A systematic review on the role of interventional radiotherapy for treatment of anal squamous cell cancer: multimodal and multidisciplinary therapeutic approach.

Background: Aim was to compare the efficacy of interventional radiotherapy (IRT) boost vs. external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) boost after chemoradiation (CCRT) in patients with anal cancer (AC).

Methods: The P.

Development of a predictive model for patients with bone metastases referred to palliative radiotherapy: Secondary analysis of a multicenter study (the PRAIS trial).

Background: The decision to administer palliative radiotherapy (RT) to patients with bone metastases (BMs), as well as the selection of treatment protocols (dose, fractionation), requires an accurate assessment of survival expectancy. In this study, we aimed to develop three predictive models (PMs) to estimate short-, intermediate-, and long-term overall survival (OS) for patients in this clinical setting.

Materials And Methods: This study constitutes a sub-analysis of the PRAIS trial, a longitudinal observational study collecting data from patients referred to participating centers to receive palliative RT for cancer-induced bone pain.

Transdermal Fentanyl in Patients with Cachexia-A Scoping Review.

Cachectic patients frequently require transdermal fentanyl (TDF) for pain management, but data on its efficacy and safety are scarce and inconsistent. This scoping review aims to analyze the evidence concerning TDF administration in patients with cachexia irrespective of the underlying pathology. The primary objective is to assess the analgesic efficacy and tolerability of TDF in cachectic patients.

Laser Therapy in Heavily Treated Oncological Patients Improves Vaginal Health Parameters.

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and duration of multiple non-ablative intravaginal CO2 laser (V-lase) cycles in breast cancer patients, gynecological and other pelvic cancers previously subjected to multiple oncological treatments. This prospective study enrolled women under the age of 65 years who reported vaginal symptoms. Data on the Vaginal Health Index (VHI), vaginal length (VL), vaginal pain measured using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) were collected at baseline and before each laser application, and at subsequent follow-up visits.

Personalizing Prophylactic Radiotherapy for Hip Heterotopic Ossification: An AMSTAR-2 Compliant Review of Meta-analyses.

Background/aim: Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a common complication following total hip arthroplasty. Various prophylactic treatments have been proposed, including radiotherapy (RT). This review summarizes the evidence from meta-analyses on the efficacy of RT in preventing hip HO.

Machine Learning Applied to Pre-Operative Computed-Tomography-Based Radiomic Features Can Accurately Differentiate Uterine Leiomyoma from Leiomyosarcoma: A Pilot Study.

Background: The accurate discrimination of uterine leiomyosarcomas and leiomyomas in a pre-operative setting remains a current challenge. To date, the diagnosis is made by a pathologist on the excised tumor. The aim of this study was to develop a machine learning algorithm using radiomic data extracted from contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images that could accurately distinguish leiomyosarcomas from leiomyomas.

Further Clarification of Pain Management Complexity in Radiotherapy: Insights from Modern Statistical Approaches.

Background: The primary objective of this study was to assess the adequacy of analgesic care in radiotherapy (RT) patients, with a secondary objective to identify predictive variables associated with pain management adequacy using a modern statistical approach, integrating the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) algorithm and the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis.

Methods: This observational, multicenter cohort study involved 1387 patients reporting pain or taking analgesic drugs from 13 RT departments in Italy. The Pain Management Index (PMI) served as the measure for pain control adequacy, with a PMI score < 0 indicating suboptimal management.

The Role of Postoperative Radiotherapy in the Management of Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans: A Multidisciplinary Systematic Review.

: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a superficial soft tissue sarcoma, and surgical excision is the first-line treatment. The aim of this systematic review is to provide an update about the current indications and clinical results regarding the use of postoperative radiotherapy in DSFP, considering both adjuvant and salvage setting. : We conducted a systematic literature review using the main scientific database, including Cochrane library, Scopus, and PubMed, for any relevant article about the topic, and we considered all available papers without any time restriction.

Sarcopenic Obesity in Cervical Carcinoma: A Strong and Independent Prognostic Factor beyond the Conventional Predictors (ESTHER Study-AFRAID Project).

Locally advanced cervical cancer represents a significant treatment challenge. Body composition parameters such as body mass index, sarcopenia, and sarcopenic obesity, defined by sarcopenia and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m, have been identified as potential prognostic factors, yet their overall impact remains underexplored. This study assessed the relationship between these anthropometric parameters alongside clinical prognostic factors on the prognosis of 173 cervical cancer patients.

Unraveling the safety of adjuvant radiotherapy in prostate cancer: impact of older age and hypofractionated regimens on acute and late toxicity - a multicenter comprehensive analysis.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of age and other patient and treatment characteristics on toxicity in prostate cancer patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy (RT).

Materials And Methods: This observational study (ICAROS-1) evaluated both acute (RTOG) and late (RTOG/EORTC) toxicity. Patient- (age; Charlson's comorbidity index) and treatment-related characteristics (nodal irradiation; previous TURP; use, type, and duration of ADT, RT fractionation and technique, image-guidance systems, EQD2 delivered to the prostate bed and pelvic nodes) were recorded and analyzed.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SIB-VMAT technique) to dominant intraprostatic lesion (DIL) for localized prostate cancer: a dose-escalation trial (DESTROY-4).

