V5 and High Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T for Early Detection of Cardiac Toxicity During Left Breast Cancer Irradiation.

Background/aim: The high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (Hs-cTnT) is a myocardial damage biomarker that could have a predictive value in patients who undergo radiotherapy for left sided breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early effect of left whole breast radiotherapy (WB-RT) on serum Hs-cTnT levels and its correlation with pre-existing factors.

Patients And Methods: The study was conducted from December 2017 to May 2018.

Whole breast external beam radiotherapy in elderly patients affected by left-sided early breast cancer: a dosimetric comparison between two simple free-breathing techniques.

Background: Elderly breast cancer patients are frequently affected by significant comorbidities that make sophisticated radiotherapy treatments particularly challenging.

Aims: We dosimetrically analyzed two different simple free-breathing external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) techniques for the hypofractionated treatment of the left breast in elderly patients with a low compliance, to compare target coverage, and heart and left anterior descending coronary artery (LADCA) sparing.

Methods: We developed radiation plans for 24 elderly patients using 3D conformal (3DCRT) field-in-field tangential technique and intensity-modulated (IMRT) tangential beam technique.

Volumetric image-guided conformal radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer: Analysis of dosimetric and clinical factors affecting acute and late toxicity.

Aim: To identify factors influencing toxicity in patients affected by localized prostate cancer treated with conformal image-guided radiotherapy.

Background: Image guidance in combination with conformal techniques is the standard of care in localized prostate cancer, but factors affecting toxicity are still under investigation.

Materials And Methods: 294 patients were analyzed.

Oligometastatic cancer in elderly patients: the "blitzkrieg" radiotherapy approach : SBRT in oligometastatic elderly patients.

Aims: To retrospectively evaluate the outcome of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in the treatment of elderly patients affected by isolated body metastasis from different primitive tumors.

Methods: 70 patients with isolated body metastasis were treated. Median age at diagnosis was 75 years (IQR 69-80).

Oligometastatic cancer: stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for patients affected by isolated body metastasis.

Background: To evaluate the outcome of patients affected by a single isolated body metastasis treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Material And Methods: Seven-eight patients were treated with SBRT for isolated body metastasis. The most frequent primary tumor was prostate cancer (28.

Volumetric image-guided highly conformal radiotherapy of the prostate bed: Toxicity analysis.

Aim: To evaluate toxicity of high conformal image-guided radiotherapy of the prostate bed.

Background: Radiotherapy of the prostate bed has a pivotal role in the post-operative and salvage settings, but few clinical data are available on the use of daily image guidance in combination with highly conformal techniques, and data on long-term results are lacking.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 118 patients irradiated on the prostate bed using conformal plans processed with a micro-multileaf collimator, and daily checking treatment set-up with a cone-beam CT system.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy in oligometastatic prostate cancer patients with isolated lymph nodes involvement: a two-institution experience.

Objective: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is emerging as a treatment option in oligometastatic cancer patients. This retrospective study aimed to analyze local control, biochemical progression-free survival (b-PFS), and toxicity in patients affected by isolated prostate cancer lymph node metastases. Finally, we evaluated androgen deprivation therapy-free survival (ADT-FS).

Salvage Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Patients With Prostate Cancer With Isolated Lymph Node Metastasis: A Single-Center Experience.

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate the efficacy of salvage stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) as a treatment modality in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer.

Methods: A total of 16 patients with 18 isolated lymph nodes with recurrent prostate cancer were treated between 2008 and 2013. All patients underwent [(11)C] choline-positron emission tomography/computed tomography before SBRT.

Acute and late toxicity after three-dimensional conformal image-guided radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

We evaluated the clinical impact of a high definition micro-multileaf collimator and a linac-integrated cone-beam computed tomography in 142 patients treated with conformal radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer to a total dose of 76 Gy. Details on treatment toxicity and tumour control were collected. The 3 years biochemical relapse-free survival was 90%.

Dosimetric effect of Elekta Beam modulator micromultileaf in three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy and intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the dosimetric effect of Elekta Beam Modulator in 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) and in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for localized prostate cancer. We compared treatment plans developed with 2 different Elekta multileaf collimators (MLC): Beam Modulator micro-MLC (mMLC) (4-mm leaf width at the isocenter) and standard MLC (10-mm leaf width at the isocenter). The comparison was performed for 15 patients with localized prostate cancer in 3DCRT and IMRT delivery; a total of 60 treatment plans were processed.

Preliminary studies for a CBCT imaging protocol for offline organ motion analysis: registration software validation and CTDI measurements.

Cone-beam X-ray volumetric imaging in the treatment room, allows online correction of set-up errors and offline assessment of residual set-up errors and organ motion. In this study the registration algorithm of the X-ray volume imaging software (XVI, Elekta, Crawley, United Kingdom), which manages a commercial cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-based positioning system, has been tested using a homemade and an anthropomorphic phantom to: (1) assess its performance in detecting known translational and rotational set-up errors and (2) transfer the transformation matrix of its registrations into a commercial treatment planning system (TPS) for offline organ motion analysis. Furthermore, CBCT dose index has been measured for a particular site (prostate: 120 kV, 1028.

Aggregation of gramicidin A in phospholipid Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers.

The aggregation of Gramicidin A (gA) in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcoline (DPPC) monolayers is investigated by both thermodynamic and structural methods. Compression isotherm analysis and atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations are performed. Our experimental results indicate that gA aggregation does occur in DPPC monolayers even at very low gA concentration (about 8 x 10(-4) mol%).