Oral isotretinoin and topical retinoid use in a series of young patients with ocular melanoma.

Purpose: To describe the first series of six young uveal melanoma (UM) patients with oral isotretinoin and/or topical retinoid therapy prior to diagnosis.

Observations: The case series is based on clinical observations at our UM quaternary referral center. Six UM patient cases are reported, ages 16-44 years old.

Improved Tumor Control Related to Radiotherapy Technological Development for Hypopharyngeal Cancer.

Objectives/hypothesis: Squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx (SCCHP) is associated with worse survival compared to other head and neck subsites. This report quantifies the impact of technological improvements in radiotherapy (RT) on outcomes over 6 decades.

Methods: Patients with SCCHP receiving curative-intent treatment between 1962 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed.

Technical Note: Feasibility study of titanium markers in choroidal melanoma localization for proton beam radiation therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of the use of titanium fiducial markers to minimize the metallic artifact seen with tantalum markers which causes significant distortion on postoperative orbital CT scans.

Method: We designed and constructed the titanium markers in the shop of Crocker Nuclear Laboratory, UC Davis, CA. The markers were placed on an eyeball phantom.

Temporal Evolution and Dose-Volume Histogram Predictors of Visual Acuity After Proton Beam Radiation Therapy of Uveal Melanoma.

Purpose: To perform an in-depth temporal analysis of visual acuity (VA) outcomes after proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT) in a large, uniformly treated cohort of uveal melanoma (UM) patients, to determine trends in VA evolution depending on pretreatment and temporally defined posttreatment VA measurements; and to investigate the relevance of specific patient, tumor and dose-volume parameters to posttreatment vision loss.

Methods And Materials: Uveal melanoma patients receiving PBRT were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Included patients (n=645) received 56 GyE in 4 fractions, had pretreatment best corrected VA (BCVA) in the affected eye of count fingers (CF) or better, with posttreatment VA assessment at specified post-PBRT time point(s).

Long-term disease-specific and cognitive quality of life after intensity-modulated radiation therapy: a cross-sectional survey of nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors.

Background: There is a lack of data on quality of life in long-term survivors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who have been treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). We characterized long-term disease-specific and cognitive QoL in NPC survivors after IMRT.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of surviving patients diagnosed and treated for NPC at our center with curative-intent IMRT, with or without chemotherapy.

Does radiation dose matter in thyroid cancer?: Patterns of local-regional failure in recurrent and metastatic well-differentiated thyroid cancers treated with dose-painted intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

Introduction: Due to complex multimodal treatments and a lengthy natural history of disease, the impact of radiation therapy for well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) is challenging to evaluate. We analysed the effect of dose escalation, as enabled by intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), on preventing local-regional failure (LRF) of microscopic and macroscopic WDTC.

Method: We performed a retrospective review of WDTC patients treated with IMRT from 1998-2011.

Long-term Results of the UCSF-LBNL Randomized Trial: Charged Particle With Helium Ion Versus Iodine-125 Plaque Therapy for Choroidal and Ciliary Body Melanoma.

Purpose: Relevant clinical data are needed given the increasing national interest in charged particle radiation therapy (CPT) programs. Here we report long-term outcomes from the only randomized, stratified trial comparing CPT with iodine-125 plaque therapy for choroidal and ciliary body melanoma.

Methods And Materials: From 1985 to 1991, 184 patients met eligibility criteria and were randomized to receive particle (86 patients) or plaque therapy (98 patients).

Dosimetric predictors of hypothyroidism in oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

Background: Radiation to the neck has long been associated with an elevated risk of hypothyroidism development. The goal of the present work is to define dosimetric predictors of hypothyroidism in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

Methods: Data for 123 patients, with a median follow up of 4.

Risk factors for neovascular glaucoma after proton beam therapy of uveal melanoma: a detailed analysis of tumor and dose-volume parameters.

Purpose: To determine neovascular glaucoma (NVG) incidence and identify contributing tumor and dosing factors in uveal melanoma patients treated with proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT).

Methods And Materials: A total of 704 PBRT patients treated by a single surgeon (DHC) for uveal melanoma (1996-2010) were reviewed for NVG in our prospectively maintained database. All patients received 56 GyE in 4 fractions.

Dosimetric evaluation of automatic segmentation for adaptive IMRT for head-and-neck cancer.

Purpose: Adaptive planning to accommodate anatomic changes during treatment requires repeat segmentation. This study uses dosimetric endpoints to assess automatically deformed contours.

Methods And Materials: Sixteen patients with head-and-neck cancer had adaptive plans because of anatomic change during radiotherapy.

Can positron emission tomography (PET) or PET/Computed Tomography (CT) acquired in a nontreatment position be accurately registered to a head-and-neck radiotherapy planning CT?

Purpose: To quantify the uncertainties associated with incorporating diagnostic positron emission tomography/CT (PET/CT) and PET into the radiotherapy treatment-planning process using different image registration tools, including automated and manual rigid body registration methods, as well as deformable image registration.

Methods And Materials: The PET/CTs and treatment-planning CTs from 12 patients were used to evaluate image registration accuracy. The PET/CTs also were used without the contemporaneously acquired CTs to evaluate the registration accuracy of stand-alone PET.

Assessment of carotid artery dose in the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer with IMRT versus conventional radiotherapy.

Purpose: To determine the radiation dose to the carotid artery in nasopharyngeal cancer patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and to compare it to the dose delivered by a conventional three-field (3F) technique.

Materials And Methods: Sixteen patients with nasopharyngeal cancer who were treated at UCSF with IMRT were selected for this analysis. 3F plans were reconstructed for comparison.

Intensity-modulated chemoradiation for treatment of stage III and IV oropharyngeal carcinoma: the University of California-San Francisco experience.

Background: Treatment outcomes for stage III and IV oropharyngeal carcinoma treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and concurrent chemotherapy without prior surgical resection were reviewed.

Methods: Between April 2000 and September 2004, 71 patients underwent IMRT concurrent with chemotherapy without prior surgical resection for stage III and IV oropharyngeal carcinoma. Chemotherapy was platinum based.

Nonfunctioning parathyroid carcinoma: case report and review of literature.

Objective: To report a case of nonfunctioning parathyroid carcinoma that was incidentally found during a thyroidectomy for multinodular goiter.

Methods: We present a case report, detailing the clinical course and histologic findings in a patient with a nonfunctional parathyroid carcinoma. The related literature is also reviewed.

A treatment planning analysis of inverse-planned and forward-planned intensity-modulated radiation therapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: To compare dose-volume histograms of target volumes and organs at risk in 57 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with inverse- (IP) or forward-planned (FP) intensity-modulated radiation treatment (IMRT).

Methods And Materials: The DVHs of 57 patients with NPC with IMRT with or without chemotherapy were reviewed. Thirty-one patients underwent IP IMRT, and 26 patients underwent FP IMRT.

Simplifying intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans with fewer beam angles for the treatment of oropharyngeal carcinoma.

The first aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of using fewer beam angles to improve delivery efficiency for the treatment of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) with inverse-planned intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IP-IMRT). A secondary aim was to evaluate whether the simplified IP-IMRT plans could reduce the indirect radiation dose. The treatment plans for 5 consecutive OPC patients previously treated with a forward-planned IMRT (FP-IMRT) technique were selected as benchmarks for this study.

Carcinomas of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity treated with radiotherapy at a single institution over five decades: are we making improvement?

Purpose: To compare clinical outcomes of patients with carcinomas of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity according to decade of radiation treatment.

Methods And Materials: Between 1960 and 2005, 127 patients with sinonasal carcinoma underwent radiotherapy with planning and delivery techniques available at the time of treatment. Fifty-nine patients were treated by conventional radiotherapy; 45 patients by three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy; and 23 patients by intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

A phase II study of fixed-dose rate gemcitabine plus low-dose cisplatin followed by consolidative chemoradiation for locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: The optimal strategy for treating locally advanced pancreatic cancer remains controversial, including the respective roles and timing of chemotherapy and radiation. We conducted a Phase II nonrandomized trial to evaluate sequential chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation in this patient population.

Methods And Materials: Chemotherapy naive patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma were treated with fixed-dose rate gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m(2) at 10 mg/m(2)/min) plus cisplatin 20 mg/m(2) on Days 1 and 15 of a 28-day cycle.

Recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland: long-term outcome of patients treated with radiation therapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of radiation therapy in the management of recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland.

Methods And Materials: Between 1960 and 2004, 34 patients were treated with postoperative radiation therapy for recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland to a median dose of 5000 cGy (range, 4,500-6,000 cGy). Median age was 48 years (range, 24-72 years).

The role of postoperative radiation therapy in carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of postoperative radiation therapy on the clinical course of patients with carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland.

Methods And Materials: Between 1960 and 2004, 63 patients were treated with definitive surgery for carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland. Forty patients (63%) received postoperative radiation therapy to a median dose of 60 Gy (range, 45-71 Gy).

Long-term outcome of patients treated by radiation therapy alone for salivary gland carcinomas.

Purpose: To review a single-institution experience with the management of salivary gland cancers treated by radiation alone.

Methods And Materials: Between 1960 and 2004, 45 patients with newly diagnosed salivary gland carcinomas were treated with definitive radiation to a median dose of 66 Gy (range, 57-74 Gy). Distribution of T-stage was: 24% T1, 18% T2, 31% T3, and 27% T4.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck treated by surgery with or without postoperative radiation therapy: prognostic features of recurrence.

Purpose: This study sought to review a single-institution experience with the management of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck.

Methods And Materials: Between 1960 and 2004, 140 patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with definitive surgery. Ninety patients (64%) received postoperative radiation to a median dose of 64 Gy (range, 54-71 Gy).

Repeat CT imaging and replanning during the course of IMRT for head-and-neck cancer.

Purpose: Many patients with head-and-neck (H&N) cancer have tumor shrinkage and/or weight loss during the course of radiotherapy. We conducted this retrospective study to determine the dosimetric effects of repeat computed tomography (CT) imaging and replanning during the course of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) on both normal tissues and target volumes.

Methods And Materials: A retrospective chart review identified 13 patients with H&N cancer treated with IMRT who had repeat CT imaging and replanning during the course of radiotherapy.