Predicting the weld width from high-speed successive images of the weld zone using different machine learning algorithms during laser welding.

The dynamic behavior of the keyhole and molten pool is associated with the quality of weld seam. In this study, an on-line visual monitoring system is devised to photograph the keyhole and molten pool during external magnetic field assisted laser welding on the AISI 2205 duplex stainless steel plates. Seven features are defined to describe the morphology of the keyhole and molten pool.

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of blood microvessel density in endometrial cancer: a meta-analysis and subgroup analysis.

Objective: The study aimed to systematically review the association between angiogenesis and clinicopathological characteristics and its prognostic value in patients with endometrial cancer.

Methods: Eligible studies were searched in PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang database. Studies that assessed blood microvessel density (BMVD) and correlated with clinicopathological features and/or overall survival (OS) were included.

Reirradiation with stereotactic body radiotherapy: analysis of human spinal cord tolerance using the generalized linear-quadratic model.

Aim: Using the generalized linear-quadratic (gLQ) model, we reanalyzed published dosimetric data from patients with radiation myelopathy (RM) after reirradiation with spinal stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Materials & Methods: Based on a published study, the thecal sac dose of five RM patients and 14 no RM patients were reanalyzed using gLQ model. Maximum point doses (Pmax) in the thecal sac were obtained.

Characterizing at-Risk Voxels by Using Perfusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Cervical Cancer during Radiotherapy.

The number of voxels with low signal intensity (Low DCE voxels) might be potentially related to treatment failure, which might be associated with the tumor oxygenation status. Our goal was to investigate whether at-risk voxels can be used to predict treatment outcome during radiation therapy for cervical cancer. 80 patients with Stage IB2-IVB cervical cancer were included.

Radiotherapeutic and surgical management for newly diagnosed brain metastasis(es): An American Society for Radiation Oncology evidence-based guideline.

Purpose: To systematically review the evidence for the radiotherapeutic and surgical management of patients newly diagnosed with intraparenchymal brain metastases.

Methods And Materials: Key clinical questions to be addressed in this evidence-based Guideline were identified. Fully published randomized controlled trials dealing with the management of newly diagnosed intraparenchymal brain metastases were searched systematically and reviewed.

Onset time of tumor repopulation for cervical cancer: first evidence from clinical data.

Purpose: Accelerated tumor repopulation has significant implications in low-dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy. Repopulation onset time remains undetermined for cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine the onset time of accelerated repopulation in cervical cancer, using clinical data.

Direct sagittal image registration and tumor delineation on sagittal magnetic resonance imaging sequences for image-guided brachytherapy of cervical cancer.

Aim: To test and evaluate direct sagittal-plane tumor delineation for MRI-based image-guided brachytherapy (IGBT) planning for patients with cervical cancer.

Materials And Methods: An image registration method based on the sagittal source MR images was developed and employed in ten patients with an indwelling ring/tandem applicator. The gross tumor volume (GTV) was delineated separately on the sagittal (GTV-S) and axial images (GTV-A).

A generalized linear-quadratic model incorporating reciprocal time pattern of radiation damage repair.

Purpose: It has been conventionally assumed that the repair rate for sublethal damage (SLD) remains constant during the entire radiation course. However, increasing evidence from animal studies suggest that this may not the case. Rather, it appears that the repair rate for radiation-induced SLD slows down with increasing time.

Characterizing tumor heterogeneity with functional imaging and quantifying high-risk tumor volume for early prediction of treatment outcome: cervical cancer as a model.

Purpose: Treatment response in cancer has been monitored by measuring anatomic tumor volume (ATV) at various times without considering the inherent functional tumor heterogeneity known to critically influence ultimate treatment outcome: primary tumor control and survival. This study applied dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) functional MRI to characterize tumors' heterogeneous subregions with low DCE values, at risk for treatment failure, and to quantify the functional risk volume (FRV) for personalized early prediction of treatment outcome.

Methods And Materials: DCE-MRI was performed in 102 stage IB(2)-IVA cervical cancer patients to assess tumor perfusion heterogeneity before and during radiation/chemotherapy.

Imaging changes after stereotactic body radiation therapy for lung and liver tumors.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is gaining wide acceptance as a treatment modality for lung and liver tumors, and it is crucial to make an accurate evaluation of the local effects of ablative doses of radiation in terms of local tumor control and normal tissue reaction or damage. The very complex radiation dose distribution of SBRT, the use of a large number of non-opposing and noncoplanar beams, and the delivery of individual ablative doses of radiation may cause substantially different radiographic appearance on diagnostic imaging compared with conventional radiation therapy. Different patterns of radiographic changes have been observed in the lung and liver after SBRT.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for oligometastases.

There are data in the literature to suggest the presence of an oligometastatic state, and local aggressive therapy of the oligometastases may improve outcomes including survival. Stereotactic body radiation therapy has emerged as one of the local therapy options for oligometastases in various body sites, most commonly in the lung and the liver. Retrospective studies and clinical trials have demonstrated promising results with the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy for oligometastases.

Stereotactic radiosurgery alone for patients with 1-4 radioresistant brain metastases.

Brain metastases from radioresistant histologies are perceived to be less responsive to WBRT compared to other histologies, and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) may provide better local control. The aim of this study was to examine the outcomes of patients with 1-4 brain metastasis from radioresistant histologies (renal cell carcinoma and melanoma) treated with SRS alone. Thirty-eight patients with 1-4 radioresistant brain metastases (66 lesions) were treated with SRS alone.

