Real-time prostate motion assessment: image-guidance and the temporal dependence of intra-fraction motion.

Background: The rapid adoption of image-guidance in prostate intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) results in longer treatment times, which may result in larger intrafraction motion, thereby negating the advantage of image-guidance. This study aims to qualify and quantify the contribution of image-guidance to the temporal dependence of intrafraction motion during prostate IMRT.

Methods: One-hundred and forty-three patients who underwent conventional IMRT (n=67) or intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT/RapidArc, n=76) for localized prostate cancer were evaluated.

Performance of CEA and CA19-9 in identifying pleural effusions caused by specific malignancies.

Objectives: Tumor markers analysis has been proposed as a less invasive alternative for categorizing malignant and non-malignant pleural effusions. This study establishes diagnostic cutoffs for CEA and CA19-9 in pleural fluid to differentiate etiologies of effusions.

Design And Methods: Pleural effusions obtained from 198 patients (100 malignant, 98 non-malignant) were analyzed for CEA and CA19-9.