Motion Accuracy of Pneumatic Stepper Motor-Driven Robotic System Developed for MRI-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Treatment of Prostate Disease.

The latest advancement in high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment technology integrates magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance for precise treatment of prostate disease. As conventional electromagnetic motors are not applicable for utilization within MRI scanners, we have developed a prototype robotic system driven by pneumatic stepper motors to control the movement of the HIFU transducer within an intrarectal probe during MRI-guided HIFU treatment procedures. These pneumatic stepper motors were constructed entirely from MRI-compatible plastic materials.

Prediction of Radiotherapy Compliance in Elderly Cancer Patients Using an Internally Validated Decision Tree.

This study aims to analyze the relationship between the available variables and treatment compliance in elderly cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and to establish a decision tree model to guide caregivers in their decision-making process. For this purpose, 456 patients over 74 years of age who received radiotherapy between 2005 and 2017 were included in this retrospective analysis. The outcome of interest was radiotherapy compliance, determined by whether patients completed their scheduled radiotherapy treatment (compliance means they completed their treatment and noncompliance means they did not).

Effect of Elective Internal Mammary Node Irradiation on Disease-Free Survival in Women With Node-Positive Breast Cancer: A Randomized Phase 3 Clinical Trial.

Importance: The benefit of internal mammary node irradiation (IMNI) for treatment outcomes in node-positive breast cancer is unknown.

Objective: To investigate whether the inclusion of IMNI in regional nodal irradiation improves disease-free survival (DFS) in women with node-positive breast cancer.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter, phase 3 randomized clinical trial was conducted from June 1, 2008, to February 29, 2020, at 13 hospitals in South Korea.

Comparison of Dose Distribution in Regional Lymph Nodes in Whole-Breast Radiotherapy vs. Whole-Breast Plus Regional Lymph Node Irradiation: An In Silico Planning Study in Participating Institutions of the Phase III Randomized Trial (KROG 1701).

The purpose of the current in silico planning study is to compare radiation doses of whole-breast irradiation (WBI) and whole-breast plus regional lymph node irradiation (WBI+RNI) administered to the regional lymph nodes (RLN) in pN1 breast cancer. Twenty-four participating institutions were asked to create plans of WBI and WBI+RNI for two dummy cases. To compare target coverage between the participants, an isodose line equal to 90% of the prescribed dose was converted to an isodose contour (contour) The relative nodal dose (RND) was obtained using the ratio of RLN dose to the target dose.

Bacillus subtilis strain GOT9 confers enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica campestris.

Soil is a primary source of water and inorganic nutrients vital for plant growth. In particular, the rhizosphere, a microecological region around the plant roots, is enriched with root exudates that enable beneficial microbial communities to form. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are rhizosphere bacteria that contribute to the improvement of plant growth through diverse physiological mechanisms.

Analysis of excreta bacterial community after forced molting in aged laying hens.

Objective: As laying hens become aged, laying performance and egg quality are generally impaired. One of the practical methods to rejuvenate production and egg quality of aged laying hens with decreasing productivity is a forced molting. However, the changes in intestinal microbiota after forced molting of aged hens are not clearly known.

Intraoperative Frozen Cytology of Central Nervous System Neoplasms: An Ancillary Tool for Frozen Diagnosis.

Background: Pathologic diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms is made by comparing light microscopic, immunohistochemical, and molecular cytogenetic findings with clinicoradiologic observations. Intraoperative frozen cytology smears can improve the diagnostic accuracy for CNS neoplasms. Here, we evaluate the diagnostic value of cytology in frozen diagnoses of CNS neoplasms.

Dummy Run of Quality Assurance Program before Prospective Study of Hippocampus-Sparing Whole-Brain Radiotherapy and Simultaneous Integrated Boost for Multiple Brain Metastases from Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: Korean Radiation Oncology Group (KROG) 17-06 Study.

Purpose: Lung Cancer Subcommittee of Korean Radiation Oncology Group (KROG) has recently launched a prospective clinical trial (KROG 17-06) of hippocampus-sparing whole brain radiotherapy (HS-WBRT) with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) in treating multiple brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer. In order to improve trial quality, dummy run studies among the participating institutions were designed. This work reported the results of two-step dummy run procedures of the KROG 17-06 study.

Radiotherapy is a safe and effective salvage treatment for recurrent cervical cancer.

Objective: The feasibility of salvage radiotherapy (RT) for patients with recurrent cervical cancer after definitive treatment is contentious. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and benefit of RT, particularly intensity-modulated RT (IMRT), for salvage treatment in patients with recurrent cervical cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 125 patients with recurrent cervical cancer treated with RT at Yonsei Cancer Center between January 2007 and December 2016.

Optimal combination of treatment modality to increase survival in patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma: A STROBE compliant retrospective study.

There is little consensus on the optimal treatment approach for newly diagnosed patients. The present study aims to provide additional evidence by evaluating a series of patients diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) and analyzing factors related to increased survival. This was a retrospective cohort report structured according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guideline.

Cecal microbiome divergence of broiler chickens by sex and body weight.

The divergence of gut bacterial community on broiler chickens has been reported as potentially possible keys to enhancing nutrient absorption, immune systems, and increasing poultry health and performance. Thus, we compared cecal bacterial communities and functional predictions by sex and body weight regarding the association between cecal microbiota and chicken growth performance. In this study, a total of 12 male and 12 female 1-day-old broiler chickens were raised for 35 days in 2 separate cages.

