Assessment and Prediction of Salivary Gland Function After Head and Neck Radiotherapy: A Systematic Review.

Background: Modern imaging techniques with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) have recently been developed to assess radiation-induced damage to salivary structures. The primary aim of this review was to summarize evidence on the imaging modalities used for the assessment and prediction of xerostomia after head and neck radiotherapy (RT).

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed using successively the MeSH terms "PET," "MRI," "scintigraphy," "xerostomia," and "radiotherapy.

Survival Without Quality of Life Deterioration in the GORTEC 2014-04 "OMET" Randomized Phase 2 Trial in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer with Oligometastases using Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy (SABR) alone or Chemotherapy and SABR.

Purpose: Patients with oligometastasis may have prolonged survival with multisite stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR). Evidence to support this paradigm is scarce in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). The multicenter open-label randomized GORTEC 2014-04 (NCT03070366) phase 2 study assesses survival without definitive quality of life (QoL) deterioration of omitting upfront chemotherapy in oligometastatic patients with HNSCC using SABR alone, in the French Head and Neck Intergroup.

Therapeutic strategy for advanced stages salivary carcinomas of the tongue: A multicenter REFCOR study.

Introduction: Salivary carcinomas of the tongue represent a therapeutic challenge as their radical excision is particularly mutilating. We aimed to study the oncologic and functional outcomes of advanced stages salivary carcinomas of the tongue.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective multicentric study, based on the French national network on rare head and neck cancers (REFCOR), included all patients with a T3-T4 salivary carcinoma of the tongue, diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2018.

3D Unsupervised deep learning method for magnetic resonance imaging-to-computed tomography synthesis in prostate radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-to-computed tomography (CT) synthesis is essential in MRI-only radiotherapy workflows, particularly through deep learning techniques known for their accuracy. However, current supervised methods are limited to specific center's learnings and depend on registration precision. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of unsupervised and supervised approaches in the context of prostate MRI-to-CT generation for radiotherapy dose calculation.

Cas9 RNP Physiochemical Analysis for Enhanced CRISPR-AuNP Assembly and Function.

CRISPR therapy for hematological disease has proven effective for transplant dependent beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia, with additional disease targets in sight. The success of these therapies relies on high rates of CRISPR-induced double strand DNA breaks in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC). To achieve these levels, CRISPR complexes are typically delivered by electroporation ex vivo which is toxic to HSPCs.

The dosimetric parameters impact on local recurrence in stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases.

Objectives: Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for brain metastases (BM) allows very good local control (LC). However, approximately 20%-30% of these lesions will recur. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the impact of dosimetric parameters on LC in cerebral SRT.

Cost-effectiveness of weekly adaptive radiotherapy versus standard IMRT in head and neck cancer alongside the ARTIX trial.

Background And Purpose: We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) comparing an adaptive radiotherapy (ART) strategy, based on weekly replanning, aiming to correct the parotid gland overdose during treatment and expecting therefore to decrease xerostomia, when compared to a standard IMRT.

Materials And Methods: We conducted the ARTIX trial, a randomized, parallel-group, multicentric study comparing a systematic weekly replanning ART to a standard IMRT. The primary endpoint was the frequency of xerostomia at 12 months, measured by stimulating salivary flow with paraffin.

Validation of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical function questionnaire in late-onset Pompe disease using PROPEL phase 3 data.

Background: The construct validity and interpretation of the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function short form 20a (PF20a) questionnaire were evaluated for patients with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD), a rare, autosomal recessive, progressive neuromuscular disorder treatable by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT).

Methods: In the phase 3 PROPEL study, adults with LOPD underwent testing of physical functioning and had PRO measurements at baseline and at weeks 12, 26, 38, and 52 while receiving experimental or standard-of-care ERT. All patients were pooled for analyses, without comparisons between treatment groups.

Computed tomography synthesis from magnetic resonance imaging using cycle Generative Adversarial Networks with multicenter learning.

Addressing the need for accurate dose calculation in MRI-only radiotherapy, the generation of synthetic Computed Tomography (sCT) from MRI has emerged. Deep learning (DL) techniques, have shown promising results in achieving high sCT accuracies. However, existing sCT synthesis methods are often center-specific, posing a challenge to their generalizability.

Therapeutic Role of Pharmacological Chaperones in Lysosomal Storage Disorders: A Review of the Evidence and Informed Approach to Reclassification.

The treatment landscape for lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) is rapidly evolving. An increase in the number of preclinical and clinical studies in the last decade has demonstrated that pharmacological chaperones are a feasible alternative to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for individuals with LSDs. A systematic search was performed to retrieve and critically assess the evidence from preclinical and clinical applications of pharmacological chaperones in the treatment of LSDs and to elucidate the mechanisms by which they could be effective in clinical practice.

