International Expert-Based Consensus Definition, Classification Criteria, and Minimum Data Elements for Osteoradionecrosis of the Jaw: An Inter-Disciplinary Modified Delphi Study.

Purpose: Osteoradionecrosis of the jaw (ORNJ) is a severe iatrogenic disease characterized by bone death after radiation therapy (RT) to the head and neck. With over 9 published definitions and at least 16 classification systems, the true incidence and severity of ORNJ are obscured by lack of a standard for disease definition and severity assessment, leading to inaccurate estimation of incidence, reporting ambiguity, and likely under-diagnosis worldwide. This study aimed to achieve consensus on an explicit definition and phenotype of ORNJ and related precursor states through data standardization to facilitate effective diagnosis, monitoring, and multidisciplinary management of ORNJ.

Radiotherapy-induced Hypothalamic-Pituitary axis dysfunction in adult Brain, head and neck and skull base tumor patients - A systematic review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Purpose: Radiotherapy for brain, head & neck (HN), and skull base (SB) tumors may deliver significant radiation dose to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA), leading to impaired functioning of this region and hence, to endocrine disorders. The purpose of this systematic review and -analysis is to investigate literature on HP dysfunction after radiation for non-pituitary brain, HN, or SB tumors at adult age, aiming to give insight in the prevalence of HP dysfunction related to radiation dose.

Materials And Methods: Literature search of the PubMed database was performed for HP dysfunction after radiotherapy in adult patients.

Clinical Introduction of Stem Cell Sparing Radiotherapy to Reduce the Risk of Xerostomia in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.

Background/objectives: Studies have shown that dose to the parotid gland stem cell rich (SCR) regions should be reduced to lower the risk of xerostomia after radiotherapy (RT). This study aimed to assess whether stem cell sparing (SCS)-RT can be adopted in routine clinical practice.

Methods: Multiple planning studies were performed to compare SCS-RT with standard (ST)-RT using 30 head and neck cancer patients.

Artificial intelligence research in radiation oncology: a practical guide for the clinician on concepts and methods.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) holds great promise for radiation oncology, with many applications being reported in the literature, including some of which are already in clinical use. These are mainly in areas where AI provides benefits in efficiency (such as automatic segmentation and treatment planning). Prediction models that directly impact patient decision-making are far less mature in terms of their application in clinical practice.

Protocol compliance in a multicentric phase III trial investigating scheduled adaptive radiotherapy and dose painting in head and neck cancer.

Purpose: To report on quality assurance (QA) and protocol adherence (PA) in a multicentre phase III trial for head and neck cancer, evaluate patterns of protocol deviations and investigate the effect of PA on study outcomes.

Methods: All 221 patients from the ARTFORCE trial (NCT01504815) were included in this study. Pre- and per-treatment QA measures included protocol guidelines, a dummy run, early case reviews and trial meetings.