Margin reduction from image guided radiation therapy for soft tissue sarcoma: Secondary analysis of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0630 results.

Purpose: Six imaging modalities were used in Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0630, a study of image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) for primary soft tissue sarcomas of the extremity. We analyzed all daily patient-repositioning data collected in this trial to determine the impact of daily IGRT on clinical target volume-to-planning target volume (CTV-to-PTV) margin.

Methods And Materials: Daily repositioning data, including shifts in right-left (RL), superior-inferior (SI), and anterior-posterior (AP) directions and rotations for 98 patients enrolled in RTOG 0630 from 18 institutions were analyzed.

Significant Reduction of Late Toxicities in Patients With Extremity Sarcoma Treated With Image-Guided Radiation Therapy to a Reduced Target Volume: Results of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group RTOG-0630 Trial.

Purpose: We performed a multi-institutional prospective phase II trial to assess late toxicities in patients with extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS) treated with preoperative image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) to a reduced target volume.

Patients And Methods: Patients with extremity STS received IGRT with (cohort A) or without (cohort B) chemotherapy followed by limb-sparing resection. Daily pretreatment images were coregistered with digitally reconstructed radiographs so that the patient position could be adjusted before each treatment.

Effect of arsenic on reflectance spectra and chlorophyll fluorescence of aquatic plants.

Arsenic pollution of groundwater is a serious problem in many regions of Latin America that causes severe risks to human health. As a consequence, non-destructive monitoring methodologies, sensitive to arsenic presence in the environment and able to perform a rapid screening of large polluted areas, are highly sought-after. Both chlorophyll - a fluorescence and reflectance of aquatic plants may be potential indicators to sense toxicity in water media.

Positron-emission tomography for locally advanced cervical cancer: a survey assessing Canadian practice patterns and access.

Purpose: Imaging by fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (pet) has emerged as a valuable tool in the management of locally advanced cervical cancer (lacc), both for assessment of lymph node status and determination of response to chemoradiotherapy. The aim of the present study was to survey Canadian radiation oncologists to determine access to pet imaging for lacc patients and to assess current patterns of practice.

Methods: Radiation oncology centres across Canada were contacted to identify radiation oncologists who treat patients with lacc.

Sci-Sat AM: Brachy - 08: MRI-guided planning and maximum achievable HR-CTV doses in cervix brachytherapy.

Purpose: To present an institutional experience with MRI-based intracavitary brachytherapy planning for cervix cancer treatments using the EMBRACE protocol and to evaluate maximum HR-CTV doses that can be achieved when OAR (bladder, rectum, and sigmoid) doses are allowed to equal GECESTRO recommended thresholds.

Method: Dose metrics from treatment plans for 20 patients created using MR images (for contouring HR-CTV and OARs) fused with CT images (for applicator reconstruction) are presented. Starting with a standard Manchester loading, plans were manually optimized (MO) by adjusting dwell positions and times to obtain the desired HR-CTV D90 target coverage of 35 Gy while limiting OAR doses to below recommended tolerances.

Epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor arising in a schwannoma, in a patient with "neuroblastoma-like" schwannomatosis and a novel germline SMARCB1 mutation.

Epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors arising in preexisting schwannomas are extremely rare. We report an unusual example occurring in a patient with multiple schwannomas (schwannomatosis), all but 1 of which showed "neuroblastoma-like" histology. By immunohistochemistry, both the epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor and the schwannomas showed a complete loss of the Smarcb1 protein.

2009 Canadian radiation oncology resident survey.

Purpose: Statistics from the Canadian post-MD education registry show that numbers of Canadian radiation oncology (RO) trainees have risen from 62 in 1999 to approximately 150 per year between 2003 and 2009, contributing to the current perceived downturn in employment opportunities for radiation oncologists in Canada. When last surveyed in 2003, Canadian RO residents identified job availability as their main concern. Our objective was to survey current Canadian RO residents on their training and career plans.

The management of inoperable Stage I endometrial cancer using intracavitary brachytherapy alone: a 20-year institutional review.

Objective: To review our institution's results with primary low dose rate (LDR) intracavitary brachytherapy using Heyman's capsules for medically inoperable cancer of the endometrium.

Methods: The study was a retrospective review of inoperable early-stage endometrial cancer patients at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Canada, treated with primary radiotherapy from January 10, 1986 to July 17, 2006. Forty-four patients with International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) clinical Stage I disease were included in the study.

Twenty-year review of radiotherapy for vaginal cancer: an institutional experience.

Objective: To evaluate clinical outcome, prognostic factors and chronic morbidity with radiotherapy for vaginal cancer treatment.

Materials And Methods: 68 patients with vaginal cancer treated by radical or adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) were selected. Five with rare subtypes of histopathology and 8 with adenocarcinoma were excluded from this study.

Cutaneous angiosarcoma of the scalp: a case report of sustained complete response following liposomal Doxorubicin and radiation therapy.

