Effects on Lung Tissue After Breast Cancer Radiation: Comparing Photon and Proton Therapies.

Purpose: In breast cancer, improved treatment approaches that reduce injury to lung tissue and early diagnosis and intervention for lung toxicity are increasingly important in survivorship. The aims of this study are to (1) compare lung tissue radiographic changes in women treated with conventional photon radiation therapy and those treated with proton therapy (PT), (2) assess the volume of lung irradiated to 5 Gy (V5) and 20 Gy (V20) by treatment modality, and (3) quantify the effects of V5, V20, time, and smoking history on the severity of tissue radiographic changes.

Patients And Methods: A prospective observational study of female breast cancer patients was conducted to monitor postradiation subclinical lung tissue radiographic changes.

Palliative care utilization and racial and ethnic disparities among women with de novo metastatic breast cancer in the United States.

Purpose: The potential disparities in palliative care delivery for underrepresented minorities with breast cancer are not well known. We sought to determine whether race and ethnicity impact the receipt of palliative care for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the National Cancer Database for female patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer between 2010 and 2017 who received palliative care following diagnosis of MBC to assess the proportion of patients who received palliative care, including non-curative-intent local-regional or systemic therapy.

Intraoperative radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer: a single-institution experience.

Background: To assess outcomes and toxicity after low-energy intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for early-stage breast cancer (ESBC).

Materials And Methods: We reviewed patients with unilateral ESBC treated with breast-conserving surgery and 50-kV IORT at our institution. Patients were prescribed 20 Gy to the surface of the spherical applicator, fitted to the surgical cavity during surgery.

Frailty and risk of mortality in older cancer survivors and adults without a cancer history: Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2014.

Background: Epidemiologic evidence reporting the role of frailty in survival among older adults with a prior cancer diagnosis is limited.

Methods: A total of 2050 older adults (≥60 years old) surviving for at least 1 year after a cancer diagnosis and 9474 older adults without a cancer history from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2014) were included for analysis. The exposure variable, a 45-item frailty index (FI), was categorized on the basis of validated cutoffs (FI ≤ 0.

Measuring Radiation Toxicity Using Circulating Cell-Free DNA in Prostate Cancer Patients.

Background: After radiation therapy (RT), circulating plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) released in response to RT damage to tissue can be measured within hours. We examined for a correlation between cfDNA measured during the first week of therapy and early and late gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity.

Material And Methods: Patients were eligible for enrollment if they planned to receive proton or photon RT for nonmetastatic prostate cancer in the setting of an intact prostate or after prostatectomy.

Five-Year Breast Surgeon Experience in LYMPHA at Time of ALND for Treatment of Clinical T1-4N1-3M0 Breast Cancer.

Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a source of postoperative morbidity for breast cancer survivors. Lymphatic microsurgical preventive healing approach (LYMPHA) is a technique used to prevent BCRL at the time of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). We report the 5-year experience of a breast surgeon trained in LYMPHA and investigate the outcomes of patients who underwent LYMPHA following ALND for treatment of cT1-4N1-3M0 breast cancer.

Increased Resident Diversity Precedes Increased Faculty Diversity: Data From a University Radiation Oncology Department.

Objectives: Increasing the percentage of academic faculty who are female and/or an under-represented minority (URM) is a goal in radiation oncology. When studying diversity changes in our University Radiation Oncology Department, we found that increases in resident diversity preceded changes in faculty diversity in every major category. To illustrate these findings, we plotted resident versus faculty diversity each year over the 52-year history of our program.

Journey to Diversity in a University Radiation Oncology Residency Program: The Role of Leadership and Target Goals.

Objectives: Increasing diversity in radiation oncology with respect to sex, under-represented minorities (URMs), and people of color is a major objective of our profession. The purpose of this project is to plot diversity percentages in our residency program over the past 52 years and explain major causes for change when identified.

Materials And Methods: Plots of the percent of residents in our program each year between 1967 and 2020 in the following categories: White male, female, URM, and people of color.

An Amino Acid-Based Oral Rehydration Solution Regulates Radiation-Induced Intestinal Barrier Disruption in Mice.

Background: Radiotherapy inadvertently affects gastrointestinal (GI) epithelial cells, causing intestinal barrier disruption and increased permeability.

Objective: We examined the effect of amino acid-based oral rehydration solution (AA-ORS) on radiation-induced changes of intestinal barrier function and epithelial tight junctions (TJs) in a randomized experimental study using a total-body irradiation (TBI) mouse model.

Methods: Eight-week-old male Swiss mice received a single-dose TBI (0, 1, 3, or 5 Gy), and subsequent gastric gavage with AA-ORS (threonine, valine, serine, tyrosine, and aspartic acid) or saline for 2 or 6 d.