Establishing the minimal clinically important difference of the Brief Fatigue Inventory for brain or CNS cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Background: Minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) quantify the clinical relevance of quality of life results at the individual patient and group level. The aim of this study was to estimate the MCID for the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) and the Worst and Usual Fatigue items in patients with brain or CNS cancer undergoing curative radiotherapy.

Methods: Data from a multi-site prospective registry was used.

Linear accelerator-based single-fraction stereotactic body radiotherapy for symptomatic vertebral body hemangiomas: The Mayo Clinic experience.

Symptomatic vertebral hemangiomas (SVHs) are rare benign tumors that when symptomatic require procedural intervention or radiotherapy (RT). Although conventionally-fractionated RT has been an alternative to surgical resection, there is very little data on stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for SVHs. Six consecutively treated patients with SVHs underwent definitive single-fraction SBRT from 2010 to 2018 at our institution.

Effect of Doxepin Mouthwash or Diphenhydramine-Lidocaine-Antacid Mouthwash vs Placebo on Radiotherapy-Related Oral Mucositis Pain: The Alliance A221304 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Oral mucositis causes substantial morbidity during head and neck radiotherapy. In a randomized study, doxepin mouthwash was shown to reduce oral mucositis-related pain. A common mouthwash comprising diphenhydramine-lidocaine-antacid is also widely used.

Daily Lisinopril vs Placebo for Prevention of Chemoradiation-Induced Pulmonary Distress in Patients With Lung Cancer (Alliance MC1221): A Pilot Double-Blind Randomized Trial.

Purpose: Chemoradiation (CRT) is an integral treatment modality for patients with locally advanced lung cancer. It has been hypothesized that current use of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor during CRT may be protective for treatment-related lung damage and pneumonitis.

Methods And Materials: We conducted a pilot, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial.

Data collection of patient outcomes: one institution's experience.

Patient- and provider-reported outcomes are recognized as important in evaluating quality of care, guiding health care policy, comparative effectiveness research, and decision-making in radiation oncology. Combining patient and provider outcome data with a detailed description of disease and therapy is the basis for these analyses. We report on the combination of technical solutions and clinical process changes at our institution that were used in the collection and dissemination of this data.

Alliance for clinical trials in oncology (ALLIANCE) trial A021501: preoperative extended chemotherapy vs. chemotherapy plus hypofractionated radiation therapy for borderline resectable adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas.

Background: Borderline resectable pancreatic cancers infiltrate into adjacent vascular structures to an extent that makes an R0 resection unlikely when pancreatectomy is performed de novo. In a pilot study, Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Trial A021101, the median survival of patients who received chemotherapy and radiation prior to anticipated pancreatectomy was 22 months, and 64% of operations achieved an R0 resection. However, the individual contributions of preoperative chemotherapy and radiation therapy to therapeutic outcome remain poorly defined.

Doxepin rinse versus placebo in the treatment of acute oral mucositis pain in patients receiving head and neck radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy: a phase III, randomized, double-blind trial (NCCTG-N09C6 [Alliance]).

Purpose: Painful oral mucositis (OM) is a significant toxicity during radiotherapy for head and neck cancers. The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to test the efficacy of doxepin hydrochloride in the reduction of radiotherapy-induced OM pain.

Patients And Methods: In all, 155 patients were randomly allocated to a doxepin oral rinse or a placebo for the treatment of radiotherapy-related OM pain.

Factors associated with endocrine deficits after stereotactic radiosurgery of pituitary adenomas.

Objective: To analyze the factors associated with anterior pituitary deficits after pituitary adenoma stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).

Methods: The tumor, pituitary stalk, and pituitary gland were segmented on the dose plans of 82 patients (secreting tumors, n = 53; nonsecreting tumors, n=29) for dose-volume analysis. No patient had undergone prior radiation therapy and all patients had at least 12 months of endocrinological follow-up (median, 63 months; mean, 69 months; range, 13-134).

Validation of a method for assessing resident physicians' quality improvement proposals.

Background: Residency programs involve trainees in quality improvement (QI) projects to evaluate competency in systems-based practice and practice-based learning and improvement. Valid approaches to assess QI proposals are lacking.

Objective: We developed an instrument for assessing resident QI proposals--the Quality Improvement Proposal Assessment Tool (QIPAT-7)-and determined its validity and reliability.

Central neurocytoma: management recommendations based on a 35-year experience.

Purpose: To examine the outcomes of patients with histologically confirmed central neurocytomas.

Methods And Materials: The data from 45 patients with central neurocytomas diagnosed between 1971 and 2003 were retrospectively evaluated. Various combinations of surgery, radiotherapy (RT), and chemotherapy had been used for treatment.