Publications by authors named "Ballas L"

Purpose: We evaluate prognostic factors and patterns of recurrence in patients who received RT ± androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for pathologic node-positive (pN1) prostate cancer (PCa) in a multi-institutional cohort.

Methods And Materials: Data from patients with pN1 PCa and received RT with short-term (ST, ≤6 mo) or long-term (LT, >6 mo) ADT were obtained from 4 academic institutions. Biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were evaluated.

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Survival outcomes for multiple myeloma (MM) have drastically improved over the past two decades with the advent of highly effective biologic agents and integration of autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) for select patients. Despite these advances, MM remains an incurable disease and duration of remission decreases with each relapse. Palliative radiotherapy (RT) for MM, including treatment of pain, relief of compression, and prevention of fracture, is highly effective and generally well tolerated.

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Purpose: The presence of MYC and BCL2 translocations (ie, double-hit lymphoma, DHL) in large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is associated with reduced chemosensitivity, but less is known on its impact on radiotherapy (RT) efficacy.

Methods And Materials: Patients with LBCL who received their first course of RT for relapsed/refractory disease between 2008 and 2020 were eligible if there was adequate pathologic evaluation to be categorized as DHL versus non-DHL as per the World Health Organization (fifth edition). Separate analyses were conducted by treatment intent.

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Background: Trimodality therapy (TMT) is a viable option for muscle-invasive localized bladder cancer, providing an alternative to radical cystectomy in properly selected patients. The approval of novel therapeutics in different stages of bladder cancer treatment has sparked interest in exploring concurrent systemic therapies with radiation in clinical trials to enhance long-term outcomes. Achieving uniformity in trial eligibility criteria and endpoint definitions is imperative in describing clinical significance, comparing trials, and changing standard of care guidelines.

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Purpose: Palliative radiation therapy (RT) is effective for multiple myeloma (MM) but may cause cytopenia. Bone marrow volume receiving 10 Gy (BMV10Gy) has been associated with hematologic toxicity (HT) in cervical cancer, but no studies have investigated this in MM. We hypothesized that absolute BMV10Gy is associated with acute HT in MM patients receiving palliative RT.

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Contemporary lymphoma radiation target volumes that rely on post-systemic therapy imaging do not have standardised nomenclature. A forum of radiation oncology lymphoma leaders from the National Clinical Trials Network groups (NRG Oncology, Children's Oncology Group, SWOG Cancer Research Network, Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-American College of Radiology Imaging Network Cancer Research Group, and the Canadian Cancer Trials Group) was convened and established standardised nomenclature for these volumes in the autumn of 2024. Involved-site radiotherapy includes the full cranial-caudal extent of prechemotherapy disease and takes into account axial anatomical changes only.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined clinical traits and survival rates of Latino prostate cancer patients compared to non-Latino Black (NLB) and non-Latino White (NLW) patients using California Cancer Registry data from 1995-2021.
  • Non-US-born Latino patients were found to have lower socioeconomic status and more severe cancer symptoms at diagnosis, but they exhibited better survival rates compared to NLW patients.
  • The findings suggest that nativity plays a crucial role in understanding prostate cancer outcomes among Latino patients, indicating a need for targeted research on survival disparities based on sociodemographic factors.
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Purpose: Whether brachytherapy based microboosting of the dominant intraprostatic lesion (DIL) improves outcomes over standard approaches is not known. The purpose of this study is to perform a systematic review on brachytherapy microboosting of the DIL to evaluate clinical outcomes and toxicities with this treatment approach.

Materials And Methods: This review was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

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Introduction: Multidisciplinary consultations improve decisional conflict and guideline-concordant treatment for men with prostate cancer (PC), but differences in the content discussed by specialty during consultations are unknown.

Methods: We audiorecorded and transcribed 50 treatment consultations for localized PC across a multidisciplinary sample of urologists, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists. Conversation was coded for narrative content using an open coding approach, grouping similar topics into major content areas.

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Background And Purpose: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-guided Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) treatment to prostate bed after radical prostatectomy has garnered growing interests. The aim of this study is to evaluate intra-fractional anatomic and dose/volume metric variations for patients receiving this treatment.

Materials And Methods: Nineteen patients who received 30-34 Gy in 5 fractions on a 0.

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Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among men worldwide, and androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is a mainstay of treatment. There are observational data demonstrating an increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients who receive ADT, particularly those who have an elevated baseline cardiovascular risk. Because, for most patients with prostate cancer, death is predominantly from noncancer-related causes, cardiovascular disease and its risk factors should be optimized during cancer treatment.

