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7%, HD 3.6mm), but the sequential approach proved more robust during the external validation (DSC 94.5% vs 94.4%, p<0.001, HD 4.5 vs 7.1mm, p<0.001). Subsequently, subjective evaluation of this sequential approach showed that experienced radiation oncologists could distinguish automatic from human-made contours in 63% of cases. They rated automatic contours clinically acceptable in 77% of cases, compared to 88% of human-made contours.
We present a feasible approach for automatic vertebral body delineation using two variants of a multi-scale CNN. This approach generates high quality automatic delineations, which can save time in a clinical radiotherapy workflow.
We present a feasible approach for automatic vertebral body delineation using two variants of a multi-scale CNN. This approach generates high quality automatic delineations, which can save time in a clinical radiotherapy workflow.Evaluating cardiac dose during total body irradiation (TBI) is of increasing interest. A three-dimensional beam model for TBI was commissioned and lung shielding was simulated in a treatment planning system with the cardiac silhouette partially blocked and unblocked. When blocked, the median heart dose decreased by 6% (IQR = 6%) and the median cardiac V12Gy decreased by 27% (IQR = 17%). The median left anterior descending artery dose decreased 20% (IQR = 12%) for blocked cases. Because using partial heart shielding may result in considerable changes in dose to cardiac structures, TBI protocols should explicitly consider lung block design parameters and their potential effects.
To provide an overview of the impact of the pandemic on the clinical activity and take a snapshot of the contingent challenges that European particle therapy centers are called to face, we surveyed the members of the European Particle Therapy Network (EPTN).
A 52-question survey was conducted from 4th April 2021 to 30th July 2021 using the Google Forms platform. Three dedicated sections analysed the clinical context of each participating institution, the staff management, and the clinical changes in the oncological workflow.
Out of the 23 contacted European hubs of particle radiotherapy, a total of 9 (39%) responded to the survey. The number of in-person first evaluations and follow-up visits decreased, but telemedicine was implemented. Multidisciplinary tumour board discussions continued during the outbreak using web-based solutions. A delay in cancer diagnosis and oncological staging leading to an increment in more advanced diseases at first presentation was generally observed. Even if the total number of treatments (photons and particles) in the responding institutions showed a trend of decrease, there was or a stable situation or slight increase in particle treatments. The clinical treatment choices followed the national and international scientific recommendations and were patient/disease-oriented. Hypofractionation and short-schedule of chemotherapy, when applicable, were preferred.
Our findings show a rapid and effective reaction of European particle RT hubs to manage the healthcare crisis. Considering the new waves and virus variants, the vaccination campaign will hopefully reduce the oncological impacts and consequences of the prolonged outbreak.
Our findings show a rapid and effective reaction of European particle RT hubs to manage the healthcare crisis. Considering the new waves and virus variants, the vaccination campaign will hopefully reduce the oncological impacts and consequences of the prolonged outbreak.
Studies reporting SBRT outcomes in oligometastatic patients with adrenal gland metastases (AGM) are limited. Herein, we present a multi-institutional analysis of oligometastatic patients treated with SBRT for AGM.
The Consortium for Oligometastases Research (CORE) is among the largest retrospective series of patients with oligometastases. Among CORE patients, those treated with SBRT for AGM were included. Clinical and dosimetric data were collected. Adrenal metastatic burden (AMB) was defined as the sum of all adrenal GTV if more than one oligometastases is present.Competing risk analysis was used to estimate actuarial cumulative local recurrence (LR) and widespread progression (WP). Kaplan-Meier method was used to report overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and progression-free survival (PFS). Treatment related toxicities were also reported.
The analysis included 47 patients with 57 adrenal lesions. Median follow-up was 18.2months. Median LRFS, PFS, and OS were 15.3, 5.3, and 19.1months, respectively. A minimum PTV dose BED
>46Gy was associated with an improved OS and LRFS. A prescribed BED
>70Gy was an independent predictor of a lower LR probability. AMB>10cc was an independent predictor of a lower risk for WP. Only one patient developed an acute Grade 3 toxicity consisting of abdominal pain.
SBRT to AGM achieved a satisfactory local control and OS in oligometastatic patients. High minimum PTV dose and BED
prescription doses were predictive of improved LR and OS, respectively. Prospective studies are needed to determine comprehensive criteria for patients SBRT eligibility and dosimetric planning.
