Ex Vivo Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy for intraoperative evaluations of staple lines and surgical margins in specimens of the lung - a proof-of-concept study.

Intraoperative consultation is frequently used during the surgical treatment of lung tumors for the diagnosis of malignancy and the assessment of surgical margins. The latter is often problematic given the nature of the applied staple lines, which cannot be readily examined in frozen sections. Seventy-nine samples of surgical margins (71 staple lines and 8 open margins) from 52 lung specimens were examined using an ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscope (FCM).

The Role of Oral Nutritional Supplements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the impact of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) on nutritional intake, body weight, and body composition in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy. The study evaluated whether ONS could prevent treatment-related nutritional deterioration.

Methods: This prospective observational pilot study included 30 HNC patients randomized into two groups: ONS (n = 15) and No ONS (n = 15).

Ex Vivo Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy for Intraoperative Examinations of Lung Tumors as Alternative to Frozen Sections-A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: Intraoperative frozen sections (FS) are frequently used to establish the diagnosis of lung cancer when preoperative examinations are not conclusive. The downside of FS is its resource-intensive nature and the risk of tissue depletion when small lesions are assessed. Ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM) is a novel microimaging method for loss-free examinations of native materials.

Induced luminescence in water and PMMA - spectral analysis for irradiations with proton beams within the clinical energy range.

It was recently discovered that water and PMMA emit a weak luminescence signal when irradiated with protons within the clinically used energy range. This could offer a fast approach for range measurements in water. However, a complete explanation or investigation on the origin of the signal has not been published.

Experimental determination of modulation power of lung tissue for particle therapy.

In particle therapy of lung tumors, modulating effects on the particle beam may occur due to the microscopic structure of the lung tissue. These effects are caused by the heterogeneous nature of the lung tissue and cannot be completely taken into account during treatment planning, because these micro structures are too small to be fully resolved in the planning CT. In several publications, a new material parameter called modulation power () was introduced to characterize the effect.

Students' learning behavior in digital education for radiation oncology.

Purpose: Digitalization of medical education is an important trend in terms of reforming and modernizing the global education environment. It has been long requested by students and politicians. The goal of this study was to assess the student perception of a newly developed digital educational program in radiation oncology (RO) using an interactive e‑book combined with short learnings clips on a YouTube channel combined with periodic videoconferences and a forum for queries.

Integration of radiation oncology teaching in medical studies by German medical faculties due to the new licensing regulations : An overview and recommendations of the consortium academic radiation oncology of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO).

The new Medical Licensing Regulations 2025 (Ärztliche Approbationsordnung, ÄApprO) will soon be passed by the Federal Council (Bundesrat) and will be implemented step by step by the individual faculties in the coming months. The further development of medical studies essentially involves an orientation from fact-based to competence-based learning and focuses on practical, longitudinal and interdisciplinary training. Radiation oncology and radiation therapy are important components of therapeutic oncology and are of great importance for public health, both clinically and epidemiologically, and therefore should be given appropriate attention in medical education.

Estimating the modulating effect of lung tissue in particle therapy using a clinical CT voxel histogram analysis.

To treat lung tumours with particle therapy, different additional tasks and challenges in treatment planning and application have to be addressed thoroughly. One of these tasks is the quantification and consideration of the Bragg peak (BP) degradation due to lung tissue: as lung is an heterogeneous tissue, the BP is broadened when particles traverse the microscopic alveoli. These are not fully resolved in clinical CT images and thus, the effect is not considered in the dose calculation.

Optical range determination of clinical proton beams in water. A comparison with standard measurement methods.

As recently discovered, water emits a weak luminescence when it is irradiated with protons even with energies below the Cerenkov light threshold. In this work it was investigated if this phenomenon could be exploited for range measurements in proton therapy. A measurement setup based on a scientific CMOS camera that can be operated under normal room light was built and tested in a proof-of-principle experiment at the West German Proton Therapy Center, Essen.

Fluence-weighted average subfield size in helical TomoTherapy.

Introduction: Helical TomoTherapy allows a highly conformal dose distribution to complex target geometries with a good protection of organs at risk. However, the small field sizes associated with this method are a possible source of dosimetrical uncertainties. The IAEA has published detector-specific field output correction factors for static fields of the TomoTherapy in the TRS483.

Palliative care in everyday practice of radiation oncologists : Results from a web-based survey among medical members of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO).

Purpose: Little is known about the attitudes of radiation oncologists towards palliative care, about their competences in this field, and about the collaboration with palliative care specialists. Our aim was to close this gap and understand more about the importance of an additional qualification in palliative care.

Methods: Medical members of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO) were electronically surveyed during November-December 2016.

Metabolic and fitness determinants for in vitro growth and intestinal colonization of the bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni.

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading infectious causes of food-borne illness around the world. Its ability to persistently colonize the intestinal tract of a broad range of hosts, including food-producing animals, is central to its epidemiology since most infections are due to the consumption of contaminated food products. Using a highly saturated transposon insertion library combined with next-generation sequencing and a mouse model of infection, we have carried out a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the fitness determinants for growth in vitro and in vivo of a highly pathogenic strain of C.

