Outcomes following stereotactic radiosurgery for high-grade brain arteriovenous malformations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the brain are a leading cause of stroke in the young and carry a lifetime risk of intracerebral hemorrhage. The management options for high-grade AVMs are limited. Resection is often associated with high rates of postoperative morbidity, and the results of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for these lesions thus far have been mixed.

Quantification of Organ Motion in Male and Female Patients Undergoing Long-Course Radiation Therapy for Rectal Cancer in the Supine Position.

Purpose: Previous studies have reported data on the internal rectal motion of patients with rectal cancer treated in the prone position. With the introduction of intensity modulated techniques, more patients are treated in the more reproducible supine position. Data informing specific margins for this treatment position are sparse, as are data comparing rectal motion characteristics and factors in male and female patients.

Treatment of multiple intracranial metastases in radiation oncology: a contemporary review of available technologies.

The use of stereotactic radiosurgery to treat multiple intracranial metastases, frequently concurrently, has become increasingly common. The ability to accurately and safely deliver stereotactic radiosurgery treatment to multiple intracranial metastases (MIM) relies heavily on the technology available for targeting, planning, and delivering the dose. A number of platforms are currently marketed for such applications, each with intrinsic capabilities and limitations.

Determining normal tissue dose in intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery: A diameter-based predictive nomogram.

A major factor in dose-fractionation selection for intracranial metastases in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is the size of the target lesion and consequently the dose-volume to the surrounding normal brain tissue (NTV), as this has been correlated with brain radiation necrosis (RN). This study outlines the development and validation of a predictive model that can estimate the NTV for a range of dose-fractionation schemes based on target diameter from a patient's MRI. Data from a cohort of historical SRS clinical treatment plans were used to extract three key input parameters for the model - conformity index, gradient index, and a scaling factor which were then defined as a function of target volume.

Code of ethics for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (Revised): Report of Task Group 109.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) has established a comprehensive Code of Ethics for its members. The Code is a formal part of AAPM governance, maintained as Professional Policy 24, and includes both principles of ethical practice and the rules by which a complaint will be adjudicated. The structure and content of the Code have been crafted to also serve the much broader purpose of giving practical ethical guidance to AAPM members for making sound decisions in their professional lives.

A novel dynamic arc treatment planning solution to reduce dose to small bowel in preoperative radiotherapy for rectal cancer.

Preoperative radiotherapy or combined chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) can cause acute and late gastrointestinal (GI) side-effects. There is thought to be a dose-volume relationship between small bowel irradiation and the development of these effects. A planning study was undertaken to compare small bowel sparing for a range of 3D conformal and dynamic arc planning solutions.

Stereotactic radiosurgery to surgical cavity post resection of brain metastases: Local recurrence and overall survival rates. A single-centre experience.

Introduction: We reviewed local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) post intracranial SRS to cavity post resection of brain metastases at one institution, and factors affecting LC.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of adjuvant SRS at one institution from 2013 to 2016. Patient records, treatment plans and diagnostic images were reviewed.

Efficacy evaluation of retrospectively applying the Varian normal breathing predictive filter for volume definition and artifact reduction in 4D CT lung patients.

Phase-based sorting of four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) datasets is prone to image artifacts due to patient's breathing irregularities that occur during the image acquisition. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the Varian normal breathing predictive filter (NBPF) as a retrospective phase-sorting parameter in 4D CT. Ten 4D CT lung cancer datasets were obtained.

Sensitivity of volumetric modulated arc therapy patient specific QA results to multileaf collimator errors and correlation to dose volume histogram based metrics.

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of systematic multileaf collimator (MLC) positional errors on gamma analysis results used for quality assurance (QA) of Rapidarc treatments. In addition, this study evaluates the relationship of these gamma analysis results and clinical dose volume histogram metrics (DVH) for Rapidarc treatment plans.

Methods: Five prostate plans were modified by the introduction of systematic MLC errors.

Tissue permittivity: a monitor for progressive tissue fibrosis as observed in bystander tissues following experimental high dose rate irradiation.

Fibrosis is a pathological condition resulting from radiation injury which often limits the prescription of higher (or boost) doses of radiation, risking inadequate tumor control in patients. Recent studies have documented reduction in fibrotic lesions after administration of pentoxyfilline and tocopherol combinations to breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant radiation therapy. Despite the promise of these findings, no techniques or markers are available which can be used to identify the onset or progression of fibrosis in such patients at stages early enough to allow maximum benefit from these types of pharmacological agents.

High dose rate radiation treatment of experimental intramuscular prostate carcinoma.

Purpose: The Dunning R3327-MLL is a well established transplanted tumour line, and as such it makes a desirable model for evaluative studies of therapy. In the current study, the interstitial growth characteristics as well as the response of this tumour to a single fraction of high dose rate radiation is investigated.

Materials And Methods: The in vitro response to radiation of the Dunning R3327-MLL was studied via a colony forming assay using a Cs-137 irradiator.

Feasibility studies of electrical impedance spectroscopy for early tumor detection in rats.

Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been previously reported as a technique for non invasive assessment of tissue change. Our previous in vivo studies demonstrated the ability of EIS to non-invasively detect and longitudinally follow tumor growth. This study was designed to determine the ability of EIS to detect tumors at a very early stage post-implantation.