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Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) is an important treatment modality for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Although patients are living longer with MM, they are more likely to have comorbidities related to treatment, such as bone pain; however, RT can provide symptom relief. To date, the characterization of patients who have received RT in the real-world setting has been limited.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers wanted to compare two treatments for bladder cancer: one is surgery (radical cystectomy), and the other is a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation (trimodality therapy).
  • They studied 722 patients with similar cancer stages from different hospitals in the USA and Canada to see which treatment worked better.
  • The main goal was to see which treatment helped patients live longer without their cancer spreading, and they used complex methods (like matching patients) to ensure fair comparisons.
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Background And Purpose: We examined the interfractional variations of clinical target volumes (CTVs), planning target volumes (PTVs), and organs-at-risk (OARs) in patients receiving MRI-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to the prostate bed and evaluated the potential role of adaptive planning.

Materials And Methods: 31 patients received 30-34 Gy in five fractions to the prostate bed on a phase II clinical trial. OARs, CTVs, and PTVs were retrospectively contoured on daily pretreatment MRIs (n = 155).

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Aims: BC2001, a randomised trial of treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, demonstrated no difference in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) or late toxicity between patients receiving radical radiotherapy with and without chemotherapy. This secondary analysis explored sex-based differences in HRQoL and toxicity.

Materials And Methods: Participants completed the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Bladder (FACT-BL) HRQoL questionnaires at baseline, end of treatment, 6 months and annually until 5 years.

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Predictors of genitourinary toxicity after post-prostatectomy radiotherapy remain elusive. A previously defined germline DNA signature (PROSTOX) has shown predictive ability for late grade ≥ 2 GU toxicity after intact prostate stereotactic body radiotherapy. We explore whether PROSTOX would predict toxicity among patients receiving post-prostatectomy SBRT on a phase II clinical trial.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Using the Radiation Oncology Knowledge Assessment Survey (ROKAS), researchers evaluated knowledge and health literacy among English and Spanish-speaking patients post-consultation for curative radiotherapy.
  • * Results indicated that Spanish-speaking patients had lower health literacy, health numeracy, and acculturation levels compared to English-speaking patients, although both groups scored similarly on the ROKAS. Additionally, higher health numeracy was linked to better identification of short-term side effects.
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Purpose: There are no agreed upon measures to comprehensively determine the quality of radiation oncology (RO) care delivered for prostate cancer. Consequently, it is difficult to assess the implementation of scientific advances and adherence to best practices in routine clinical practice. To address this need, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Radiation Oncology Program established the VA Radiation Oncology Quality Surveillance (VA ROQS) Program to develop clinical quality measures to assess the quality of RO care delivered to Veterans with cancer.

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In accordance with the spectrum theory of metastatic disease, an oligometastatic clinical state has been proposed as an intermediary step along the natural history of cancer with few (typically 1-3) metastatic lesions identifiable on imaging that may be amenable to metastasis-directed therapy. Effective therapy of oligometastatic disease is anticipated to impact cancer evolution by delaying progression and improving patient outcome at a minimal or acceptable cost of toxicity. There has been increasing recognition of oligometastatic disease in prostate cancer with the advent of new-generation imaging agents, most notably the recently approved PET radiotracers based on targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen.

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Purpose: Postoperative radiation therapy (RT) is an underused standard-of-care intervention for patients with prostate cancer and recurrence/adverse pathologic features after radical prostatectomy. Although stereotactic body RT (SBRT) is a well-studied and convenient option for definitive treatment, data on the postprostatectomy setting are extremely limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate short-term physician-scored genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities and patient-reported outcomes after postprostatectomy SBRT.

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Purpose: To determine whether racial/ethnic differences in patient experiences with care, potentially leading to underutilization of necessary care, are associated with disparities in Gleason score at diagnosis.

Methods: We used the SEER-CAHPS linked dataset to identify Medicare beneficiaries who completed a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey prior to diagnosis of prostate cancer. Independent variables included aspects of patient experiences with care captured by CAHPS surveys.

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Purpose: The current distribution of radiation therapy (RT) facilities in the United States is not well established. A comprehensive inventory of U.S.

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Purpose: Sex-specific differences exist in muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC): men have a higher incidence; women present with more advanced disease; and surgical options differ between men and women. Health related quality of life (HRQoL) for male versus female patients with MIBC is not well understood and limited data exists in patients who undergo bladder preservation with trimodality therapy (TMT). The purpose of this study was to compare long-term HRQoL between men and women who have undergone TMT.

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Background/aim: Muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is an aggressive disease with high rates of local recurrence following radical cystectomy (RC). Currently, there are no clinically validated biomarkers to predict local only recurrence (LOR) and guide adjuvant treatment decisions. This pilot study evaluated the role of Ki-67, MRE11 and PD-L1 as predictive biomarkers for recurrence patterns in patients undergoing RC for MIBC.

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