Impact of Different Treatment Concepts on Regional Failure in Advanced Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Background: The management of patients with advanced oropharyngeal cancer is complex and mostly requires a multidisciplinary treatment approach. In general, organ preservation by primary concurrent radiochemotherapy (RCT), or surgery completed by adjuvant radiotherapy are established treatment strategies for these patients. However, it is unclear if primary treatment has an effect on regional tumor control.

Patient's quality of life after high-dose radiation therapy for thoracic carcinomas : Changes over time and influence on clinical outcome.

Purpose: Quality of life (QoL) is an important factor in patient care. This analysis is focused on QoL before and after radio(chemo)therapy in patients with thoracic carcinomas, as well as on its influence on clinical follow-up and survival, and the correlation with treatment-related toxicities.

Materials And Methods: The analysis included 81 patients with intrathoracic carcinoma receiving radio(chemo)therapy.

Changes in pulmonary function and influencing factors after high-dose intrathoracic radio(chemo)therapy.

Purpose: Using prospectively collected patient-related, dose-related, and pulmonary function test (PFT) data before radiotherapy (RT) and at several follow-up visits after RT, the time course of PFT changes after high-dose radio(chemo)therapy and influencing factors were analyzed.

Materials And Methods: From April 2012 to October 2015, 81 patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), or esophageal carcinoma where treated with high-dose radio(chemo)therapy. PFT data were collected before treatment and 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months after RT.

A lot to a little or a little to a lot-which dose-volume relationship ensures the best clinical outcome in the high dose radiation therapy of thoracic tumors? A prospective approach.

Background: The purpose of this prospective randomized trial is to determine which constellation of dose and corresponding volume of the lung tissue-either a lot to a little or a little to a lot-should be preferred to ensure the best possible outcome for patients with thoracic carcinomas.

Methods: From Apr 2012 to Oct 2015, 81 patients with NSCLC, SCLC or esophageal carcinoma were randomized and treated with either a 4-field-IMRT or a VMAT technique with or without additional chemotherapy. Data regarding clinical outcome, pulmonary function tests (PFT) and quality of life (QoL) was collected before RT, 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 months after treatment, QoL data additionally 1 year post RT.

Perturbation correction for alanine dosimeters in different phantom materials in high-energy photon beams.

In modern radiotherapy the verification of complex treatments plans is often performed in inhomogeneous or even anthropomorphic phantoms. For dose verification small detectors are necessary and therefore alanine detectors are most suitable. Though the response of alanine for a wide range of clinical photon energies in water is well know, the knowledge about the influence of the surrounding phantom material on the response of alanine is sparse.

A transferable plasticity region in Campylobacter coli allows isolates of an otherwise non-glycolytic food-borne pathogen to catabolize glucose.

Thermophilic Campylobacter species colonize the intestine of agricultural and domestic animals commensally but cause severe gastroenteritis in humans. In contrast to other enteropathogenic bacteria, Campylobacter has been considered to be non-glycolytic, a metabolic property originally used for their taxonomic classification. Contrary to this dogma, we demonstrate that several Campylobacter coli strains are able to utilize glucose as a growth substrate.

Utilization of host-derived cysteine-containing peptides overcomes the restricted sulphur metabolism of Campylobacter jejuni.

The non-glycolytic food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni successfully colonizes the intestine of various hosts in spite of its restricted metabolic properties. While several amino acids are known to be used by C. jejuni as energy sources, none of these have been found to be essential for growth.

Making the right software choice for clinically used equipment in radiation oncology.

The customer of a new system for clinical use in radiation oncology must consider many options in order to find the optimal combination of software tools. Many commercial systems are available and each system has a large number of technical features. However an appraisal of the technical capabilities, especially the options for clinical implementations, is hardly assessable at first view.

Protection of quality and innovation in radiation oncology: the prospective multicenter trial the German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO-QUIRO study). Evaluation of time, attendance of medical staff, and resources during radiotherapy with IMRT.

Background: A number of national and international societies published recommendations regarding the required equipment and manpower assumed to be necessary to treat a number of patients with radiotherapy. None of these recommendations were based on actual time measurements needed for specific radiotherapy procedures. The German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO) was interested in substantiating these recommendations by prospective evaluations of all important core procedures of radiotherapy in the most frequent cancers treated by radiotherapy.

Target volume coverage and dose to organs at risk in prostate cancer patients. Dose calculation on daily cone-beam CT data sets.

Purpose: On the basis of correct Hounsfield unit to electron density calibration, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) data provide the opportunity for retrospective dose recalculation in the patient. Therefore, the consequences of translational positioning corrections and of morphological changes in the patient anatomy can be quantified for prostate cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: The organs at risk were newly contoured on the CBCT data sets of 7 patients so as to evaluate the actual applied dose.