Treatment Planning Comparison of Gantry-based and Fixed Beams for the Treatment of Liver Tumors With Carbon Ion Therapy.

Background/aim: This study aimed to compare the use of a rotating gantry in liver tumor carbon-ion radiotherapy using of a fixed-port for treatment planning.

Materials And Methods: Thirty patients with liver tumors were analyzed. Three treatment plans were developed for each case: one with a rotating gantry with a 360° angle, one with fixed ports of 0° and 90° with a ±20° couch rolling setting, and one with fixed ports of 45° and 90° with a ±20° couch rolling setting.

Commissioning and Validation of CT Number to SPR Calibration in Carbon Ion Therapy Facility.

Purpose: We performed computed tomography (CT)-stopping power ratio (SPR) calibration in a carbon-ion therapy facility and evaluated SPR estimation accuracy.

Materials And Methods: A polybinary tissue model method was used for the calibration of CT numbers and SPR. As a verification by dose calculation, we created a virtual phantom to which the CT-SPR calibration table was applied.

Evaluation of the availability of single-position treatment with a rotating gantry and the validity of deformable image registration dose assessment for pancreatic cancer carbon-ion radiotherapy.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical acceptability of rotational gantry-based single-position carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) to reduce the gastrointestinal (GI) dose in pancreatic cancer. We also evaluated the usefulness of the deformable image registration (DIR)-based dosimetry method for CIRT.

Material And Methods: Fifteen patients with pancreatic cancer were analyzed.

A robust treatment planning approach for chest motion in postmastectomy chest wall intensity modulated radiation therapy.

Purpose: Chest wall postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) should consider the effects of chest wall respiratory motion. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of robustness planning intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for respiratory movement, considering respiratory motion as a setup error.

Material And Methods: This study analyzed 20 patients who underwent PMRT (10 left and 10 right chest walls).

Error on the stopping power ratio of ERKODENT's mouthpiece for head and neck carbon ion radiotherapy treatment.

The errors on the stopping power ratio (SPR) of mouthpiece samples from ERKODENT were evaluated. Erkoflex and Erkoloc-pro from ERKODENT and samples that combined Erkoflex and Erkoloc-pro were computed tomography (CT)-scanned using head and neck (HN) protocol at the East Japan Heavy Ion Center (EJHIC), and the values were averaged to obtain the CT number. The integral depth dose of the Bragg curve with and without these samples was measured for 292.

Correcting for the effect of ambient pressure fluctuations on measured output from a linear accelerator with a sealed monitor chamber.

Ambient pressure fluctuations deform the walls of a sealed monitor chamber in a linear accelerator (LINAC) and affect the output. This study retrospectively quantified the output variations accompanying ambient pressure fluctuations in a LINAC equipped with a sealed monitor chamber and introduced a novel approach of calculating the adjusted output free from the effect of ambient pressure fluctuations.The output data for the 6 MV and 10 MV X-rays measured between March 2014 and September 2015 were analysed.

Efficacy and safety of miconazole muco-adhesive tablet versus itraconazole in oropharyngeal candidiasis: A randomized, multi-centered, double-blind, phase 3 trial.

Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) is an opportunistic infection treated with anti-fungal agents. Herein, we evaluate the efficacy and safety of miconazole buccal tablets (MBT) and itraconazole capsules in the localized treatment of patients with OPC. In this multi-centered, double-blinded, phase III trial (CTR20130414), both males and non-pregnant females (≥18 years) with OPC were randomized (1:1) to MBT plus placebo (experimental group) or itraconazole capsules plus placebo (control group).

Development of a quantitative analysis method for assessing patient body surface deformation using an optical surface tracking system.

This study aimed to develop a new method to quantitatively analyze body shape changes in patients during radiotherapy without additional radiation exposure using an optical surface tracking system. This method's accuracy was evaluated using a cubic phantom with a known shift. Surface images of three-dimensionally printed phantoms, which simulated the head and neck shapes of real patients before and after treatment, were used to create a deformation surface area histogram.

A Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals the Prognostic and Immunotherapeutic Value of Stanniocalcin-2 (STC2).

Stanniocalcin-2 (STC2) is a secreted glycoprotein which plays an important role in regulating the homeostasis of calcium, glucose homeostasis, and phosphorus metastasis. Accumulating evidence suggests that STC2 is implicated in cancer mechanisms. However, the effects of STC2 on cancer development and progression across pan-cancer are not yet completely known.

Technical note: improved positioning protocol for patient setup accuracy in conventional radiotherapy for lung cancer.

This study aimed to investigate an improved setup protocol for maintaining patient setup accuracy, with minimal or no use of image-guided radiation therapy in conventional radiotherapy for lung cancer. A coordinate value for the treatment couch in the anterior-posterior (AP) direction was obtained from the first fraction using bony anatomy image guidance. The coordinate value was invariably used for patient positioning in the second and subsequent treatment fractions.

Reconstruction of the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network based on competitive endogenous RNA reveal functional lncRNAs in Cerebral Infarction.

Functioning as miRNA sponges, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) exert its pharmacological action via regulating expression of protein-coding genes. However, the lncRNA-mediated ceRNA in cerebral Infarction (CI) remains unclear. In this study, the expression recordsets of mRNA, lncRNA and miRNA of CI samples were obtained from the NCBI GEO datasets separately.

Association Between Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Risk: A Meta-Analysis.

Published studies have demonstrated a closer association between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) risk, but the results were inconsistent. We therefore performed this meta-analysis to explore the precise associations between VDR gene polymorphisms and PCOS risk. Five online electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, SCI index, CNKI and Wanfang) were searched.

Novel acridine-based N-acyl-homoserine lactone analogs induce endoreduplication in the human oral squamous carcinoma cell line SAS.

The cytotoxicity of novel acridine-based N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) analogs was investigated on the human oral squamous carcinoma cell line SAS. One analog induced G2/M phase arrest at 5.3-10.

Functional properties of synthetic N-acyl-L-homoserine lactone analogs of quorum-sensing gram-negative bacteria on the growth of human oral squamous carcinoma cells.

Quorum sensing is defined as the ability of microorganisms to sense their population density via the release of signaling molecules composed of acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL), which is a type of autoinducer (AI). Previous structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies demonstrated that the 3-oxo group, homoserine lactone of L-form, and long acyl side chain have crucial roles in apoptosis induction. Various types of synthetic AI analogs of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were prepared, and SAR study was conducted to determine their effects against human oral squamous carcinoma cells derived from gingival carcinoma Ca9-22 cells and tongue cancer SAS cells.