SBRT to AGM achieved a satisfactory local control and OS in oligometastatic patients. MI-503 clinical trial High minimum PTV dose and BED10 prescription doses were predictive of improved LR and OS, respectively. Prospective studies are needed to determine comprehensive criteria for patients SBRT eligibility and dosimetric planning.A vast majority of studies in the radiomics field are based on contours originating from radiotherapy planning. This kind of delineation (e.g. Gross Tumor Volume, GTV) is often larger than the true tumoral volume, sometimes including parts of other organs (e.g. trachea in Head and Neck, H&N studies) and the impact of such over-segmentation was little investigated so far. In this paper, we propose to evaluate and compare the performance between models using two contour types those from radiotherapy planning, and those specifically delineated for radiomics studies. For the latter, we modified the radiotherapy contours to fit the true tumoral volume. The two contour types were compared when predicting Progression-Free Survival (PFS) using Cox models based on radiomics features extracted from FluoroDeoxyGlucose-Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) and CT images of 239 patients with oropharyngeal H&N cancer collected from five centers, the data from the 2020 HECKTOR challenge. Using Dedicated contours demonstrated better performance for predicting PFS, where Harell's concordance indices of 0.61 and 0.69 were achieved for Radiotherapy and Dedicated contours, respectively. Using automatically Resegmented contours based on a fixed intensity range was associated with a C-index of 0.63. These results illustrate the importance of using clean dedicated contours that are close to the true tumoral volume in radiomics studies, even when tumor contours are already available from radiotherapy treatment planning.
Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) for limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) patients has become more controversial. Since the publication of the systematic review by Aupérin et al. in 1999, no randomized controlled trials regarding PCI in LS-SCLC have been completed. The aim of this study was to systematically review and meta-analyze the effect of PCI on overall survival (OS) in patients with LS-SCLC.
A systematic search was conducted in the databases of MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase and the Cochrane library. Only studies that reported an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), indicating the effect of PCI versus no PCI on OS (adjusted for confounders) in patients with LS-SCLC were included for critical appraisal and meta-analysis. A pooled aHR estimate was calculated using a random-effects model.
Pooling of 28 retrospective studies including a total of 18,575 patients demonstrated a significant beneficial effect of PCI versus no PCI on OS with a pooled aHR of 0.62 (95% CI 0.57-0.69). Substantial heterogeng. Serious risk of selection and confounding bias were of concern due to the lack of prospective trials. These results support the role of PCI in standard clinical practice in patients with LS-SCLC while awaiting results of prospective trials on alternative strategies.
To maximize the likelihood of positive outcome in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survivors, potential benefits of treatment modalities have to be weighed against the possibilities of damage to normal tissues, such as the heart. High-quality data-driven evidence regarding appropriate risk stratification strategies is still scarce. The aim of this review is to summarize and appraise available prediction models for treatment-induced cardiac events in patients with NSCLC.
A systematic search of MEDLINE was performed using a Boolean combination of appropriate truncation and indexing terms related to "NSCLC", "prediction models", "cardiac toxicity", and "treatment modalities". The following exclusion criteria were applied sample-size of less than 100, no significant predictors in multivariate analysis, lack of model specifications, and case-mix studies. The generic inverse variance method was used to pool the summary effect estimate for each predictor. The quality of the papers was assessed using the Predic damage. Identified clues suggest incorporation of detailed cardiac metrics (substructures' volumes and doses).
This review highlights the need for a robust prediction model which can inform patients and clinicians about expected treatment-induced heart damage. Identified clues suggest incorporation of detailed cardiac metrics (substructures' volumes and doses).
Tumor hypoxia worsens the prognosis of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients, and plasma hypoxia markers may be used as biomarkers for radiotherapy personalization. We therefore investigated the role of the hypoxia-associated plasma proteins osteopontin, galectin-3, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) as surrogate markers for imaging-based tumor hypoxia.
Serial blood samples of HNSCC patients receiving chemoradiation within a prospective trial were analyzed for osteopontin, galectin-3, VEGF and CTGF concentrations. Tumor hypoxia was quantified in treatment weeks 0, 2 and 5 using [
F]FMISO PET/CT. The association between PET-defined hypoxia and the plasma markers was determined using Pearson's correlation analyses. Receiver-operating characteristic analyses were conducted to reveal the diagnostic value of the hypoxia markers.
Baseline osteopontin (r=0.579,
<0.01) and galectin-3 (r=0.429,
<0.05) correlated with the hypoxic subvolith residual tumor hypoxia; therefore, there may be a rationale to study hypoxic modification based on osteopontin levels. However, as plasma hypoxia markers do not correspond to any spatial information of tumor hypoxia, they have limitations regarding the replacement of [18F]FMISO PET-based focal treatments. The results need to be validated in larger patient cohorts to draw definitive conclusions.
Management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients with oligoprogression remains controversial. There is limited data to support the strategy of Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) targeting the oligoprogressive disease in combination with ongoing systemic treatment. We aim to assess the benefit of this approach compared to standard of care in the treatment of oligoprogressive NSCLC.
This phase II study will enroll 68 patients with oligoprogressive NSCLC, defined as 1-5 progressive extracranial lesions ≤5cm involving ≤3 organs. Patients on active systemic therapy (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy or a combination) will be randomized 11 to either continue their current systemic therapy in combination with SABR to all lesions or the standard of care (switch to the next line of treatment, continue same treatment or observation). The co-primary endpoints are progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints include time to next systemic treatment, patient-reported quality of life, cost effectiveness as well as translational analysis to characterize both adaptive immunity and immunogenic cell death markers in the peripheral blood.