Identifying paediatric patients at risk of severe hearing impairment after treatment for malignancies of the H&N/CNS with proton therapy.

Background And Purpose: A risk calculation model was presented in 2021 by Keilty et al. for determining the likelihood of severe hearing impairment (HI) for paediatric patients treated with photon radiation therapy. This study aimed to validate their risk-prediction model for our cohort of paediatric patients treated with proton therapy (PT) for malignancies of the head and neck (H&N) or central nervous system (CNS).

The emerging role of Artificial Intelligence in proton therapy: A review.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made a tremendous impact in the space of healthcare, and proton therapy is not an exception. Proton therapy has witnessed growing popularity in oncology over recent decades, and researchers are increasingly looking to develop AI and machine learning tools to aid in various steps of the treatment planning and delivery processes. This review delves into the emergent role of AI in proton therapy, evaluating its development, advantages, intended clinical contexts, and areas of application.

Incidence of alopecia in brain tumour patients treated with pencil scanning proton therapy and validation of existing NTCP models.

Background And Purpose: Radiation-induced alopecia (RIA) is one of the most frequent and upsetting cosmetic side effects after radiotherapy (RT) for brain cancer. We report the incidence of RIA in a cohort of brain tumours patients treated with Proton Therapy (PT) and externally validate published NTCP models of grade 2 (G2) RIA for their implementation in clinical practice.

Methods: Data for patients treated for brain tumours with scanning beam PT between 2018 and 2022 were extracted.

Repeated HyperArc radiosurgery for recurrent intracranial metastases and dosimetric analysis of recurrence pattern to account for diffuse dose effect on microscopical disease.

Aims: Evaluate effectiveness and safety of multiple HyperArc courses and patterns of progression in patients affected by BMs with intracranial progression.

Methods: 56 patients were treated for 702 BMs with 197 (range 2-8) HyperArc courses in case of exclusive intracranial progression. Primary end-point was the overall survival (OS), secondary end-points were intracranial progression-free survival (iPFS), toxicity, local control (LC), neurological death (ND), and whole-brain RT (WBRT)-free survival.

Photon vs proton hypofractionation in prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: High-level evidence on hypofractionated proton therapy (PT) for localized and locally advanced prostate cancer (PCa) patients is currently missing. The aim of this study is to provide a systematic literature review to compare the toxicity and effectiveness of curative radiotherapy with photon therapy (XRT) or PT in PCa.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched up to April 2022.

Radiotherapy intensification for atypical and malignant meningiomas: A systematic review.

Background: The outcomes of nonbenign (WHO Grades 2 and 3 [G2, G3]) meningiomas are suboptimal and radiotherapy (RT) dose intensification strategies have been investigated. The purpose of this review is to report on clinical practice and outcomes with particular attention to RT doses and techniques.

Methods: The PICO criteria (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes) were used to frame the research question, directed at outlining the clinical outcomes in patients with G2-3 meningiomas treated with RT.

Radiotherapy of Oligometastatic Cancers.

The enhanced multidisciplinary treatment approach and the widespread use of advanced imaging techniques have led to an improvement in survival rates, inevitably associated with an increase in the number of oligometastatic diagnoses in cancer patients [...

Primary Cardiac Sarcoma, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges in Resource Limited Setting: Case Report.

Left atrial masses are commonly caused by atrial myxomas and metastatic tumors. Primary cardiac sarcomas are rare. Patients present with symptoms related to the tumor location.

Proton Beam Therapy in the Reirradiation Setting of Brain and Base of Skull Tumour Recurrences.

The therapeutic management of local tumour recurrence after a first course of radical radiotherapy is always complex. Surgery and reirradiation carry increased morbidity due to radiation-induced tissue changes. Proton beam therapy (PBT) might be advantageous in the reirradiation setting, thanks to its distinct physical characteristics.

Assessing Equity of Access to Proton Beam Therapy: A Literature Review.

Proton beam therapy (PBT) is one of the most advanced radiotherapy technologies, with growing evidence to support its use in specific clinical scenarios and exponential growth of demand and capacity worldwide over the past few decades. However, geographical inequalities persist in the distribution of PBT centres, which translate into variations in access and use of this technology. The aim of this work was to look at the factors that contribute to these inequalities, to help raise awareness among stakeholders, governments and policy makers.

Proton Beam Therapy in the Oligometastatic/Oligorecurrent Setting: Is There a Role? A Literature Review.

Background: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with conventional photon radiotherapy (XRT) are well-established treatment options for selected patients with oligometastatic/oligorecurrent disease. The use of PBT for SABR-SRS is attractive given the property of a lack of exit dose. The aim of this review is to evaluate the role and current utilisation of PBT in the oligometastatic/oligorecurrent setting.

Outcomes of Patients Treated in the UK Proton Overseas Programme: Non-central Nervous System Group.

Aims: The UK Proton Overseas Programme (POP) was launched in 2008. The Proton Clinical Outcomes Unit (PCOU) warehouses a centralised registry for collection, curation and analysis of all outcomes data for all National Health Service-funded UK patients referred and treated abroad with proton beam therapy (PBT) via the POP. Outcomes are reported and analysed here for patients diagnosed with non-central nervous system tumours treated from 2008 to September 2020 via the POP.

Outcomes of Patients Treated in the UK Proton Overseas Programme: Central Nervous System Group.

Aims: In 2008, the UK National Health Service started the Proton Overseas Programme (POP), to provide access for proton beam therapy (PBT) abroad for selected tumour diagnoses while two national centres were being planned. The clinical outcomes for the patient group treated for central nervous system (CNS), base of skull, spinal and paraspinal malignancies are reported here.

