Clinical Outcomes of Patients Receiving Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Dose De-escalation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma at the Hepatic Hilum.

Background/aim: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for centrally located hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) can cause severe central biliary toxicity. However, dose de-escalation SBRT has the potential to reduce biliary toxicity with excellent tumor control. Therefore, we aimed to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of de-escalated SBRT in patients with hepatic hilum HCC.

Atezolizumab following definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma - a multicenter phase 2 trial (EPOC1802).

Platinum-based definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) is the standard treatment for patients with unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) that invades the aorta, vertebral body or trachea; however, complete response rates remain low (11-25%), leading to poor survival. To evaluate the additive efficacy of the anti-PD-L1 antibody drug atezolizumab, we conducted a phase 2, multicenter, single-arm trial of 1 year of atezolizumab treatment following dCRT in 40 patients with unresectable locally advanced ESCC recruited from seven Japanese centers (UMIN000034373). The confirmed complete response (cCR) rate (primary end point) of the first consecutive 38 patients was 42.

Risk factors for rectal wall infiltration in hydrogel spacer placement: Influence of biopsy approach.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between the type of prostate biopsy and the occurrence of rectal wall infiltration (RWI) with hydrogel spacer placement in patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted involving 175 patients who received hydrogel spacer placement before radiotherapy at the National Cancer Center East Hospital, between October 2021 and December 2023. The patients were categorized based on the type of prostate biopsy: transperineal and transrectal.

A simplified scoring system for predicting treatment response in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (EAST score).

Aims: This study aimed at developing a scoring system (EAST score) to predict recurrence after chemoradiotherapy in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC).

Patients & Methods: Treatment-naïve LS-SCLC patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) ( = 234) or sequential chemoradiotherapy ( = 53) were retrospectively reviewed. Using data from CCRT population, clinical and radiological variables associated with disease progression were identified.

High Fracture Risk of Femoral Bone Metastasis Treated with Palliative Radiotherapy in Recent Years.

Bone-modifying agents (BMAs) have been widely used to reduce skeletal-related events, including pathological fractures. Herein, we aimed to clarify the incidence of pathological fractures caused by high-risk femoral bone metastases after palliative radiotherapy (RT) in the BMA era and evaluate the necessity of prophylactic surgical stabilization. We assessed 90 patients with high-risk femoral bone metastases, indicated by Mirels' scores ≥ 8, without pathological fractures and surgical fixations, who received palliative RT at our institution between January 2009 and December 2018.