Personalized Brachytherapy: Applications and Future Directions.

Brachytherapy offers a highly conformal and adaptive approach to radiation therapy for various oncologic conditions. This review explores the rationale, applications, technological advances, and future directions of personalized brachytherapy. Integration of advanced imaging techniques, 3D-printed applicators, and artificial intelligence are rapidly enhancing brachytherapy delivery and efficiency, while genomic tests and molecular biomarkers are refining patient and dose selection.

An Insight into Perfusion Anisotropy within Solid Murine Lung Cancer Tumors.

Blood vessels are essential for maintaining tumor growth, progression, and metastasis, yet the tumor vasculature is under a constant state of remodeling. Since the tumor vasculature is an attractive therapeutic target, there is a need to predict the dynamic changes in intratumoral fluid pressure and velocity that occur across the tumor microenvironment (TME). The goal of this study was to obtain insight into perfusion anisotropy within lung tumors.

Re-treatment of locally recurrent uveal melanoma with repeat eye plaque I-125 brachytherapy: A single institution experience.

Purpose: Eye plaque brachytherapy (EPBT) is the most common treatment for uveal melanoma with high local control rates of 95-100%. When local recurrences occur following EPBT, salvage options include enucleation, transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT), external beam radiation, or re-irradiation with EPBT. The purpose of this study is to report our institution's experience with EPBT re-irradiation for locally recurrent uveal melanoma.

Personalized Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is diagnosed in nearly 3 million people worldwide. Radiation therapy is an integral component of disease management for patients with breast cancer, and is used after breast-conserving surgery or a mastectomy to reduce the risk of a local recurrence. The following review describes the methods used to personalize radiation therapy by optimizing patient selection, using advanced treatment techniques to lessen the radiation dose to normal organs, and using hypofractionation in order to shorten the duration of radiation treatment.

Retrospective Analysis of Radiation-Induced Complications of Uveal Melanoma Patients Treated With Brachytherapy in the Era of Anti-VEGF.

Purpose: To associate clinical factors and radiation doses delivered by iodine-125 plaque brachytherapy to visual outcomes and development of radiation-induced ocular complications in patients with uveal melanoma in the era of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for 225 patients treated with iodine-125 brachytherapy for uveal melanoma.

A Phase 2 Study of In Situ Oncolytic Virus Therapy and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Followed by Pembrolizumab in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: A phase 2 study of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and in situ oncolytic virus therapy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) followed by pembrolizumab (STOMP) was designed to explore the dual approach in enhancing single pembrolizumab with ADV/HSV-tk plus valacyclovir gene therapy and SBRT in mNSCLC.

Methods And Materials: STOMP is a single-arm, open-label phase 2 study. Patients with mNSCLC received intratumoral injections of ADV/HSV-tk (5 × 10 vp) and SBRT (30 Gy in 5 fractions) followed by pembrolizumab 200 mg IV every 3 weeks until disease progression or intolerable toxicity.

Estuarine benthic habitats provide an important ecosystem service regulating the nitrogen cycle.

Globally, a key ecosystem service provided by sedimentary estuarine habitats is the regulation of nutrient cycles. The nitrogen (N) cycle is driven by complex biogeochemical transformations within these sediments-including nitrogen fixation, denitrification, assimilation and anaerobic ammonia oxidation-mediated by microorganisms. Evaluating ecosystem processes and their functional value is a knowledge gap for the wet-dry tropics and even more limited for macrotidal estuaries.

Single-port transoral robotic surgery for a rare tonsil mass.

Squamous cell carcinoma predominates as the most common malignant lesion of the oropharynx with human papilloma virus-associated disease now predominant over tobacco-related oropharynx cancer. Other rare malignant pathologies can manifest as visible neoplasms in these anatomic sites with varying degrees of symptoms such as dysphagia, odynophagia, otalgia, aspiration, hemorrhage, weight loss and dyspnea. We present a case of a rarely encountered primary oropharyngeal sarcoma managed by single-port transoral robotic resection and a selective cervical lymph node dissection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy.

Prognostic impact of biologically equivalent dose in stereotactic body radiotherapy for renal cancer.

Purpose /objectives Materials/methods: The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried (2004-2017) for patients with RCC who did not have surgical resection but received definitive SBRT. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test was used to evaluate overall survival (OS). Univariable (UVA) and multivariable (MVA) analysis were conducted using cox proportional hazard models to determine prognostic factors for OS.

Influence of life history variation and habitat on mercury bioaccumulation in a high-order predatory fish in tropical Australia.

Mercury distribution and bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems of tropical Australia is poorly characterised. Barramundi (Lates calcarifer), a widespread high-order predator in both fresh and coastal marine waters of the region, fulfils requirements for a bio-indicator of mercury contamination. In a study of the Mary River system of the Northern Territory, total mercury in the muscle tissue of 300 specimens gathered over four years (2013-2017, across both wet and dry seasons) was determined by direct combustion-atomic absorption spectrometry.

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Metaplastic Breast Cancer: Response Rates, Management, and Outcomes.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cance has not been well studied for metaplastic breast cancer (MBC), a rare but aggressive type of breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: The National Cancer Database was queried (2004-2017) for females with cM0 MBC who received NAC and definitive surgery with a pathologic staging record. Statistics included Kaplan-Meier overall survival (OS) analysis, multivariable logistic regression, and Cox proportional hazards modeling.

