Publications by authors named "Mix M"

Purpose: Prostate-specific membrane-antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA PET) is a promising candidate for non-invasive characterization of prostate cancer (PCa). This study evaluated whether PET with tracers [Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 or [F]PSMA-1007 is capable to depict intratumour heterogeneity of histological PSMA expression.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with biopsy-proven primary PCa without evidence of metastatic disease nor prior interventions were prospectively enrolled.

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Over the past two decades, despite the emergence of various novel therapies for glioblastoma, patient survival outcomes remain poor, particularly in the recurrent stage of the disease. Cesium-131 (Cs-131) brachytherapy presents a promising treatment option for patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent brain neoplasms, enabling the initiation of radiation therapy at the time of tumor resection. This approach eliminates the typical delay in therapy following surgery and the need for multiple return visits for fractionated external beam radiotherapy.

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Background: CALGB 30610 trial demonstrated that once daily thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) was not superior compared to standard twice daily TRT, in patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer. Quality of life outcomes may help oncologists decide the best treatment approach.

Methods: A total of 417 patients on CALGB 30610 participated in the quality-of-life substudy (CALGB 70702), which included the FACT Trial Outcome Index-Lung Cancer (FACT-L TOI), FACT-Esophageal Cancer (FACT-E) Eating and Swallowing Indices, ECOG Acute Esophagitis Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), difficulty swallowing, EQ-5D, and treatment convenience assessment at baseline, 3, 5, 7, 12, 26, and 52 weeks after starting TRT.

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Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer and is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Approximately 10-40% of patients with solid tumors develop brain metastases, with non-small cell lung cancer accounting for approximately 50% of all cases of patients with brain metastases. Many management options are available which can include surgery, radiation, and systemic therapy.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study analyzes how correcting the partial volume effect (PVE) in PET imaging improves the accuracy of measuring tumor hypoxia, specifically using FMISO PET images from head and neck cancer patients.
  • The researchers found that PVE correction increased the calculated hypoxic tumor volume (HTV) and provided better alignment of oxygen pressure measurements with established data.
  • They concluded that PVE correction is crucial for accurately quantifying tumor hypoxia, as it significantly impacts the assessment of treatment strategies and outcomes.
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Importance: The impact of patient-specific, disease-related, and social factors on outcomes in limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) is not well defined. A post hoc secondary analysis of such factors from the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 30610-Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0538 trial may impact future trial design.

Objective: To assess the comprehensive demographic, disease-related, treatment-related, and social factors for potential associations with survival outcomes and understand whether specific subpopulations may benefit from radiotherapy (RT) dose escalation in LS-SCLC.

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  • The USMLE is a crucial exam for allopathic physicians in the US, with its content developed by the NBME, but the specialties of the taskforce members contributing to the exam have not been well-documented.
  • An analysis of the 2021 USMLE and NBME taskforce revealed significant differences in the primary specialties of test writers compared to the overall population of active physicians in the US, with only nineteen specialties represented among USMLE writers.
  • Internal Medicine was the most represented specialty among USMLE test writers, highlighting a potential imbalance that could affect the fairness and comprehensiveness of the exam content, suggesting the need for further research.
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Purpose: Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have emerged as transformative tools in the field of radiation oncology, significantly advancing the precision of contouring practices. However, the adaptability of these algorithms across diverse scanners, institutions, and imaging protocols remains a considerable obstacle. This study aims to investigate the effects of incorporating institution-specific datasets into the training regimen of CNNs to assess their generalization ability in real-world clinical environments.

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  • Radiation therapy (RT) plays a vital role in cancer treatment but is not well represented in medical exams, leading to inconsistent training for future doctors.
  • An analysis of nearly 4,000 questions from medical licensing exams revealed that only 8.6% focused on oncology, with just 2.6% addressing specific treatment modalities, including RT.
  • The study found that RT questions were significantly less frequently correct compared to systemic therapy (ST) and surgical intervention (SI), suggesting a need for increased emphasis on radiation oncology in medical education.
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Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a retrospective correction of the partial volume effect (PVE) in [F]fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) PET imaging, affects the hypoxia discoverability within a gross tumour volume (GTV). This method is based on recovery coefficients (RC) and is tailored for low-contrast tracers such as FMISO. The first stage was the generation of the scanner's RC curves, using spheres with diameters from 10 to 37 mm, and the same homogeneous activity concentration, positioned in lower activity concentration background.

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  • The study investigates the impact of second look events (SLEs) for applicants in the 2023 Virtual Radiation Oncology residency match, assessing how they affect applicant and program evaluations.
  • A survey of applicants and program directors revealed that while many applicants were invited to SLEs, a significant number chose not to attend due to various reasons, including cost and logistics.
  • Program directors largely viewed SLEs as optional and assured applicants that participation would not impact their ranking decisions, though attending SLEs did appear to influence candidates' final rank order lists.
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Objectives: In lung cancer, one of the main limitations for the optimal integration of the biological and anatomical information derived from Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT) is the time and expertise required for the evaluation of the different respiratory phases. In this study, we present two open-source models able to automatically segment lung tumors on PET and CT, with and without motion compensation.

