Preoperative stereotactic radiosurgery before planned resection of brain metastases: updated analysis of efficacy and toxicity of a novel treatment paradigm.

Objective: Preoperative stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a feasible alternative to postoperative SRS and may lower the risk of radiation necrosis (RN) and leptomeningeal disease (LMD) recurrence. The study goal was to report the efficacy and toxicity of preoperative SRS in an expanded patient cohort with longer follow-up period relative to prior reports.

Methods: The records for patients with brain metastases treated with preoperative SRS and planned resection were reviewed.

FECAL CORTISOL LEVELS IN SCIMITAR-HORNED ORYX, ORYX DAMMAH, REVEALS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CAPTIVE ENVIRONMENTS.

Due to the intensive management of the scimitar-horned oryx, Oryx dammah, involving both captivity and reintroductions, understanding the stress associated with environmental situations this endangered species might experience would be particularly helpful. Fecal cortisol levels were measured across seasons, between captive management programs, and among varying reproductive states in animals held at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (FRWC) and Kansas City Zoo (KCZ). A total of 72 samples were collected from FRWC and 69 samples were collected from KCZ.

Single-Fraction Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) Alone Versus Surgical Resection and SRS for Large Brain Metastases: A Multi-institutional Analysis.

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) dose is limited by brain metastasis (BM) size. The study goal was to retrospectively determine whether there is a benefit for intracranial outcomes and overall survival (OS) for gross total resection with single-fraction SRS versus SRS alone for patients with large BMs.

Methods And Materials: A large BM was defined as ≥4 cm (2 cm in diameter) prior to the study.

External Validity of a Risk Stratification Score Predicting Early Distant Brain Failure and Salvage Whole Brain Radiation Therapy After Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases.

Background: A scoring system using pretreatment factors was recently published for predicting the risk of early (≤6 months) distant brain failure (DBF) and salvage whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) alone. Four risk factors were identified: (1) lack of prior WBRT; (2) melanoma or breast histologic features; (3) multiple brain metastases; and (4) total volume of brain metastases <1.3 cm, with each factor assigned 1 point.

Incorporating bevacizumab and erlotinib in the combined-modality treatment of stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: results of a phase I/II trial.

Purpose: Bevacizumab and erlotinib have been shown to improve survival in stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This phase I/II trial was designed to incorporate these agents with induction and concurrent chemoradiotherapy in stage III NSCLC.

Patients And Methods: Patients received induction chemotherapy (carboplatin area under the curve [AUC] 6, paclitaxel 225 mg/m(2), and bevacizumab 15 mg/kg on days 1 and 22) followed by concurrent chemotherapy (carboplatin AUC 2 and paclitaxel 45 mg/m(2) weekly with bevacizumab 10 mg/kg every other week for four doses) and thoracic conformal radiation therapy (TCRT) to 74 Gy.

The maturation-inducing hormone 17alpha,20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one regulates gene expression of inhibin betaA and bambi (bone morphogenetic protein and activin-membrane-bound inhibitor) in the rainbow trout ovary.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) superfamily members are important paracrine and autocrine regulators of ovarian development and steroidogenesis in mammals and birds, but their reproductive roles in fish are not well understood. The activin system, Tgfb, and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (Bmp15) participate in the regulation of follicle maturation in some fish species. In addition, transcript levels of TGFbeta superfamily members and their inhibitor, bambi (bmp and activin-membrane-bound inhibitor), change in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) ovary during reproductive development including the transition from vitellogenesis to follicle maturation.

Temporal mRNA expression of transforming growth factor-beta superfamily members and inhibitors in the developing rainbow trout ovary.

During mammalian ovarian development transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) superfamily members and their inhibitors are critical paracrine regulators, yet the intraovarian functions of these proteins have received less attention in fish. Using quantitative real-time RT-PCR, changes in ovarian mRNA expression of six TGFbeta members and two inhibitors were investigated in rainbow trout across a wide range of fish ovarian stages (i.e.

Identification of OORP-T, a novel oocyte-specific gene encoding a protein with a conserved oxysterol binding protein domain in rainbow trout.

Genes specifically expressed in oocytes are important for the development of oocytes and early embryos. By analyzing expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a rainbow trout oocyte cDNA library, we identified a novel EST sequence that does not show homology to any sequences in the GenBank. Analysis of tissue distribution by RT-PCR revealed that this gene was only expressed in unfertilized oocytes.