The emergence of marine recreational drone fishing: Regional trends and emerging concerns.

Online evidence suggests that there has been an increase in interest of using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones during land-based marine recreational fishing. In the absence of reliable monitoring programs, this study used unconventional publicly available online monitoring methodologies to estimate the growing interest, global extent, catch composition and governance of this practice. Results indicated a 357% spike in interest during 2016 primarily in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

Potentiating Antitumor Efficacy Through Radiation and Sustained Intratumoral Delivery of Anti-CD40 and Anti-PDL1.

Purpose: Mounting evidence demonstrates that combining radiation therapy (RT) with immunotherapy can reduce tumor burden in a subset of patients. However, conventional systemic delivery of immunotherapeutics is often associated with significant adverse effects, which force treatment cessation. The aim of this study was to investigate a minimally invasive therapeutics delivery approach to improve clinical response while attenuating toxicity.

A Matter of Comprehensive Informed Consent: Short-Term Mortality Rates With Definitive Treatment Options in Elderly Stage I NSCLC.

Background: Although lobectomy is the standard of care in stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), medical comorbidities increase surgical risk in elderly patients. No population-based studies compare short-term mortality (STM) for surgery (STM-S), radiation (STM-R), and observation (STM-O) in elderly patients with stage I NSCLC.

Methods: A total of 60,466 biopsy-proven stage I NSCLC cases diagnosed between 2004 and 2012 were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.

Biopsy proven metastatic meningioma: A case report and review of the literature.

Meningiomas are the most common type of benign tumor found in the brain and are typically benign, slow-growing lesions. The current standard of care consists of surgical resection and subsequent postoperative radiotherapy to prevent local recurrence. Because of their indolent nature, meningiomas are rarely found to spread extracranially and develop distant metastases.

Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Delivery of Immunotherapy for Metastatic Melanoma in the United States.

Immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma has rapidly expanded, but racial and/or socioeconomic factors often impact the type of therapies delivered for cancer care. This study addressed a crucial public health priority by evaluating disparities in administration of immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma. The National Cancer Database was queried for newly diagnosed metastatic melanoma.

Long-term outcome of a moderately hypofractionated, intensity-modulated radiotherapy approach using an endorectal balloon for patients with localized prostate cancer.

Background: Technical advances in radiotherapy delivery have simultaneously enabled dose escalation and enhanced bladder and rectal sparing. However, the optimal radiation fractionation regimen for localized prostate cancer is unclear. Laboratory and clinical evidence suggest that hypofractionation may improve the therapeutic ratio of radiotherapy.

Disentangling the relationship between sedentariness and obesity: Activity intensity, but not sitting posture, is associated with adiposity in women.

Background: The relationship between free-living sedentary behaviour (SB) and obesity is unclear. Studies may arrive at disparate conclusions because of inconsistencies and limitations when defining and measuring free-living SB. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine whether the relationship between SB and adiposity differed depending on the way SB was operationally defined and objectively measured.

Utilization of radiotherapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy for renal cell cancer in the USA.

Aim: This study evaluated national practice patterns of cT1N0M0 renal cell cancer, with a focus on stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) utilization.

Methods: The National Cancer Database was queried (2004-2013) for patients with newly-diagnosed cT1a/bN0M0 renal cell cancer that received definitive treatment. Temporal trends in utilization were tabulated.

Patterns of Care and Outcomes of Hypofractionated Chemoradiation Versus Conventionally Fractionated Chemoradiation for Glioblastoma in the Elderly Population.

Purpose: This study evaluated practice patterns, outcomes, and predictors of survival for elderly patients with glioblastoma (GBM) receiving definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with either hypofractionated radiotherapy or conventionally fractionated radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: The National Cancer Data Base was queried for patients age 65 years and above diagnosed with GBM between 2006 and 2012 that received definitive CRT with either hypofractionated radiotherapy (hCRT) or conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (cCRT). Patient, tumor, and treatment parameters were extracted.

A novel integrative procedure for identifying and integrating three-dimensions of objectively measured free-living sedentary behaviour.

Background: The widely accepted definition of sedentary behaviour [SB] refers to any waking behaviour characterized by an energy expenditure ≤1.5 metabolic equivalents [METs] while in a sitting or reclining posture. At present, there is no single field-based device which objectively measures sleep, posture and activity intensity simultaneously.

An ICP-MS procedure to determine Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in oceanic waters using in-line flow-injection with solid-phase extraction for preconcentration.

An automated procedure including both in-line preconcentration and multi-element determination by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) has been developed for the determination of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in open-ocean samples. The method relies on flow injection of the sample through a minicolumn of chelating (iminodiacetate) sorbent to preconcentrate the trace metals, while simultaneously eliminating the major cations and anions of seawater. The effectiveness of this step is tested and reliability in results are secured with a rigorous process of quality assurance comprising 36 calibration and reference samples in a run for analysis of 24 oceanic seawaters in a 6-h program.

Exploring the Link between Micronutrients and Phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean during the 2007 Austral Summer.

Bottle assays and large-scale fertilization experiments have demonstrated that, in the Southern Ocean, iron often controls the biomass and the biodiversity of primary producers. To grow, phytoplankton need numerous other trace metals (micronutrients) required for the activity of key enzymes and other intracellular functions. However, little is known of the potential these other trace elements have to limit the growth of phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean.