malignant cancer radiotherapy radiation oncology

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the second most common malignancy in men, and its incidence is increasing which is attributed to increased screening programs. The treatment options of intermediate and high risk prostate cancer include radical prostatectomy, radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy. Hypofractionated radiotherapy is becoming more popular lately due to better understanding of the radiobiology of prostate cancer and favorable logistics. OBJECTIVE: To compare the toxicity and efficacy of hypofractionated versus conventional fractionation external beam radiotherapy in patients with intermediate and high risk localized prostate cancer treated in Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and Research Center, Lahore (SKMCH & RC)...

BACKGROUND: Genitourinary malignancies have a substantial impact on men and women in the USA as they include three of the ten most common cancers (prostate, renal, and bladder). Other urinary tract cancers are less common (testis and penile) but still have profound treatment implications related to potential deficits in sexual, urinary, and reproductive function. Evidenced-based practice remains the cornerstone of treatment for urologic malignancies. METHODS: The authors reviewed the literature in consideration of the four top articles influencing clinical practice in the prior calendar year, 2022...

Many different malignancies occur in children, but overall, cancer in childhood is rare. Survival rates have improved appreciably and are higher compared with most adult tumour types. Treatment schedules evolve as a result of clinical trials and are typically complex and multi-modality, with radiotherapy an integral component of many. Risk stratification in paediatric oncology is increasingly refined, resulting in a more personalized use of radiation. Every available modality of radiation delivery: simple and advanced photon techniques, proton beam therapy, molecular radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, have their place in the treatment of children's cancers...

INTRODUCTION: High-grade gliomas are malignant, recurring primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors requiring extensive postoperative chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), 1p19q, and ATRX mutations significantly influence survival and response to chemotherapy, as seen in many extensive studies from the Global North. This study aims to report data from the local region regarding progression-free survival and overall survival in light of molecular characteristics...

The majority of cancer-associated mortalities are due to distant metastases, and systemic therapy alone is generally not curative. Patients with oligometastases are amenable to involved site radiotherapy with the possibility of long-term disease-free survival; however, prognostic factors remain poorly defined. The present retrospective, single institution study consisted of consecutive adult patients with oligometastases from solid tumor malignancy referred to a single high volume radiation oncologist between January 2014 and December 2021...

AIM: Increased cardiovascular events are common in cancer survivors and contribute to an emerging cardio-oncology patient group requiring secondary prevention strategies including cardiac rehabilitation (CR). This study aimed to compare characteristics and outcomes for patients participating in CR with and without an existing cancer diagnosis. METHOD: Observational cohort study including consecutive patients enrolled in a single-centre outpatient CR program in Western Sydney between 2018-2022...

BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy in Head and neck cancers often leads to xerostomia which often leads to a decline in quality of life. The aim of the study was to compare xerostomia among cancer patients undergoing IMRT and VMAT techniques for head and neck malignancies and follow them up via quality of life assessment. METHODOLOGY: It was a hospital based prospective study with follow up at 0, 3 and 6 months among total 80 patients divided in 2 groups of VMAT and IMRT respectively...

PURPOSE: Radiation-associated angiosarcoma of the breast (RAASB) is a rare side effect following breast conserving therapy (BCT) and has been associated with poor outcomes. At this time, there is no consensus regarding management of RAASB and the role of reirradiation remains controversial. We present our modern institutional outcomes in managing RAASB with incorporation of neoadjuvant hyperfractionated reirradiation. METHODS: Patients identified were treated between 2016 and 2020 with inclusion of any histologically proven RAASB without metastatic disease at diagnosis, while excluding those with a history of radiotherapy (RT) outside of the breast/chest wall, or other sarcoma histologies...

Well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma has a favorable prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of over 95%. However, the undifferentiated or anaplastic type accounting for < 0.2%, usually in elderly individuals, exhibits a dismal prognosis with rapid growth and disappointing outcomes. It is the most aggressive form of thyroid carcinoma, with a median survival of 5 mo and poor quality of life (airway obstruction, dysphagia, hoarseness, persistent pain). Early diagnosis and staging are crucial. Diagnostic tools include biopsy (fine needle aspiration, core needle, open surgery), high-resolution ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, [(18)F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomo-graphy/computed tomography, liquid biopsy and microRNAs...

PURPOSE: Among all primary breast tumors, malignant phyllodes tumor of the breast (MPTB) make up less than 1%. In the treatment of phyllode tumors, surgical procedures such as mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery are the mainstay. MPTB has, however, been controversial when it comes to treating it with RT. We aimed to explore the prognostic impact of RT and other clinicopathologic factors on long-term survival for patients with stage T3 or T4 malignant phyllodes tumors. METHODS: We select patients with stage T3 or T4 MPTB who qualified for the criteria between 2000 and 2018 via the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database...

INTRODUCTION: Despite recent advances in drug development, durable complete remissions with systemic therapy alone for metastatic cancers remain infrequent. With the development of advanced radiation technologies capable of selectively sparing normal tissues, patients with oligometastases are often amenable to comprehensive involved site radiotherapy with curative intent. This study reports the long-term outcomes and patterns of failure for patients treated with total metastatic ablation often in combination with systemic therapy...

Radiotherapy (RT) is often utilized for symptom control at the end of life. Palliative RT (pRT) may not be taken to completion by patients, thus decreasing clinical benefits and adversely impacting resource allocation. We determined rates of incomplete pRT and examined predictors of non-completion using an electronic questionnaire. Methods: A questionnaire was embedded within the RT electronic prescribing system for all five cancer centers of Alberta, Canada, between 2017 and 2020. Prescribing radiation oncologists (ROs) were tasked with completing the questionnaire...

Introduction Cervical cancer is the most common gynaecological malignancy worldwide, with a higher prevalence in middle- and low-income countries. Chemoradiotherapy, followed by intracavitary brachytherapy, is the treatment of choice in locally advanced cervical cancer. The most common acute side effect of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is bowel toxicity in the form of diarrhoea and abdominal cramps. The treatment techniques of EBRT were revolutionised with the advent of intensity modulation. This study aims to prospectively analyse whether the dosimetric advantage of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) over three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) is translated clinically into a decrease in acute toxicity...

Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become standard diagnostic workup for head and neck malignancies and is currently recommended by most radiological societies for pharyngeal and oral carcinomas, its utilization in radiotherapy has been heterogeneous during the last decades. However, few would argue that implementing MRI for annotation of target volumes and organs at risk provides several advantages, so that implementation of the modality for this purpose is widely accepted. Today, the term MR-guidance has received a much broader meaning, including MRI for adaptive treatments, MR-gating and tracking during radiotherapy application, MR-features as biomarkers and finally MR-only workflows...

The role of radiotherapy in the management of primary and metastatic liver malignancies has expanded in recent years due to advances such as IGRT and SBRT. MRI-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) has arisen as an excellent option for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and liver metastases due to the ability to combine improved hepatic imaging with conformal treatment planning paradigms like adaptive radiotherapy and advanced motion management techniques. Herein we review the data for MRgRT for liver malignancies, as well as describe workflow and technical considerations for the 2 commercially available MRgRT delivery platforms...

Despite the tremendous development of oncology, prostate cancer remains a debilitating malignancy. One of the most promising approaches to addressing this issue is to exploit the advancements of nanomedicine in combination with well-established nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. Following this idea, we have developed a radioisotope nanocarrier platform of electron-beam-synthesized nanogels based on poly(acrylic acid). We have developed a functionalization protocol, showing the very high (>97%) efficiency of the conjugation in targeting a ligand-bombesin derivative...

INTRODUCTION: Radiation-induced soft tissue sarcomas (RISs) are rare secondary malignancies with a dire prognosis. The literature on the management of these tumors remains scarce due to their low incidence. Our systematic review sought to assess the treatment alternatives and outcomes of patients with RIS. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Our study was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023438415). Quality assessment was performed using the STROBE checklist...

INTRODUCTION: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains to be the major obstacle to conquer in treating patients with malignant brain tumors. Radiation therapy (RT), despite being the mainstay adjuvant modality regardless of BBB, the effect of radiation induced cell death is hindered by the hypoxic microenvironment. Focused ultrasound (FUS) combined with systemic microbubbles has been shown not only to open BBB but also potentially increased regional perfusion. However, no clinical study has investigated the combination of RT with FUS-BBB opening (RT-FUS)...

PURPOSE: An increased incidence of hypothyroidism among breast cancer survivors has been observed in earlier studies. The impact of the postoperative treatment modalities and their potential interplay on hypothyroidism development needs to be studied. METHODS: We conducted a population- and registry-based study using the Breast Cancer Data Base Sweden (BCBaSe) including females diagnosed with breast cancer between 2006 and 2012. In total, 21,268 female patients diagnosed with early breast cancer between 2006 and 2012, with no previous prescription of thyroid hormones and no malignant diagnosis during the last ten years before breast cancer diagnosis, were included in the final analysis...

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors of secondary pelvic malignant neoplasms (SPMNs) among prostate cancer (PCa) patients treated with radiotherapy. Simultaneously, population-based data were used to validate the high risk of SPMNs in PCa patients with radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified male patients diagnosed with PCa (localized and regional) as the first primary cancer and pelvic malignant neoplasm (including bladder and rectal cancer) as secondary cancer from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (1975-2020)...