Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and disability in the United States. Many patients experience pain that is refractory or unable to be treated by traditional treatments such as exercise, physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and/or cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors. For patients with medically refractory disease, intra-articular corticosteroid therapy, hyaluronic acid, or surgery can be considered.

Practical Considerations for the Treatment of an Adrenal Metastasis With Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize 3 methods for treating adrenal metastases with stereotactic body radiation therapy. This article is not meant to provide consensus guidelines but rather to present 4 practical examples of treatment techniques using different treatment platforms from 3 institutions.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Locally Recurrent and Oligoprogressive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Single Institution Experience.

Objectives: To investigate the efficacy and safety of lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) including oligorecurrent and oligoprogressive disease.

Methods: Single-institution retrospective analysis of 60 NSCLC patients with 62 discrete lesions treated with SBRT between 2008 and 2017. Patients were stratified into three groups, including early stage, locally recurrent, and oligoprogressive disease.

The utility of radiographic assessment of the internal mammary arteries in chest wall irradiated patients.

Purpose: The internal mammary arteries (IMA's) are historically recognized to be protected against atherosclerosis. Whether chest wall-irradiation for breast cancer leads to significant IMA damage remains unclear. The utility of computed tomography (CT) and mammography to detect radiation-induced damage to the IMA's and its branches is not known.

Single community-based institutional series of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for treatment of liver metastases.

Background: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a safe and effective option for treatment of liver metastases. However, existing data are mostly reported by high-volume centers. There have been reports that advanced radiotherapy techniques performed at low-volume centers result in inferior outcomes.

HIV Infection Is Associated With Poor Outcomes for Patients With Anal Cancer in the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Era.

Background: HIV status may affect outcomes after definitive chemoradiotherapy for anal cancer.

Objective: Here, we report a large series in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era comparing outcomes between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients with anal cancer.

Design: This was a retrospective chart review.

Comparison of anal cancer outcomes in public and private hospital patients treated at a single radiation oncology center.

Objective: To compare clinical and treatment characteristics and outcomes in locally advanced anal cancer, a potentially curable disease, in patients referred from a public or private hospital.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 112 anal cancer patients from a public and a private hospital who received definitive chemoradiotherapy at the same cancer center between 2004 and 2013. Tumor stage, radiotherapy delay, radiotherapy duration, and unplanned treatment breaks ≥10 days were compared using t-test and χ(2) test.

Toxicity and disease-related outcomes after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositivity may be associated with higher risk of local recurrence and poor survival in multiple malignancies. However, long-term disease control in HIV-positive patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) is not well described. The purpose of this study is to review the disease-related outcomes of HIV-positive patients who underwent radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) at our institution.

Is there a role for an external beam boost in cervical cancer radiotherapy?

Objectives: Some patients are medically unfit for or averse to undergoing a brachytherapy boost as part of cervical cancer radiotherapy. In order to be able to definitively treat these patients, we assessed whether we could achieve a boost plan that would mimic our brachytherapy plans using external beam radiotherapy.

Methods: High dose rate brachytherapy plans of 20 patients with stage IIB cervical cancer treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy were included in this study.

A novel modified dynamic conformal arc technique for treatment of peripheral lung tumors using stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Purpose: To describe and compare a novel, modified dynamic conformal arc (MDCA) technique for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy with the standard noncoplanar beam (NCB) technique based on stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) coverage, dose conformality, normal tissue constraints, and treatment time.

Materials And Methods: Twenty consecutive medically inoperable patients with early stage, peripheral, non-small cell lung cancer treated with SBRT using an NCB technique were re-planned with a novel MDCA technique. Treatment plans were compared based on Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0236 criteria for planning treatment volume (PTV) coverage and normal tissue dose constraints, as well as high- and moderate-dose conformality.

Toxicity of head-and-neck radiation therapy in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients.

Purpose: To examine the acute morbidity of high dose head and neck RT and CRT in patients with infected with HIV.

Methods And Materials: All HIV-positive patients who underwent radiation therapy for head and neck cancer in our department between 2004 and 2008 were reviewed. Treatment related data were examined.

Excess mortality in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: a preliminary report.

Background: Reports that death notices in the Times-Picayune, the New Orleans daily newspaper, increased dramatically in 2006 prompted local health officials to determine whether death notice surveillance could serve as a valid alternative means to confirm suspicions of excess mortality requiring immediate preventive actions and intervention.

Methods: Monthly totals of death notices from the Times-Picayune were used to obtain frequency and proportion of deaths from January to June 2006. To validate this methodology the authors compared 2002 to 2003 monthly death frequency and proportions between death notices and top 10 causes of death from state vital statistics.