84 research outputs found
Three friends' fancies ...
No full textVerses by E.W.B., J.C. and E.A.G.C. (i.e. Elizabeth Welch Backus, Jannet Carruthers, and Ella A. Germain Carruthers)Mode of access: Internet
The relevance of cardiac toxicity in radiotherapy for esophageal cancer
Full text linkEach year, approximately 3,000 new patients are diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the Netherlands. About 60% of these patients have potentially curable disease and undergo radiotherapy as part of their treatment. Over the past decade, chances of cure have increased, but the potential development of radiation-related toxicity remains a concern.This dissertation describes several chapters on the occurrence of various forms of cardiac toxicity before, during, and after radiotherapy in so-called "survivors" following treatment. Both retrospective analyses and two prospective studies were conducted for this purpose.In all chapters, a link was sought between radiation dose parameters and different forms of cardiac toxicity, both clinically (cardiac complications) and subclinically (measured via imaging and/or laboratory tests). The ultimate goal is to gather knowledge to make well-informed decisions in the future when designing and evaluating radiation plans for patients with esophageal cancer
Different Recurrence Pattern After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Compared to Surgery Alone in Esophageal Cancer Patients
No full text<p>To evaluate the rate and pattern of recurrences after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in esophageal cancer patients.</p><p>We described survival and differences in recurrences from a single center between neoadjuvant CRT (carboplatin/paclitaxel and 41.4 Gy) and surgery alone for the period 2000-2011. To reduce bias, we performed a propensity score matched analysis.</p><p>A total of 204 patients were analyzed, 75 treated with neoadjuvant CRT and 129 with surgery alone. The pathologic response to neoadjuvant CRT was 69 % with a complete response rate of 25 %. After matching, baseline characteristics between the groups (both n = 75) were equally distributed. The 3- and 5-year disease-free survival was 53 and 42 % in the neoadjuvant CRT group compared with 24 and 18 % in the surgery-alone group (P = 0.011). After 3 and 5 years' CRT, patients had an estimated locoregional recurrence-free survival of 83 and 73 % compared with 52 and 49 % in the surgery-alone group (P = 0.015). The distant recurrence-free survival was comparable in both groups. Locoregional recurrences were located less in the paraesophageal lymph nodes in the CRT group than in the surgery-alone group, 9 versus 21 %, respectively (P = 0.041). With respect to differences in distant recurrences, we observed more skeletal recurrences in the surgery-alone group compared to CRT, 12 versus 1 % (P = 0.009).</p><p>The neoadjuvant CRT regimen we used offers a significant improvement in outcome, with a different recurrence pattern compared with surgery alone. This effect is probably due to both the pathologic complete response and eradication of micrometastases in CRT group.</p>
The root essential oil from the Tunisian endemic plant Ferula tunetana: Chemical composition, biological evaluation, molecular docking analysis and drug-likeness prediction
No full textOxidative stress is closely related to cancer aspects, such as the induction of gene muta-tions resulting from cellular injury and the effects on transcription and signal transduction factors. In addition, antibiotic resistance is also linked with oxidative stress, which could contribute to the selection of resistant bacterial strains. With this in mind, and considering that essential oils are well known to display antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities, this study was destined to in-vestigate the chemical composition and to screen these properties for the root essential oil (REO) of the Tunisian endemic species Ferula tunetana Pomel ex Batt. The REO GC/MS analysis led to the identification of nine compounds, representing 94.5% of the total oil composition. The phytochem-ical profile of this essential oil (EO) was characterized by the dominance of sesquiterpenes, compris-ing 11.7% of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and 82.8% of oxygenated sesquiterpenes. The three major constituents of the EO were caryophyllene oxide (33.9%), a-cyperone (13.9%), and 14-hydroxy-9- epi-(E)-caryophyllene (12.3%). REO showed a good antioxidant potential against DPPH (IC50 = 30.13 & PLUSMN; 0.28 & mu;g/mL), O2 & BULL;- (IC50 = 42.87 & PLUSMN; 0.81 & mu;g/mL) and H2O2 (IC50 = 48.03 & PLUSMN; 1.21 & mu;g/mL). Additionally, the antimicrobial activity results showed that REO had a strong an-tibacterial potential against all target microbial strains, including five Gram-negative, six Gram-positive bacteria, and two Candida species (MICs = 0.039-0.625 mg/mL). Furthermore, the ex-tracted EO was found to have good cytotoxic properties against five human cell lines viz. HT-29, HCT-116, HeLa, A549 and U937, with IC50 values ranging from 3.37 & PLUSMN; 0.02 to 46.66 & PLUSMN; 1.22 & mu;g/mL. The main REO constituents were docked to the human DNA topoisomerase IIa en-zyme and the in vitro cellular toxicities were rationalized. The drug-likeness of the main compounds identified in the studied EO was predicted. Overall, the results of the current study prove that the EO of F. tunetana roots has a noteworthy antioxidant potential and represents an interesting can-didate to treat infectious diseases and cancer. & COPY; 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Limited Value of Staging Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anal Margin and Canal Using the Sentinel Lymph Node Procedure: A Prospective Study with Long-Term Follow-Up
Full text linkBackground. Selection of patients with anal cancer for groin irradiation is based on tumor size, palpation, ultrasound, and fine needle cytology. Current staging of anal cancer may result in undertreatment in small tumors and overtreatment of large tumors. This study reports the feasibility of the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with anal cancer and whether this improves the selection for inguinal radiotherapy. Methods. A total of 50 patients with squamous anal cancer were evaluated prospectively. Patients without a SLNB (n = 29) received irradiation of the inguinal lymph nodes based on lymph node status, tumor size, and location of the primary tumor. Inguinal irradiation treatment in patients with a SLNB was based on the presence of metastases in the SLN. Results. SLNs were found in all 21 patients who underwent a SLNB. There were 5 patients (24%) who had complications after SLNB and 7 patients (33%) who had a positive SLN and received inguinal irradiation. However, 2 patients with a tumor-free SLN and no inguinal irradiation developed lymph node metastases after 12 and 24 months, respectively. Conclusions. We conclude that SLNB in anal cancer is technically feasible. SLNB can identify those patients who would benefit from refrain of inguinal irradiation treatment and thereby reducing the incidence of unnecessary inguinal radiotherapy. However, because of the occurrence of inguinal lymph node metastases after a tumor-negative SLNB, introduction of this procedure as standard of care in all patients with anal carcinoma should be done with caution to avoid undertreatment of patient who otherwise would benefit from inguinal radiotherapy
IN RESPONSE TO: STUDY TO DETERMINE ADEQUATE MARGINS IN RADIOTHERAPY PLANNING FOR ESOPHAGEAL CARCINOMA BY DETAILING PATTERNS OF RECURRENCE AFTER DEFINITIVE CHEMORADIOTHERAPY
No full textSystematic review of the role of a belly board device in radiotherapy delivery in patients with pelvic malignancies
No full textAbstractPurposeThis review analyses the literature concerning the influence of the patient position (supine, prone and prone on a belly board device (BB) on the irradiated small-bowel-volume (SB-V)) and the resulting morbidity of radiation therapy (RT) in pelvic malignancies.MethodsA literature search was performed in MEDLINE, web of science and Scopus.ResultsForty-six full papers were found, of which 33 met the eligibility criteria. Fifteen articles focussed on the irradiated SB-V using dose volume histograms (DVHs). Twenty-seven articles studied the patient setup in different patient positions.This review showed that a prone treatment position can result in a lower irradiated SB-V as compared to a supine position, but a more significant reduction of the SB-V can be reached by the additional use of a BB in prone position, for both 3D-CRT and IMRT treatment plans. This reduction of the irradiated SB-V might result in a reduced GI-morbidity. The patient position did not influence the required PTV margins for prostate and rectum.ConclusionsThe irradiated SB-V can be maximally reduced by the use of a prone treatment position combined with a BB for both 3D-CRT and IMRT, which might individually result in a reduction of GI-morbidity
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