Impact of baseline lymphopenia on outcomes of definitive treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between lymphopenia and survival in women with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) treated with definitive chemoradiation (CRT).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with LACC treated at a single institution from 2004 to 2021. Patient and treatment characteristics were recorded along with baseline absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC).

Clinical Physics Boot Camp for Radiation Oncology Residents: A Pilot Study.

The physics curriculum is a source of anxiety both for medical students considering radiation oncology (RO) as a possible career and for current residents facing the physics boards. To improve the orientation process for residents and medical students, we created a physics boot camp using clinically relevant patient vignettes to teach physics fundamentals. The initial boot camp was a week-long program of 1.

Long-Term Adherence to Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Following Various Radiotherapy Modalities in Early Stage Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer.

Introduction: We compared the rates of long-term adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) adherence after various radiation therapy (RT) modalities among patients with early stage breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: Medical records from patients with stage 0, I, or IIA (tumors ≤3 cm), hormone receptor (HR) positive breast cancer that received adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) from 2013 to 2015 at a single institution were retrospectively reviewed. All patients received breast conserving surgery (BCS) followed by adjuvant RT via one of the following modalities: whole breast radiotherapy (WBI), partial breast irradiation (PBI) with either external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) or fractionated intracavitary high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, or single fraction HDR-brachytherapy intraoperative-radiation therapy (IORT).

Radiotherapy Induces Innate Immune Responses in Patients Treated for Prostate Cancers.

Purpose: Radiotherapy is a curative therapeutic modality used to treat cancers as a single agent or in combination with surgery and chemotherapy. Advanced radiotherapy technologies enable treatment with large fractions and highly conformal radiation doses to effect free-radical damage to cellular DNA leading to cell-cycle arrest, cell death, and innate immune response (IIR) stimulation.

Experimental Design: To understand systemic clinical responses after radiation exposure, proteomic and metabolomic analyses were performed on plasma obtained from patients with cancer at intervals after prostate stereotactic body radiotherapy.

A comparative study using time-driven activity-based costing in single-fraction breast high-dose rate brachytherapy: An integrated brachytherapy suite vs. decentralized workflow.

Introduction: Precision breast intraoperative radiation therapy (PB-IORT) is a novel approach to adjuvant radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer performed as part of a phase II clinical trial at two institutions. One institution performs the entire procedure in an integrated brachytherapy suite which contains a CT-on-rails imaging unit and full anesthesia capabilities. At the other, breast conserving surgery and radiation therapy take place in two separate locations.

Time-driven activity-based costing of a novel form of CT-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy intraoperative radiation therapy compared with conventional breast intraoperative radiation therapy for early stage breast cancer.

Introduction: Intraoperative radiation therapy is an emerging option for adjuvant therapy for early stage breast cancer, although it is not currently considered standard of care in the United States. We applied time-driven activity-based costing to compare two alternative methods of breast intraoperative radiation therapy, including treatment similar to the techniques employed in the TARGIT-A clinical trial and a novel version with CT-guidance and high-dose-rate (HRD) brachytherapy.

Methods And Materials: Process maps were created to describe the steps required to deliver intraoperative radiation therapy for early stage breast cancer at each institution.

Pathologic Evaluation and Prognostic Implications of Nodal Micrometastases in Breast Cancer.

Using modern sentinel lymph node techniques, occult nodal metastases including micrometastases or isolated tumor cells are being increasingly discovered in up to 10% of early-stage breast cancers. Furthermore, the rate of nonsentinel lymph node involvement is approximately 10%. However, the impact of these findings on disease-free survival is low, particularly with regards to axillary recurrences.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the rectum: Practice trends and patient survival.

Purpose: Leverage the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to evaluate trends in management of nonmetastatic squamous cell cancer (SCC) of the rectum and their effect on survival for this uncommon tumor.

Methods And Materials: Retrospective data was obtained from the NCDB for patients diagnosed with SCC of the rectum between 2004 and 2014, including cT1-4, cN0-2, cM0 tumors (cohort A, n = 2296). A subgroup analysis was performed on locally advanced tumors (cT1-T2, N+ or cT3, N any, subcohort B, n = 883), treated with chemoradiation (n = 706) or trimodality therapy (n = 177) including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

Short-course Versus Long-course Neoadjuvant Therapy for Non-metastatic Rectal Cancer: Patterns of Care and Outcomes From the National Cancer Database.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the utilization, pathologic response, and overall survival (OS) between long-course neoadjuvant chemoradiation (LC-CRT) and short-course neoadjuvant radiation (SC-RT) in the treatment of non-metastatic rectal cancer.

Methods And Materials: Retrospective data was obtained from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) for patients diagnosed with clinical stage II or III (limited to T3, any N or T1-2, N1-2) rectal cancer between 2004 and 2014 (28,193 patients). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate factors associated with receipt of SC-RT, pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, and OS.

The Effect of Receptor Status on Mastectomy and Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Rates in Early Stage Invasive Breast Carcinoma.

Background: There is an established relationship between hormone receptor (HR; estrogen and/or progesterone receptors) status, HER2 status, and locoregional recurrence. The purpose of this study was to analyze how HR and HER2 receptor status have influenced the surgical management trends among patients with early stage breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: The National Cancer Database was queried for patients with cT1 to cT3, cN0, and cM0 breast carcinoma from 2004 to 2012.

Dysuria Following Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer.

Background: Dysuria following prostate radiation therapy is a common toxicity that adversely affects patients' quality of life and may be difficult to manage.

Methods: Two hundred four patients treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) from 2007 to 2010 for localized prostate carcinoma with a minimum follow-up of 3 years were included in this retrospective review of prospectively collected data. All patients were treated to 35-36.