The prognostic value of histological grade determined after neoadjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer.

Histological grade is a validated prognostic factor of breast cancer but may show alterations following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Its reporting after NACT is recommended by several guidelines, but evidence of its retained prognostic impact is scarce. Patients treated with NACT followed by surgery and having sufficient residual tumour for the determination of grade were analysed for the survival effects of posttreatment grade (yG).

Survival Benefit of Stereotactic Radiotherapy in the Complex Management of Metastatic Melanoma.

Background/aim: Targeted therapy and immunotherapy, with additional stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) have revolutionized the management of metastatic malignant melanoma (mMM). We aimed to analyze the effectiveness and safety of SRT and determine its role in the complex management of mMM.

Patients And Methods: We treated 24 patients with solitary metastasis, 15 with oligometastatic disease and one with multiple metastases.

Predictive Potential of RNA Polymerase B (II) Subunit 1 (RPB1) Cytoplasmic Aggregation for Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Failure.

We aimed to investigate the contribution of co-translational protein aggregation to the chemotherapy resistance of tumor cells. Increased co-translational protein aggregation reflects altered translation regulation that may have the potential to buffer transcription under genotoxic stress. As an indicator for such an event, we followed the cytoplasmic aggregation of RPB1, the aggregation-prone largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, in biopsy samples taken from patients with invasive carcinoma of no special type.

Predictive role of neostromal CD10 expression in breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

The therapeutic strategy of invasive breast cancer is based on routine histopathological markers (estrogen-, progesterone receptor, HER2, Ki67) routinely evaluated in tumor cells. However, the assessment of cancer stroma could influence therapeutic strategies. Studies have shown that stromal expression of CD10, a zinc-dependent metalloproteinase, is associated with biological aggressiveness of the tumor.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Delineation of Organs at Risk in the Head and Neck Region.

Purpose: The aim of this article is to establish a comprehensive contouring guideline for treatment planning using only magnetic resonance images through an up-to-date set of organs at risk (OARs), recommended organ boundaries, and relevant suggestions for the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based delineation of OARs in the head and neck (H&N) region.

Methods And Materials: After a detailed review of the literature, MRI data were collected from the H&N region of healthy volunteers. OARs were delineated in the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes on T2-weighted sequences.

Clinical considerations of bleomycin based electrochemotherapy with variable electrode geometry electrodes for inoperable, deep-seated soft tissue sarcomas.

The aim of the current prospective pilot study exclusively for deep-seated soft tissue sarcomas (STS) was to evaluate efficacy and safety of bleomycin-based ECT using VEG (variable electrode geometry) electrodes. During a 2-year period, seven surgically inoperable STSs were treated at the University of Szeged, Department of Surgery in Hungary. Electrode placement was determined by software planning using preoperative imaging (CT/MRI) and intraoperative ultrasound.

Individually selected teletherapy technique for accelerated partial breast irradiation.

Background: The aim of the study was to individualize accelerated partial breast irradiation based on optimal dose distribution, protect risk organ and predict most advantageous technique.

Materials And Methods: 138 breast cancer patients receiving postoperative APBI were enrolled. APBI plans were generated using 3D-conformal (3D-CRT), sliding window intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT).

Deep-inspirational breath-hold (DIBH) technique in left-sided breast cancer: various aspects of clinical utility.

Background: Studying the clinical utility of deep-inspirational breath-hold (DIBH) in left breast cancer radiotherapy (RT) was aimed at focusing on dosimetry and feasibility aspects.

Methods: In this prospective trial all enrolled patients went through planning CT in supine position under both DIBH and free breathing (FB); in whole breast irradiation (WBI) cases prone CT was also taken. In 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) plans heart, left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), ipsilateral lung and contralateral breast doses were analyzed.

