Role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in the staging of synovial, epithelioid, and clear cell sarcomas.

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas generally have a
Methods: 29 patients with nonmetastatic synovial, epithelioid, and clear cell sarcomas who underwent SLNB were examined.

Public awareness of mercury in fish: analysis of public awareness and assessment of fish consumption in vermont.

Exposure to mercury from environmental sources, such as fish consumption, poses potential health risks to the public. The state of Vermont has developed educational brochures and posters displaying safe fish consumption guidelines in order to educate the public regarding mercury exposure through fish. In this study, a group of medical students from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health, conducted a study in Chittenden County, Vermont in order to assess both fish consumption practices and overall awareness of such safe eating guidelines and mercury advisories.

Phase II study of high-dose photon/proton radiotherapy in the management of spine sarcomas.

Purpose: Radiotherapy (XRT) for spine sarcomas is constrained by spinal cord, nerve, and viscera tolerance. Negative surgical margins are uncommon; hence, doses of >or=66 Gy are recommended. A Phase II clinical trial evaluated high-dose photon/proton XRT for spine sarcomas.

Macrophage impairment underlies airway occlusion in primary respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis.

Although respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the most important cause of bronchiolitis in infants, the pathogenesis of RSV disease is poorly described. We studied histopathologic changes in a panel of lung tissue specimens obtained from infants with fatal cases of primary RSV infection. In these tissues, airway occlusion with accumulations of infected, apoptotic cellular debris and serum protein was consistently observed.

Survey of medication documentation at hospital discharge: implications for patient safety and continuity of care.

Background: Medication discrepancies at the time of hospital discharge are common and can result in error, patient/carer inconvenience or patient harm. Providing accurate medication information to the next care provider is necessary to prevent adverse events.

Aims: To investigate the quality and consistency of medication details generated for such transfer from an Irish teaching hospital.

Musculoskeletal desmoid tumors.

Desmoid tumors are benign tumors that exhibit varying degrees of local aggressiveness and diverse growth patterns. Magnetic resonance imaging remains the modality of choice for assessment of the nature and size of the soft-tissue lesion and involvement of surrounding structures. Treatment strategies include surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and radiation therapy, either individually or in combination.

Should positive phase III clinical trial data be required before proton beam therapy is more widely adopted? No.

Purpose: Evaluate the rationale for the proposals that prior to a wider use of proton radiation therapy there must be supporting data from phase III clinical trials. That is, would less dose to normal tissues be an advantage to the patient?

Methods: Assess the basis for the assertion that proton dose distributions are superior to those of photons for most situations. Consider the requirements for determining the risks of normal tissue injury, acute and remote, in the examination of the data from a trial.

Recurrent intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia of the right middle finger treated with radiation therapy.

We describe a case of recurrent intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia involving the middle finger which was successfully-treated with photon and proton radiotherapy following two previous surgical excisions.

Advanced-technology radiation therapy for bone sarcomas.

Background: Bone sarcomas are rare primary tumors. Radiation therapy (RT) can be useful in securing local control in cases where negative surgical margins cannot be obtained or where tumors are not resected. Recent technical advances in RT offer the opportunity to deliver radiation to these tumors with higher precision, thus allowing higher doses to the tumor target with lower doses to critical normal tissues, which can improve local tumor control and/or reduce treatment-related morbidity.

Improving newborn preventive services at the birth hospitalization: a collaborative, hospital-based quality-improvement project.

Objective: The goal was to test the effectiveness of a statewide, collaborative, hospital-based quality-improvement project targeting preventive services delivered to healthy newborns during the birth hospitalization.

Methods: All Vermont hospitals with obstetric services participated. The quality-improvement collaborative (intervention) was based on the Breakthrough Series Collaborative model.

Clinical proton radiation therapy research at the Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center.

The Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center has a 230 MeV cyclotron from which proton beams are directed to two isocentric gantries, a stereotactic intracranial beam line, and an eye line. Because of improved physical dose distribution, proton radiotherapy allows dose escalation to improve local tumor control in anatomic sites and histologies where local control is suboptimal with photons.

Speeds associated with skiing and snowboarding.

Background/objective: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in skiing and snowboarding. Although previous studies have advocated the use of a helmet to reduce the incidence of TBI, only a minority of skiers and snowboarders wear helmets. The low use of helmets may be partially due to controversy regarding their effectiveness in a high-speed crash.

Dosimetric feasibility of hypofractionated proton radiotherapy for neoadjuvant pancreatic cancer treatment.

Purpose: To evaluate tumor and normal tissue dosimetry of a 5 cobalt gray equivalent (CGE) x 5 fraction proton radiotherapy schedule, before initiating a clinical trial of neoadjuvant, short-course proton radiotherapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Methods And Materials: The first 9 pancreatic cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant intensity-modulated radiotherapy (1.8 Gy x 28) at the Massachusetts General Hospital had treatment plans generated using a 5 CGE x 5 fraction proton regimen.

Patient study of in vivo verification of beam delivery and range, using positron emission tomography and computed tomography imaging after proton therapy.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility and value of positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) for treatment verification after proton radiotherapy.

Methods And Materials: This study included 9 patients with tumors in the cranial base, spine, orbit, and eye. Total doses of 1.

Radiotherapy treatment of early-stage prostate cancer with IMRT and protons: a treatment planning comparison.

Purpose: To compare intensity-modulated photon radiotherapy (IMRT) with three-dimensional conformal proton therapy (3D-CPT) for early-stage prostate cancer, and explore the potential utility of intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT).

Methods And Materials: Ten patients were planned with both 3D-CPT (two parallel-opposed lateral fields) and IMRT (seven equally spaced coplanar fields). Prescribed dose was 79.

Radiation therapy for control of soft-tissue sarcomas resected with positive margins.

Purpose: Positive margins (PM) remain after surgery in some soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) patients. We investigated the efficacy of radiation therapy (RT) in STS patients with PM.

Methods And Materials: A retrospective chart review was performed on 154 patients with STS at various anatomic sites with PM, defined as tumor on ink, who underwent RT with curative intent between 1970 and 2001.

Capacitive detection in ultrathin chemosensors prepared by molecularly imprinted grafting photopolymerization.

The usual applications of capacitive detection in chemo- and biosensors are based on changes in effective thickness of insulating layers due to adsorption of analyte onto receptors. Ultrathin chemosensors based on molecularly imprinted polymerization enable a realization of another capacitive approach that exploits changes in electrical capacitance due to modification of the dielectric constant of the polymer. Such chemosensors were prepared by photografted molecularly imprinted polymerization on the surface of gold electrodes.

Treatment and outcome of 82 patients with angiosarcoma.

Background: Angiosarcomas are an uncommon type of malignancy that are generally thought to behave usually in a locally aggressive fashion; they often metastasize to distant sites.

Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of angiosarcoma treated at our institution between 1980 and 2006 were analyzed for patient demographics, tumor characteristics, multimodality treatment, and outcomes.

Results: A total of 82 patients were divided into those with primary and advanced disease.

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta in Gorham's disease.

Background: A 17-year-old male presented with pain in his lower-left chest. He had no significant medical history and was previously in good health. He had a fractured ninth left anterior rib and the tenth, eleventh and twelfth ribs were absent, which was thought to be a congenital anomaly.

Visual outcome of accelerated fractionated radiation for advanced sinonasal malignancies employing photons/protons.

Purpose: To investigate the visual outcomes of patients with advanced sinonasal malignancies treated with proton/photon accelerated fractionated radiation (AFR).

Patients And Methods: Between 1991 and 2001, AFR was used to treat 36 patients with advanced stage primary (n=33) or recurrent (n=3) nasal or paranasal malignant tumors. Full ophthalmologic follow-up was documented.