Evaluating the Impact of Bowel Gas Variations for Wilms' Tumor in Pediatric Proton Therapy.

(1) Background: Proton therapy, a precise form of radiation treatment, can be significantly affected by variations in bowel content. The purpose was to identify the most beneficial gantry angles that minimize deviations from the treatment plan quality, thus enhancing the safety and efficacy of proton therapy for Wilms' tumor patients. (2) Methods: Thirteen patients with Wilms' tumor, enrolled in the SJWT21 clinical trial, underwent proton therapy.

Cleaning the dose falloff with low modulation in SBRT lung plans.

This dosimetric study is intended to lower the modulation factor in lung SBRT plans generated in the Eclipse TPS that could replace highly modulated plans that are prone to the interplay effect.Twenty clinical lung SBRT plans with high modulation factors (≥4) were replanned in Varian Eclipse TPS version 15.5 utilizing 2 mm craniocaudal and 1 mm axial block margins followed by light optimization in order to reduce modulation.

Multicentre study on resection margins in carcinoma of the oral cavity, oro-hypopharynx and larynx.

Objective: The prognostic significance of the resection margins is still subject of conflicting opinions. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study on the margins in carcinoma of the oral cavity, oro-hypopharynx and larynx.

Methods: A multicentre prospective study was carried out between 2015 and 2018 with the participation of 10 Italian reference hospitals.

Impact of mouse strain and sex when modeling radiation necrosis.

Background: Murine models are among the most common type of preclinical animal models used to study the human condition, but a wide selection of different mice is currently in use with these differences potentially compromising study results and impairing the ability to reconcile interstudy results. Our goal was to determine how the strain and sex of the mice selection would affect the development of radiation necrosis in our murine model of radiation-induced cerebral necrosis.

Methods: We generated this model by using a preclinical irradiator to irradiate a sub-hemispheric portion of the brain of mice with single-fraction doses of 80 Gy.

Minimal difference between fractionated and single-fraction exposure in a murine model of radiation necrosis.

Purpose: Despite the success of fractionation in clinical practice to spare healthy tissue, it remains common for mouse models used to study the efficacy of radiation therapy to use minimal or no fractionation. The goal of our study was to create a fractionated mouse model of radiation necrosis that we could compare to our single fraction model.

Methods: Precision X-Ray's X-Rad 320 cabinet irradiator was used to irradiate the cerebrum of mice with four different fractionation schemes, while a 7 T Bruker magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner using T2 and post-contrast T1 imaging was used to track the development of radiation necrosis over the span of six weeks.

Interplay Effect of Target Motion and Pencil-Beam Scanning in Proton Therapy for Pediatric Patients.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of interplay between spot-scanning proton beams and respiration-induced tumor motion on internal target volume coverage for pediatric patients.

Materials And Methods: Photon treatments for 10 children with representative tumor motions (1-13 mm superior-inferior) were replanned to simulate single-field uniform dose- optimized proton therapy. Static plans were designed by using average computed tomography (CT) data sets created from 4D CT data to obtain nominal dose distributions.

Influence of Dose Uniformity when Replicating a Gamma Knife Mouse Model of Radiation Necrosis with a Preclinical Irradiator.

A common mouse model used for studying radiation necrosis is generated with the gamma knife, which has a non-uniform dose distribution. The goal of this study was to determine whether the lesion growth observed in this mouse model is a function of non-uniform dose distribution and/or lesion progression. Here, a model similar to the gamma knife mouse model was generated; using a preclinical irradiator, mice received single-fraction doses from 50 to 100 Gy to a sub-hemispheric portion of the brain.

Design of Interrogation Protocols for Radiation Dose Measurements Using Optically-Stimulated Luminescent Dosimeters.

Optically-stimulated luminescent dosimeters are capable of being interrogated multiple times post-irradiation. Each interrogation removes a fraction of the signal stored within the optically-stimulated luminescent dosimeter. This signal loss must be corrected to avoid systematic errors in estimating the average signal of a series of optically-stimulated luminescent dosimeter interrogations and requires a minimum number of consecutive readings to determine an average signal that is within a desired accuracy of the true signal with a desired statistical confidence.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: review of the literature with a focus on therapeutical implications.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare neoplasm which is associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). First of all, we reviewed the literature on NPC treatment. Radio/chemotherapy is currently the gold standard but unfortunately is affected by rates of failure ranging from 7% up to 58%.

Prognostic role of salivary CD44sol levels in the follow-up of laryngeal carcinomas.

Background: The purpose of this study was to verify CD44sol levels in the saliva of patients during follow-up after surgery for laryngeal cancer, to compare them with those registered at the time of diagnosis (pre-intervention) in the same patients, and to assess the reliability of the test as a prognostic indicator.

Methods: This prospective study was performed on 21 patients having laryngeal cancer who underwent surgery at the Division of Otolaryngology, University of Catanzaro; twelve adults with head and neck benign disease were recruited to form a control group. For each patient, the clinical–anamnestic data were collected and entered into a database.

Effectiveness of therapeutic selective neck dissection in laryngeal cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of selective neck dissection (SND) in patients with laryngeal cancer and clinically positive cervical nodes.

Subjects And Methods: A retrospective review of the clinical records of 58 consecutive untreated patients affected by laryngeal carcinoma and submitted to surgical treatment was performed.

Results: Twenty-six (44.

Rare adult masseteric rhabdomyosarcoma and a review of the literature.

Background: Rhabdomyosarcomas (RMSs) are a group of soft-tissue malignant tumors which derive from primitive skeletal muscle tissue that mainly affect children and adolescents. RMSs are very rare in adults, where they are usually located in the extremities.

Case Presentation: A previously healthy 32-year-old male presented at our ENT (ear, nose and throat) outpatient clinic after experiencing a parotid region swelling for 2 months.

Ectopic lingual thyroid with vascular anomalies.

Background: Lingual thyroid represents 90% of ectopic thyroid tissue localizations. The first case was described by Hickman in 1869. An ectopic thyroid is often asymptomatic, but pathological or physiological conditions inducing hyperproduction of thyroid-stimulating hormone can lead an ectopic thyroid to become symptomatic.

Modified supracricoid laryngectomy: oncological and functional outcomes in the elderly.

Background: Supracricoid laryngectomy is an organ preservation surgical technique for early-stage glottic tumors. Modified supracricoid laryngectomy using sternohyoid muscles for neoglottis reconstruction is a new surgical technique. This report evaluates oncological and functional outcomes of this new technique and its feasibility in elderly patients.

Quality of voice evaluation in patients treated by supracricoid laryngectomy and modified supracricoid laryngectomy.

Objective: To compare quality of voice in patients treated by supracricoid laryngectomy and patients treated by modified supracricoid laryngectomy using the sternohyoid muscle for neoglottis reconstruction.

Study Design: Case series. Setting.

Multiple head and neck tumours and their genetic relationship.

Second primary tumours represent one of the major causes of failure in the treatment of head and neck cancer. Advances in early diagnosis and treatment have improved the patient's disease-specific survival. However, the increase in the occurrence of second primary tumours negatively influences the patient's chance of long-term survival.

Rhinomanometric and olfactometric variations throughout the menstrual cycle.

A prospective study was performed to evaluate the rhinomanometric values and the changes in the olfactory threshold that occur in women throughout the menstrual cycle. The subjects were 60 healthy volunteer premenopausal women 18 to 40 years of age. We performed rhinomanometric and olfactometric measurements during the follicular, periovular, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.