Genomic Testing in Localized Prostate Cancer Can Identify Subsets of African Americans With Aggressive Disease.

Background: Personalized genomic classifiers have transformed the management of prostate cancer (PCa) by identifying the most aggressive subsets of PCa. Nevertheless, the performance of genomic classifiers to risk classify African American men is thus far lacking in a prospective setting.

Methods: This is a prospective study of the Decipher genomic classifier for National Comprehensive Cancer Network low- and intermediate-risk PCa.

Long-term outcome and toxicity of salvage brachytherapy for local failure after initial radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Purpose: To describe long-term outcomes and toxicity after salvage brachytherapy (BT) for local failure after initial radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: Between 1994 and 2008, 37 men with local failure after initial prostate radiotherapy (32 external-beam radiation therapy [EBRT] and 5 BT) underwent salvage BT with (103)Pd or (125)I. Estimates of freedom from biochemical failure (FFbF, Phoenix definition) and cause-specific survival (CSS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Young men have equivalent biochemical outcomes compared with older men after treatment with brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate retrospectively the biochemical outcomes of young men treated with low-dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: From 1990 to 2005, 1,665 men with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with low-dose-rate brachytherapy +/- hormone therapy (HT) +/- external beam radiotherapy and underwent > or = 2 years of follow-up. Patients were stratified on the basis of age: < or = 60 (n = 378) and >60 years (n = 1,287).

Radiation dose predicts for biochemical control in intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients treated with low-dose-rate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of patient- and treatment-related factors on freedom from biochemical failure (FFbF) in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: From a prospectively collected database of 2250 men treated at Mount Sinai Hospital from 1990 to 2004 with low-dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer, 558 men with either one or more intermediate-risk features (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] level 10-20 ng/mL, Gleason score 7, or Stage T2b) were identified who had a minimum follow-up of 24 months and postimplant CT-based dosimetric analysis. Biologically effective dose (BED) values were calculated to compare doses from different isotopes and treatment regimens.

Concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Head and neck cancer is best managed in a multidisciplinary setting. Surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and, more recently, biologic therapy are often employed in various combinations in an attempt to eradicate both clinically apparent and occult disease. The goals of treatment include maximizing tumor control while maintaining function and quality of life.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in SOD2, XRCC1 and XRCC3 with susceptibility for the development of adverse effects resulting from radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

The objective of this study was to determine whether an association exists between certain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which have previously been linked with adverse normal tissue effects resulting from radiotherapy, and the development of radiation injury resulting from radiotherapy for prostate cancer. A total of 135 consecutive patients with clinically localized prostate cancer and a minimum of 1 year of follow-up who had been treated with radiation therapy, either brachytherapy alone or in combination with external-beam radiotherapy, with or without hormone therapy, were genotyped for SNPs in SOD2, XRCC1 and XRCC3. Three common late tissue toxicities were investigated: late rectal bleeding, urinary morbidity, and erectile dysfunction.

Correlation of positron emission tomography standard uptake value and pathologic specimen size in cancer of the head and neck.

Purpose: To correlate positron emission tomography (PET) standard uptake value (SUV) with pathologic specimen size in patients with head-and-neck cancers.

Methods And Materials: Eighteen patients with Stage II-IVB head-and-neck cancer with 27 tumors who underwent PET and computed tomography (CT) imaging of the head and neck followed by surgical resection were selected for this study. Various SUV thresholds were examined, including the software default (SUV(def)), narrowing the window by 1 standard deviation (SD) of the maximum (SUV-1SD), and SUV cutoff values of 2.

TGFB1 single nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with adverse quality of life in prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate whether the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within TGFB1 might be predictive for the development of adverse quality-of-life outcomes in prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy.

Methods And Materials: A total of 141 prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy were screened for SNPs in TGFB1 using DNA sequencing. Three quality-of-life outcomes were investigated: (1) prospective decline in erectile function, (2) urinary quality of life, and (3) rectal bleeding.

A genetically determined dose-volume histogram predicts for rectal bleeding among patients treated with prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To examine whether possession of genetic alterations in the ATM (ataxia telangiectasia) gene is associated with rectal bleeding in a dose-dependent and volume-dependent manner.

Methods And Materials: One hundred eight prostate cancer patients who underwent brachytherapy using either an (125)I implant, a (103)Pd implant, or the combination of external beam radiotherapy with a (103)Pd implant and had a minimum of 1 year follow-up were screened for DNA sequence variations in the 62 coding exons of the ATM gene using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography. Rectal dose was reported as the volume (in cubic centimeters) of rectum receiving the brachytherapy prescription dose.

Is seminal vesicle implantation with permanent sources possible? A dose-volume histogram analysis in patients undergoing combined 103Pd implantation and external beam radiation for T3c prostate cancer.

Purpose: Combined brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) of the prostate and seminal vesicles (SVs) is evolving as a successful treatment option for high-risk prostate cancer. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) analysis of the SV was performed in patients with biopsy-positive SV who received implantation of the SV and prostate.

Methods And Materials: Fifteen consecutive patients with high-risk features (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] > or =10 ng/mL, Gleason score > or = 7, or clinical stage > or = T2b) and a positive SV biopsy were treated with a 103Pd implant of the prostate and SV followed by 45Gy of EBRT.