Publications by authors named "Mark Hallman"

Purpose: Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by cystectomy is the standard of care for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Mutations in DNA damage repair genes are associated with pathologic downstaging after NAC. We hypothesized that a combination of biomarker selection and clinical staging would identify patients for cystectomy-sparing active surveillance (AS).

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Article Synopsis
  • Machine learning, particularly deep learning with convolutional neural networks (CNNs), is being used to detect prostate cancer in tissue slides, but sample type differences affect model accuracy.
  • Research tested whether CNNs trained on one type of sample (biopsy or radical prostatectomy) could effectively analyze the other type, revealing a significant drop in performance across sample types.
  • Results indicated that models performed well on their own sample but poorly on the alternative type, highlighting the need to consider morphological differences in training to improve cancer detection accuracy in clinical settings.*
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There is a growing interest in the application of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for the treatment of oligometastatic cancers. This increasing appeal of SBRT has highlighted the need for more sophisticated radiotherapy techniques that allow high doses of radiation to be delivered to multiple sites while limiting the exposure of neighboring healthy tissue. A major obstacle to achieving this aim has been the occurrence of interfraction target variability: the tendency of both the tumor and the surrounding tissue to undergo day-to-day non-synchronous shifts in position.

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Purpose: We aim to investigate perioperative and subacute postoperative complications in patients undergoing LDR or HDR monotherapy for prostate cancer. We hypothesize a low rate of complications, and a favorable toxicity profile in patients treated with HDR compared to LDR.

Materials And Methods: A prospectively collected institutional database was queried for patients treated with HDR or LDR prostate monotherapy between 1998 and 2021.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A total of 287 patients received IMRT and 485 received PBT, with no significant differences found in late GI and GU toxicities between the two treatment methods after analysis.
  • * The results suggest that both treatment modalities resulted in low rates of late toxicities, and the patient-reported outcomes were comparable when adjusting for factors like age and risk group.
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Purpose: We hypothesize rectal hydrogel spacer (RHS) improves rectal dosimetry in patients undergoing salvage high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) for intact, recurrent prostate cancer (PC).

Methods And Materials: A prospectively collected institutional database was queried for recurrent PC patients treated with salvage HDR-BT from September 2015 to November 2021. Patients were offered RHS beginning June 2019.

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Article Synopsis
  • A phase 1 trial was conducted to assess the safety and early effectiveness of durvalumab (D) alone and in combination with BCG or EBRT for treating patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) who did not respond to standard BCG therapy.
  • Patients received D every 3 weeks for eight cycles, with some also receiving BCG or EBRT, and outcomes were measured using cystoscopy, urine cytology, and bladder biopsies at 3 and 6 months.
  • Results showed that 64% of patients achieved a complete response at 3 months, with notable responses in combination therapy groups, suggesting that D combined with BCG or EBRT is safe and warrants further investigation.
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Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine whether limiting the doses delivered to the penile bulb (PB) and corporal bodies with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) preserves erectile function compared with standard IMRT in men with prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: A total of 117 patients with low- to intermediate-risk, clinical T1a-T2c prostate adenocarcinoma were enrolled in a single-institution, prospective, single-blind, phase 3 randomized trial. All received definitive IMRT to 74 to 80 Gy in 37 to 40 fractions and standard IMRT (s-IMRT) or erectile tissue-sparing IMRT (ETS-IMRT), which placed additional planning constraints that limited the D90 to the penile bulb and corporal bodies to ≤15 Gy and ≤7 Gy, respectively.

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Purpose: This study used a patient-specific model to characterize and compare ideal prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer after definitive radiation treatment with conventionally fractionated, hypofractionated, stereotactic body radiation therapy, or brachytherapy, both high-dose and low-dose rate.

Methods And Materials: This retrospective analysis includes low- and intermediate-risk patients with prostate cancer treated between 1998 and 2018 at an National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. Demographics and treatment characteristics were prospectively collected.

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Objectives: To test for an association between oncological risk factors and overall survival in patients with non-metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma treated with adjuvant radiation therapy at high-risk for recurrence per NCCN guidelines.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed data from patients undergoing surgical resection with or without aRT in the NCDB from 2004 to 2017. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was fit to assess for an association of aRT and OS.

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Purpose: We sought to compare changes in patient-reported quality of life (PRQOL) following stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), high dose rate (HDR), and low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Sexual Health Inventory For Men (SHIM), and Expanded Prostate cancer Index Composite Short Form (EPIC-26) were prospectively collected for men with low/intermediate-risk cancer treated at a single institution. We used Generalized Estimating Equations to identify associations between variables and early (3 to 6 mo) or late (1 to 2 y) PRQOL scores.

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Pulsed low-dose rate radiation therapy has been shown to reduce normal tissue damage while decreasing DNA damage repair in tumor cells. In a cohort of patients treated with palliative or definitive pelvic reirradiation using pulsed low-dose rate radiation therapy, we observed substantial local control and low rates of toxicity.