Cutaneous angiosarcomas of the head and neck are aggressive cancers with a mean overall survival of 30 months. We add to the literature a case report of a 65-year-old man with a large, >10 cm, unresectable, angiosarcoma of the scalp who was treated with two cycles of liposomal doxorubicin (Caelyx(R)) followed by electron beam radiation therapy (30 Gy in 10 fractions over 2 weeks) who has sustained a complete response with a 4-year follow-up. The dose and fractionation of the radiation therapy in this case was palliative and was not expected to give lasting local control of this lesion.

Assessment of extended-field radiotherapy for stage IIIC endometrial cancer using three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and helical tomotherapy.

Purpose: To perform a dosimetric comparison of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and helical tomotherapy (HT) plans for pelvic and para-aortic RT in postoperative endometrial cancer patients; and to evaluate the integral dose (ID) received by critical structures within the radiation fields.

Methods And Materials: We selected 10 patients with Stage IIIC endometrial cancer. For each patient, three plans were created with 3D-CRT, IMRT, and HT.

Can serum markers be used to predict acute and late toxicity in patients with lung cancer? Analysis of RTOG 91-03.

Purpose: To identify factors that are predictive of satisfactory acute and long-term pulmonary tolerance of definitive irradiation and, conversely, factors that are predictive of excessive impairment of pulmonary functions. To determine if there is any correlation between early elevation of biochemical markers obtained in blood of irradiated patients and subsequent pulmonary abnormalities as detected by clinical findings, pulmonary function tests, and/or radiographic findings of pneumonitis/fibrosis.

Materials And Methods: This was a multi-institutional prospective trial sponsored by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.

Correlates of exercise motivation and behavior in a population-based sample of endometrial cancer survivors: an application of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Background: Despite evidence of the benefits of exercise in cancer survivors, exercise participation rates tend to decline after treatments. Few studies have examined the determinants of exercise in less common cancer sites. In this study, we examined medical, demographic, and social cognitive correlates of exercise in endometrial cancer survivors using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).

Exercise preferences of endometrial cancer survivors: a population-based study.

Exercise has gained recognition as an effective supportive care intervention for cancer survivors, yet participation rates are low. Knowledge of the specific exercise counseling and programming preferences of cancer survivors may be useful for designing effective interventions. In this study, we examined the exercise preferences of 386 endometrial cancer survivors.

2003 survey of Canadian radiation oncology residents.

Purpose: Radiation oncology's popularity as a career in Canada has surged in the past 5 years. Consequently, resident numbers in Canadian radiation oncology residencies are at all-time highs. This study aimed to survey Canadian radiation oncology residents about their opinions of their specialty and training experiences.

Associations among exercise, body weight, and quality of life in a population-based sample of endometrial cancer survivors.

Objectives: Lack of exercise and excess body weight may exacerbate treatment-related declines in quality of life (QoL) in endometrial cancer survivors. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the associations among exercise, body weight, and QoL in a population-based sample of endometrial cancer survivors.

Methods: Participants were 386 endometrial cancer survivors residing in Alberta, Canada who completed a mailed survey that assessed self-reported exercise, height, and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI) and QoL using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Anemia (FACT-An) scale.

radiotherapy-induced ID reaction.

To the authors' knowledge, there is a paucity of published accounts of radiotherapy-induced ID reaction. We report a case of generalized dermatitis pathologically defined as an ID reaction after a course of local radiotherapy.

Dexamethasone for the prophylaxis of radiation-induced emesis: a National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group phase III study.

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of dexamethasone as a prophylactic antiemetic for patients receiving fractionated radiotherapy to the upper abdomen in a randomized controlled trial.

Patients And Methods: One hundred fifty-four patients planned to receive fractionated radiotherapy to fields involving the upper abdomen (minimum total dose, 20 Gy; minimum number of fractions, five) were randomized to receive prophylactic dexamethasone (2 mg orally three times a day [tid], starting in the morning of first treatment and continuing until after their fifth treatment) or placebo. The primary end point of the study was the proportion of patients free from emesis during the study period.

Concurrent chemoradiation therapy with oral etoposide and cisplatin for locally advanced inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer: radiation therapy oncology group protocol 91-06.

Purpose: Patients with locally advanced inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have a poor clinical outcome. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the merit of chemotherapy administered concurrently with hyperfractionated thoracic radiation therapy.

Patients And Methods: Seventy-nine patients with inoperable NSCLC were enrolled onto a multicenter phase II trial of concurrent chemoradiation therapy.

Prostate-specific antigen. Monitoring the response of carcinoma of the prostate to radiotherapy with a new tumor marker.

The role of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a sensitive tumor marker for cancer of the prostate, has yet to be defined in patients treated with radiotherapy. To evaluate this, PSA and acid phosphatase (AP) were measured prospectively in 110 sequential patients who presented with locoregional carcinoma of the prostate and in whom radiotherapy was to be definitive treatment. Therapy was divided into the following treatment groups: external-beam radiotherapy alone (EBRT), EBRT with brachytherapy (EBRT + B), and hormone therapy either pre-EBRT or post-EBRT (EBRT + H).