Achievable Dosimetric Constraints in Stereotactic Reirradiation for Recurrent Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: Stereotactic body radiation therapy has been proposed as a salvage treatment for recurrent prostate cancer after irradiation. One crucial issue is choosing appropriate dose-volume constraints (DVCs) during planning. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify the proportion of patients respecting the DVCs according to the Urogenital Tumor Study Group GETUG-31 trial, testing 36 Gy in six fractions, (2) explain geometrically why the DVCs could not be respected, and (3) propose the most suitable DVCs.

Weekly Adaptive Radiotherapy vs Standard Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Improving Salivary Function in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: A Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Xerostomia is a major toxic effect associated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for oropharyngeal cancers.

Objective: To assess whether adaptive radiotherapy (ART) improves salivary function compared with IMRT in patients with head and neck cancer.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This phase 3 randomized clinical trial was conducted in 11 French centers.

Overview of the HECKTOR Challenge at MICCAI 2022: Automatic Head and Neck Tumor Segmentation and Outcome Prediction in PET/CT.

This paper presents an overview of the third edition of the HEad and neCK TumOR segmentation and outcome prediction (HECKTOR) challenge, organized as a satellite event of the 25th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) 2022. The challenge comprises two tasks related to the automatic analysis of FDG-PET/CT images for patients with Head and Neck cancer (H&N), focusing on the oropharynx region. is the fully automatic segmentation of H&N primary Gross Tumor Volume (GTVp) and metastatic lymph nodes (GTVn) from FDG-PET/CT images.

High-dimensional analysis of 16 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine combinations reveals lymphocyte signatures correlating with immunogenicity.

The range of vaccines developed against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) provides a unique opportunity to study immunization across different platforms. In a single-center cohort, we analyzed the humoral and cellular immune compartments following five coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines spanning three technologies (adenoviral, mRNA and inactivated virus) administered in 16 combinations. For adenoviral and inactivated-virus vaccines, heterologous combinations were generally more immunogenic compared to homologous regimens.

Practical and technical key challenges in head and neck adaptive radiotherapy: The GORTEC point of view.

Anatomical variations occur during head and neck (H&N) radiotherapy (RT) treatment. These variations may result in underdosage to the target volume or overdosage to the organ at risk. Replanning during the treatment course can be triggered to overcome this issue.

Meta-analysis and Critical Review: Association Between Radio-induced Lymphopenia and Overall Survival in Solid Cancers.

Purpose: Immune system modulation, with the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, has drastically changed the field of oncology. Strong preclinical data indicate that radiation therapy (RT) may enhance the response rate to such drugs via in situ vaccination, although these data do not consider immune radiotoxicity. This meta-analysis investigates whether radio-induced lymphopenia (RIL) is associated with overall survival (OS).

Systemic amyloidosis journey from diagnosis to outcomes: a twelve-year real-world experience of a single center in a middle-income country.

Background: Systemic amyloidosis is caused by the deposition of misfolded protein aggregates in tissues, leading to progressive organ dysfunction and death. Epidemiological studies originate predominantly from high-income countries, with few data from Latin America. Due to the non-specific clinical manifestations, diagnosing amyloidosis is often challenging and patients experience a long journey and delay in diagnosis.

Effectiveness of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and BBIBP-CorV vaccines against infection and mortality in children in Argentina, during predominance of delta and omicron covid-19 variants: test negative, case-control study.

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of a two dose vaccine schedule (mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and BBIBP-CorV) against SARS-CoV-2 infection and covid-19 related death and short term waning of immunity in children (3-11 years old) and adolescents (12-17 years old) during periods of delta and omicron variant predominance in Argentina.

Design: Test negative, case-control study.

Setting: Database of the National Surveillance System and the Nominalized Federal Vaccination Registry of Argentina.

Deep Learning-Based Segmentation of Head and Neck Organs-at-Risk with Clinical Partially Labeled Data.

Radiotherapy is one of the main treatments for localized head and neck (HN) cancer. To design a personalized treatment with reduced radio-induced toxicity, accurate delineation of organs at risk (OAR) is a crucial step. Manual delineation is time- and labor-consuming, as well as observer-dependent.

Segmentation and Classification of Head and Neck Nodal Metastases and Primary Tumors in PET/CT.

The prediction of cancer characteristics, treatment planning and patient outcome from medical images generally requires tumor delineation. In Head and Neck cancer (H&N), the automatic segmentation and differentiation of primary Gross Tumor Volumes (GTVt) and malignant lymph nodes (GTVn) is a necessary step for large-scale radiomics studies to predict patient outcome such as Progression Free Survival (PFS). Detecting malignant lymph nodes is also a crucial step for Tumor-Node-Metastases (TNM) staging and to support the decision to resect the nodes.

Head and neck cancers volume reduction: should we reduce our prophylactic node radiation to spare the antitumor immune response?

Radiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer classically include large prophylactic node volume. However, the use of these large volumes can be responsible for significant toxicity. Furthermore, the disappointing results of radioimmunotherapy combinations in head and neck tumors raise concerns about radiotherapy's potential negative impact on the immune response when large lymph node volumes are treated.