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No standard treatment paradigm exists for previously irradiated locally recurrent rectal cancer (PILRRC). Carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) may improve oncologic outcomes and reduce toxicity compared with combined modality therapy (CMT). Eighty-five patients treated at Institution A with CIRT alone (70.4 Gy/16 fx) and eighty-six at Institution B with CMT (30 Gy/15 fx chemoradiation, resection, intraoperative electron radiotherapy (IOERT)) between 2006 and 2019 were retrospectively compared. Overall survival (OS), pelvic re-recurrence (PR), distant metastasis (DM), or any disease progression (DP) were analyzed with the Kaplan–Meier model, with outcomes compared using the Cox proportional hazards model. Acute and late toxicities were compared, as was the 2-year cost. The median time to follow-up or death was 6.5 years. Median OS in the CIRT and CMT cohorts were 4.5 and 2.6 years, respectively (p ≤ 0.01). No difference was seen in the cumulative incidence of PR (p = 0.17), DM (p = 0.39), or DP (p = 0.19). Lower acute grade ≥ 2 skin and GI/GU toxicity and lower late grade ≥ 2 GU toxicities were associated with CIRT. Higher 2-year cumulative costs were associated with CMT. Oncologic outcomes were similar for patients treated with CIRT or CMT, although patient morbidity and cost were lower with CIRT, and CIRT was associated with longer OS. Prospective comparative studies are needed.

Whole-lung irradiation is typically used in pediatric patients to decrease the risk of future lung metastases, but radiation dose to normal tissue is associated with long-term risks. Proton whole-lung irradiation (PWLI) provides an opportunity to decrease radiation dose to normal tissue and potentially decrease late toxicity.This retrospective study included patients treated with spot-scanning PWLI at a single institution. Toxicity and oncologic outcomes were reviewed. Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans were created prospectively or retrospectively for dosimetric comparisons. Simple paired t tests were performed to assess differences between IMRT and PWLI dosimetric parameters.Twelve patients treated with PWLI were included in this study. Median age was 15 years (range, 3-34). Most (75%) had Ewing sarcoma. Most (92%) received 15 Gy in 10 fractions PWLI, and 3 (25%) received a focal pulmonary boost. Median follow-up was 16.5 months (range, 0-40.4 months). At last follow-up, 1 patient died of disease, while 11 were still alive (7 without disease, 4 with ongoing disease). During and immediately after treatment, 5 patients developed fatigue, 2 patients developed cough, and 1 patient developed nausea. Each treatment-related adverse event was Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (version 5.0) grade 1 and resolved within 3 weeks of treatment completion. No patients have experienced clinical or radiographic pneumonitis or evidence of clinically apparent cardiac toxicity. Compared with IMRT plans, PWLI decreased mean dose to the heart, coronary artery, cardiac valve, left ventricle, aorta, breast, esophagus, kidney, liver, pancreas, thyroid, stomach, and spleen (all P.001), without sacrificing target coverage.PWLI is feasible to deliver, decreases dose to normal tissue compared with IMRT, and appears to be well-tolerated. PWLI provides potential for decreased late toxicity and merits further investigation.

Southern Black and Irish immigrant women represented the majority of domestic workers in US northeastern cities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This article argues that th...

Brainstem metastases comprise fewer than 7% of all brain metastases. Nonetheless, they present clinicians with unique clinical challenges in symptom management and treatment. No comprehensive review summarizing the management of brainstem metastases exists. This review aims to summarize epidemiology, anatomy, clinical correlation, prognosis, options for management of symptoms, treatment, treatment toxicity, and dose and fractionation for brainstem stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) as reported in the literature.In July 2021, we searched PubMed and Embase for retrospective studies of brainstem metastasis treatment, as well as case series and case reports describing diagnosis and clinical management of brainstem metastasis. Keywords and MeSH terms searched included "brainstem metastasis", "symptomatic brainstem metastasis", "brain metastasis", "stereotactic radiosurgery brainstem", "whole brain radiation brainstem", "brainstem metastasis resection", "brainstem radiation toxicity", "brainstem radiosurgery toxicity", "brainstem radiosurgery dose", and "radiosurgery dose tolerance". Titles and abstracts were screened for relevant articles and studies. References from full-text articles were screened for additional studies.Single-institution studies and multicenter retrospective analyses from 1993 to 2021 reflect a shift from reliance on whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) to SRS for primary treatment of brainstem metastases. Recent multicenter retrospective analyses and single-institution case series support the safety and efficacy of SRS of brainstem metastases in symptom management and preservation of quality of life. Incidence of radiation-induced toxicity following SRS of brainstem metastases is comparable to that of SRS for other brain metastases. Complications following brainstem SRS are most strongly associated with prior WBRT.Radiation oncologists play a central role in the treatment of brainstem metastases due to reliance on SRS. Dose and fractionation of brainstem SRS remain largely institution-dependent. The field would benefit from inclusion of brainstem metastases in prospective trials of SRS and studies of adverse effects of salvage WBRT after prior SRS of brainstem metastases.

