APR-246 as a radiosensitization strategy for mutant p53 cancers treated with alpha-particles-based radiotherapy.

Radiation therapy (RT) remains a common treatment for cancer patients worldwide, despite the development of targeted biological compounds and immunotherapeutic drugs. The challenge in RT lies in delivering a lethal dose to the cancerous site while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues. Low linear energy transfer (low-LET) and high linear energy transfer (high-LET) radiations have distinct effects on cells.

Real world clinical experience using daily intelligence-assisted online adaptive radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Background: Adaptive radiation therapy (ART) offers a dynamic approach to address structural and spatial changes that occur during radiotherapy (RT) for locally advanced head and neck cancers. The integration of daily ART with Cone-Beam CT (CBCT) imaging presents a solution to enhance the therapeutic ratio by addressing inter-fractional changes.

Methods: We evaluated the initial clinical experience of daily ART for patients with head and neck cancer using an online adaptive platform with intelligence-assisted workflows on daily CBCT.

First measurements of radon-220 diffusion in mice tumors, towards treatment planning in diffusing alpha-emitters radiation therapy.

Background: Diffusing alpha-emitters radiation therapy ("Alpha-DaRT") is a new method for treating solid tumors with alpha particles, relying on the release of the short-lived alpha-emitting daughter atoms of radium-224 from interstitial sources inserted into the tumor. Alpha-DaRT tumor dosimetry is governed by the spread of radium's progeny around the source, as described by an approximate framework called the "diffusion-leakage model". The most important model parameters are the diffusion lengths of radon-220 and lead-212, and their estimation is therefore essential for treatment planning.

Short report: Plasma based biomarkers detect radiation induced brain injury in cancer patients treated for brain metastasis: A pilot study.

Background: Radiotherapy has an important role in the treatment of brain metastases but carries risk of short and/or long-term toxicity, termed radiation-induced brain injury (RBI). As the diagnosis of RBI is crucial for correct patient management, there is an unmet need for reliable biomarkers for RBI. The aim of this proof-of concept study is to determine the utility of brain-derived circulating free DNA (BncfDNA), identified by specific methylation patterns for neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, as biomarkers brain injury induced by radiotherapy.

Deep inspiratory breath hold assisted by continuous positive airway pressure ventilation for lung stereotactic body radiotherapy.

Purpose: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation hyperinflates the lungs and reduces diaphragmatic motion. We hypothesized that CPAP could be safely combined with deep inspiratory breath hold (CPAP-DIBH) during lung stereotactic radiotherapy (SBRT).

Material And Methods: Patients with stage-1 lung cancer or lung metastasis treated with CPAP-DIBH SBRT between 3/2017-5/2021 were analyzed retrospectively.

Initial estimates of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on heart volume, position and motion in patients receiving chest radiation.

To evaluate effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) on cardiac position, volume, and motion in a cohort of patients receiving thoracic radiation therapy (RT). Patients underwent 3-dimensional (3D) and 4D-computerized tomography (CT) imaging with free-breathing (FB) and CPAP for RT planning. All scans were co-registered on the treatment planning system for contouring, identification of the center of heart volume and comparative measurements of cardiac displacement, volume and motion.

Benefits of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) During Radiation Therapy: A Prospective Trial.

Purpose: This study aimed to study the impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on chest anatomy and tumor motion in patients receiving radiation therapy.

Methods And Materials: Patients with primary or secondary lung tumors, left-sided breast cancer, or liver metastases referred for radiation therapy were trained to breathe with a CPAP device using a face mask to a maximal pressure of 15 cm HO. Three- and 4-dimensional computed tomography simulation was performed twice for each patient: once with free breathing (FB) and again using CPAP.

Gallium-68 prostate-specific membrane antigen PET-CT and the clinical management of prostate cancer.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of Gallium-68 prostatic-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET-computerized tomography (CT) in patients with prostate cancer undergoing imaging for initial staging, biochemical failure or the evaluation of metastatic disease.

Methods: This is a single institution retrospective study of 95 patients with prostate cancer who were referred for PSMA PET-CT scans. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines were used to generate treatment recommendations.

Use of F-FDG PET-CT imaging to determine internal mammary lymph node location for radiation therapy treatment planning in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Adjuvant internal mammary lymph node (IMN) radiation is often delivered with 2-dimensional techniques that use anatomic landmarks and predetermined depths for field placement and dose specification. In contrast, 3-dimensional planning uses the internal mammary vessels (IMVs) to localize the IMNs for planning. Our purpose was to determine if localization of the involved IMN (i-IMN) by F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (F-FDG PET-CT) offers opportunities to improve treatment.

Significant correlation between anti-müllerian hormone and embryo euploidy in a subpopulation of infertile patients.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a standard marker of ovarian reserve. Correlation between AMH and egg euploidy is controversial. We evaluated the association between AMH and blastocyst euploidy rate examined by pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS).

Reexpansion of atelectasis caused by use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) before radiation therapy (RT).

