Acta oncologica
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Comparative Study
Hypofractionation does not increase radiation pneumonitis risk with modern conformal radiation delivery techniques.
To study the interaction between radiation dose distribution and hypofractionated radiotherapy with respect to the risk of radiation pneumonitis (RP) estimated from normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. ⋯ Modern highly conformal dose distributions are radiobiologically more forgiving with respect to hypofractionation, even for a normal tissue endpoint where α/β is lower than for the tumor in question.
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Validating a predictive model for late rectal bleeding following external beam treatment for prostate cancer would enable safer treatments or dose escalation. We tested the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model recommended in the recent QUANTEC review (quantitative analysis of normal tissue effects in the clinic). ⋯ Observed complications, and best-fit parameter estimates, were consistent with the QUANTEC-preferred NTCP model. However, predictive power was low, at least partly because the rectal dose distribution characteristics do not vary greatly within this patient cohort.
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To investigate the use of FDG-PET/CT before, during and after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) before CRT for the prediction of pathological response (pCR) in rectal cancer patients. ⋯ The combination of the different time points and the different imaging modalities increased the specificity of the response assessment both during and after CRT.