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Las estrategias encaminadas a estudiar, poner en valor y conservar bienes patrimoniales han de contemplar diferentes perspectivas que trasciendan del ámbito de lo meramente material. De ahí que cada vez se conceda más importancia al contexto paisajístico en el que se enmarca un determinado bien patrimonial, concediendo al paisaje una dimensión histórica, por cuanto es el resultado de la acción de los Seres Humanos sobre el medio natural. En este trabajo presentamos los resultados del estudio arqueobotánico, tanto sobre macrorrestos vegetales (restos de madera carbonizada y sin carbonizar) como sobre microrrestos vegetales, procedentes del Valle Salado (Salinas de Añana, Álava, España), un paisaje salino con una historia milenaria.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is greatly affected by prostate cancer (PCa) and associated treatments. This study aimed to measure the impact of radiotherapy on HRQoL and to further validate the Spanish version of the 16-item Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC-16) in routine clinical practice. METHODS: An observational, non-interventional, multicenter study was conducted in Spain with localized PCa patients initiating treatment with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or brachytherapy (BQT). Changes from baseline in EPIC-16, University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI), and patient-perceived health status were longitudinally assessed at end of radiotherapy (V2) and 90 days thereafter (V3). Psychometric evaluations of the Spanish EPIC-16 were conducted. RESULTS: Of 516 patients enrolled, 495 were included in the analysis (EBRT, n = 361; BQT, n = 134). At baseline, mean (standard deviation [SD]) EPIC-16 global scores were 11.9 (7.5) and 10.3 (7.7) for EBRT and BQT patients, respectively; scores increased, i.e., HRQoL worsened, from baseline, by mean (SD) of 6.8 (7.6) at V2 and 2.4 (7.4) at V3 for EBRT and 4.2 (7.6) and 3.9 (8.2) for BQT patients. Changes in Spanish EPIC-16 domains correlated well with urinary, bowel, and sexual UCLA-PCI domains. EPIC-16 showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .84), reliability, and construct validity. CONCLUSION: The Spanish EPIC-16 questionnaire demonstrated sensitivity, strong discriminative properties and reliability, and validity for use in clinical practice. EPIC-16 scores worsened after radiotherapy in different HRQoL domains; however, a strong tendency towards recovery was seen at the 3-month follow-up visit.

Objective: the main objective was to assess body composition in terms of skeletal muscle index (SMI), myosteatosis, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) as an adjunct of information provided by radiotherapy CT planning scan. Material and methods: a sample of 49 patients with lung and digestive cancers underwent a CT scan for radiotherapy treatment, which included measurements at the L3 region. Images were analyzed with a radiotherapy contouring software, using different Hounsfield Unit (HU) settings. Cross-sectional areas (cm(2)) were automatically computed by summing tissue pixels and multiplying by pixel surface area. Low SMI (cm(2)/m(2)) and muscle density (HU) were determined according to the recently established cut-off points. Results: the prevalence of low SMI was detected in 46.94% of patients, being present in 8 women, 4 men with BMI < 25 kg/m(2), and 11 men with BMI >= 25 kg/m(2). The average mean skeletal attenuation of total skeletal muscle area was 29.02 (+/- 8.66) HU, and myosteatosis was present in 13 women (81.25%) and 31 men (93.94%). Mean SAT was 131.92 (+/- 76.80) cm(2), mean VAT was 133.19 (+/- 85.28) cm(2), and mean IMAT was 11.29 (+/- 12.86) cm(2). Conclusion: skeletal muscle abnormalities are frequently present in cancer patients and a low SMI may also exist even in the presence of overweight. As CT scans are an important tool at any radiation oncology department, they could also be used to offer highly sensitive and specific information about body composition, as well as to detect early malnutrition before starting radiotherapy treatment.

the main purpose of this study was to diagnose pre-sarcopenia in cancer patients who had lack of computed tomography (CT) abdominal images, with a newly discovered method based on cervical images.

Aim Radiation oncology services in Spain are undergoing a process of technical modernization, but-in a context of increasing demand by an ageing population-it is unclear whether there are enough radiation oncologists to staff the newly equipped units. This study aims to assess the number of specialists working in radiation oncology services in Spain relative to current and future needs. Materials and methods In the second half of 2017, the Commission on Infrastructures of the Spanish Society for Radiation Oncology (SEOR) sent a questionnaire on radiation oncology staff to the heads of all 122 public (n = 76, 62%) and private (n = 46, 38%) radiation oncology services in Spain. Data collected were the number of professionals, their position, and their year of birth for specialists and residents in each service. In the descriptive analysis, for continuous variables we calculated means, standard deviations and ranges for each Spanish region and work post. For qualitative variables, we constructed frequency tables. All analyses were performed with R statistical software, version 3.5.1. Results The survey response rate was 100% among service heads across all 122 centers. The total number of radiation oncologists working in these centers is 721, or 15.4 per million population, with considerable variations between regions. Given the national recommendations to have 20 radiation oncologists per million population, there is currently a deficit of 204 specialists. If the 163 upcoming retirements are also taken into account, there will be 367 fewer radiation oncologists than required to meet the 25% increase in indications for radiotherapy projected for 2025. Conclusions The classic model for calculating staff needs based on the number of treatments is outdated, and recommendations should be revised to reflect the current reality. A new model should integrate the most complex technological advances and emerging plans in radiotherapy, without neglecting the other activities carried out in radiation oncology services that are not directly linked to patient care.

PURPOSE Planning for radiation oncology requires reliable estimates of both demand for radiotherapy and availability of technological resources. This study compares radiotherapy resources in the 17 regions of the decentralised Spanish National Health System (SNHS). MATERIAL AND METHODS The Sociedad Española de Oncología Radioterápica (SEOR) performed a cross-sectional survey of all Spanish radiation oncology services (ROS) in 2015. We collected data on SNHS radiotherapy units, recording the year of installation, specific features of linear accelerators (LINACs) and other treatment units, and radiotherapeutic techniques implemented by region. Any machine over 10 years old or lacking a multileaf collimator or portal imaging system was considered obsolete. We performed a k-means clustering analysis using the Hartigan-Wong method to test associations between the gross domestic regional product (GDRP), the number of LINACs per million population and the percentage of LINACs over 10 years old. RESULTS The SNHS controls 72 (61%) of the 118 Spanish ROS and has 180 LINACs, or 72.5% of the total public and private resources. The mean rate of LINACs per million population is 3.9 for public ROS, and 42% (n=75) of the public accelerators were obsolete in 2015: 61 due to age and 14 due to technological capability. There was considerable regional variation in terms of the number and technological capacity of radiotherapy units; correlation between GRDP and resource availability was moderate. CONCLUSION Despite improvements, new investments are still needed to replace obsolete units and increase access to modern radiotherapy. Regular analysis of ROS in each Spanish region is the only strategy for monitoring progress in radiotherapy capacity. pre-print 1471 KB