high-risk prostate cancer patients treated with hypofractionated radiation treatment with androgen suppression therapy.

Methods: Sixty high-risk prostate cancer patients were enrolled. IMRT prescription was 68 Gy/25 fractions (2.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms studied for associations with urinary toxicity from (125)I prostate brachytherapy implants.

Purpose: To identify clinical, dosimetric, and genetic factors that are associated with late urinary toxicity after a (125)I prostate brachytherapy implant.

Methods And Materials: Genomic DNA from 296 men treated with (125)I prostate brachytherapy monotherapy was extracted from saliva samples for this study. A retrospective database was compiled including clinical, dosimetric, and toxicity data for this cohort of patients.

A Phase I Study of Tomotherapy in Patients With Primary Benign and Low-grade Brain Tumors: Late Toxicity and Quality of Life.

Objectives: To evaluate longitudinal quality of life and late neurotoxicity (>12 mo) of tomotherapy in patients with primary benign and low-grade brain tumors.

Methods: Between January 2006 and October 2009, 49 patients with brain tumors were treated with tomotherapy at 2 radiotherapy centers in Canada. The median age of the patients was 51.