Evaluation of children with craniopharyngioma using carbon-11 methionine PET prior to proton therapy.

Background: Fluorine-18 ((18)F) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is limited in its evaluation of brain tumors due to the high basal activity of the cerebral cortex and white matter. Carbon-11 methionine ((11)C MET) has little uptake under normal conditions. We prospectively investigated the uptake of (18)F FDG and (11)C MET PET in patients with craniopharyngioma prior to proton therapy.

The impact of race on outcomes of patients with early stage uterine endometrioid carcinoma.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to determine whether racial disparity exists between African American (AA) and non-African American (NAA) patients with uterine endometrioid carcinoma who received similar multidisciplinary management.

Methods: We identified 766 patients with endometrioid adenocarcinoma 2009 FIGO stages I-II who underwent hysterectomy. Patients were divided into two groups; AA and NAA.

Is time to recurrence after hysterectomy predictive of survival in patients with early stage endometrial carcinoma?

Purpose/objective(s): To determine the prognostic significance of time to recurrence (TTR) on overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) following recurrence in patients with stage I-II uterine endometrioid carcinoma.

Materials/methods: After IRB approval, we retrospectively identified 57 patients with recurrent endometrioid carcinoma who were initially treated for FIGO 1988 stages I-II between 1987 and 2009. The Kaplan-Meier approach and Cox regression analysis were used to estimate OS and DSS following recurrence and identify factors impacting outcomes.

Pleural intensity-modulated radiotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Purpose: In patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who are unable to undergo pneumonectomy, it is difficult to deliver tumoricidal radiation doses to the pleura without significant toxicity. We have implemented a technique of using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) to treat these patients, and we report the feasibility and toxicity of this approach.

Methods And Materials: Between 2005 and 2010, 36 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and two intact lungs (i.

Patterns of local and nodal failure in malignant pleural mesothelioma after extrapleural pneumonectomy and photon-electron radiotherapy.

Introduction: Multimodality therapy including extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), chemotherapy, and radiotherapy (RT) is often recommended for fit patients with early stage malignant pleural mesothelioma. Planning RT after an EPP is difficult due to the large target area, the high doses required to prevent recurrence, and the proximity of critical structures. We studied patterns of local and nodal recurrence in patients treated at our institution with EPP and RT, and whether advanced treatment planning techniques, such as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), could have been of potential benefit.

Acute skin toxicity following stereotactic body radiation therapy for stage I non-small-cell lung cancer: who's at risk?

Purpose: We examined the rate of acute skin toxicity within a prospectively managed database of patients treated for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and investigated factors that might predict skin toxicity.

Methods: From May 2006 through January 2008, 50 patients with Stage I NSCLC were treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with 60 Gy in three fractions or 44-48 Gy in four fractions. Patients were treated with multiple coplanar beams (3-7, median 4) with a 6 MV linac using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and dynamic multileaf collimation.

Influence of increased CD4 cell counts on the genetic variability of hepatitis C virus in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus I.

In order to study the effect of increased CD4 cell counts on the biology of hepatitis C virus (HCV), we analyzed the genetic variability of HCV generated over 8 y in eight human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and HCV co-infected patients. This was a retrospective study in which HIV patients were selected who had profound immune impairment evident over four years and were co-infected with HCV genotype 1 and who then went on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). These patients achieved different degrees of immune reconstitution, measured as increased CD4 cell counts during a 4- to 8-y period, following initiation of HAART.

Gene duplication and functional divergence of the zebrafish insulin-like growth factor 1 receptors.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 receptor (IGF1R)-mediated signaling plays key roles in growth, development, and physiology. Recent studies have shown that there are two distinct ig f1r genes in zebrafish, termed ig f1ra and ig f1rb. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that zebrafish ig f1ra and ig f1rb resulted from a gene duplication event at the ig f1r locus and that this has led to their functional divergence.