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Numerous randomised controlled trials have demonstrated the benefit of radiation therapy in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and it has been the cornerstone of treatment for decades. The aims of this review are to (1) Briefly outline the historical studies which resulted in radiation being the current standard of care as used in the Stupp et al. trial (2) Discuss the evolving role of radiation therapy in the management of elderly patients (3) Review the current evidence and ongoing studies of radiation use in the recurrent/salvage setting and (4) Discuss the continuing controversies of volume delineation in the planning of radiation delivery.

Purpose: To determine whether the inhalation of aromatherapy during radiotherapy reduces anxiety., Patients and Methods: Three hundred thirteen patients undergoing radiotherapy were randomly assigned to receive either carrier oil with fractionated oils, carrier oil only, or pure essential oils of lavender, bergamot, and cedarwood administered by inhalation concurrently with radiation treatment. Patients underwent assessment by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Somatic and Psychological Health Report (SPHERE) at baseline and at treatment completion., Results: There were no significant differences in HADS depression or SPHERE scores between the randomly assigned groups. However, HADS anxiety scores were significantly lower at treatment completion in the carrier oil only group compared with either of the fragrant arms (P =.04)., Conclusion: Aromatherapy, as administered in this study, is not beneficial.

Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cardiac dosimetry delivered before and after routine 3D CT whole-breast radiotherapy planning, including cardiac contouring and the relevance of a 15-mm maximum myocardial depth ( MMD) planning tolerance threshold. Methods The PULp FICTion study permitted cardiac dosimetry comparisons for 140 patients (70 in the 'before-contouring era' ( BC) and 70 in the 'post-contouring era' ( PC) ). Comparisons were made of MMD and dosimetry for whole heart, anterior myocardium and left anterior descending ( LAD)/coronary artery (overall, superior and inferior) by contouring era. Results The MMD mean was 15.6 mm (range 1-40). If the internal mammary chain ( IMC) was treated, the MMD increased from 15 to 27.7 mm ( P < 0.0001). Excluding IMC patients revealed no difference in MMD between conservation and mastectomy (14.9 vs 17.4, P = 0.3), boost and no boost (14.5 vs 15.5, P = 0.41) or BC and PC (15.7 vs 14.5. P = 0.33) and no differences related to treating clinician, anthracycline use or age. Only in potentially low-risk patients defined as not requiring IMC or boost treatment was there a difference in MMD by era, with 17.7 mm (1-40) in the BC era and 13.9 mm (1-31) mm in the PC era ( P = 0.013). Inferior LAD mean doses increased from 49% to 84% of the prescribed breast dose when MMD was >15 mm, and the proportion of patients with a mean dose <40% of the prescribed breast dose fell from 48% to 8%. Conclusion Changes in cardiac dosimetry associated with routine cardiac contouring have initially been minor and restricted to low-risk patients. A 15-mm MMD reasonably represents a transition from low mean distal LAD doses to substantial doses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Splenic irradiation in the management of hairy cell leukaemia is previously unreported. A case is presented here to illustrate that splenic irradiation may be a useful addition to systemic therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]