Predicting the impact of target volume contouring variations on the organ at risk dose: results of a qualitative survey.

Purpose: Integrating auto-contouring in radiotherapy workflows is shifting the role of radiation oncologists from manual delineation to reviewing and correcting automatically generated contours. However, we postulate that this process is hindered by significant inter-evaluator variability in assessing the dosimetric impact of contour variations. This study investigates how radiation oncologists and medical physicists evaluate the impact of glioblastoma target volume (TV) variations on the dose to organs at risk (OARs), focusing on understanding inter-evaluator variability and decision-making patterns.

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy for esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer: results from a retrospective study using extended CROSS regimen.

Background: The standard of care for locally advanced esophageal cancer includes perioperative chemotherapy or neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (CRT), followed by surgery. At our institution, a modified neo-adjuvant regimen combining elements from CROSS and CALGB 9781 trials was adopted. This study aimed to assess the impact of our modified regimen on oncological outcomes, toxicity profile and pathological complete response rates compared to the CROSS trial.

Intraoperative Radiation Therapy for Gynecologic Malignancies: When Is It Indicated?

: Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is the delivery of a single large dose of radiation to a limited volume of tissue at the time of surgery. The aim of this study is to assess outcomes in patients who underwent IORT for gynecologic malignancies and to identify parameters that can predict a good outcome. : This is a retrospective single-center cohort study including all women treated with surgery and IORT for a primary or recurrent gynecologic cancer between 2014 and 2022 at the Bern University Hospital, Switzerland.

Safety and usability of oncology information systems - a systematic review.

Background: Digitalization has become integral to healthcare and specifically cancer treatment. Healthcare providers in oncology widely use electronic data collection and management systems in contemporary clinical practice. However, some reports point to severe problems regarding usability, which negatively impact the clinical workforce, as well as safety issues related to electronic health records, which potentially endanger patients.

Focal brachytherapy as definitive treatment for localized prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we describe the oncologic and toxicity outcomes of definitive focal brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: A PROSPERO registered study (CRD42023410170) was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Embase, and The Cochrane Library were searched for studies between 2000 and 2022.

Exploring Capabilities of Large Language Models such as ChatGPT in Radiation Oncology.

Purpose: Technological progress of machine learning and natural language processing has led to the development of large language models (LLMs), capable of producing well-formed text responses and providing natural language access to knowledge. Modern conversational LLMs such as ChatGPT have shown remarkable capabilities across a variety of fields, including medicine. These models may assess even highly specialized medical knowledge within specific disciplines, such as radiation therapy.

Therapy Resistance of Glioblastoma in Relation to the Subventricular Zone: What Is the Role of Radiotherapy?

Glioblastoma is a highly heterogeneous primary malignant brain tumor with marked inter-/intratumoral diversity and a poor prognosis. It may contain a population of neural stem cells (NSC) and glioblastoma stem cells that have the capacity for migration, self-renewal and differentiation. While both may contribute to resistance to therapy, NSCs may also play a role in brain tissue repair.

VoiceS: voice quality after transoral CO laser surgery versus single vocal cord irradiation for unilateral stage 0 and I glottic larynx cancer-a randomized phase III trial.

Background: Surgery and radiotherapy are well-established standards of care for unilateral stage 0 and I early-stage glottic cancer (ESGC). Based on comparative studies and meta-analyses, functional and oncological outcomes after both treatment modalities are similar. Historically, radiotherapy (RT) has been performed by irradiation of the whole larynx.

Impact of pretreatment second look FDG-PET/CT on stage and treatment changes in head and neck cancer.

Background: Patients diagnosed with locoregionally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LAHNSCC) regularly undergo staging with F-FDG PET/CT in our center. In cases of delays in radiotherapy (RT) planning CT more than 4 weeks after initial PET/CT or clinically suspected progress, PET/CT is repeated for restaging and as an RT planning reference. Our aim was to determine the impact of second-look PET/CT on stage migration, treatment change and RT planning.