Novel use of ViewRay MRI guidance for high-dose-rate brachytherapy in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Purpose: To characterize image quality and feasibility of using ViewRay MRI (VR)-guided brachytherapy planning for cervical cancer.

Methods And Materials: Cervical cancer patients receiving intracavitary brachytherapy with tandem and ovoids, planned using 0.35T VR MRI at our institution, were included in this series.

Clinical implementation of a novel Double-Balloon single-entry breast brachytherapy applicator.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe the clinical utilization of a novel Double-Balloon applicator for accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI).

Methods And Materials: The Double-Balloon single-entry breast applicator contains a single central treatment catheter, as well as four peripheral catheters that can be differentially loaded to customize radiation dose coverage. An inner balloon is filled with up to 7-30 cm of saline to increase separation between the peripheral catheters, and an outer balloon is filled with up to 37-115 cm of saline to displace breast tissue from the peripheral catheters.

Modulation of therapeutic sensitivity by human papillomavirus.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are small double-stranded DNA viruses that pose significant public health concerns as the causative agent of approximately 5% of worldwide cancers. The HPV oncogenes E6 and E7 play key roles in carcinogenesis. In the last 15years there has been a significant increase in the incidence of HPV-related head and neck cancers arising primarily in the oropharynx.

Incorporating Patient Satisfaction Metrics in Assessing Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Care Quality.

Objectives: The Medical University of South Carolina implemented a patient-centered multidisciplinary breast clinic program (MDBC) in August 2012. In this study, patient satisfaction with the MDBC care delivery model and communication with healthcare providers was examined to inform the refinement of the MDBC program.

Methods: During the first 10 months of the MDBC, patients were asked to complete a 14-question postconsultation telephone survey.

An Inflammatory Cytokine Milieu is Prominent in Premalignant Oral Lesions, but Subsides when Lesions Progress to Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

While head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are associated with profound immune suppression, less is known about the immunological milieu of premalignant oral lesions. The present study shows dynamic shifts in the immune milieu within premalignant oral lesions and when they have progressed to HNSCC. Specifically, this study showed that the premalignant lesion environment consists of inflammatory mediators and IL-17, but this inflammatory phenotype declines when premalignant oral lesions have progressed to HNSCC.

Effect of the premalignant and tumor microenvironment on immune cell cytokine production in head and neck cancer.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is marked by immunosuppression, a state in which the established tumor escapes immune attack. However, the impact of the premalignant and tumor microenvironments on immune reactivity has yet to be elucidated. The purpose of this study was to determine how soluble mediators from cells established from carcinogen-induced oral premalignant lesions and HNSCC modulate immune cell cytokine production.

Administration of a vaccine composed of dendritic cells pulsed with premalignant oral lesion lysate to mice bearing carcinogen-induced premalignant oral lesions stimulates a protective immune response.

The use of dendritic cell (DC) vaccines as treatment for malignancy is complicated by immune evasion tactics often employed by carcinomas such as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The present study aims to determine if an immune response can be elicited by administering a DC vaccine during the premalignant stages of HNSCC, prior to development of immune escape. Mice treated with the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) in drinking water develop premalignant oral lesions that progress to HNSCC.

Characterization of the evolution of immune phenotype during the development and progression of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

While studies have indicated that squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is associated with immune suppression, these studies did not analyze the immune response at the dysplastic stage. The present study utilized a mouse model of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced oral carcinogenesis to examine the alterations in immune phenotype at the premalignant and malignant stages of HNSCC. Cervical lymph nodes of HNSCC-bearing mice were found to contain a greater number of cells, including a greater number of conventional (Tconv) and regulatory (Treg) T cells, compared to cervical lymph nodes of control and premalignant lesion-bearing mice, though the Tconv cells appear to be less proliferative and the Treg cells appear to be less suppressive at the HNSCC stage.