Publications by authors named "Annemarie F Shepherd"

Article Synopsis
  • Early radiation pneumonitis (RP) after chemoradiation can lead to treatment discontinuation and worse survival in stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients, with 13% of a study cohort experiencing RP.
  • This study explored various RP prediction models, including mean lung dose (MLD) and F-FDG PET/CT features, finding that a combined MLD and SUV model improved predictive accuracy compared to the MLD-alone model.
  • The final model showed better performance (AUC 0.77) and could help identify patients at high risk for RP, potentially allowing for preventative interventions to enhance treatment outcomes.
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Purpose: Data are limited on radiation-induced lung toxicities (RILT) after multiple courses of lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). We herein analyze a large cohort of patients to explore the clinical and dosimetric risk factors associated with RILT in such settings.

Methods And Materials: A single institutional database of patients treated with multiple courses of lung SBRT between January 2014 and December 2019 was analyzed.

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Purpose: Larger tumors are underrepresented in most prospective trials on stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We performed this phase 1 trial to specifically study the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of SBRT for NSCLC >3 cm.

Methods And Materials: A 3 + 3 dose-escalation design (cohort A) with an expansion cohort at the MTD (cohort B) was used.

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Background: The objective of this study is to determine the outcomes and toxicities of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Materials And Methods: Data were extracted from an institutional tumor registry for patients diagnosed with mesothelioma and treated with SBRT. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were employed to determine local control (LC) and overall survival (OS).

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Background: Most patients with metastatic cancer eventually develop resistance to systemic therapy, with some having limited disease progression (ie, oligoprogression). We aimed to assess whether stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) targeting oligoprogressive sites could improve patient outcomes.

Methods: We did a phase 2, open-label, randomised controlled trial of SBRT in patients with oligoprogressive metastatic breast cancer or non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after having received at least first-line systemic therapy, with oligoprogression defined as five or less progressive lesions on PET-CT or CT.

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Introduction: R0 resection and radiation therapy have been associated with improved overall survival (OS) in patients with thymic carcinoma (TC). Here, we analyzed which subgroups of patients derive the greatest benefit from postoperative radiation therapy (PORT).

Methods: Clinical, pathologic, treatment, and survival information of 462 patients with TC from the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group/European Society of Thoracic Surgeons database were analyzed.

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Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as a standard treatment approach for early-stage lung cancer and intrathoracic oligometastatic or oligoprogressive disease. While local control is often excellent with this modality when delivered with photon therapy, toxicities for select patients can be significant. Proton therapy offers a unique opportunity to widen the therapeutic window when treating patients with thoracic malignancies requiring or benefitting from ultra-high doses per fraction.

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This study presents the clinical experiences of the New York Proton Center in employing proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) for the treatment of lung stereotactic body radiation therapy. It encompasses a comprehensive examination of multiple facets, including patient simulation, delineation of target volumes and organs at risk, treatment planning, plan evaluation, quality assurance, and motion management strategies. By sharing the approaches of the New York Proton Center and providing recommendations across simulation, treatment planning, and treatment delivery, it is anticipated that the valuable experience will be provided to a broader proton therapy community, serving as a useful reference for future clinical practice and research endeavors in the field of stereotactic body proton therapy for lung tumors.

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Purpose: Stereotactic body proton therapy (SBPT) is an emerging treatment strategy for lung tumors that aims to combine the excellent local control benefits of ultra-hypofractionation with the physical advantages of protons, which reduce the integral dose to organs at risk (OARs) compared to photons. To date, however, very little data delivering SBPT in 5 or fewer fractions to lung tumors have been reported. Given that photon stereotactic body radiation therapy can struggle to deliver ablative doses to high-risk tumors (i.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers studied the association of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) with recurrence in patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following definitive radiation therapy, aiming for better disease management.
  • A cohort of 17 patients had 70 plasma samples analyzed, revealing an 82% detection rate for ctDNA before treatment; however, only 35% were ctDNA-positive shortly after treatment, all of whom showed clinical progression.
  • The findings indicated that ctDNA positivity significantly correlated with worse progression-free survival, suggesting that monitoring ctDNA could facilitate early recurrence detection and help identify patients who may need more aggressive treatment.
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Article Synopsis
  • Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is being examined for its effectiveness in treating pulmonary metastases from sarcoma, with a focus on achieving high local control and acceptable side effects.
  • A retrospective study involved 66 patients, showing low rates of local failure and promising overall survival rates of 74% at 12 months and 49% at 24 months.
  • Findings suggest that SBRT is a viable alternative to surgery for this group, with minimal severe side effects and better outcomes associated with certain disease characteristics like oligometastatic disease.
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Purpose: Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is the most common dose-limiting toxicity for thoracic radiation therapy. Nintedanib is used for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which shares pathophysiological pathways with the subacute phase of RP. Our goal was to investigate the efficacy and safety of nintedanib added to a prednisone taper compared with a prednisone taper alone in reducing pulmonary exacerbations in patients with grade 2 or higher (G2+) RP.

