Impact of bowel space contouring variability on radiation dose and volume assessments in treatment planning for gynaecologic cancers.

Introduction: Correlations between radiation dose/volume measures and small bowel (SB) toxicity are inconsistent in the medical literature. We assessed the impact of inter-provider variation in bowel bag contouring technique on estimates of radiation dose received by the SB during pelvic radiotherapy.

Methods: Ten radiation oncologists contoured rectum, bladder and bowel bags on treatment planning computed tomography (CT) scans of two patients receiving adjuvant radiation for endometrial cancer.

Treatment Tolerance of Cetuximab versus Alternative Chemotherapy Agents in Non-Cisplatin Candidates with Head and Neck Cancer Receiving Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy.

Introduction: Standard of care for radiosensitization in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with high-dose cisplatin. The optimal chemoradiation regimen for patients medically unfit for cisplatin is unclear. We compared our experience with concurrent cetuximab (CTX) versus other cytotoxic non-cisplatin agents.

Sarcopenia and Treatment Toxicity in Older Adults Undergoing Chemoradiation for Head and Neck Cancer: Identifying Factors to Predict Frailty.

This study was performed to identify treatment related toxicities in older adults undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer and nutritional and skeletal muscle measures that might identify frailty. Imaging analysis was done with the following skeletal muscle measurements: skeletal muscle index (SMI), skeletal muscle density (SMD), and skeletal muscle gauge (SMG). Patients were dichotomized by age into younger (<70 years old, 221 patients) and older age groups (≥70 years old, 51 patients).

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Apical Lung Tumors: Dosimetric Analysis of the Brachial Plexus and Preliminary Clinical Outcomes.

Purpose: Dosimetric constraints of the brachial plexus have not yet been well-established for patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). This study evaluated long-term experience with the treatment of early-stage apical lung tumors with SBRT and reports on dosimetric correlates of outcome.

Methods And Materials: Between 2009 and 2018, a total of 78 consecutive patients with 81 apical lung tumors underwent SBRT for T1-3N0 non-small cell lung cancer.

The impact of skeletal muscle abnormalities on tolerance to adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation and outcome in patients with endometrial cancer.

Introduction: Skeletal muscle abnormalities, such as low skeletal muscle mass, measured by skeletal muscle index (SMI), and low skeletal muscle quality, measured by skeletal muscle density (SMD), are associated with poor prognosis in cancer. There has been little investigation of their impact on tolerance to radiation therapy and overall outcome in gynaecologic cancers. We examined the effect of low SMI and SMD on treatment tolerance and survival outcomes in patients with endometrial cancer receiving pelvic radiation.

The impact of sarcopenia on tolerance of radiation and outcome in patients with head and neck cancer receiving chemoradiation.

Background And Purpose: Sarcopenia is a predictor of poor prognosis in cancer patients. One potential mechanism for worse outcomes in sarcopenic patients is worse tolerance to treatment; this has not been investigated with regard to radiation treatment. We reviewed our institutional experience of head and neck cancer patients receiving concurrent chemoradiation and assessed outcomes with respect to sarcopenia.

Weekly cisplatin chemotherapy dosing versus triweekly chemotherapy with concurrent radiation for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Triweekly high-dose cisplatin (100 mg/m ) with concurrent radiation therapy is the current standard of care in the definitive or appropriate postoperative setting in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We compared triweekly 100 mg/m with alternative weekly 40 mg/m and weekly <40 mg/m cisplatin regimens.

Methods: From 2011 to 2016, 163 patients received concurrent cisplatin and intensity-modulated radiotherapy for locally advanced HNSCC.

Impact of Peer Review on Use of Hypofractionated Regimens for Early-Stage Breast Cancer for Patients at a Tertiary Care Academic Medical Center and Its Community-Based Affiliates.

Purpose: Data have demonstrated that hypofractionated radiation therapy (HFRT) and conventionally fractionated radiation therapy regimens are equivalent with respect to outcomes. Efforts to increase HFRT use have had mixed success. We implemented a prospective peer review chart rounds integrating all practice sites and reviewed the use of HFRT in an attempt to identify potential predictors of use.

Undifferentiated Endometrial Carcinomas: Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes.

Objective: Undifferentiated endometrial carcinoma (UEC) represents a recently recognized and rare diagnosis that is commonly misclassified on histopathologic evaluation. These cancers account for less than 10% of carefully reviewed series of endometrial cancers from academic medical centers. We reviewed a single-institutional experience with the management of UEC focusing on clinicopathologic characteristics and treatment outcomes.

The Efficacy of Conventionally Fractionated Radiation in the Management of Osseous Metastases from Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Background: There is little data regarding the effectiveness of palliative radiation with conventional fractionation for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which has been described as radioresistant. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with metastatic bony disease from RCC treated with radiation therapy at our institution.

Methods: Forty patients with histologically confirmed RCC with a total of 53 treatment courses were included.

Correlation of Acute and Late Brainstem Toxicities With Dose-Volume Data for Pediatric Patients With Posterior Fossa Malignancies.

Purpose: Radiation-induced brainstem toxicity after treatment of pediatric posterior fossa malignancies is incompletely understood, especially in the era of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The rates of, and predictive factors for, brainstem toxicity after photon RT for posterior fossa tumors were examined.

Methods And Materials: After institutional review board approval, 60 pediatric patients treated at our institution for nonmetastatic infratentorial ependymoma and medulloblastoma with IMRT were included in the present analysis.

The Effect of Transition Clinics on Knowledge of Diagnosis and Perception of Risk in Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer.

Background: Improved treatment for pediatric cancers has ensured an evergrowing population of patients surviving into adulthood. The current study evaluated the impact of previous engagement in survivor care on patient knowledge and awareness of health risks as young adults.

Procedure: Young adult survivors of childhood cancers (N=93, M age=23.