Introduction: Although radiation therapy (RT) is an effective treatment for malignant atelectasis, its accurate delivery is challenging because of difficulty differentiating between tumor and atelectatic lung. Furthermore, reexpansion of lung during treatment repositions tumor and normal structures necessitating replanning to ensure treatment accuracy. Facilitating lung reexpansion before initiation of RT may improve RT treatment accuracy, spare normal tissue, and reduce obstructive symptoms.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Motion Management in Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy to the Lung: A Controlled Pilot Study.

Objective: To determine the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on tumor motion, lung volume, and dose to critical organs in patients receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for lung tumors.

Methods And Materials: After institutional review board approval in December 2013, patients with primary or secondary lung tumors referred for SBRT underwent 4-dimensional computed tomographic simulation twice: with free breathing and with CPAP. Tumor excursion was calculated by subtracting the vector of the greatest dimension of the gross tumor volume (GTV) from the internal target volume (ITV).

The transcervical approach for parapharyngeal space pleomorphic adenomas: indications and technique.

Background: Head and Neck Parapharyngeal space tumors are rare. Pleomorphic Adenomas are the most common Parapharyngeal space tumors. The purpose of this study was to define preoperative criteria for enabling full extirpation of parapharyngeal space pleomorphic adenomas via the transcervical approach while minimizing functional and cosmetic morbidity.

Macrophages mediate gemcitabine resistance of pancreatic adenocarcinoma by upregulating cytidine deaminase.

Resistance to pharmacologic agents used in chemotherapy is common in most human carcinomas, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), which is resistant to almost all drugs, including gemcitabine, a nucleoside analog used as a first-line treatment. Poor survival rates of PDA patients have, therefore, not changed much over 4 decades. Recent data indicated that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which are abundant in the microenvironment of several tumors, including PDA, secrete pro-tumorigenic factors that contribute to cancer progression and dissemination.

Surgical management of tumors involving the orbit.

Importance: Surgical treatment of orbital tumors is a complex task that requires thorough preparation and precise planning. Since a large variety of tumors of different origins, anatomical extents, and histologic subtypes affect the globe, no "1-size-fits-all" approach can be offered.

Objective: To describe an integrative approach for the optimal surgical management of patients with orbital tumors based on a review of the literature and on our own experience at a high-volume cancer center.

Endoneurial macrophages induce perineural invasion of pancreatic cancer cells by secretion of GDNF and activation of RET tyrosine kinase receptor.

Perineural invasion of cancer cells (CPNI) is found in most patients with pancreatic adenocarcinomas (PDA), prostate, or head and neck cancers. These patients undergo palliative rather than curative treatment due to dissemination of cancer along nerves, well beyond the extent of any local invasion. Although CPNI is a common source of distant tumor spread and a cause of significant morbidity, its exact mechanism is undefined.

Surgical ablation and free flap reconstruction in children with malignant head and neck tumors.

We assessed the feasibility and safety of free flap reconstruction in children undergoing extensive surgical excision of malignant head and neck tumors. We performed a retrospective review in a tertiary referral center of all patients aged 18 years or younger who underwent free flap reconstruction following resection of malignant head and neck tumors at our institution. Main outcome measures included complications at the primary and donor sites, functional and esthetic outcome, and tumor control.

Coagulopathy associated with dilation and evacuation for second-trimester abortion.

Objective: To characterize the clinical and laboratory features of coagulopathy following second-trimester surgical abortions. DESIGN. Retrospective study.

Utility of a three-dimensional endoscopic system in skull base surgery.

We evaluated the utility of a three-dimensional (3-D) endoscopic system for skull base surgery. We performed a retrospective case series in a tertiary care medical center. Thirty-six patients underwent skull base (nonpituitary) resections via 3-D endoscopic system.

Curcumin ameliorates acute thioacetamide-induced hepatotoxicity.

Background And Aim: Increased production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide and activation of nuclear factor kappa B are implicated in the pathogenesis of various liver diseases, including fulminant hepatic failure. Curcumin is a naturally occurring anti-oxidant that reduces oxidative stress and inhibits nuclear factor kappa B and nitric oxide formation. The aim of the present study is to assess curcumin's therapeutic potential in acute thioacetamide hepatotoxicity, a rat model of fulminant hepatic failure.

Parallel induction of ATM-dependent pro- and antiapoptotic signals in response to ionizing radiation in murine lymphoid tissue.

The ATM protein kinase, functionally missing in patients with the human genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia, is a master regulator of the cellular network induced by DNA double-strand breaks. The ATM gene is also frequently mutated in sporadic cancers of lymphoid origin. Here, we applied a functional genomics approach that combined gene expression profiling and computational promoter analysis to obtain global dissection of the transcriptional response to ionizing radiation in murine lymphoid tissue.

Functional aberrant expression of CCR2 receptor on chronically activated NK cells in patients with TAP-2 deficiency.

Chemokines play a pivotal role in homeostatic and inflammatory migration of naive and activated natural killer (NK) subsets. Recent studies have shown that aberrant chemokine receptor expression on certain immune cells underlies the pathogenesis of clinical conditions in which recruitment of such cells is altered. Progressive accumulation of activated NK cells, subsequently resulting in the formation of chronic granulomatous lesions in the respiratory tract and the skin, has been described in a number of patients with transporter associated with antigen processing 2 (TAP-2) deficiency in the later stages of disease.