Publications by authors named "Firas Mourtada"

Targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) for internal pathway-directed treatment is a game changer for precision medicine. TRT improves tumor control while minimizing damage to healthy tissue and extends the survival for patients with cancer. The application of theranostic-paired TRT along with cellular phenotype and genotype correlative analysis has the potential for malignant disease management.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Suture preplacement by the ocular oncology surgeon is a critical step before inserting a radioactive plaque for ocular melanoma brachytherapy. We report on a novel 3D-printing method to create a custom "dummy" plaque applicator for the 22 mm notched gold plaque using in-house 3D-printing.

Methods: A computer-aided design (CAD) file was created replicating a heavily used gold plaque that no longer has a satisfactory "dummy" plaque.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: A new mobile cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging ring (IRm, Elekta, v2.10.6, Veenendaal, Netherlands) has recently been proposed for brachytherapy to improve procedure efficiency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Iodine-125 (I-125) seeds, commonly used in low-dose rate brachytherapy for ocular malignancies, are often discarded after a single use. This study examines the potential cost savings at an institution with high ocular melanoma referrals, by re-using I-125 seeds for eye-plaque brachytherapy.

Methods: In this single-institutional retrospective analysis, data was collected from I-125 seed orders from 8/2019 through 10/2022.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: For the custom-built construction of eye plaques, the iodine (I-125) seeds of different source strengths are recycled in our eye plaque program. To return I-125 seeds to the correct lot, we developed a novel 3D-printed conical plaque QA holder for relative assay for eye plaques.

Materials And Methods: A universal 3D-printed conical plaque holder was designed to accommodate six plaque sizes and fit reproducibly in a well-type dose calibrator.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • There is a big problem with cervical cancer in poorer countries because they often don't have good screening and treatment options.
  • High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy is a type of treatment that helps people survive and control the cancer better.
  • The American Brachytherapy Society and Indian Brachytherapy Society made a guide to help set up these treatment programs in places that lack resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

α-particle targeted radionuclide therapy has shown promise for optimal cancer management, an exciting new era for brachytherapy. Alpha-emitting nuclides can have significant advantages over gamma- and beta-emitters due to their high linear energy transfer (LET). While their limited path length results in more specific tumor 0kill with less damage to surrounding normal tissues, their high LET can produce substantially more lethal double strand DNA breaks per radiation track than beta particles.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical feasibility of the Siemens Healthineers AI-Rad Companion Organs RT VA30A (Organs-RT) auto-contouring algorithm for organs at risk (OARs) of the pelvis, thorax, and head and neck (H&N).

Methods: Computed tomography (CT) datasets from 30 patients (10 pelvis, 10 thorax, and 10 H&N) were collected. Four sets of OARs were generated on each scan, one set by Organs-RT and the others by three experienced users independently.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The introduction of model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs) in brachytherapy provides an opportunity for a more accurate dose calculation and opens the possibility for novel, innovative treatment modalities. The joint AAPM, ESTRO, and ABG Task Group 186 (TG-186) report provided guidance to early adopters. However, the commissioning aspect of these algorithms was described only in general terms with no quantitative goals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To provide the first clinical test case for commissioning of Ir brachytherapy model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs) according to the AAPM TG-186 report workflow.

Acquisition And Validation Methods: A computational patient phantom model was generated from a clinical multi-catheter Ir HDR breast brachytherapy case. Regions of interest (ROIs) were contoured and digitized on the patient CT images and the model was written to a series of DICOM CT images using MATLAB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: With the results of several recently published clinical trials, this guideline informs on the use of adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) and systemic therapy in the treatment of endometrial cancer. Updated evidence-based recommendations provide indications for adjuvant RT and the associated techniques, the utilization and sequencing of adjuvant systemic therapies, and the effect of surgical staging techniques and molecular tumor profiling.

Methods: The American Society for Radiation Oncology convened a multidisciplinary task force to address 6 key questions that focused on the adjuvant management of patients with endometrial cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The task group (TG) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) implementation in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT)-Considerations from simulation to treatment, TG 303, was constituted by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine's (AAPM's) Science Council under the direction of the Therapy Physics Committee, the Brachytherapy Subcommittee, and the Working Group on Brachytherapy Clinical Applications. The TG was charged with developing recommendations for commissioning, clinical implementation, and on-going quality assurance (QA). Additionally, the TG was charged with describing HDR BT workflows and evaluating practical consideration that arise when implementing MR imaging.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To develop a multidisciplinary consensus for high quality multidisciplinary implementation of brachytherapy using Yttrium-90 (Y) microspheres transarterial radioembolization (Y TARE) for primary and metastatic cancers in the liver.