Purpose: DESTROY-4 (DOSE-ESCALATION STUDY OF STEREOTACTIC BODY RADIATION THERAPY) was a Phase I trial aimed to evaluate the safety and the feasibility of escalating doses of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) on MRI-defined Dominant Intraprostatic Lesion (DIL) in low- and intermediate-risk pCa patients using a simultaneous integrated boost-volumetric arc therapy (SIB-VMAT) technique.

Methods: Eligible patients included those with low- and intermediate-risk prostate carcinoma (NCCN risk classes) and an International Prostatic Symptoms Score (IPSS) ≤ 15. No restriction about DIL and prostate volumes was set.

Machine-learning prediction of treatment response to stereotactic body radiation therapy in oligometastatic gynecological cancer: A multi-institutional study.

Background And Purpose: We aimed to develop and validate different machine-learning (ML) prediction models for the complete response of oligometastatic gynecological cancer after SBRT.

Material And Methods: One hundred fifty-seven patients with 272 lesions from 14 different institutions and treated with SBRT with radical intent were included. Thirteen datasets including 222 lesions were combined for model training and internal validation purposes, with an 80:20 ratio.

Complete metabolic response after Partially Ablative Radiotherapy (PAR) for bulky retroperitoneal liposarcoma: A case report.

In the management of symptomatic inoperable retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS), palliative radiotherapy (RT) is a potential treatment option. However, the efficacy of low doses used in palliative RT is limited in these radioresistant tumors. Therefore, exploring dose escalation strategies targeting specific regions of the tumor may enhance the therapeutic effect of RT in relieving or preventing symptoms.

The role of interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy) in nasopharynx tumors: A systematic review.

Purpose: Nasopharyngeal cancers (NPC) are very aggressive, and the recurrence rate after radical therapy is high. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of brachytherapy (BT) also called interventional radiotherapy (IRT) in primary NPC in comparison with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) alone.

Material And Methods: A systematic search was performed in Scopus, Cochrane, and PubMed databases.

Decoding the Complexity of Systemic Inflammation Predictors in Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer, with Hemoglobin as the Hidden Key (the ESTHER Study).

Locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) is treated with concurrent chemoradiation (CRT). Predictive models could improve the outcome through treatment personalization. Several factors influence prognosis in LACC, but the role of systemic inflammation indices (IIs) is unclear.

A Radiomic-Based Machine Learning Model Predicts Endometrial Cancer Recurrence Using Preoperative CT Radiomic Features: A Pilot Study.

Background: Current prognostic models lack the use of pre-operative CT images to predict recurrence in endometrial cancer (EC) patients. Our study aimed to investigate the potential of radiomic features extracted from pre-surgical CT scans to accurately predict disease-free survival (DFS) among EC patients.

Methods: Contrast-Enhanced CT (CE-CT) scans from 81 EC cases were used to extract the radiomic features from semi-automatically contoured volumes of interest.

Radiotherapy of orbital metastases: a systematic review of management and treatment outcomes on behalf of palliative care study group of Italian association of radiotherapy and clinical oncology (AIRO).

Objectives: We search the current literature on data regarding the role of RT in OM treatment, focusing on the improvement of symptoms and patient quality of life.

Methods: This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations.

Results: From 340 citations, 60 papers were finally selected: 45 case reports and 15 case series.

Definitive chemoradiation in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma: outcome and toxicity from an observational multicenter Italian study on vulvar cancer (OLDLADY 1.1).

Background: Vulvar carcinoma is a rather uncommon gynecological malignancy affecting elderly women and the treatment of loco-regional advanced carcinoma of the vulva (LAVC) is a challenge for both gynecologic and radiation oncologists. Definitive chemoradiation (CRT) is the treatment of choice, but with disappointing results. In this multicenter study (OLDLADY-1.

Risk evaluation of secondary malignancies after radiotherapy of breast cancer in light of the continuous development of planning techniques.

Secondary cancer risk is a significant concern for women treated with breast radiation therapy due to improved long-term survival rates. We evaluated the potential of new advanced automated planning algorithms together with hybrid techniques to minimize the excess absolute risk (EAR) for secondary cancer in various organs after radiation treatment for early staged breast cancer. Using CT data set of 25 patients, we generated 4 different radiation treatment plans of different complexity, including 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), field-in-field (FinF), hybrid-IMRT (HMRT) and automated hybrid-VMAT (HVMAT) techniques.

Classical Prognostic Factors Predict Prognosis Better than Inflammatory Indices in Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer: Results of a Comprehensive Observational Study including Tumor-, Patient-, and Treatment-Related Data (ESTHER Study).

Systemic inflammation indices were found to be correlated with therapeutic outcome in several cancers. This study retrospectively analyzes the predictive role of a broad range of systemic inflammatory markers in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) including patient-, tumor-, and treatment-related potential prognostic factors. All patients underwent definitive chemoradiation and pretreatment values of several inflammatory indices (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio, monocyte/lymphocyte ratio, systemic immune inflammation index (SII), leukocyte/lymphocyte ratio, combination of platelet count and NLR, aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index, aspartate aminotransferase/lymphocyte ratio index, systemic inflammatory response index, and aspartate transaminase/neutrophil ratio index) were calculated.