A Review of Contemporary Image Guidance Techniques in Head and Neck Cancer.

Background: Traditional head and neck cancer treatment involves open surgery, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and conventional radiotherapy planning. Emerging techniques aim to improve precision and reduce associated toxicity and functional impairment in current practice. This review article describes four such adaptations in image guidance, tailored to next generation therapies.

A convolutional neural network for contouring metastatic lymph nodes on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images for assessment of radiotherapy response.

Background And Purpose: Retrieving quantitative parameters from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), e.g. for early assessment of radiotherapy treatment response, necessitates contouring regions of interest, which is time-consuming and prone to errors.

The impact of restricted length of treatment field and anthropometric factors on selection of head and neck cancer patients for treatment on the MR-Linac.

Objective: This study investigates the impact of a restricted craniocaudal (CC) field length of <20 cm on the selection of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients who can be treated on the MR-Linac using a single isocentre technique. We also assess the effects of anthropometric factors and the neck position on the CC field length.

Methods: 110 HNC patients who underwent radical primary or adjuvant radiotherapy were retrospectively analysed.

A randomised controlled trial of Caphosol mouthwash in management of radiation-induced mucositis in head and neck cancer.

Purpose: This phase III, non-blinded, parallel-group, randomised controlled study evaluated the efficacy of Caphosol mouthwash in the management of radiation-induced oral mucositis (OM) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing radical (chemo)radiotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Eligible patients were randomised at 1:1 to Caphosol plus standard oral care (intervention) or standard oral care alone (control), stratified by radiotherapy technique and use of concomitant chemotherapy. Patients in the intervention arm used Caphosol for 7weeks: 6weeks during and 1-week post-radiotherapy.

The Management of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma in the Era of Targeted Therapy.

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare cancer comprising approximately 5% of all thyroid cancers. The majority arises sporadically but around 25% are hereditary forming part of the Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN) type 2 syndromes. The initial management is surgical, the extent of resection determined by radiological stage, presence of and specific REarranged during Transfection (RET) oncogene mutation and level of serum calcitonin.

The Role of PET/CT in Advanced Malignant Melanoma.

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with fluorodeoxyglucose demonstrates a high sensitivity and specificity for detecting both locoregional and distant metastases in patients presenting with AJCC stages III and IV disease. PET/CT also plays an important role in the detection of recurrence particularly in high-risk group patients, and this should be the modality of choice in investigating patients for suspected recurrence. The role of PET/CT in response assessment and follow-up still has to be defined, and cost-effectiveness analysis is required to strengthen its role.