Qualitative Assessment of Titanium versus Carbon Fiber/Polyetheretherketone Pedicle Screw-Related Artifacts: A Cadaveric Study.

Background: Dorsal instrumentation and decompression are the mainstays of spinal tumor treatment. Replacing titanium screws with carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFRP) screws can reduce imaging artifacts on neural structures and perturbations of radiation dose. Further reduction of metal content in such screws might enhance the benefit.

Quality of life in lung cancer survivors treated with tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKI): results from the multi-centre cross-sectional German study LARIS.

Purpose: We aimed at exploring the quality of life (QOL) of lung cancer survivors with proven tyrosine-kinase receptor (RTK) genetic alterations and targeted tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKI) therapy, compared to lung cancer survivors with no-RTK alterations and no-TKI therapy.

Methods: Data were collected in a cross-sectional multi-centre study. Primary lung cancer survivors were asked about their socio-demographic and clinical information, QOL, symptom burden, and distress.

Heart atlas for retrospective cardiac dosimetry: a multi-institutional study on interobserver contouring variations and their dosimetric impact.

Purpose: Cardiac effects after breast cancer radiation therapy potentially affect more patients as survival improves. The heart's heterogeneous radiation exposure and composition of functional structures call for establishing individual relationships between structure dose and specific late effects. However, valid dosimetry requires reliable contouring which is challenging for small volumes based on older, lower-quality computed tomography imaging.

Impact of radiotherapy protocol adherence in NSCLC patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation: RTQA results of the PET-Plan trial.

Introduction: The success of intensification and personalisation of the curative treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is strongly associated with the precision in radiotherapy. Here, we evaluate the impact of radiotherapy protocol adherence in a prospective multicentre trial.

Methods: In the open-label, randomised, controlled PET-Plan trial, patients with inoperable NSCLC were randomized at a 1:1 ratio regarding the target volume delineation informed by F-FDG PET and CT plus elective nodal irradiation (arm A) or target volumes informed by PET alone (arm B) and received iso-toxically dose-escalated concurrent chemoradiation.

Efficacy and Toxicity of Different Chemotherapy Protocols for Concurrent Chemoradiation in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer-A Secondary Analysis of the PET Plan Trial.

(1) Background: The optimal chemotherapy (CHT) regimen for concurrent chemoradiation (cCRT) is not well defined. In this secondary analysis of the international randomized PET-Plan trial, we evaluate the efficacy of different CHT. (2) Methods: Patients with inoperable NSCLC were randomized at a 1:1 ratio regarding the target volume definition and received isotoxically dose-escalated cCRT using cisplatin 80 mg/m (day 1, 22) and vinorelbin 15 mg/m (day 1, 8, 22, 29) (P1) or cisplatin 20 mg/m (day 1-5, 29-33) and vinorelbin 12.

Pediatric craniospinal irradiation with a short partial-arc VMAT technique for medulloblastoma tumors in dosimetric comparison.

Background: This study aimed to contrast four different irradiation methods for pediatric medulloblastoma tumors in a dosimetric comparison regarding planning target volume (PTV) coverage and sparing of organs at risk (OARs).

Methods: In sum 24 treatment plans for 6 pediatric patients were realized. Besides the clinical standard of a 3D-conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) treatment plan taken as a reference, volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment plans ("VMAT_AVD" vs.

Imaging-based target volume reduction in chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (PET-Plan): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, controlled trial.

Background: With increasingly precise radiotherapy and advanced medical imaging, the concept of radiotherapy target volume planning might be redefined with the aim of improving outcomes. We aimed to investigate whether target volume reduction is feasible and effective compared with conventional planning in the context of radical chemoradiotherapy for patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Methods: We did a multicentre, open-label, randomised, controlled trial (PET-Plan; ARO-2009-09) in 24 centres in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

[Monocentric experiences of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for advanced hepatocellular carcinomas (BCLC-C)].

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) are highly malignant primary liver cancers with poor prognosis and limited treatment options in advanced stages of disease. Treatment of HCC requires interdisciplinary discussion and multimodal therapy approaches. Beside established loco-regional and systemic therapies, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) gained increasing importance over recent years.

Radiation-induced vascular changes in the intracranial irradiation field in medulloblastoma survivors: An MRI study.

