Publications by authors named "E Aliotta"
Background And Purpose: In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients, the radiation dose to nearby organs at risk can be reduced by restricting elective neck irradiation from lymph node levels to individual lymph nodes. However, manual delineation of every individual lymph node is time-consuming and error prone. Therefore, automatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) segmentation of individual lymph nodes was developed and tested using a convolutional neural network (CNN).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReduced-distortion diffusion weighted imaging for head and neck radiotherapy.
Phys Imaging Radiat Oncol
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effectiveness of multi-shot diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) methods compared to standard single-shot techniques in improving the quality of MRI scans for head and neck cancer radiotherapy.
- Results showed that multi-shot sequences reduced geometric distortions significantly, while maintaining consistent diffusion coefficient measurements, but at the expense of lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
- Ultimately, the multi-shot turbo-spin-echo (msTSE) provided the best distortion reduction, while the three-shot echo-planar imaging (3sEPI) was highlighted as a practical option balancing distortion and efficiency.
Multi-modality imaging parameters that predict rapid tumor regression in head and neck radiotherapy.
Phys Imaging Radiat Oncol
July 2024
Background And Purpose: Volume regression during radiotherapy can indicate patient-specific treatment response. We aimed to identify pre-treatment multimodality imaging (MMI) metrics from positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) that predict rapid tumor regression during radiotherapy in human papilloma virus (HPV) associated oropharyngeal carcinoma.
Materials And Methods: Pre-treatment FDG PET-CT, diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI), and intra-treatment (at 1, 2, and 3 weeks) MRI were acquired in 72 patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for HPV+ oropharyngeal carcinoma.
Background: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is known to modulate the immune system and contribute to the generation of anti-tumor T cells and stimulate T cell infiltration into tumors. Radiation-induced immune suppression (RIIS) is a side effect of radiation therapy that can decrease immunological function by killing naive T cells as well as SBRT-induced newly created effector T cells, suppressing the immune response to tumors and increasing susceptibility to infections.
Purpose: RIIS varies substantially among patients and it is currently unclear what drives this variability.
Purpose: The objective of this study was to develop a linear accelerator (LINAC)-based adaptive radiation therapy (ART) workflow for the head and neck that is informed by automated image tracking to identify major anatomic changes warranting adaptation. In this study, we report our initial clinical experience with the program and an investigation into potential trigger signals for ART.
Methods And Materials: Offline ART was systematically performed on patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer on C-arm LINACs.