Positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could improve accuracy in target volume determination for gastrointestinal cancers. A systematic ...search of the PubMed database was performed, focusing on studies published within the last 20 years. Articles were considered eligible for the review if they included patients with anal canal, esophageal, rectal or pancreatic cancer, as well as PET/CT or MRI for radiotherapy treatment planning, and if they reported interobserver variability or changes in treatment planning volume due to different imaging modalities or correlation between the imaging modality and histopathologic specimen. The search of the literature retrieved 1396 articles. We retrieved six articles from an additional search of the reference lists of related articles. Forty-one studies were included in the final review. PET/CT seems indispensable for target volume determination of pathological lymph nodes in esophageal and anal canal cancer. MRI seems appropriate for the delineation of primary tumors in the pelvis as rectal and anal canal cancer. Delineation of the target volumes for radiotherapy of pancreatic cancer remains challenging, and additional studies are needed.
Oligometastatic disease (OMD) is a stage between locally advanced disease and polymetastatic disease, a group of diseases that are used interchangeably based on treatment history, ongoing treatment ...status, and imaging findings. The diagnosis of OMD is based on imaging because, as of yet, we are not aware of any specific biomarkers that would enable us to recognize patients with a low disease burden. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in optimizing the treatment of OMD, owing mostly to the promising outcomes of combining local and systemic treatment. For the first time, the prospect of achieving long-term cures or possibly curing these individuals was established using this form of treatment. The standard name of OMD subgroups allows for the comparison of diverse circumstances in everyday clinical work, as well as the classification for clinical study comparability.
The aim of our study was to obtain reference data of the EORTC QLQ-C30 quality of life dimensions for the general Slovenian population. We intend to provide the researchers and clinicians in our ...country with the expected mean health-related quality of life (HRQL) scores for distinctive socio-demographic population groups.
The EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire supplemented by a socio-demographic inquiry was mailed or distributed to 1,685 randomly selected individuals in the Slovenian population aged 18 - 90. Answers from 1,231 subjects representing socio-demographic diversity of the Slovenian population were collected and transformed into EORTC dimensions and symptoms. The impact of socio-demographic features on HRQL scores was assessed by multiple linear regression models.
Gender, age and self-rated social class are the important confounders in the quality of life scores in our population. Men reported better quality of life on the majority of the specific scales and, at the same time, reported fewer symptoms. There was no gender-specific difference in cognitive functioning. The mean scores were consistently lower with age in both sexes.
This is the first study to report the normative EORTC QLQ-C30 scores for one of the south-eastern European populations. The reported expected mean scores allow Slovenian oncologists to estimate what the quality of life in cancer patients would be, had they not been ill. As they are derived by common methodology, our results can easily be included in any further international comparisons or in the calculation of European summarized HRQL scores.
V prispevku je opisan primer bolnice z lokalno napredovalim holangiokarcinomom intrahepatalnih žolčnih vodov, ki je redek malignom s svojevrstnim kliničnim potekom. Ob postavitvi diagnoze ima večina ...bolnikov napredovalo obliko bolezni in so posledično kandidati le za nekirurško zdravljenje – kemoterapijo, kombinacijo kemoterapije in radioterapije ali samo radioterapijo. Glavna omejitev pri zdravljenju z radioterapijo je doza, ki jo prejmejo jetra in priležni cevasti organi, zato se v zadnjem času čedalje bolj uveljavlja zdravljenje s stereotaktično radioterapijo, ki omogoča, da dovedemo visoko dozo na tumor ob tem, da ščitimo rizične organe. Raziskave, ki so bile objavljene v zadnjih letih, so pokazale dobre rezultate zdravljenja inoperabilne bolezni z namenom poskusa zazdravitve bolezni in podaljšanja celokupnega preživetja.
The development of novel treatment methods is crucial for managing refractory ventricular tachycardia resistant to conventional therapies. Stereotactic arrhythmia radiotherapy holds promising ...potential for such patients, enabling precise non-invasive ablation of arrhythmogenic substrate with minimal damage to surrounding organs. This approach could be invaluable for patients in whom the target tissue is inaccessible through catheter ablation, frequent implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shocks significantly diminish their quality of life, or for those contraindicated for such treatment options due to poor health status. The target for irradiation is precisely defined through prior imaging diagnostics, ECGs of ventricular tachycardias and invasive or non-invasive electrophysiological mapping of the heart. After radiation treatment planning, irradiation of a single high dose of 25 Gy follows, which is generally well tolerated by the patients. Previous studies have reported good treatment efficacy, with a significant reduction in ventricular tachycardia episode frequency, while causing minimal side effects. We report on the first group of four patients with high-risk refractory ventricular tachycardia treated with stereotactic arrhythmia radiotherapy at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana. This opens new possibilities for the treatment of this vulnerable patient group within the Slovenian healthcare system and contributes to the evolving field of radiotherapeutic treatment.
This phase 2 study investigated the efficacy and safety of preoperative intensity modulated radiation therapy with a simultaneous integrated boost (IMRT-SIB) without dose escalation, concomitant with ...standard capecitabine chemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer.
Between January 2014 and March 2015, 51 patients with operable stage II-III rectal adenocarcinoma received preoperative IMRT with pelvic dose of 41.8 Gy and simultaneously delivered 46.2 Gy to T2/3 and 48.4 Gy to T4 tumor in 22 fractions, concomitant with capecitabine, 825 mg/m
/12 hours, including weekends. The primary endpoint was pathologic complete response (pCR).
Fifty patients completed preoperative treatment according to the protocol, and 47 underwent surgical resection. The sphincter preservation rate for the low rectal tumors was 62%, and the resection margins were free in all but 1 patient. Decrease in tumor and nodal stage was observed in 32 (68%) and 39 (83%) patients, respectively, with pCR achieved in 12 (25.5%) patients. There were only 2 G ≥ 3 acute toxicities, with infectious enterocolitis in 1 patient and dermatitis over the sacral area caused by the bolus effect of the treatment table in the second patient.
Preoperative IMRT-SIB without dose escalation is well tolerated, with a low acute toxicity profile, and can achieve a high rate of pCR and downstaging.
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