The effect of time from surgery to commencing adjuvant radiotherapy for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Studies reported inferior outcomes when radiotherapy starts >6-8 weeks post-surgery for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) but are limited due to time variable dichotomization. We assessed the relationship between survival and the time between surgery and radiotherapy as a continuous variable, hypothesising there would be no change in patients' survival at 6-8 weeks post-surgery.

Methods/materials: Inclusion criteria: patients with HNSCC who underwent surgery and adjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy, Jan 2014-Dec 2020.

Terrestrial evidence for volcanogenic sulfate-driven cooling event ~30 kyr before the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction.

Alongside the Chicxulub meteorite impact, Deccan volcanism is considered a primary trigger for the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction. Models suggest that volcanic outgassing of carbon and sulfur-potent environmental stressors-drove global temperature change, but the relative timing, duration, and magnitude of such change remains uncertain. Here, we use the organic paleothermometer MBT' and the carbon-isotope composition of two K-Pg-spanning lignites from the western Unites States, to test models of volcanogenic air temperature change in the ~100 kyr before the mass extinction.

The prognostic significance of sarcopenia in patients treated with definitive radiotherapy: A systematic review.

Sarcopenia describes the degenerative loss of muscle mass and strength, and is emerging as a pan-cancer prognostic biomarker. It is linked with increased treatment toxicity, decreased survival and significant healthcare financial burden. Systematic analyses of sarcopenia studies have focused on outcomes in patients treated surgically or with systemic therapies.

Brief Report of a New Anatomical Region at Risk in Thoracic Radiotherapy: From Discovery to Implementation.

Increasing radiotherapy dose to select cardiac structures is associated with cardiac events and premature death. Previous studies have found a dose-response relationship for structures at the base of the heart. We have defined a new cardiac anatomical region at risk for radiotherapy by consensus opinion, based on image-based data-mining studies.

Dosimetric impact of sparing base of heart on organ at risk doses during lung radiotherapy.

Background: Minimising heart exposure during lung radiotherapy (RT) is important due to association between increased cardiac dose and adverse outcomes such as cardiac toxicity and reduced overall survival. This study evaluated the impact of incorporating a cardiac avoidance area (CAA) located at the base of the heart on the dose received by cardiac subregions and thoracic organs at risk.

Methods: A comparative analysis was conducted on patients treated with lung RT at a single centre before and after the CAA was introduced as an anatomical region at risk (ARR) in April 2023.