When tumor repopulation starts? The onset time of prostate cancer during radiation therapy.

Purpose: To analyze published clinical data and provide a preliminary estimate of tumor repopulation rate and its onset time during radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

Methods: Data on prostate cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) by Perez et al. (2004), Amdur et al.

Sequential magnetic resonance imaging of cervical cancer: the predictive value of absolute tumor volume and regression ratio measured before, during, and after radiation therapy.

Background: The objectives of this study were to investigate outcome prediction by measuring absolute tumor volume and regression ratios using serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during radiation therapy (RT) for cervical cancer and to develop algorithms capable of identifying patients at risk of a poor therapeutic outcome.

Methods: Eighty patients with stage IB2 through IVA cervical cancer underwent 4 MRI scans: before RT (MRI1), during RT at 2 to 2.5 weeks (MRI2) at 4 to 5 weeks (MRI3), and 1 to 2 months after RT (MRI4).

A generalized linear-quadratic model for radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and high-dose rate brachytherapy.

Conventional radiation therapy for cancer usually consists of multiple treatments (called fractions) with low doses of radiation. These dose schemes are planned with the guidance of the linear-quadratic (LQ) model, which has been the most prevalent model for designing dose schemes in radiation therapy. The high-dose fractions used in newer advanced radiosurgery, stereotactic radiation therapy, and high-dose rate brachytherapy techniques, however, cannot be accurately calculated with the traditional LQ model.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) for stage I non-small cell lung cancer--updates of radiobiology, techniques, and clinical outcomes.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), also known as stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), has emerged as one of the standard treatment options for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), mainly in medically inoperable patients. Its use has also been explored in operable patients. A large body of experience, either from retrospective studies or clinical trials, has been accumulated over the years and more is known about the radiobiology, cancer biology, technical aspects, clinical outcomes, and toxicities of SBRT.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer in adults and it is frequently associated with cirrhosis. Surgical resection or orthotopic liver transplantation can be curative but only 30-40% of patients may benefit from curative radical treatment. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as a promising non-invasive therapy for patients with unresectable HCC and it may potentially serve as a bridging therapy for patients awaiting transplantation.

Management of metastatic spinal cord compression.

Spinal cord compression (SCC) from spinal metastasis is a common complication in cancer and if left untreated, permanent paraplegia or quadriplegia will occur. Timely diagnosis is crucial in preventing permanent neurologic damage. Once SCC is suspected, diagnostic imaging of the spine should be obtained to confirm diagnosis.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for spinal metastases.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as a novel treatment modality for spinal metastases. Due to advances in radiation delivery technologies, it is now possible to deliver ablative doses to spinal metastases safely and effectively, and in particular high-dose re-irradiation. Data from the literature has demonstrated high rates of pain and local control with SBRT for spinal metastases, which is an active area of clinical investigation.

Predicting outcomes in cervical cancer: a kinetic model of tumor regression during radiation therapy.

Applications of mathematical modeling can improve outcome predictions of cancer therapy. Here we present a kinetic model incorporating effects of radiosensitivity, tumor repopulation, and dead-cell resolving on the analysis of tumor volume regression data of 80 cervical cancer patients (stages 1B2-IVA) who underwent radiation therapy. Regression rates and derived model parameters correlated significantly with clinical outcome (P < 0.

Ultra-early predictive assay for treatment failure using functional magnetic resonance imaging and clinical prognostic parameters in cervical cancer.

Background: The authors prospectively evaluated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters quantifying heterogeneous perfusion pattern and residual tumor volume early during treatment in cervical cancer, and compared their predictive power for primary tumor recurrence and cancer death with the standard clinical prognostic factors. A novel approach of augmenting the predictive power of clinical prognostic factors with MRI parameters was assessed.

Methods: Sixty-two cervical cancer patients underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI before and during early radiation/chemotherapy (2-2.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy: a novel treatment modality.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) involves the delivery of a small number of ultra-high doses of radiation to a target volume using very advanced technology and has emerged as a novel treatment modality for cancer. The role of SBRT is most important at two cancer stages-in early primary cancer and in oligometastatic disease. This modality has been used in the treatment of early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, renal-cell carcinoma, and liver cancer, and in the treatment of oligometastases in the lung, liver, and spine.

Longitudinal changes in tumor perfusion pattern during the radiation therapy course and its clinical impact in cervical cancer.

Purpose: To study the temporal changes of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) perfusion patterns during the radiation therapy (RT) course and their influence on local control and survival in cervical cancer.

Methods And Materials: DCE-MRI was performed in 98 patients with Stage IB(2)-IVA cervical cancer before RT (pre-RT) and during early RT (20-25 Gy) and mid-RT (45-50 Gy). Signal intensity (SI) from the DCE-MRI time-SI curve was derived for each tumor voxel.

Predicting control of primary tumor and survival by DCE MRI during early therapy in cervical cancer.

Purpose: To assess the early predictive power of MRI perfusion and volume parameters, during early treatment of cervical cancer, for primary tumor control and disease-free-survival.

Materials And Methods: Three MRI examinations were obtained in 101 patients before and during therapy (at 2-2.5 and 4-5 weeks) for serial dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) perfusion MRI and 3-dimensional tumor volume measurement.