Background And Purpose: While survival times after treatment of medulloblastoma are increasing, little is known about radiochemotherapy (RCT)-induced cerebrovascular changes. High resolution vessel wall imaging (VWI) sequences are an emerging tool for the evaluation of cerebrovascular diseases. We performed VWI in medulloblastoma long-term survivors to screen for late sequelae of RCT.

Susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of cerebrovascular sequelae after radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors.

Background And Purpose: Due to sensitive neuroimaging techniques, cerebrovascular complications such as cerebral microbleeds (CMB) and cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) are increasingly recognized as considerable late effects after treatment for pediatric brain tumor. The aim of this study was to analyze CMB in a cohort of patients after cranial irradiation therapy for medulloblastoma or other pediatric brain tumors using susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (SWI).

Materials And Methods: Forty former pediatric brain tumor patients were enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study and examined by cranial MRI including SWI sequences.

Predicting Heart Dose in Breast Cancer Patients Who Received 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy.

Cardiac late effects are a major health concern for long-term survivors after radiotherapy for breast cancer. Large cohort studies to better understand the exact dose-response relationship require individual estimates of radiation dose to the heart. To predict individual cardiac dose from information that is typically available for all members of a retrospective epidemiological cohort study, 774 female breast cancer patients treated with megavoltage tangential field radiotherapy in 1998-2008 were examined.

Radiation dose distribution in functional heart regions from tangential breast cancer radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: To analyze the distribution of individually-determined radiation dose to the heart and its functional sub-structures after radiotherapy in breast cancer patients treated in Germany during 1998-2008.

Material And Methods: We obtained electronic treatment planning records for 769 female breast cancer patients treated with megavoltage tangential field radiotherapy. All dose distributions were re-calculated using Eclipse with the anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) for photon fields, and the electron Monte Carlo algorithm for electron boost fields.

Adjuvant temozolomide-based chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone in patients with WHO III astrocytoma: The Mainz experience.

Background: It is currently unclear whether adjuvant therapy for WHO grade III anaplastic astrocytomas (AA) should be carried out as combined chemoradiotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ)--analogous to the approach for glioblastoma multiforme--or as radiotherapy (RT) alone.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis of data from 90 patients with AA, who were treated between November 1997 and February 2014. Assessment of overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was performed according to treatment categories: (1) 50%, RT + TMZ according to protocol, (2) 11%, RT + TMZ with dose reduction, (3) 26%, RT alone, and (4) 13%, individualized, primarily palliative therapy.

Strong adverse prognostic impact of hyperglycemic episodes during adjuvant chemoradiotherapy of glioblastoma multiforme.

Background: In comparison to normal brain tissue, glioblastomas exhibit significantly increased glucose uptake. Brain edema is a common complication during adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, leading to a requirement for glucocorticoid treatment. Glucocorticoid treatment frequently causes considerable deregulation of blood glucose levels.

ΔNp63 expression in four carcinoma cell lines and the effect on radioresistance--a siRNA knockdown model.

Objectives: This study investigated the expression of ΔNp63α in carcinoma cell lines of the upper aerodigestive tract and their potential influence on radioresistance using a small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown approach.

Materials And Methods: Four carcinoma cell lines were investigated for the expression of the ΔNp63 isoform by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) (0, 24, 48 h) with and without single dose irradiation of 6 Gy. Furthermore, all cell lines were transfected with siRNA against the ΔNp63α isoform over 24 h.

Overexpression of p63 is associated with radiation resistance and prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The tumor suppressor homologue p63 is expressed in basal and parabasal layers of intraoral mucosa. Full length transcripts with transactivational domain (TA forms) present with homology to p53 and implicate functions governing cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis control. To date studies show an increase of p63 expression in oral dysplasia and additionally high expression levels correlated with poor prognosis for patients with OSCC, whereas a possible link to radiation resistance of tumors has not been investigated yet.

Correcting false gene expression measurements from degraded RNA using RTQ-PCR.

This paper describes a method allowing correcting false gene expression measured on highly degraded RNA using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTQ-PCR). RNA was isolated from different models (in vitro cell lines, in vivo models of human and dog) and different tissue types. In vitro RNA degradation and modeling of in vivo degradation were applied on intact and degraded total RNA.

Overexpression of GLUT-1 is associated with resistance to radiotherapy and adverse prognosis in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.

This study tested the hypothesis that GLUT-1 is a marker of radioresistance in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). A GLUT-1 labeling index (LI) was determined by immunohistochemistry in 40 pretreatment OSCC biopsies. Radiation responses were categorized by histopathology of the resection specimens.