The Patient's perspective on radiation therapy for anal cancer: Evaluation of expectations and stigma.

Background: Little is known regarding anal cancer patients' perspectives on undergoing radiation therapy. Additionally, the stigma surrounding anal cancer diagnosis warrants a better understanding of the barriers to complete disclosure in patient-healthcare team interactions.

Methods: Included patients had squamous cell carcinoma of the anus treated with definitive chemoradiation (CRT) from 2009 to 2018.

The patient's perspective on radiation for rectal cancer: Initial expectations versus actual experience.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare patient perceptions of radiotherapy (RT) before and after treatment to better inform future patients and providers.

Methods: Seventy-eight consecutive patients with rectal adenocarcinoma treated with neo- or adjuvant chemoradiation, surgical resection, and adjuvant chemotherapy from 2009 to 2018 and who were without recurrence were included. Patients were surveyed ≥6 months after ileostomy reversal or ≥3 months after adjuvant chemotherapy.

The Timeliness Initiative: Continuous Process Improvement for Prompt Initiation of Radiation Therapy Treatment.

Purpose: The ambulatory patient experience is heavily influenced by wait times for provider care. Delayed patient visit start times may negatively affect overall satisfaction, and increased wait times affect the perception of the information, instructions, and treatment given by health care providers. Improving institutional practices overall requires the determination of the essential quality metrics that will make such an achievement possible.

Addition of Chemotherapy Is Associated With Decreased Survival in Early-Stage (T1-2N0M0) Glottic Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated With Definitive Radiotherapy.

Purpose: The role of chemoradiation (CRT) in treating patients with early-stage glottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), especially for T2N0M0 glottic SCC with impaired vocal cord mobility, remains unexplored. We sought to evaluate the impact of CRT on survival in early-stage glottic SCC by using the SEER database.

Patients And Methods: We included patients with localized (T1-4N0M0) glottic SCC (N = 4,743) diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 and treated with definitive radiotherapy (RT) alone, CRT, or laryngectomy alone in the SEER database.

Recent advances in gynecologic radiation oncology.

Purpose Of Review: Radiation has long been a primary treatment modality in locally advanced gynecologic carcinomas and a tool for palliation of metastatic disease. Here we review advances in imaging and radiation technologies and the corresponding clinical evolution of the role for radiation oncology in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies.

Recent Findings: Advances in MRI are impacting diagnosis, radiation target delineation, planning, treatment delivery, and response assessment.

Hazards of sparing the ipsilateral parotid gland in the node-positive neck with intensity modulated radiation therapy: Spatial analysis of regional recurrence risk.

Purpose: The practice of deliberately sparing the ipsilateral parotid gland with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in patients with node-positive head and neck cancer is controversial. We sought to compare the clinical outcomes among consecutive cohorts of patients with head and neck cancer who were treated with differing strategies to spare the parotid gland that is ipsilateral to the involved neck using IMRT.

Methods And Materials: A total of 305 patients were treated with IMRT for node-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Precision Medicine: Genomic Profiles to Individualize Therapy.

Precision medicine is the application of genotypic and Omics biomarkers to determine the most appropriate, outcome-driven therapy for individual patients. To determine the best choice of therapy, institutions use significant information technology-enabled data from imaging, electronic medical records, sensors in the clinic/hospitals, and wearable sensors to determine treatment response. With genomic profiling, targets to affect a disease course are continuing to be developed.

Inadequate target volume delineation and local-regional recurrence after intensity-modulated radiotherapy for human papillomavirus-positive oropharynx cancer.

Purpose: To perform a spatial analysis of local-regional recurrences, in relation to quantitative dose distribution, among patients treated by intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer.

Methods And Materials: The records of 107 consecutive patients who presented for consideration of re-irradiation for local-regional recurrent disease occurring in a previously irradiated field were reviewed. The original IMRT plans were retrieved for those with HPV-positive disease originating from the oropharynx, and deformable image registration was used to fuse the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans obtained at recurrence to the pre-treatment planning computed tomography (CT) dataset.

Considerations for Quality Improvement in Radiation Oncology Therapy for Patients with Uncomplicated Painful Bone Metastases.

There is an increasing need for evidence-based efficiency in providing a growing amount of cancer care. One example of a quality gap is the use of multiple-fraction palliative radiation for patients with advanced cancer who have uncomplicated bone metastases; evidence suggests similar pain outcomes for treatment regimens with a lower burden of treatments. During the first phase of quality improvement work, we used RAND/UCLA appropriateness methodology to understand how radiation oncologists at one academic medical center rate the appropriateness of different treatment regimens for painful uncomplicated bone metastases.

Re-irradiation for recurrent and second primary cancers of the head and neck.

Purpose: To evaluate a single-institutional experience with the use of re-irradiation for recurrent and new primary cancers of the head and neck.

Methods: The medical charts of 80 consecutive patients who underwent re-irradiation for local-regionally recurrent or second primary head and neck cancer between November 1998 and December 2015 were analyzed. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazard and logistic regression to determine predictors of clinical outcomes.

Skin surface brachytherapy: A survey of contemporary practice patterns.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to define current patterns of care among radiation oncologists who use skin surface brachytherapy for the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in academic and community settings.

Methods And Materials: A 30-question electronic survey was administered to clinician members of the American Brachytherapy Society. The respondents were asked to provide details regarding their clinical practice and their approach to skin surface brachytherapy.

Effects of surfactant and temperature on biotransformation kinetics of anthracene and pyrene.

The biotransformation and mineralization of a mixture of two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), anthracene and pyrene, which are known contaminants of soil and groundwater, by an enrichment culture in the presence or absence of 100 mg l(-1) Tergitol NP-10, a non-ionic surfactant, and at temperatures of 10 degrees C and 25 degrees C were investigated. The overall biotransformation of 2 mg l(-1) total PAHs with free cell suspensions in batch culture was greater than 97.2% at both examined temperatures.

Outcome after invasive local recurrence in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Purpose: To detail the outcome, in terms of local recurrence, local invasive recurrence, distant recurrence, and breast cancer mortality for patients previously treated for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Patients And Methods: Clinical, pathologic, and outcome data were collected prospectively for 707 patients with DCIS accrued from 1972 through June 1997.

Results: There were 74 local recurrences; 39 were noninvasive (DCIS) and 35 were invasive.

Pathologic and mammographic findings predicting the adequacy of tumor excision before breast-conserving therapy.

Objective: We performed a retrospective review to determine the need for reexcision after excisional biopsy in patients with breast cancer who were treated with breast-conserving therapy.

Materials And Methods: Eighty-seven patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast underwent excisional biopsy followed by reexcision of the tumor site. Reexcision specimens were evaluated for residual disease and correlated with initial mammographic and pathologic findings.