Examination of Tumor Regression Grading Systems in Breast Cancer Patients Who Received Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Neoadjuvant therapy is a common form of treatment in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients. Besides some guidelines for grading regression, a standardized general scheme is not yet available. The aim of our study was to compare the prognostic impact of different regression grading systems, namely the TR/NR, Chevallier, Sataloff, Denkert-Sinn, Miller-Payne, NSABP-B18, Residual Disease in Breast and Nodes and Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) on disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

Influence of mutagenic versus non-mutagenic pre-operative chemotherapy on the immune infiltration of residual breast cancer.

Chemotherapeutic agents are often mutagenic. Induction of mutation associated neo-epitopes is one of the mechanisms by which chemotherapy is thought to increase the number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. It is not known, however, whether treatment with various chemotherapeutic agents with different mutagenic capacity induce a significantly different number of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (StrTIL) in residual cancer.

Clinical benefit of fulvestrant monotherapy in the multimodal treatment of hormone receptor and HER2 positive advanced breast cancer: a case series.

Fulvestrant is a pure estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist approved for the treatment of metastatic ER positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following antiestrogen therapy. The clinical results of fulvestrant demonstrated encouraging activity in tumors in spite of HER2 positivity, but data about its use after progression on anti-HER2 agents are limited. Partial responses and durations of response of 12, 25, and 38 months in three cases with multiple metastases of ER positive and HER2 positive breast cancer were observed; all patients had been treated with 1-4 regimens of an anti-HER2 agent in combination with chemotherapy or an aromatase inhibitor before the initiation of fulvestrant.

Prone Positioning on a Belly Board Decreases Rectal and Bowel Doses in Pelvic Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) for Prostate Cancer.

The presence of normal tissues in the irradiated volume limits dose escalation during pelvic radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer. Supine and prone positions on a belly board were compared by analyzing the exposure of organs at risk (OARs) using intensity modulated RT (IMRT). The prospective trial included 55 high risk, localized or locally advanced prostate cancer patients, receiving definitive image-guided RT.

Daily Setup Accuracy, Side-effects and Quality of Life During and After Prone Positioned Prostate Radiotherapy.

Background/aim: Exposure of organs at risk with prostate radiotherapy (RT) is lower in the prone position. This study is a prospective evaluation of setup accuracy, side-effects, and quality of life (QOL) during and after prone positioned RT.

Patients And Methods: Image-guided (IG) intensity-modulated (IM) RT was administered in prone position on belly-board to 55 high-risk prostate cancer (PC) patients.

Dose escalation can maximize therapeutic potential of sunitinib in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Background: In patients with metastatic renal cell cancer, based on limited evidence, increased sunitinib exposure is associated with better outcome. The survival and toxicity data of patients receiving individualized dose escalated sunitinib therapy as compared to standard management were analyzed in this study.

Methods: From July 2013, the data of metastatic renal cell cancer patients with slight progression but still a stable disease according to RECIST 1.

A simple clinical method for predicting the benefit of prone vs. supine positioning in reducing heart exposure during left breast radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: The benefit of reduced radiation heart exposure in the prone vs. supine position individually differs. In this prospective cohort study, the goal was to develop a simple method for the operation of a validated model for the prediction of preferable treatment position during left breast radiotherapy.

Capecitabine in Combination with Docetaxel in First Line in HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer: an Observational Study.

Due to the limited experience with capecitabine plus docetaxel (XT) combination in the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer in Hungary, the main objective of the study was to analyze the effectiveness and tolerability of XT therapy. A prospective, open-label, non-randomized, single-arm, multicenter, observational study was designed. All female patients were eligible whose metastatic breast cancer could be treated with the XT protocol according to the summary of product characteristics of the drugs.

Cardiac Surveillance Findings During Adjuvant and Palliative Trastuzumab Therapy in Patients with Breast Cancer.

Background/aim: Trastuzumab therapy, the standard treatment for human epidermal growth factor receptor type-2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, is associated with possible cardiotoxicity. We set out to retrospectively analyze the cardiac follow-up data of patients with breast cancer receiving trastuzumab treatment.

Patients And Methods: The study involved 47 and 31 patients receiving adjuvant or palliative chemotherapy plus trastuzumab, respectively.