Impact of conditioning regimen on peripheral blood hematopoietic cell transplant.

Aim: To investigate infused hematopoietic cell doses and their interaction with conditioning regimen intensity +/- total body irradiation (TBI) on outcomes after peripheral blood hematopoietic cell transplant (PBHCT).

Methods: Our retrospective cohort included 247 patients receiving a first, T-replete, human leukocyte antigen-matched allogeneic PBHCT and treated between 2001 and 2012. Correlations were calculated using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient.

A Pilot Study of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Combined with Cytoreductive Nephrectomy for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

While stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) can reduce tumor volumes in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), little is known regarding the immunomodulatory effects of high-dose radiation in the tumor microenvironment. The main objectives of this pilot study were to assess the safety and feasibility of nephrectomy following SBRT treatment of patients with mRCC and analyze the immunological impact of high-dose radiation. Human RCC cell lines were irradiated and evaluated for immunomodulation.

Subsite variation in survival of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas 2004 to 2011.

Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate subsite-specific differences in survival between squamous cell carcinomas of the base of tongue and tonsillar fossa in a modern cohort likely to have been treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy, chemotherapy for stage III and IV, and have had a high incidence of human papillomavirus-associated tumors.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort analysis utilizing data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of patients with base of tongue and tonsillar fossa squamous cell carcinoma from 2004 to 2011.

Methods: The cohort included 15,299 primary base of tongue and tonsillar fossa squamous cell carcinoma patients without distant metastases treated between 2004 and 2011.

Smoking cessation is associated with improved survival in oropharynx cancer treated by chemoradiation.

Objectives/hypothesis: The effect of smoking and human papillomavirus (HPV) on overall survival (OS) of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) patients undergoing concurrent chemotherapy (CCRT) remains unclear.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Methods: Clinical characteristics of OPSCC patients treated between 2008 and 2015 with CCRT were abstracted from medical records.

A pilot study of the effects of mild systemic heating on human head and neck tumour xenografts: Analysis of tumour perfusion, interstitial fluid pressure, hypoxia and efficacy of radiation therapy.

Purpose: The tumour microenvironment is frequently hypoxic, poorly perfused, and exhibits abnormally high interstitial fluid pressure. These factors can significantly reduce efficacy of chemo and radiation therapies. The present study aims to determine whether mild systemic heating alters these parameters and improves response to radiation in human head and neck tumour xenografts in SCID mice.