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Background And Purpose: Coronary calcifications are associated with coronary artery disease in patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We quantified calcifications in the coronary arteries and aorta and investigated their relationship with overall survival (OS) in patients treated with definitive RT (Def-RT) or post-operative RT (PORT).

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 263 NSCLC patients treated from 2004 to 2017.

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Introduction: Single-agent monoclonal antibody therapy against programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has modest effects in malignant pleural mesothelioma. Radiation therapy can enhance the antitumor effects of immunotherapy. Nevertheless, the safety of combining anti-PD-L1 therapy with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is unknown.

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Purpose: Local therapy prolongs progression-free survival in patients with oligometastatic non-small-cell lung cancers treated with chemotherapy. We previously reported that local therapy also prolongs survival and time to next therapy in patients on tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for -mutant lung adenocarcinomas. Here, we investigate the role of local therapy in patients progressing on TKIs for //-rearranged lung adenocarcinomas.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Recent advancements in diagnosis and treatment methods, such as imaging, surgery, and targeted therapies, have been improved due to updated classifications and staging systems implemented by major health organizations.
  • * International collaboration among various medical societies is enhancing clinical studies and research focused on better understanding and managing thymic carcinomas.
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Purpose: Postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) in resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) improves locoregional outcomes, but recent randomized data do not support its unselected use. We assessed if tumor mutational burden (TMB) and mutations in genes associated with radiation sensitivity can select patients for PORT.

Methods And Materials: Patients with resected NSCLC treated with and without PORT who underwent tumor genomic profiling were examined.

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Background: The impact of peripheral blood immune measures and radiation-induced lymphopenia on outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation (cCRT) and immune check point inhibition (ICI) has yet to be fully defined.

Methods: Stage III NSCLC patients treated with cCRT and ≥1 dose of durvalumab across a cancer center were examined. Peripheral blood counts were assessed pre-cCRT, during cCRT and at the start of ICI.

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Introduction: Given the concern for cardiopulmonary toxicity in patients with NSCLC undergoing postoperative radiation therapy (PORT), the purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between heart dose and overall survival (OS) in patients undergoing PORT with modern techniques.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of consecutive patients with NSCLC treated with PORT between May 2004 and January 2017. Clinical records were reviewed and radiation dose distributions were analyzed for association with OS.

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Introduction: Durvalumab after concurrent chemoradiation (cCRT) has been found to improve outcomes of patients with unresected stage III NSCLC. However, the survival impact of discontinuing durvalumab early owing to adverse events (AEs) remains unknown.

Methods: Patients with stage III NSLCC treated with cCRT and greater than or equal to one dose of durvalumab across a multisite cancer center were evaluated.

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Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) has dosimetric advantages for lung cancer patients treated with external beam therapy, but is difficult for many patients to perform. Proton therapy permits sparing of the downstream organs at risk (OAR). We compared conventionally fractionated proton (p) and photon(x) plans on both free breathing (FB) and DIBH planning CTs to determine the effect of DIBH with proton therapy.

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Introduction: KEAP1-NFE2L2-mutant NSCLCs are chemoradiation resistant and at high risk for local-regional failure (LRF) after concurrent chemoradiation (cCRT). To elucidate the impact of durvalumab on local-regional control, we evaluated LRF in patients with NSCLC treated with cCRT with and without durvalumab.

Methods: Patients with stage III NSCLC treated with cCRT or cCRT and durvalumab who underwent tumor genomic profiling were evaluated.

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Background: To explore the performance of a computed tomography based radiomics model in the preoperative prediction of resectability status and TNM staging in thymic epithelial tumors.

Methods: We reviewed the last preoperative computed tomography scan of patients with thymic epithelial tumors prior to resection and pathology evaluation at our institution between February 2008 and June 2019. A total of 101 quantitative features were extracted and a radiomics model was trained using elastic net penalized logistic regressions for each aim.

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