Gastrointestinal stromal tumor with maxillary metastasis: a case report and literature review.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) form commonly in the stomach, small intestine, colorectum, and esophagus. Metastatic GIST occurs in up to 50% of patients at presentation. The liver and peritoneal cavity are the most common (93%) metastatic sites; head and neck metastases are extremely rare.

Can dose outside the PTV influence the risk of distant metastases in stage I lung cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)?

Background And Purpose: In an era where little is known about the "abscopal" (out-of-the-field) effects of lung SBRT, we investigated correlations between the radiation dose proximally outside the PTV and the risk of cancer recurrence after SBRT in patients with primary stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: This study included 217 stage I NSCLC patients across 2 institutions who received SBRT. Correlations between clinical and dosimetric factors were investigated.

Integration of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy With Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Stage IV Oncogene-Driven Lung Cancer.

Unlabelled: : Genotype-based selection of patients for targeted therapies has had a substantial impact on the treatment of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) directed at cancers driven by oncogenes, such as epidermal growth factor receptor mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements, often achieve dramatic responses and result in prolonged survival compared with chemotherapy. However, TKI resistance invariably develops.

Pattern of Failure Analysis in Metastatic EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer Treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors to Identify Candidates for Consolidation Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy.

Introduction: The role of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with metastatic lung cancer harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations is not defined. We evaluated the pattern of failure in patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy to identify candidates for consolidation SBRT.

Methods: Computed tomography scans were reviewed in a cohort of EGFR-mutant patients enrolled on prospective TKI trials.

A Contralateral Esophagus-Sparing Technique to Limit Severe Esophagitis Associated With Concurrent High-Dose Radiation and Chemotherapy in Patients With Thoracic Malignancies.

Purpose: Severe (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [RTOG] grade 3 or greater) esophagitis generally occurs in 15% to 25% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CCRT), which may result in treatment breaks that compromise local tumor control and pose a barrier to dose escalation. Here, we report a novel contralateral esophagus-sparing technique (CEST) that uses intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to reduce the incidence of severe esophagitis.

Methods And Materials: We reviewed consecutive patients with thoracic malignancies undergoing curative CCRT in whom CEST was used.

Pediatric and adult sonic hedgehog medulloblastomas are clinically and molecularly distinct.

Recent integrative genomic approaches have defined molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma that are genetically and clinically distinct. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) medulloblastomas account for one-third of all cases and comprise the majority of infant and adult medulloblastomas. To discern molecular heterogeneity among Shh-medulloblastomas, we analyzed transcriptional profiles from four independent Shh-medulloblastoma expression datasets (n = 66).

Preponderance of sonic hedgehog pathway activation characterizes adult medulloblastoma.

Medulloblastoma (MB) represents approximately 4% of adult brain tumours, and as such is a poorly studied disease. Although many adult MB are treated using paediatric MB protocols, the reported outcomes are inferior to those observed in children. It remains unclear whether biologic differences underlie these clinical observations.

Adjuvant radiotherapy in the treatment of pediatric myxopapillary ependymomas.

Objectives: Assess the role of radiotherapy (RT) in the management of primary and recurrent myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE).

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients with MPE treated at the Montreal Children's Hospital/McGill University Health Centre between 1985 and 2008.

Results: Seven children under the age of 18 were diagnosed and treated for MPE.

Cone beam CT-based three-dimensional planning in high-dose-rate brachytherapy for cervical cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate dose-volume histograms (DVHs) of bladder and rectum from the use of cone beam CT (CBCT)-based three-dimensional (3D) treatment planning in intracavitary high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) for cervical cancer patients and to compare these parameters with International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) of rectal and bladder reference point dose measurements.

Methods And Materials: Thirteen patients with cervical cancer underwent HDRB insertions. CT-compatible tandem and ovoid applicators were used to obtain intraoperative CBCT images.

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia presenting with spinal cord compression: a case report.

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma characterized by a wide range of clinical presentations related to direct tumor infiltration and the production of IgM. Most commonly it presents with cytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, constitutional symptoms, and hyperviscosity syndrome. We report a case of WM in an 81-year-old man who initially presented with severe back pain.