Determination of optimal planning target volume margins in patients with gynecological cancer

PurposeTo define optimal planning target volume (PTV) margins for intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) ± knee-heel support (KHS) in patients treated with adjuvant radiotherapy.MethodsComputed tomography (CT) scans ± KHS of 10 patients were taken before and at 3rd and 5th week of treatment, fused and compared with initial IMRT plans.ResultsA PTV margin of 15 mm in anteroposterior (AP) and superoinferior (SI) directions and 5 mm in lateral directions were found to be adequate without any difference between ± KHS except for the SI shifts in CTV-primary at the 3rd week. Five mm margin for iliac CTV was found to be inadequate in 10–20% of patients in SI directions however when 7 mm margin was given for iliac PTV, it was found to be adequate. For presacral CTV, it was found that the most striking shift of the target volume was in the direction of AP. KHS caused significantly less volume of rectum and bladder in the treated volume.ConclusionsPTV margin of 15 mm in SI and AP, and 5 mm in lateral directions for CTV-primary were found to be adequate. A minimum of 7 mm PTV margin should be given to iliac CTV. The remarkable shifting in presacral CTV was believed to be due to the unforeseen hip malposition of obese patients. The KHS seems not to provide additional beneficial effect in decreasing the shifts both in CTV-primary and lymphatic, however it may have a beneficial effect of decreasing the OAR volume in PTV margins.     

Estimation of extremely small field radiation dose for brain stereotactic radiotherapy using the Vero4DRT system

The purpose of this study was a dosimetric validation of the Vero4DRT for brain stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) with extremely small fields calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS) iPlan (Ver.4.5.1; algorithm XVMC). Measured and calculated data (e.g. percentage depth dose [PDD], dose profile, and point dose) were compared for small square fields of 30 × 30, 20 × 20, 10 × 10 and 5 × 5 mm² using ionization chambers of 0.01 or 0.04 cm³ and a diamond detector. Dose verifications were performed using an ionization chamber and radiochromic film (EBT3; the equivalent field sizes used were 8.2, 8.7, 8.9, 9.5, and 12.9 mm²) for five brain SRT cases irradiated with dynamic conformal arcs.The PDDs and dose profiles for the measured and calculated data were in good agreement for fields larger than or equal to 10 × 10 mm² when an appropriate detector was chosen. The dose differences for point doses in fields of 30 × 30, 20 × 20, 10 × 10 and 5 × 5 mm² were +0.48%, +0.56%, −0.52%, and +11.2% respectively. In the dose verifications for the brain SRT plans, the mean dose difference between the calculated and measured doses were −0.35% (range, −0.94% to +0.47%), with the average pass rates for the gamma index under the 3%/2 mm criterion being 96.71%, 93.37%, and 97.58% for coronal, sagittal, and axial planes respectively.The Vero4DRT system provides accurate delivery of radiation dose for small fields larger than or equal to 10 × 10 mm².     

SIMS microscopy in the biomedical field.

We attempted to indicate the requirements for biomedical applications of SIMS microscopy. Sample preparation methodology should preserve both the structural and the chemical integrity of the tissue. Furthermore, it is often necessary to correlate ionic and light microscope images. This implies a common methodological approach to sample preparation for both microscopes. The use of low or high mass resolution depends on the elements studied and their concentrations. To improve the acquisition and processing of images, digital imaging systems have to be designed and require both ionic and optical image superimposition. However, the images do not accurately reflect element concentration; a relative quantitative approach is possible by measuring secondary ion beam intensity. Using an internal reference element (carbon) and standard curves the results are expressed in micrograms/mg of tissue. Despite their limited lateral resolution (0.5 microns) the actual SIMS microscopes are very suitable for the resolution of biomedical problems posed by action modes and drug localization in human pathology. SIMS microscopy should provide a new tool for metabolic radiotherapy by facilitating dose evaluation. The advent of high lateral resolution SIMS imaging (less than 0.1 microns) should open up new fields in biomedical investigation.     

Combination therapy of radiation and Sizofiran (SPG) on the tumor growth and metastasis on squamous-cell carcinoma NR-S1 in syngeneic C3H/He mice

The efficacy of Sizofiran(SPG), a highly purified -1,3-D-glucan from the culture broth of a basidiomycetesSchizophyllum commune Fries, in combination with local irradiation was investigated using squamous-cell carcinoma NR-S1 and syngeneic hosts of OH/He mice. NR-S1 tumor was implanted sc in the thigh of C3H/He mice. When tumor grew to 4 mm in diameter, the local irradiation of 55 Gy was delivered. SPG was injected im at a dose of 5 mg/kg. When SPG was administered after irradiation, remarkable inhibition of tumor growth was observed in comparison with the radiation alone group. Furthermore, the combination effect of radiation and active immunotherapy using mitomycin C-treated NR-S1 cells as vaccine was examined. When radiotherapy and active immunotherapy were combined with SPG, suppression of tumor growth was observed from an early stage in comparison with the group which was not administered SPG. SPG also inhibited the pulmonary metastasis of NR-S1 tumor after radiotherapy.     

