OBJECTIVES: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) frequently encounter weight loss with multiple negative outcomes as a consequence. Adequate treatment is best achieved by early identification of patients at risk for critical weight loss. The objective of this study was to detect predictive factors …

The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-fractional deformation of the esophagus during radiotherapy treatment of esophageal cancer, using three-dimensional (3D) kilovolt (kV) conebeam computed tomography (CBCT). Additionally, deformation of the aorta and distance between aorta and esophagus …

Purpose / objective: Head and neck cancer patients treated with chemoradiation are at risk for developing trismus (reduced mouth opening). Trismus is often a persisting side-effect and difficult to manage. It impairs eating, speech and oral hygiene, affecting quality of life. Although several studies …

Malnutrition is a frequent problem in patients with head and neck cancer. Prevention or timely treatment of malnutrition is of great importance because deteriorated nutritional status can have a negative effect on clinical outcome in head and neck cancer patients. Malnutrition is a multidimensional problem, …

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate that novice dosimetry planners efficiently create clinically acceptable IMRT plans for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients using a commercially available multicriteria optimization (MCO) system. METHODS: Twenty HNC patients were enrolled in this in-silico comparative planning …

Background: The majority of patients diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer are in a position to choose between having a mastectomy or lumpectomy with radiation therapy (breast-conserving therapy). Since the long-term survival rates for mastectomy and for lumpectomy with radiation therapy are comparable, …

Background and purpose: Treatment plan verification of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is generally performed with the gamma index (GI) evaluation method, which is difficult to extrapolate to clinical implications. Incorporating Dose Volume Histogram (DVH) information can compensate for this. …

The architecture of TP 53 , the most frequently mutated gene in human cancer, is more complex than previously thought. Using TP 53 variants as clinical biomarkers to predict response to treatment or patient outcome requires an unequivocal and standardized procedure toward a definitive strategy for the …

PURPOSE: To determine the impact of late radiation-induced toxicity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study sample was composed of 227 patients, treated with external beam radiotherapy. Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events …

When treating cancer by radiation therapy it is always the goal to irradiate the tumour as much as possible and to spare the healthy tissue around it. For this a new type of radiation therapy called Volumetric Modulated ARC Therapy (VMAT) has been developed. During VMAT treatment the radiation machine …