Materials And Methods: Since the start of the POP, an agreement between the National Health Service and UK referring centres ensured outcomes data collection, including overall survival, local tumour control and late toxicity data.

Late Dental Toxicities After Proton Chemoradiation for Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Pediatric Case Report.

Purpose: Radiation therapy is an independent risk factor for adverse sequelae to the oral cavity and dentition in childhood cancer survivors. However, dental toxicities after radiation therapy often are underreported and there are minimal published data on disturbances in tooth development after proton beam therapy (PBT). We present the long-term clinical and radiographic dental findings 8 years after treatment completion for a patient treated with PBT and chemotherapy for rhabdomyosarcoma.

The role of cryptocurrency in the dynamics of blockchain-based social networks: The case of Steemit.

A shift of paradigm is running over online social platforms: the over-centralization of these platforms is leaving room for decentralized solutions based on blockchain technologies, such as blockchain-based online social networks-BOSNs. Among the many unknown aspects of these techno-social systems, the objective of this study is to propose an analytical framework to assess the impact of the cryptocurrencies linked to a BOSN platform on the evolution of its social network and on the behavior of their users, in terms of production of content and/or its promotion through a voting and rewarding system. The framework has been applied to Steemit, one of the most widespread BOSNs, from which we collected three-year-long high-resolution data on its evolution along with the price of its main cryptocurrencies.

Estimating the percentage of patients who might benefit from proton beam therapy instead of X-ray radiotherapy.

Objectives: High-energy Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) commenced in England in 2018 and NHS England commissions PBT for 1.5% of patients receiving radical radiotherapy. We sought expert opinion on the level of provision.

Normal Tissue Complication Probability Modelling for Toxicity Prediction and Patient Selection in Proton Beam Therapy to the Central Nervous System: A Literature Review.

Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models can guide clinical decision making in radiotherapy. In recent years, they have been used for patient selection for proton beam therapy (PBT) for some anatomical tumour sites. This review synthesizes the published evidence regarding the use of NTCP models to predict the toxicity of PBT, for different end points in patients with brain tumours.

A Novel Model and Infrastructure for Clinical Outcomes Data Collection and Their Systematic Evaluation for UK Patients Receiving Proton Beam Therapy.

Aims: To establish an infrastructure for sustainable, comprehensive data collection and systematic outcomes evaluation for UK patients receiving proton beam therapy (PBT).

Materials And Methods: A Proton Outcomes Working Group was formed in 2014 to develop a national minimum dataset for PBT patients and to define a clinically integrated informatics solution for data collection. The Christie Proton Beam Therapy Centre formed its Proton Clinical Outcomes Unit in 2018 to collect, curate and analyse outcomes data prospectively for UK-treated patients and retrospectively for UK patients referred abroad for PBT since 2008 via the Proton Overseas Programme (POP).

City consumption profile: a city perspective on the spending behavior of citizens.

In designing the city of the future, city managers and urban planners are driven by specific citizens' behaviors. In fact, economic and financial behaviors, and specifically, which goods and services citizens purchase and how they allocate their spending, are playing a central role in planning targeted services. In this context, cashless payments provide an invaluable data source to identify such spending behaviors.

A Predictive Model for Reactive Tube Feeding in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Definitive (Chemo) Radiotherapy.

Aims: Careful management of a patient's nutritional status during and after treatment for head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC) is crucial for optimal outcomes. The aim of this study was to develop a model for stratifying a patient's risk of requiring reactive enteral feeding through a nasogastric tube during radiotherapy for HNSCC, based on clinical and treatment-related factors.

Materials And Methods: A cohort of consecutive patients treated with definitive (chemo)radiotherapy for HNSCC between January 2016 and January 2018 was identified in the institutional electronic database for retrospective analysis.

Skin Toxicity Profile of Photon Radiotherapy versus Proton Beam Therapy in Paediatric and Young Adult Patients with Sarcomas.

Aims: Radiotherapy is key in the management of patients with both Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. However, there is little evidence in the literature with regards to radiation-induced skin toxicities (RISTs) for patients treated with conventional radiotherapy with X-rays (XRT) or proton beam therapy (PBT) for these two conditions. In the present study we evaluated acute and late RIST in patients treated within European protocols with either PBT or XRT, taking both clinical and dosimetric variables into consideration.

CoViD-19, learning from the past: A wavelet and cross-correlation analysis of the epidemic dynamics looking to emergency calls and Twitter trends in Italian Lombardy region.

The first case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Italy was detected on February the 20th in Lombardy region. Since that date, Lombardy has been the most affected Italian region by the epidemic, and its healthcare system underwent a severe overload during the outbreak. From a public health point of view, therefore, it is fundamental to provide healthcare services with tools that can reveal possible new health system stress periods with a certain time anticipation, which is the main aim of the present study.

The parable of arable land: Characterizing large scale land acquisitions through network analysis.

Land is a scarce resource and its depletion is related to a combination of demographic and economic factors. Hence, the changes in dietary habits and increase in world population that upturn the food demand, are intertwined with a context of increasing oil prices and rise of green capitalism that in turn impacts the demand in biofuel. A visible indicator of these phenomena is the increase, in recent years, of Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs) by private companies or states.

The prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies in women with late pregnancy complications and low-risk for chromosomal abnormalities.

Background: Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are known to increase the risk of obstetrical complications. However, aPL significance and prevalence in women with late-onset pregnancy complications (LO-PC) need further clarification.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of aPL in a cohort of women who experienced LO-PC and to compare it with a cohort of uneventful pregnancies.