放射治疗对鼻咽癌患者细胞免疫功能的影响

应用抗人淋巴细胞单克隆抗体检测３２例鼻咽癌患者放疗前、后外周血Ｔ淋巴细胞亚群,并与１２例非癌人群（对照组）进行对比。结果：鼻咽癌患者ＯＫＴ３、ＯＫＴ４及ＯＫＴ４／ＯＫＴ８值与对照组相比明显降低,ＯＫＴ８显著上升（Ｐ＜０．０５）;放疗后ＯＫＴ３、ＯＫＴ４及ＯＫＴ４／ＯＫＴ８值进一步下降,ＯＫＴ８进一步升高（Ｐ＜０．０１）。提示鼻咽癌患者细胞免疫功能低下,放射治疗可进一步抑制鼻咽癌患者的细胞免疫功能。     

Autophagy inhibition radiosensitizes in vitro,yet reduces radioresponses in vivo due to deficient immunogenic signalling

Clinical oncology heavily relies on the use of radiotherapy, which often leads to merely transient responses that are followed by local or distant relapse. The molecular mechanisms explaining radioresistance are largely elusive. Here, we identified a dual role of autophagy in the response of cancer cells to ionizing radiation. On one hand, we observed that the depletion of essential autophagy-relevant gene products, such as ATG5 and Beclin 1, increased the sensitivity of human or mouse cancer cell lines to irradiation, both in vitro (where autophagy inhibition increased radiation-induced cell death and decreased clonogenic survival) and in vivo, after transplantation of the cell lines into immunodeficient mice (where autophagy inhibition potentiated the tumour growth-inhibitory effect of radiotherapy). On the other hand, when tumour proficient or deficient for autophagy were implanted in immunocompetent mice, it turned out that defective autophagy reduced the efficacy of radiotherapy. Indeed, radiotherapy elicited an anti-cancer immune response that was dependent on autophagy-induced ATP release from stressed or dying tumour cells and was characterized by dense lymphocyte infiltration of the tumour bed. Intratumoural injection of an ecto-ATPase inhibitor restored the immune infiltration of autophagy-deficient tumours post radiotherapy and improved the growth-inhibitory effect of ionizing irradiation. Altogether, our results reveal that beyond its cytoprotective function, autophagy confers immunogenic properties to tumours, hence amplifying the efficacy of radiotherapy in an immunocompetent context. This has far-reaching implications for the development of pharmacological radiosensitizers.     

Dosimetric performance of continuous EPID imaging in stereotactic treatment conditions

PurposeThis study aims at investigating the dosimetric characteristics of a Varian aS1000 EPID, focusing on its continuous acquisition mode under the challenging conditions that can be met in stereotactic radiotherapy verification.MethodsAn aS1000 EPID installed on a Varian TrueBeamSTx was irradiated with 6 and 10 MV unflattened and flattened photon beams. In order to avoid detector saturation, the source-to-detector distance (SDD) was set to 150 or 180 cm depending on the dose rate. EPID image sets were acquired in continuous mode (CM) and also in the commonly used integrated mode (IM) for comparison, to evaluate dose linearity (including dose rate dependence), repeatability, reproducibility, stability, ghosting effect and field size dependence.ResultsCM response linearity was found to be within 0.8% of IM and independent of dose rate. Response repeatability was slightly better for IM and FF beams, being in all cases within 0.9%. Reproducibility was within 0.6% for both modes and all beam qualities. Response stability between continuous frames varied within 1% for dynamic and static irradiations and for all the beam qualities, showing its independence from these parameters. Ghosting effect was not significant, being comparable to signal variations between continuous frames (±1%). Field size dependence in both modes agreed within 1%.ConclusionsThe dosimetric response of the aS1000 EPID in CM with FFF beams and high dose rates is comparable to that in IM and for flattened beams provided that the appropriate SDD is used. aS1000 EPID in continuous acquisition mode is therefore suitable for stereotactic applications.     