Pediatric intracerebral histiocytic sarcoma with rhabdoid features: Case report and literature review.

A 16-year-old boy presented with marked weight loss, weakness of the left extremities and dizziness of 2 months duration and vomiting for 2 days. Brain MRI showed an approximately 6.5 × 5.

Cardiac risk index as a simple geometric indicator to select patients for the heart-sparing radiotherapy of left-sided breast cancer.

Introduction: This is a dosimetric study to identify a simple geometric indicator to discriminate patients who meet the selection criterion for heart-sparing radiotherapy (RT). The authors proposed a cardiac risk index (CRI), directly measurable from the CT images at the time of scanning.

Methods: Treatment plans were regenerated using the CT data of 312 consecutive patients with left-sided breast cancer.

The Predictive Value of Tumor Size, Volume, and Markers During Radiation Therapy in Patients With Cervical Cancer.

Objectives: We investigated the prognostic significance of changes in primary tumor volume and serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-ag) levels during radiation therapy (RT) in patients with cervical cancer.

Methods: We conducted a review of 40 patients treated with RT. All patients received external beam RT and intracavitary brachytherapy.

Radiation Pneumonitis in Association with Internal Mammary Node Irradiation in Breast Cancer Patients: An Ancillary Result from the KROG 08-06 Study.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to present the incidence of radiation pneumonitis (RP) reported within 6 months after treatment for breast cancer with or without internal mammary node irradiation (IMNI).

Methods: In the Korean Radiation Oncology Group (KROG) 08-06 phase III randomized trial, patients who were node-positive after surgery were randomly assigned to receive radiotherapy either with or without IMNI. A total of 747 patients were enrolled, and three-dimensional treatment planning with computed tomography simulation was performed for all patients.

Primary cardiac angiosarcoma: a prolonged response to surgical resection followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel.

Introduction: Primary cardiac cancer is a very rare disease, among which primary cardiac angiosarcoma is one of the most frequent type and is characterized by extremely poor prognosis without established optimal treatment.

Case Description: Here we report a case of primary cardiac angiosarcoma with hemorrhagic pericardial effusion who achieved a durable response with tumor excision followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel. A sixty year old man was presented with dyspnea and was diagnosed with primary cardiac angiosarcoma with hemorrhagic pericardial effusion.

Practical patterns for stereotactic body radiotherapy to hepatocellular carcinoma in Korea: a survey of the Korean Stereotactic Radiosurgery Group.

Objective: To investigate practical patterns for stereotactic body radiotherapy to hepatocellular carcinoma in Korea.

Methods: In June 2013, the Korean Stereotactic Radiosurgery Group of the Korean Society for Radiation Oncology conducted a national patterns-of-care survey about stereotactic body radiotherapy to the liver lesion in hepatocellular carcinoma, consisting of 19 questions and 2 clinical scenarios.

Results: All 208 radiation oncologists (100%), who are regular members of Korean Society for Radiation Oncology, responded to this survey.

Rare Case of Anal Canal Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma Associated with Perianal and Vulvar Pagetoid Spread.

A 61-year-old woman was referred to surgery for incidentally found colonic polyps during a health examination. Physical examination revealed widespread eczematous skin lesion without pruritus in the perianal and vulvar area. Abdominopelvic computed tomography showed an approximately 4-cm-sized, soft tissue lesion in the right perianal area.

A Case of Primary Breast Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated with Chemotherapy Followed by Elective Field Radiation Therapy: A Brief Treatment Pattern Review from a Radiation Oncologist's Point of View.

We here report a case of primary breast lymphoma (PBL). A 44-year-old woman presented with a painless mass in the right breast. Fine needle aspiration cytology and excisional biopsy were performed.

Multinational Randomized Phase III Trial With or Without Consolidation Chemotherapy Using Docetaxel and Cisplatin After Concurrent Chemoradiation in Inoperable Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: KCSG-LU05-04.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of consolidation chemotherapy (CC) with docetaxel and cisplatin (DP) after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with the same agents in locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC).

Patient And Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to either CCRT alone (observation arm) or CCRT followed by CC (consolidation arm). CCRT with docetaxel (20 mg/m(2)) and cisplatin (20 mg/m(2)) was administered every week for 6 weeks with a total dose of 66 Gy of thoracic radiotherapy in 33 fractions.

Clinical applicability of biologically effective dose calculation for spinal cord in fractionated spine stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate whether biologically effective dose (BED) based on linear-quadratic model can be used to estimate spinal cord tolerance dose in spine stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) delivered in 4 or more fractions.

Patients And Methods: Sixty-three metastatic spinal lesions in 47 patients were retrospectively evaluated. The most frequently prescribed dose was 36 Gy in 4 fractions.

Dummy run of quality assurance program in a phase 3 randomized trial investigating the role of internal mammary lymph node irradiation in breast cancer patients: Korean Radiation Oncology Group 08-06 study.

Purpose: The Korean Radiation Oncology Group (KROG) 08-06 study protocol allowed radiation therapy (RT) technique to include or exclude breast cancer patients from receiving radiation therapy to the internal mammary lymph node (IMN). The purpose of this study was to assess dosimetric differences between the 2 groups and potential influence on clinical outcome by a dummy run procedure.

Methods And Materials: All participating institutions were asked to produce RT plans without irradiation (Arm 1) and with irradiation to the IMN (Arm 2) for 1 breast-conservation treatment case (breast-conserving surgery [BCS]) and 1 mastectomy case (modified radical mastectomy [MRM]) whose computed tomography images were provided.