Methods And Materials: Members of the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) and colleagues with multidisciplinary expertise in liver tumor therapy formulated guidelines for Y TARE for unresectable primary liver malignancies and unresectable metastatic cancer to the liver. The consensus is provided on the most recent literature and clinical experience.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of burnout among brachytherapy specialists and to identify factors associated with burnout.

Methods And Materials: An anonymous, online, cross-sectional survey was administered to non-trainee physician members of the American Brachytherapy Society. Burnout was evaluated using the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Brachytherapy is an essential technique to deliver radiation therapy and is involved in the treatment of multiple disease sites as monotherapy or as an adjunct to external beam radiation therapy. With a growing focus on the cost and value of cancer treatments as well as new payment models, it is essential that standardized quality measures and metrics exist to allow for straightforward assessment of brachytherapy quality and for the development of clinically significant and relevant clinical data elements. We present the American Brachytherapy Society consensus statement on quality measures and metrics for brachytherapy as well as suggested clinical data elements.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This practice parameter aims to detail the processes, qualifications of personnel, patient selection, equipment, patient and personnel safety, documentation, and quality control and improvement necessary for an HDR brachytherapy program.

Methods And Materials: This practice parameter was revised collaboratively by the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS), and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Results: Brachytherapy is a radiotherapeutic modality in which radionuclide or electronic sources are used to deliver a radiation dose at a distance of up to a few centimeters by surface, intracavitary, intraluminal, or interstitial application.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Cervical cancer (CC) disproportionately affects minorities who have higher incidence and mortality rates. Standard of care for locally advanced CC involves a multimodality approach including brachytherapy (BT), which independently improves oncologic outcomes. Here, we examine the impact of insurance status and race on BT utilization with the SEER database.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The purpose of this guideline is to present evidence-based consensus recommendations for low dose rate (LDR) permanent seed brachytherapy for the primary treatment of prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: The American Brachytherapy Society convened a task force for addressing key questions concerning ultrasound-based LDR prostate brachytherapy for the primary treatment of prostate cancer. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify prospective and multi-institutional retrospective studies involving LDR brachytherapy as monotherapy or boost in combination with external beam radiation therapy with or without adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Growing data supports the role of radiation therapy in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Brachytherapy has been used for decades in the management of STS and can be utilized as monotherapy or as a boost to external beam radiation. We present updated guidelines from the American Brachytherapy Society regarding the utilization of brachytherapy in the management of STS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Education and training on prostate brachytherapy for radiation oncology and medical physics residents in the United States is inadequate, resulting in fewer competent radiation oncology personnel to perform implants, and is a factor in the subsequent decline of an important, potentially curative cancer treatment modality for patients with cancer. The American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) leadership has recognized the need to establish a sustainable medical simulation low-dose-rate (LDR) and high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy workshop program that includes physician-physicist teams to rapidly translate knowledge to establish high-quality brachytherapy programs.

Methods: The ABS, in partnership with industry and academia, has held three radiation oncology team-based LDR/HDR workshops composed of physician-physicist teams in Chicago in 2017, in Houston in 2018, and in Denver in 2019.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) formed Task Group 221 (TG-221) to discuss a generalized commissioning process, quality management considerations, and clinical physics practice standards for ocular plaque brachytherapy. The purpose of this report is also, in part, to aid the clinician to implement recommendations of the AAPM TG-129 report, which placed emphasis on dosimetric considerations for ocular brachytherapy applicators used in the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS). This report is intended to assist medical physicists in establishing a new ocular brachytherapy program and, for existing programs, in reviewing and updating clinical practices.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Although radiation therapy has traditionally been delivered with external beam or brachytherapy, intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) represents an alternative that may shorten the course of therapy, reduce toxicities, and improve patient satisfaction while potentially lowering the cost of care. At this time, there are limited evidence-based guidelines to assist clinicians with patient selection for IORT. As such, the American Brachytherapy Society presents a consensus statement on the use of IORT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Notice

Message: fwrite(): Write of 34 bytes failed with errno=28 No space left on device

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 272

Backtrace:

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_write_close(): Failed to write session data using user defined save handler. (session.save_path: /var/lib/php/sessions)

Filename: Unknown

Line Number: 0

Backtrace: