A Statewide Multi-Institutional Study of Asymptomatic Pretreatment Testing of Radiation Therapy Patients for SARS-CoV-2 in a High-Incidence Region of the United States.

Purpose: Our purpose was to establish the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in asymptomatic patients scheduled to receive radiation therapy and its effect on management decisions.

Methods And Materials: Between April 2020 and July 2020, patients without influenza-like illness symptoms at four radiation oncology departments (two academic university hospitals and two community hospitals) underwent polymerase chain reaction testing for SARS-CoV-2 before the initiation of treatment. Patients were tested either before radiation therapy simulation or after simulation but before treatment initiation.

5-Year Results of a Prospective Phase 2 Trial Evaluating 3-Week Hypofractionated Whole Breast Radiation Therapy Inclusive of a Sequential Boost.

Purpose: To report 5-year outcomes of a phase 2 trial of hypofractionated whole breast irradiation (HF-WBI) completed in 3 weeks, inclusive of a sequential boost.

Methods And Materials: Women with stage 0-IIIA breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ through T2N2a) were enrolled on a prospective, phase 2 trial of accelerated HF-WBI. We delivered a whole breast dose of 36.

The Role of MRI in the Follow-up of Women Undergoing Breast-conserving Therapy.

Objectives: Breast-conserving therapy (BCT) represents a standard of care in the management of breast cancer. However, unlike mastectomy, women treated with BCT require follow-up imaging of the treated breast as well as the contralateral breast as part of posttreatment surveillance. Traditionally, surveillance has consisted of clinical exams and mammograms.

Short-Course Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy With Boost in Women With Stages 0 to IIIa Breast Cancer: A Phase 2 Trial.

Purpose: Conventionally fractionated whole-breast irradiation (WBI) with a boost takes approximately 6 to 7 weeks. We evaluated a short course of hypofractionated (HF), accelerated WBI in which therapy was completed in 3 weeks inclusive of a sequential boost.

Methods And Materials: We delivered a whole-breast dose of 36.

Novel and Highly Compressed Schedules for the Treatment of Breast Cancer.

Our thinking about radiotherapy (RT) for early-stage breast cancer has evolved considerably over the last several years. Increasingly patients and physicians together are making the decision to use altered fractionation rather than standard 6-7 weeks of conventional whole breast treatment plus lumpectomy bed boost. Adjuvant hypofractionated whole breast irradiation is now viewed as a preferred strategy for many eligible women, and can be completed in 3-4 weeks.

Lumpectomy closure technique does not affect dosimetry in patients undergoing external-beam-based accelerated partial breast irradiation.

Background: During the breast lumpectomy procedure, surgeons traditionally elect to use either a superficial or full-thickness closure when sealing the wound depending on surgeon preference as well as desired outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine dosimetric endpoints in patients with superficial versus full-thickness closures with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI).

Methods: Patients who underwent breast conservation surgery followed by 3D conformal external-beam APBI were identified (n = 45) and were separated according to the type of cavity closure performed: superficial and full thickness.

Riluzole enhances ionizing radiation-induced cytotoxicity in human melanoma cells that ectopically express metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 in vitro and in vivo.

Purpose: Brain metastases are a common preterminal event in patients with metastatic melanoma and require radiation therapy. Our group has previously shown that human GRM1 (hGRM1) expressing melanoma cells release excess extracellular glutamate and are growth inhibited by riluzole, an inhibitor of glutamate release. Riluzole-treated cells accumulate in G(2)/M phase of the cell cycle at 24 hours, and then undergo apoptotic cell death.

Characterization of folate uptake by choroid plexus epithelial cells in a rat primary culture model.

Reduced derivatives of folic acid (folates) play a critical role in the development, function and repair of the CNS. However, the molecular systems regulating folate uptake and homeostasis in the central nervous system remain incompletely defined. Choroid plexus epithelial cells express high levels of folate receptor alpha (FRalpha) suggesting that the choroid plays an important role in CNS folate trafficking and maintenance of CSF folate levels.