Timely stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for spine metastases using a rapidly deployable automated planning algorithm.

Purpose/objectives: The complex planning and quality assurance required for spine SBRT are a barrier to implementation in time-sensitive or limited resource clinical situations. We developed and validated an automated inverse planning algorithm designed to streamline planning and allow rapid delivery of conformal single fraction spine SBRT using widely available technology.

Materials/methods: The Rapid Spine (RaSp) automated script successfully generated single fraction SBRT plans for fourteen complex spinal lesions previously treated at a single high-volume institution.

PAC-1 activates procaspase-3 in vitro through relief of zinc-mediated inhibition.

The direct induction of apoptosis has emerged as a powerful anticancer strategy, and small molecules that either inhibit or activate certain proteins in the apoptotic pathway have great potential as novel chemotherapeutic agents. Central to apoptosis is the activation of the zymogen procaspase-3 to caspase-3. Caspase-3 is the key "executioner" caspase, catalyzing the hydrolysis of a multitude of protein substrates within the cell.