Current opinions: updates on the changing landscape in the management of cervical cancer.

Purpose Of Review: To review the recent updates in the management of cervical cancer across all stages of the disease.

Recent Findings: After decades of minor advances, the landscape in cervical cancer is now rapidly changing. Recent studies have reported across the cervical cancer spectrum and on different therapeutic modalities.

A review of the state of cervical cancer: updates from prevention to recurrent disease.

Purpose Of Review: To summarize the recent updates in cervical cancer from prevention and early detection to the management of early stage and recurrent disease as well as future areas of exploration.

Recent Findings: The importance of the human papilloma virus vaccine and screening continue to make an impact in reducing the global burden of cervical cancer. In early-stage, low risk disease, new studies have demonstrated the role of less radical surgery with similar disease related outcomes.

Analytical HDR prostate brachytherapy planning with automatic catheter and isotope selection.

Background: High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy is commonly used to treat prostate cancer. Existing HDR planning systems solve the dwell time problem for predetermined catheters and a single energy source.

Purpose: Additional degrees of freedom can be obtained by relaxing the catheters' pre-designation and introducing more source types, and may have a dosimetric benefit, particularly in improving conformality to spare the urethra.

Sanguinarine exhibits potent efficacy against cervical cancer cells through inhibiting the STAT3 pathway in vitro and in vivo.

Background: Cervical cancer is the third most common malignancy among female cancer patients worldwide. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor which regulates a variety of cancer cellular physiological activities including cervical cancer. Sanguinarine (SNG) is a natural plant-derived benzophenanthridine alkaloid that possesses antitumor activities in several cancer cells.

Recent advances in gynecologic radiation oncology.

Purpose Of Review: Radiation has long been a primary treatment modality in locally advanced gynecologic carcinomas and a tool for palliation of metastatic disease. Here we review advances in imaging and radiation technologies and the corresponding clinical evolution of the role for radiation oncology in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies.

Recent Findings: Advances in MRI are impacting diagnosis, radiation target delineation, planning, treatment delivery, and response assessment.

Patient choice for high-volume center radiation impacts head and neck cancer outcome.

Background: Studies suggest treatment outcomes may vary between high (HVC)- and low-volume centers (LVC). Radiation therapy (RT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) requires weeks of treatment, the inconvenience of which may influence a patient's choice for treatment location. We hypothesized that receipt of RT for HNC at a HVC would influence outcomes compared to patients evaluated at a HVC, but who chose to receive RT at a LVC.

Contemporary Radiation Treatment of Prostate Cancer in Africa: A Ghanaian Experience.

Purpose Data on prostate cancer (PCa) treatment in Africa remains under-reported. We present a review of the management of PCa at the cancer center of the largest tertiary referral facility in Ghana, with emphasis on curative treatment. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data on 1,074 patients seen at the National Center for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine from 2003 to 2016.

Impact of sarcopenia on outcomes of locally advanced esophageal cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery.

Background: Sarcopenia is an independent predictor of clinical outcomes in multiple gastrointestinal cancers. Total psoas area (TPA), as measured on a single cross-sectional CT image at the L4 vertebral body level, has been correlated with sarcopenia. We sought to evaluate whether TPA was predictive of acute grade ≥3 toxicity, pathologic response, and overall survival in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer receiving tri-modality therapy.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

The role of external beam radiation therapy for primary liver malignancies has historically been limited due to the risk of radiation-induced liver disease. However, with the advent of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), we are able to dose escalate while safely sparing critical nearby structures. This review explores the evidence surrounding the use of SBRT for the treatment of primary liver malignancies.

Prognostic value of pre-treatment F-18-FDG PET-CT in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radioembolization.

Aim: To evaluate the value of pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with HCC following liver radioembolization.

Methods: We identified 34 patients with HCC who underwent an FDG PET/CT scan prior to hepatic radioembolization at our institution between 2009 and 2013. Patients were seen in clinic one month after radioembolization and then at 2-3 mo intervals.

The impact of body mass index on dosimetric quality in low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: Low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy has been established as an effective and safe treatment option for men with low and intermediate risk prostate cancer. In this retrospective analysis, we sought to study the effect of body mass index (BMI) on post-implant dosimetric quality.

Material And Methods: After institutional approval, records of patients with non-metastatic prostate cancer treated in Puerto Rico with LDR brachytherapy during 2008-2013 were reviewed.

Treatment delays, race, and outcomes in head and neck cancer.

Purpose: Patient race has been shown to predict for differences in outcomes and has been attributed to socioeconomic factors such as social support and access to healthcare. In head and neck cancer (HNC), a disease without recommended screening, we sought to investigate the association between race, treatment delays and outcome.

Methods: Records of 1802 patients with non-metastatic squamous cell HNC treated between 1998 and 2013 were retrospectively assessed from an institutional database.

Management of Oropharyngeal Cancer in the HPV Era.

Background: Historically, oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) has been attributed to risk factors such as smoking and alcohol use. The increased incidence of OPC has been driven by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

Methods: A search of the literature involving HPV infection and OPC was performed, along with a search of ongoing clinical trials regarding HPV-positive OPC.

Postoperative Stereotactic Radiosurgery Using 5-Gy × 5 Sessions in the Management of Brain Metastases.

Background: Multiple regimens for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) at the postoperative bed have shown a high local control rate and a low toxicity profile with no decrease in overall survival with the omission of whole-brain radiation therapy.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we evaluate our experience with postoperative SRS using a uniform regimen of 25 Gy in 5 sessions.

Results: Between April 2011 and May 2014, 75 patients were treated for 77 metastatic brain lesions with postoperative SRS in 5 sessions.