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Charge coupled device (CCD)-based thermoreflectance imaging using a "4-bucket" lock-in imaging algorithm is a well-established, powerful method for obtaining high spatial and thermal resolution two-dimensional thermal maps of optoelectronic, electronic, and micro-electro-mechanical systems devices. However, the technique is relatively slow, limiting broad commercial adoption. In this work, we examine the underlying limit on the image acquisition speed using the conventional "4-bucket" algorithm and show that the straightforward extension to an n-bucket technique by faster sampling does not address the underlying statistical bias in the data analysis and hence does not reduce the image acquisition time.

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Purpose: The previously published single institution randomized prospective trial failed to show superiority in the 5-year biochemical and/or clinical disease failure (BCDF) rate with moderate hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (H-IMRT) versus conventionally fractionated IMRT (C-IMRT). We now present 10-year disease outcomes using updated risk groups and definitions of biochemical failure.

Methods: Men with protocol-defined intermediate- and high-risk prostate adenocarcinoma were randomly assigned to receive C-IMRT (76 Gy in 38 fractions) or H-IMRT (70.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize patients at an increased risk of distant metastasis (DM) following stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: We identified patients undergoing SBRT for stage I NSCLC between 2005 and 2016. Patients with a prior lung cancer diagnosis, receiving a biological effective dose <100 Gy, or receiving chemotherapy were excluded.

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Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of external beam reirradiation using a pulsed low-dose-rate (PLDR) technique.

Methods And Materials: We evaluated patients treated with PLDR reirradiation from 2009 to 2016 at a single institution. Toxicity was graded using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.

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Introduction: To evaluate if interruptions of external beam radiation therapy impact outcomes in men with localized prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: We included men with localized PCa treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) or intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) of escalated dose (≥74 Gy in 1.8 or 2 Gy fractions) between 1992 and 2013 at an NCI-designated cancer centre.

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The release of inflammatory cytokines has been implicated in the toxicity of conventional radiotherapy (CRT). Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) has been suggested to be a risk marker for pulmonary toxicity following radiotherapy. Pulsed low-dose rate radiotherapy (PLDR) is a technique that involves spreading out a conventional radiotherapy dose into short pulses of dose with breaks in between to reduce toxicities.

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Introduction: To evaluate if androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves outcomes for patients with localized, intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated with definitive external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in the dose-escalated era.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective study using a single institutional database. We included patients with localized, intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated with dose-escalated radiation therapy (RT) with 3D conformal radiotherapy or intensity-modulated radiotherapy (74-80 Gy in daily fraction of 1.

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Majority of newly diagnosed lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), of which up to half are considered locally advanced at the time of diagnosis. Patients with locally advanced stage III NSCLC consists of a heterogeneous population, making management for these patients complex.

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Purpose: To assess the long-term quality of life (QoL) outcomes from a phase 3 trial comparing 2 modes of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): conventional IMRT (CIMRT) versus hypofractionated IMRT (HIMRT) in patients with localized prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: Between 2002 and 2006, 303 men with low-risk to high-risk prostate cancer were randomized to 76 Gy in 38 fractions (CIMRT) versus 70.2 Gy in 26 fractions (HIMRT).

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Introduction: To characterize patient reported outcomes for urinary and sexual function using International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) comparing intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), low dose rate brachytherapy (LDR), post-prostatectomy IMRT (PPRT), and radical prostatectomy (RP).

Materials And Methods: Patients treated for prostate cancer from 2001-2012 completed self-reported SHIM and IPSS surveys. Subgroups were created by baseline score.

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Background And Purpose: Evaluate changes in bowel, urinary and sexual patient-reported quality of life following treatment with moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy (<5Gray/fraction) or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT;5-10Gray/fraction) for prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: In a pooled multi-institutional analysis of men treated with moderate hypofractionation or SBRT, we compared minimally detectable difference in bowel, urinary and sexual quality of life at 1 and 2years using chi-squared analysis and logistic regression.

Results: 378 men received moderate hypofractionation compared to 534 men who received SBRT.

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Background: Approximately 50% of newly diagnosed cancer patients start taking dietary supplements. Men's health supplements (MHSs), which we define as supplements that are specifically marketed with the terms men's health and prostate health (or similar permutations), are often mislabeled as having potential anticancer benefits.

Objective: We evaluated the effects of MHSs on patient outcomes and toxicities in patients who were undergoing definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for localized prostate cancer.

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Background: The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on outcomes and toxicities among men with localized prostate cancer receiving definitive radiation therapy.

Patients And Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 3217 patients, from 1998 to 2013, subdivided into 5 subgroups: (I) no T2DM; (II) T2DM receiving oral antihyperglycemic agent that contains metformin, no insulin; (III) T2DM receiving nonmetformin oral agent alone, no insulin; (IV) T2DM receiving any insulin; and (V) T2DM not receiving medication. Outcome measures were overall survival, freedom from biochemical failure (BF), freedom from distant metastasis, cancer-specific survival, and toxicities.

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