[Some important breakthroughs in oncology and hematology in 2018: A selection by the editorial board of Bulletin du Cancer].

The editorial board of Bulletin du Cancer presents some hot topics published or presented in major oncology meetings in 2018. This selection is related to pediatric oncology and to solid and hemato-malignancies in adults, with immunotherapy approaches (checkpoints or CAR-T) as one of the major breakthroughs. Putative impacts on daily practices are discussed, in order to detail what will really change our practice.

Rationale for the use of upfront whole brain irradiation in patients with brain metastases from breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the second most common cause of brain metastases and deserves particular attention in relation to current prolonged survival of patients with metastatic disease. Advances in both systemic therapies and brain local treatments (surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery) have led to a reappraisal of brain metastases management. With respect to this, the literature review presented here was conducted in an attempt to collect medical evidence-based data on the use of whole-brain radiotherapy for the treatment of brain metastases from breast cancer.

Neurocognitive function impairment after whole brain radiotherapy for brain metastases: actual assessment.

Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) is an effective treatment in brain metastases and, when combined with local treatments such as surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery, gives the best brain control. Nonetheless, WBRT is often omitted after local treatment due to its potential late neurocognitive effects. Publications on radiation-induced neurotoxicity have used different assessment methods, time to assessment, and definition of impairment, thus making it difficult to accurately assess the rate and magnitude of the neurocognitive decline that can be expected.

[Psychosocial approach of the speech of women in metastatic relapse of a breast cancer: the question of temporality].

The "relapse", this word so much dreaded by the patients reached of a cancer because it symbolizes the return of the disease and the treatments in the person's life and his entourage. This diagnosis once established mark the entry into a chronic phase of the cancerous disease, involving the future of people and their report at time. In this context, we believe it is important to identify the subjective and social aspects of the experience of this difficult moment in the course of the disease, by taking account the report at the time of the patients.

Assessment of pathologic response after preoperative chemoradiotherapy and surgery in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: The benefits provided by preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in pancreatic ductular adenocarcinoma (PDA) are still controversial. However, in most reports from referral centers, improvement in local control and survival appears to be provided in selected patients. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the radiation-induced pathologic effects of preoperative CRT in patients with resectable PDA and determine the precise long-term outcome of the responding patients.