三维适形放疗治疗食管鳞癌的近期疗效、生存率及预后的影响因素分析

目的:观察三维适形放疗治疗食管鳞癌的近期疗效、生存率并分析其预后的影响因素。方法:纳入我院从2010年11月～2016年10月收治的食管鳞癌患者150例进行研究,按治疗方式的不同分成研究组(n=84,三维适形放疗治疗)和常规组(n=66,常规放疗治疗)。随访3年,比较两组近期疗效、毒副反应发生情况以及3年生存情况。单因素分析研究组患者3年生存情况与性别、年龄、病变长度、病变部位、大体肿瘤体积(GTV)的关系,多因素Logistic回归分析三维适形放疗食管鳞癌患者预后的影响因素。结果:研究组治疗总有效率显著优于常规组(P0.05)。研究组放射性食管损伤、血液毒性反应发生率均显著低于常规组(均P0.05)。研究组1、2、3年存活率均显著高于常规组(均P0.05)。单因素Logistic分析结果显示:不同年龄、病变长度、病变部位以及GTV的食管鳞癌患者三年生存率比较差异有统计学意义(均P0.05)。多因素Logistic回归分析发现年龄≥70岁、病变长度≥50 mm、病变部位为胸下段、GTV≥40 cm3均是三维适形放疗食管鳞癌患者3年内死亡的危险因素。结论:三维适形放疗治疗食管鳞癌患者的近期疗效优于常规放疗,可降低毒副反应发生率,提高生存率。年龄≥70岁、病变长度≥50 mm、病变部位为胸下段、GTV≥40 cm~3均是三维适形放疗食管鳞癌患者3年内死亡的危险因素,值得临床重点关注。     

食管癌调强放射治疗的初期疗效及急性放射性肺损伤的影响因素分析

摘要 目的：探讨食管癌调强放射治疗的初期疗效及急性放射性肺损伤的影响因素。方法：选取2015年1月-2019年1月在我院进行调强放射治疗的食管癌患者322例,评价食管癌调强放射治疗后一个月的疗效;按照是否发生急性放射性肺损伤（RILI）分为急性RILI组和无急性RILI组,采用多因素Logistic回归分析分析急性RILI的影响因素。结果：调强放射治疗的完全缓解和部分缓解的患者占98.45%;322例患者中90例（27.95%）出现急性RILI,其中36例（11.18%）出现2级及以上的急性RILI;急性RILI组和无急性RILI组间卡氏（KPS）评分、淋巴结转移、基础肺疾病、V5、V10、V20、V30和全肺平均剂量（MLD）差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）;多因素Logistic回归分析显示,KPS评分<80分、有淋巴结转移、有基础肺疾病,V5≥60%、V10≥40%、V20≥28%、V30≥20%和MLD≥10Gy是食管癌调强放射治疗后急性放射性肺损伤的危险因素（P<0.05）。结论：使用调强放射治疗技术治疗食管癌的初期疗效较好,治疗过程中,应充分考虑病患的临床特征,优化放疗方案和靶区,减少急性RILI的发生,提高食管癌患者放疗后的生存质量。     

Monte Carlo study on the secondary cancer risk estimations for patients undergoing prostate radiotherapy: A humanoid phantom study

AimThe aim of this study was to estimate the secondary malignancy risk from the radiation in FFB prostate linac-based radiotherapy for different organs of the patient.BackgroundRadiation therapy is one of the main procedures of cancer treatment. However, the application the radiation may impose dose to organs of the patient which can be the cause of some malignancies.Materials and methodsMonte Carlo (MC) simulation was used to calculate radiation doses to patient organs in 18 MV linear accelerator (linac) based radiotherapy. A humanoid MC phantom was used to calculate the equivalent dose s for different organs and probability of secondary cancer, fatal and nonfatal risk, and other risks and parameters related to megavoltage radiation therapy. In out-of-field radiation calculation, it could be seen that neutrons imparted a higher dose to distant organs, and the dose to surrounding organs was mainly due to absorbed scattered photons and electron contamination.ResultsOur results showed that the bladder and skin with 54.89 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy and 46.09 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy, respectively, absorbed the highest equivalent dose s from photoneutrons, while a lower dose was absorbed by the lung at 3.42 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy. The large intestine and bladder absorbed 55.00 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy and 49.08 × 10⁻³, respectively, which were the highest equivalent dose s due to photons. The brain absorbed the lowest out-of-field dose, at 1.87 × 10⁻³ mSv/Gy.ConclusionsWe concluded that secondary neutron portion was higher than other radiation. Then, we recommended more attention to neutrons in the radiation protection in linac based high energy radiotherapy.