International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Feb 2019
Salary and Resources Provided to Junior Faculty in Radiation Oncology.
Given the importance of access to key resources to ensure future academic success, we seek to describe what is currently provided to junior faculty in radiation oncology. ⋯ These findings suggest perceived needs for protected time, grants administration, and statistical support among junior faculty in radiation oncology.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jan 2019
Influence of Total Body Irradiation Dose Rate on Idiopathic Pneumonia Syndrome in Acute Leukemia Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.
To determine the relationship between dose rate and other factors in the development of idiopathic pneumonia syndrome (IPS) in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia who are undergoing total body irradiation (TBI)-based myeloablative conditioning for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). ⋯ TBI dose rates ≤15 cGy/min reduce the risk of posttransplantation IPS and improve overall survival. LDR TBI should be strongly considered as an easily implemented parameter to improve the safety of pretransplantation TBI-based conditioning.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Dec 2018
Radiation-Induced Cerebral Microbleeds in Pediatric Patients With Brain Tumors Treated With Proton Radiation Therapy.
Proton beam radiation therapy (PBT) has been increasingly used to treat pediatric brain tumors; however, limited information exists regarding radiation-induced cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) among these patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and imaging appearance of CMBs in pediatric patients with brain tumors treated with PBT. ⋯ CMBs develop in a high percentage of pediatric patients with brain tumors treated with proton radiation therapy within the first few years after treatment. Significant risk factors for development of CMBs include younger age at time of PBT, higher maximum radiation therapy dose, and higher percentage and volume of brain exposed to ≥30 Gy. These findings demonstrate similarities with CMBs that develop in pediatric patients with brain tumor treated with photon radiation therapy.
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Radiomics describes the extraction of multiple, otherwise invisible, features from medical images that, with bioinformatic approaches, can be used to provide additional information that can predict underlying tumor biology and behavior. ⋯ Although at an early stage of development, with many technical challenges remaining and a need for standardization, promise nevertheless exists that PET radiomics will contribute to personalized medicine, especially with the availability of increased computing power and the development of machine-learning approaches for imaging.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Nov 2018
ReviewRadiomics in Nuclear Medicine Applied to Radiation Therapy: Methods, Pitfalls, and Challenges.
Radiomics is a recent area of research in precision medicine and is based on the extraction of a large variety of features from medical images. In the field of radiation oncology, comprehensive image analysis is crucial to personalization of treatments. A better characterization of local heterogeneity and the shape of the tumor, depicting individual cancer aggressiveness, could guide dose planning and suggest volumes in which a higher dose is needed for better tumor control. ⋯ These difficulties mostly pertain to the variability of the imaging features as a function of the acquisition device and protocol, the robustness of the models with respect to that variability, and the interpretation of the radiomic models. Addressing the impact of the variability in acquisition and reconstruction protocols is needed, as is harmonizing the radiomic feature calculation methods, to ensure the reproducibility of studies in a multicenter context and their implementation in a clinical workflow. In this review, we explain the potential impact of positron emission tomography radiomics for radiation therapy and underline the various aspects that need to be carefully addressed to make the most of this promising approach.