Materials And Methods: This study involved time-bin gated (4D) and non-gated (3D) PET/CT images from two prospective lung cancer cohorts (Trials 108237 and 108472) and one retrospective.

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  • Combining external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy using lutetium-177 (Lu) may enhance treatment efficacy for prostate cancer by increasing radiation doses and improving PSMA uptake in tumors.
  • The study investigated how radiation influences PSMA expression levels in human cancer cells and evaluated the therapeutic effects of the combined treatments in a mouse model.
  • Results showed that radiation increased PSMA expression in cancer cells temporarily, and a clinical case demonstrated successful treatment of advanced prostate cancer using combined EBRT and radioligand therapy.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of single-time-point (STP) renal dosimetry imaging using SPECT/CT data, a nonlinear mixed-effects (NLME) model, and a population-based model selection (PBMS) in a large population for Lu-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen therapy. Biokinetic data (mean ± SD) of [Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in kidneys at time points 1 (1.8 ± 0.

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Radiation exposure occurs during medical procedures, nuclear accidents, or spaceflight, making effective medical countermeasures a public health priority. Naïve T cells are highly sensitive to radiation-induced depletion, although their numbers recover with time. Circulating memory CD8+ T cells are also depleted by radiation; however, their numbers do not recover.

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Research retreats are elements of scientific graduate training programs. Although expected to provide strong educational value, some students are reluctant to attend. Here, we identify participation barriers and provide guidelines for retreat design that minimize obstacles and establish an inclusive environment to improve attendance and enrichment for all attendees.

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Article Synopsis
  • There is a lack of structured exposure to Radiation Oncology (RO) for preclinical medical students in the U.S., and this affects how it's integrated into medical school curricula.* -
  • A new approach was taken to introduce a 1-hour lecture on RO by tying in relevant content from the USMLE® Step 1 exam, allowing students various ways to engage with the material.* -
  • Feedback showed high effectiveness (average score of 4.50) for the lecture, and student understanding significantly improved, with test scores rising from 39% to 76% on related questions, highlighting the benefits of this method in medical education.*
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Accumulating evidence suggests that type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling is a key contributor to immune cell-mediated neuropathology in neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, we demonstrated a robust upregulation of type I interferon-stimulated genes in microglia and astrocytes following experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). The specific molecular and cellular mechanisms by which IFN-I signaling impacts the neuroimmune response and neuropathology following TBI remains unknown.

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Purpose: With the increased use of focal radiation dose escalation for primary prostate cancer (PCa), accurate delineation of gross tumor volume (GTV) in prostate-specific membrane antigen PET (PSMA-PET) becomes crucial. Manual approaches are time-consuming and observer dependent. The purpose of this study was to create a deep learning model for the accurate delineation of the intraprostatic GTV in PSMA-PET.

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Accumulating evidence suggests that type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling is a key contributor to immune cell-mediated neuropathology in neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, we demonstrated a robust upregulation of type I interferon-stimulated genes in microglia and astrocytes following experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). The specific molecular and cellular mechanisms by which IFN-I signaling impacts the neuroimmune response and neuropathology following TBI remains unknown.

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Background: Prior studies suggest lymphopenia, systemic immune-inflammatory index, and tumor response all impact clinical outcomes in Stage III NSCLC. We hypothesized that tumor response after CRT would be associated with hematologic metrics and might predict clinical outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Patients with stage III NSCLC treated at a single institution between 2011 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.

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Purpose: To develop a CT-based radiomic signature to predict biochemical recurrence (BCR) in prostate cancer patients after sRT guided by positron-emission tomography targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA-PET).

Material And Methods: Consecutive patients, who underwent Ga-PSMA11-PET/CT-guided sRT from three high-volume centers in Germany, were included in this retrospective multicenter study. Patients had PET-positive local recurrences and were treated with intensity-modulated sRT.

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Background: Patient's breathing affects the quality of chest images acquired with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) studies. Movement correction is required to optimize PET quantification in clinical settings. We present a reproducible methodology to compare the impact of different movement compensation protocols on PET image quality.

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The mammalian central nervous system (CNS) contains a vibrant community of resident adaptive immune cells at homeostasis. Among these are memory CD8 and CD4 T cells, which reside in the CNS in the settings of health, aging, and neurological disease. These T cells commonly exhibit a tissue-resident memory (T) phenotype, suggesting that they are antigen-experienced and remain separate from the circulation.

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