The Clinical Utility of a 7-Gene Biosignature on Radiation Therapy Decision Making in Patients with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Following Breast-Conserving Surgery: An Updated Analysis of the DCISionRT PREDICT Study.

Background: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) is a standard treatment for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). A low-risk patient subset that does not benefit from RT has not yet been clearly identified. The DCISionRT test provides a clinically validated decision score (DS), which is prognostic of 10-year in-breast recurrence rates (invasive and non-invasive) and is also predictive of RT benefit.

Therapeutic radiation dose delivered to the low axilla during whole breast radiation therapy in the prone position: implications for targeting the undissected axilla.

Purpose: One interpretation of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011 trial is that whole breast radiation therapy, known to treat a portion of the low axilla when delivered in the supine position, can treat residual microscopic disease in patients with involved axillary nodes that were not removed by axillary dissection. The purpose of this study was to quantify radiation dose delivered to the axilla for patients treated in the prone position.

Methods And Materials: We analyzed treatment plans from 40 consecutive patients who received radiation targeting the intact breast with tangent fields in the prone position.

Diverse perspectives on the current state of genomic medicine: has the revolution begun?

A report on the Future of Genomic Medicine IV meeting held in La Jolla, California, USA, 3-4 March 2011.

MUC1-associated proliferation signature predicts outcomes in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Background: MUC1 protein is highly expressed in lung cancer. The cytoplasmic domain of MUC1 (MUC1-CD) induces tumorigenesis and resistance to DNA-damaging agents. We characterized MUC1-CD-induced transcriptional changes and examined their significance in lung cancer patients.

STAT1-dependent expression of energy metabolic pathways links tumour growth and radioresistance to the Warburg effect.

Background: The Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1 (STAT1) has traditionally been regarded as a transmitter of interferon signaling and a pro-apoptotic tumour suppressor. Recent data have identified new functions of STAT1 associated with tumourigenesis and resistance to genotoxic stress, including ionizing radiation (IR) and chemotherapy. To investigate the mechanisms contributing to the tumourigenic functions of STAT1, we performed a combined transcriptomic-proteomic expressional analysis and found that STAT1 is associated with regulation of energy metabolism with potential implication in the Warburg effect.

Primary tumor necrosis predicts distant control in locally advanced soft-tissue sarcomas after preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: Various neoadjuvant approaches have been evaluated for the treatment of locally advanced soft-tissue sarcomas. This retrospective study describes a uniquely modified version of the Eilber regimen developed at the University of Chicago.

Methods And Materials: We treated 34 patients (28 Stage III and 6 Stage IV) with locally advanced soft-tissue sarcomas of an extremity between 1995 and 2008.

MUC1-induced transcriptional programs associated with tumorigenesis predict outcome in breast and lung cancer.

The Mucin 1 (MUC1) oncoprotein is aberrantly overexpressed in diverse human malignancies including breast and lung cancer. Although MUC1 modulates the activity of several transcription factors, there is no information regarding the effects of MUC1 on global gene expression patterns and the potential role of MUC1-induced genes in predicting outcome for cancer patients. We have developed an experimental model of MUC1-induced transformation that has identified the activation of gene families involved in oncogenesis, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix remodeling.

A rationale for the targeted treatment of oligometastases with radiotherapy.

An oligometastatic state has been proposed wherein patients with metastases limited in number and location may benefit from local therapy directed at all known sites of metastases. We describe here the clinical and biological basis for the oligometastatic state. We present evidence for a potentially curative approach to patients with oligometastases using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and we review the literature for SBRT directed at specific metastatic sites in the lungs, liver and multiple organs.