Ensuring High Quality Treatment Plans with a Plan Quality Review Checklist.

Treatment plan quality is a crucial component for a successful outcome of radiation therapy treatments. As the complexity of radiation therapy planning and delivery techniques increases, the role of the medical physicist in assessing treatment plan quality becomes more critical. Integrating plan quality review throughout the treatment planning process allows improvements without delaying treatment or rushing to produce changes at the last minute.

Non-contact scintillator imaging dosimetry for total body irradiation in radiotherapy.

The goal of this work was to assess the potential use of non-contact scintillator imaging dosimetry for tracking delivery in total body irradiation (TBI).. Studies were conducted to measure the time-gated light signals caused by radiation exposure to scintillators that were placed on tissue.

AAPM MEDICAL PHYSICS PRACTICE GUIDELINE 5.b: Commissioning and QA of treatment planning dose calculations-Megavoltage photon and electron beams.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a nonprofit professional society whose primary purposes are to advance the science, education, and professional practice of medical physics. The AAPM has more than 8000 members and is the principal organization of medical physicists in the United States. The AAPM will periodically define new practice guidelines for medical physics practice to help advance the science of medical physics and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the United States.

Consensus Quality Measures and Dose Constraints for Rectal Cancer From the Veterans Affairs Radiation Oncology Quality Surveillance Program and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Expert Panel.

Purpose: Ensuring high quality, evidence-based radiation therapy for patients with cancer is of the upmost importance. To address this need, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Radiation Oncology Program partnered with the American Society for Radiation Oncology and established the VA Radiation Oncology Quality Surveillance program. As part of this ongoing effort to provide the highest quality of care for patients with rectal cancer, a blue-ribbon panel comprised of rectal cancer experts was formed to develop clinical quality measures.

Commissioning an Exradin W2 plastic scintillation detector for clinical use in small radiation fields.

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to evaluate the Standard Imaging Exradin W2 plastic scintillation detector (W2) for use in the types of fields used for stereotactic radiosurgery.

Methods: Prior to testing the W2 in small fields, the W2 was evaluated in standard large field conditions to ensure good detector performance. These tests included energy dependence, short-term repeatability, dose-response linearity, angular dependence, temperature dependence, and dose rate dependence.

The impact of COVID-19 on a high-volume incident learning system: A retrospective analysis.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to assess how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted our incident learning system data and communicate the impact of a major exogenous event on radiation oncology clinical practice.

Methods: Trends in our electronic incident reporting system were analyzed to ascertain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any direct clinical changes. Incident reports submitted in the 18 months prior to the pandemic (September 14, 2018 to March 13, 2020) and reports submitted during the first 18 months of the pandemic (March 14, 2020 to September 13, 2021) were compared.

Radiation Therapy for Rectal Cancer: Executive Summary of an ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline.

Purpose: This guideline reviews the evidence and provides recommendations for the indications and appropriate technique and dose of neoadjuvant radiation therapy (RT) in the treatment of localized rectal cancer.

Methods: The American Society for Radiation Oncology convened a task force to address 4 key questions focused on the use of RT in preoperative management of operable rectal cancer. These questions included the indications for neoadjuvant RT, identification of appropriate neoadjuvant regimens, indications for consideration of a nonoperative or local excision approach after chemoradiation, and appropriate treatment volumes and techniques.

Observational Studies Requested by European Health Authorities: Governmental Interference or an Enhancement of Everyday Urological Practice? The Hexvix® Observational Patients Evaluation Study as an Example of What to Expect.

Objective: The Hexvix® Observational Patients Evaluation (HOPE) study was designed to determine the extent of distribution of the use of hexaminolevulinate in the diagnosis of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and assess patient and treatment characteristics associated with different endoscopic modalities and to address the French authorities' request for information on routine practices for NMIBC diagnosis and surveillance.

Patients And Methods: A prospective, observational study in 30 centres in France with fluorescence endoscopy equipment available. All candidates for endoscopy with transurethral resection who gave their consent were eligible.

[Is nephron-sparing surgery relevant for unilateral Wilms tumors?].

Background: Wilms tumors (WTs) are the most frequent renal tumors in children. Radical nephrectomy (RN) remains the gold-standard surgical treatment for this type of cancer. Excellent results in overall survival (>90%) make it possible to consider nephronic preservation.

Validation of a modern second-check dosimetry system using a novel verification phantom.

Purpose: To evaluate the Mobius second-check dosimetry system by comparing it to ionization-chamber dose measurements collected in the recently released Mobius Verification Phantom™ (MVP). For reference, a comparison of these measurements to dose calculated in the primary treatment planning system (TPS), Varian Eclipse with the AcurosXB dose algorithm, is also provided. Finally, patient dose calculated in Mobius is compared directly to Eclipse to demonstrate typical expected results during clinical use of the Mobius system.

Implementation of the validation testing in MPPG 5.a "Commissioning and QA of treatment planning dose calculations-megavoltage photon and electron beams".