Astroblastoma is a rare tumor of uncertain origin most commonly presenting in the cerebrum of children and young adults. The literature contains only case reports and small series regarding its radiologic features. This systematic review is the largest study of imaging findings of astroblastoma to date and serves to identify features that might differentiate it from other neoplasms. This study describes the imaging features of astroblastoma based on a systematic review of the literature and two new cases. We conducted a PubMed and Google Scholar database search that identified 59 publications containing 125 cases of pathology-confirmed astroblastoma, and we also added two new cases from our own institution. Data collected include patient age, gender, tumor location, morphology, calcifications and calvarial changes. We recorded findings on CT, MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), MR spectroscopy, positron emission tomography (PET) and catheter angiography. Age at diagnosis ranged 0–70 years (mean 18 years; median 14 years). Female-to-male ratio was 8:1. Of 127 cases, 66 reported CT, 78 reported MRI and 47 reported both findings. Not all authors reported all features, but the tumor features reported included supratentorial in 96% (122/127), superficial in 72% (48/67), well-demarcated in 96% (79/82), mixed cystic–solid in 93% (79/85), and enhancing in 99% (78/79). On CT, 84% (26/31) of astroblastomas were hyperattenuated, 73% (27/37) had calcifications and 7 cases reported adjacent calvarial erosion. Astroblastomas were hypointense on T1-W in 58% (26/45) and on T2-W in 50% (23/46) of MRI sequences. Peritumoral edema was present in 80% (40/50) of cases but was typically described as slight. Six cases included DWI findings, with 100% showing restricted diffusion. On MR spectroscopy, 100% (5/5) showed nonspecific tumor spectra with elevated choline and decreased N-acetylaspartate (NAA). PET revealed nonspecific reduced uptake of [F-18] 2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) and increased uptake of [11C]-Methionine in 100% (3/3) of cases. Catheter angiography findings (n=12) were variable, including hypervascularity in 67%, arteriovenous shunting in 33% and avascular areas in 25%. Astroblastomas occur most often in adolescent girls. Imaging often shows a supratentorial, superficial, well-defined, cystic–solid enhancing mass. On CT, most are hyperattenuated, have calcifications, and may remodel adjacent bone if superficial. MRI characteristically reveals a hypointense mass on T1-W and T2-W sequences with restricted diffusion. MR spectroscopy, PET and catheter angiography findings are nonspecific.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Astroblastoma is a rare tumor of uncertain origin most commonly presenting in the cerebral hemispheres of children and young adults. The literature has a few case reports and series regarding its radiologic features. This meta-analysis is the largest review of imaging findings to date and serves to differentiate astroblastoma from other neoplasms. METHODS: A PubMed search identified reports of astroblastoma with neuroimaging findings. Data collected included patient age, sex, tumor location, morphology, calcifications, calvarial changes and findings on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). RESULTS: Patient age range at diagnosis was 0-70 years (mean 18 years; median 14 years) with a female:male ratio of 8:1. Of 127 cases, 65 reported CT, 78 reported MRI and 47 reported both CT and MRI findings. Tumor location was supratentorial in 96% (122/127), superficial in 71% (47/66), well-demarcated in 96% (79/82), cystic-solid in 93% (79/85), and enhancing in 99% (77/78). On CT, 84% (26/31) of astroblastomas were hyperattenuated. Calcifications were present in 77% (27/35), with five cases also reporting adjacent calvarial erosion. Astroblastomas were hypointense on T1 in 58% (25/43) and hypointense on T2 in 50% (23/46). Peritumoral edema was present in 79% (38/48) of cases, but typically described as slight. Few cases reported DWI sequences, with 100% (4/4) showing hyperintensity and decreased ADC values indicating restricted diffusion. CONCLUSION: Most astroblastomas occur in young females. 96%, 71%, 96%, 93%, 99% are supratentorial, superficial, well-defined, cystic-solid, and enhancing, respectively. On CT, most are hyperattenuated, have calcifications, and if superficial, may erode adjacent bone. On MRI, astroblastomas are characteristically dark on both T1 and T2 with 100% of cases showing restricted diffusion on DWI.

Oncoviruses cause tremendous global cancer burden. For several DNA tumor viruses, human genome integration is consistently associated with cancer development. However, genomic features associated with tumor viral integration are poorly understood. We sought to define genomic determinants for 1897 loci prone to hosting human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) or Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). These were compared to HIV, whose enzyme-mediated integration is well understood. A comprehensive catalog of integration sites was constructed from the literature and experimentally-determined HPV integration sites. Features were scored in eight categories (genes, expression, open chromatin, histone modifications, methylation, protein binding, chromatin segmentation and repeats) and compared to random loci. Random forest models determined loci classification and feature selection. HPV and HBV integrants were not fragile site associated. MCPyV preferred integration near sensory perception genes. Unique signatures of integration-associated predictive genomic features were detected. Importantly, repeats, actively-transcribed regions and histone modifications were common tumor viral integration signatures.