Acta oncologica
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Comparative Study
Respiratory gating for proton beam scanning versus photon 3D-CRT for breast cancer radiotherapy.
Background Respiratory gating and proton therapy have both been proposed to reduce the cardiopulmonary burden in breast cancer radiotherapy. This study aims to investigate the additional benefit of proton radiotherapy for breast cancer with and without respiratory gating. Material and methods Twenty left-sided patients were planned on computed tomography (CT)-datasets acquired during enhanced inspiration gating (EIG) and free-breathing (FB), using photon three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) and scanned proton beams. ⋯ Similarly, the mean and the near maximum dose to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) with protons in comparison with photons. Conclusion Proton spot scanning has a high potential to reduce the irradiation of organs at risk and other normal tissues for most patients, beyond what could be achieved with EIG and photon therapy. The largest dose sparing has been seen for BRN patients, both in terms of cardiopulmonary burden and integral dose.
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At a national level, it is unknown to what degree elderly patients with pancreatic or periampullary carcinoma benefit from surgical treatment compared to their younger counterparts. We investigated resection rates and outcomes after surgical treatment among elderly patients. ⋯ Despite higher short-term mortality, octogenarians who underwent pancreatic resection showed long-term survival similar to younger patients. With careful patient screening and counselling of elderly patients, a further increase of resection rates may be combined with improved outcomes.
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To investigate whether variations in primary chemotherapy were associated with survival in a nationally complete cohort of Australian women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). ⋯ Our results suggest that RDI of 70% or less was associated with poorer survival, particularly in women with advanced stage EOC. In contrast, the interval duration between primary surgery and chemotherapy was not related to survival, irrespective of disease stage or residual disease. These results provide some reassurance that, at least up until five weeks post-surgery, timing of chemotherapy commencement has a negligible effect on survival.
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Detection of bone metastases in breast and prostate cancer patients remains a major clinical challenge. The aim of the current trial was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of (99m)Tc-hydroxymethane diphosphonate ((99m)Tc-HDP) planar bone scintigraphy (BS), (99m)Tc-HDP SPECT, (99m)Tc-HDP SPECT/CT, (18)F-NaF PET/CT and whole body 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion weighted imaging, (wbMRI+DWI) for the detection of bone metastases in high risk breast and prostate cancer patients. ⋯ wbMRI+DWI showed similar diagnostic accuracy to (18)F-NaF PET/CT and outperformed (99m)Tc-HDP SPECT/CT, and (99m)Tc-HDP BS.
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Multicenter Study
Deciding about (neo-)adjuvant rectal and breast cancer treatment: Missed opportunities for shared decision making.
The first step in shared decision making (SDM) is creating choice awareness. This is particularly relevant in consultations concerning preference-sensitive treatment decisions, e.g. those addressing (neo-)adjuvant therapy. Awareness can be achieved by explicitly stating, as the 'reason for encounter', that a treatment decision needs to be made. It is unknown whether oncologists express such reason for encounter. This study aims to establish: 1) if 'making a treatment decision' is stated as a reason for the encounter and if not, what other reason for encounter is provided; and 2) whether mentioning that a treatment decision needs to be made is associated with enhanced patient involvement in decision making. ⋯ This study suggests that oncologists rarely express that a treatment decision needs to be made in consultations concerning preference-sensitive treatment decisions. Therefore, patients might not realize that foregoing (neo-)adjuvant treatment is a viable choice. Oncologists miss a crucial opportunity to facilitate SDM.