Esophageal tolerance to high-dose stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.

Dose-volume parameters are needed to guide the safe administration of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). We report on esophageal tolerance to high-dose hypofractionated radiation in patients treated with SABR. Thirty-one patients with spine or lung tumors received single- or multiple-fraction SABR to targets less than 1 cm from the esophagus. End points evaluated include D(5cc) (minimum dose in Gy to 5 cm(3) of the esophagus receiving the highest dose), D(2cc) , D(1cc) , and D(max) (maximum dose to 0.01 cm(3) ). Multiple-fraction treatments were correlated using the linear quadratic and linear quadratic-linear/universal survival models. Three esophageal toxicity events occurred, including esophagitis (grade 2), tracheoesophageal fistula (grade 4-5), and esophageal perforation (grade 4-5). Chemotherapy was a cofactor in the high-grade events. The median time to development of esophageal toxicity was 4.1 months (range 0.6-6.1 months). Two of the three events occurred below a published D(5cc) threshold, all three were below a D(2cc) threshold, and one was below a D(max) threshold. We report a dosimetric analysis of incidental dose to the esophagus from SABR. High-dose hypofractionated radiotherapy led to a number of high-grade esophageal adverse events, suggesting that conservative parameters to protect the esophagus are necessary when SABR is used, especially in the setting of chemotherapy or prior radiotherapy.

Initial evaluation of 18F-fluorothymidine (FLT) PET/CT scanning for primary pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of (18)F-fluorothymidine (FLT) PET/CT for imaging pancreatic adenocarcinoma. METHODS: This was a pilot study of five patients (four males, one female) with newly diagnosed and previously untreated pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Patients underwent FLT PET/CT, (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT, and contrast-enhanced CT scanning before treatment. The presence of cancer was confirmed by histopathological analysis at the time of scanning in all five patients. The degree of FLT and FDG uptake at the primary tumor site was assessed using visual interpretation and semi-quantitative SUV analyses. RESULTS: The primary tumor size ranged from 2.5 x 2.8 cm to 3.5 x 7.0 cm. The SUV of FLT uptake within the primary tumor ranged from 2.1 to 3.1. Using visual interpretation, the primary cancer could be detected from background activity in two of five patients (40%) on FLT PET/CT. By comparison, FDG uptake was higher in each patient with a SUV range of 3.4 to 10.8, and the primary cancer could be detected from background in all five patients (100%). CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study of five patients with primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma, FLT PET/CT scanning showed poor lesion detectability and relatively low levels of radiotracer uptake in the primary tumor.

Plasmablastic lymphoma presenting in a human immunodeficiency virus-negative patient: a case report.

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL), an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that carries a poor prognosis, previously has been identified almost exclusively in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We present a case of a 42-year-old HIV-negative patient presenting with an isolated nasal cavity mass, the typical presentation for PBL. The patient was given systemic chemotherapy, central nervous system prophylaxis, and consolidative locoregional radiotherapy and achieved a complete clinical response. This case suggests PBL should be considered in HIV-negative patients with characteristic findings.

A new sample preparation method for biological soft X-ray microscopy: nitrogen-based contrast and radiation tolerance properties of glycol methacrylate-embedded and sectioned tissue.

We describe the preparation of a biological tissue for imaging in a transmission soft X-ray microscope. Sections of exocrine pancreas embedded in glycol methacrylate polymer, an embedding medium widely used in visible light and electron microscopy, were examined. Contrast was based primarily on the nitrogen content of the tissue, and dual-wavelength imaging at the nitrogen K-shell absorption edge was used to map the distribution and provide quantitative densitometry of both the protein and embedding matrix components of the sample. The measurements were calibrated by obtaining the absorption spectrum of protein near the nitrogen edge. The contrast was consistent and reproducible, making possible the first large-scale X-ray microscopic study on sections of plastic-embedded soft tissue. At radiation doses of up to 10(8) Gray, much more than required for routine imaging, no distortion and little mass loss were observed. This sample preparation method should permit routine imaging of tissues in X-ray microscopes, previously a difficult task, as well as multimodal imaging (using visible light, X-ray, electron, and scanned probe microscopies) on the same sample.

Automatic image acquisition, calibration and montage assembly for biological X-ray microscopy.

We describe a system for the automatic acquisition and processing of digital images in a high-resolution X-ray microscope, including the formation of large-field high-resolution image montages. A computer-controlled sample positioning stage provides approximate coordinates for each high-resolution subimage. Individual subimages are corrected to compensate for time-varying, non-uniform illumination and CCD-related artefacts. They are then automatically assembled into a montage. The montage assembly algorithm is designed to use the overlap between each subimage and multiple neighbours to improve the performance of the registration step and the fidelity of the result. This is accomplished by explicit use of recorded stage positions, optimized ordering of subimage insertion, and registration of subimages to the developing montage. Using this procedure registration errors are below the resolution limit of the microscope (43 nm). The image produced is a seamless, large-field montage at full resolution, assembled automatically without human intervention. Beyond this, it is also an accurate X-ray transmission map that allows the quantitative measurement of anatomical and chemical features of the sample. Applying these tools to a biological problem, we have conducted the largest X-ray microscopical study to date.