The AAPM Medical Physics Practice Guideline (MPPG) 5.a provides concise guidance on the commissioning and QA of beam modeling and dose calculation in radiotherapy treatment planning systems. This work discusses the implementation of the validation testing recommended in MPPG 5.

Primary CIC-DUX4 round cell sarcoma of the kidney: A treatment-refractory tumor with poor outcome.

The CIC-DUX4 sarcoma is a subset of the undifferentiated small round cell sarcoma family, presently recognized as a new clinicopathological entity. It is a rare and highly aggressive tumor usually arising in the soft parts of the limbs and the trunk. Only a very few cases of primitive visceral CIC-DUX4 have been hitherto described.

RIP1 and RIP3 complex regulates radiation-induced programmed necrosis in glioblastoma.

Radiation-induced necrosis (RN) is a relatively common side effect of radiation therapy for glioblastoma. However, the molecular mechanisms involved and the ways RN mechanisms differ from regulated cell death (apoptosis) are not well understood. Here, we compare the molecular mechanism of cell death (apoptosis or necrosis) of C6 glioma cells in both in vitro and in vivo (C6 othotopically allograft) models in response to low and high doses of X-ray radiation.

Guidelines for the definition of time-to-event end points in renal cell cancer clinical trials: results of the DATECAN project†.

Background: In clinical trials, the use of intermediate time-to-event end points (TEEs) is increasingly common, yet their choice and definitions are not standardized. This limits the usefulness for comparing treatment effects between studies. The aim of the DATECAN Kidney project is to clarify and recommend definitions of TEE in renal cell cancer (RCC) through a formal consensus method for end point definitions.

Targeting FAK scaffold functions inhibits human renal cell carcinoma growth.

Human conventional renal cell carcinoma (CCC) remains resistant to current therapies. Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) is upregulated in many epithelial tumors and clearly implicated in nearly all facets of cancer. However, only few reports have assessed whether FAK may be associated with renal tumorigenesis.

[Laparoscopic cystectomy and ileal conduit urinary diversion for neurogenic bladders and related conditions. Morbidity and better quality of life].

Objectives: To assess morbidity and functional consequences of laparoscopic cystectomy with ileal conduit urinary diversion: in neurologic patients.

Materials: We reviewed the records of forty-two patients (ten men and thirty-two women) who underwent surgery between August 2007 and October 2013. The median age of the patient was 54 years old (range between 21-79 years).

[Surveillance of stage I testicular seminoma: 20 years oncological results].

Introduction And Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the oncological results of a population of patients which undergo surveillance after diagnosis of stage I testicular seminoma (2, 5 and 8 years overall, specific and recurrence free survival). We also research recurrence risk factors.

Patients And Methods: We have looked at the data of all patients treated in our center since 1993 for a grade I testicular seminoma.

Complement-dependent modulation of antitumor immunity following radiation therapy.

Complement is traditionally thought of as a proinflammatory effector mechanism of antitumor immunity. However, complement is also important for effective clearance of apoptotic cells, which can be an anti-inflammatory and tolerogenic process. We show that localized fractionated radiation therapy (RT) of subcutaneous murine lymphoma results in tumor cell apoptosis and local complement activation.

Clinical and cost effectiveness of hexaminolevulinate-guided blue-light cystoscopy: evidence review and updated expert recommendations.

Context: Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is associated with a high recurrence risk, partly because of the persistence of lesions following transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) due to the presence of multiple lesions and the difficulty in identifying the exact extent and location of tumours using standard white-light cystoscopy (WLC). Hexaminolevulinate (HAL) is an optical-imaging agent used with blue-light cystoscopy (BLC) in NMIBC diagnosis. Increasing evidence from long-term follow-up confirms the benefits of BLC over WLC in terms of increased detection and reduced recurrence rates.

[Salvage radical prostatectomy for brachytherapy failure: preliminary results].

Objectives: Analysis of preliminary results in six patients operated by second-line (salvage) radical prostatectomy for local recurrence after low-dose brachytherapy.

Patients And Methods: Since January 2009, six patients had an open salvage radical prostatectomy with a lymph node dissection and without neurovascular bundles preservation for a low-dose I125 brachytherapy failure. Local recurrence was confirmed by trans-rectal biopsy or TURP.

EAU policy on live surgery events.

Context: Live surgery is an important part of surgical education, with an increase in the number of live surgery events (LSEs) at meetings despite controversy about their real educational value, risks to patient safety, and conflicts of interest.

Objective: To provide a European Association of Urology (EAU) policy on LSEs to regulate their organisation during urologic meetings.

Evidence Acquisition: The project was carried out in phases: a systematic literature review generating key questions, surveys sent to Live Surgery Panel members, and Internet- and panel-based consensus finding using the Delphi process to agree on and formulate a policy.

[Postoperative male stress urinary incontinence: outcomes of treatment by I-STOP TOMS® transobturator sling].

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of postoperative male stress urinary incontinence surgery using the I-STOP TOMS(®) sub-urethral sling.

Material And Method: Between April 2007 and August 2012, 29 patients had been treated by sub-urethral sling. Stress urinary incontinence was classified as mild, moderate or severe according to the number of pads per day.