External radiation therapy for bladder cancer requires large planning target volumes (PTVs) due to the daily anatomy of the bladder. Online adaptive radiotherapy (oART) can reduce the PTV by considering daily anatomical changes. We performed oART in 8 patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer between June 10, 2022, and April 14, 2023, on an Ethos linear accelerator (Varian...
The new Medical Licensing Regulations 2025 in Germany demand a longitudinal and interdisciplinary oncological curriculum for the future of medical education. Small disciplines like radiation oncology (RO) tend to be underrepresented in the general curriculum, which complicates attracting new residents and doctoral candidates to the field. To bridge this gap, our university...
We aimed to find predictive tumour characteristics as detected by interim positron-emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in cervical cancer patients. We also investigated the type of interim response. Furthermore, we compared the investigated parameters with disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) outcomes. We evaluated 108 patients treated between August...
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among men in Germany. Advances in diagnostics and treatment have transformed PCa into a chronic disease. Given the heterogeneity of PCa, there is a need for additional stratification tools. This review focuses on updating the evidence for genomic classifiers (GC; Decipher [Veracyte Inc. San Diego, CA, USA...
This study aims to assess oncological outcomes in children and young adults with diffuse infiltrative pontine glioma (DIPG) who have progressed after initial radiotherapy (RT), with an emphasis on the role of re-irradiation. Data from 33 patients aged 25 years or younger with progressive disease after initial RT were retrospectively analyzed. The median age at diagnosis was 8...
Bone metastases constitute a common indication for both conventional radiotherapy (RT) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Although in recent years guidelines have been proposed for SBRT of spinal and non-spinal metastases, little is known about the use of bone SBRT and the actual patterns of care in German-speaking countries. We performed an online survey among radiation...
Although a cornerstone of modern cancer treatment, radiotherapy (RT) is associated with a risk of secondary cancer due to irradiation of non-target tissues. Techniques such as intensity-modulated RT (IMRT), volumetric modulated RT (VMAT), and stereotactic body RT (SBRT) provide highly conformal target dose distributions and reduce doses to nearby organs at risk (OARs), albeit at...
The early history of radiation and radiation oncology is imprinted by innovative pioneers both in physics and clinical application. Despite the remarkable example of Marie Curie, the contributions of female physicians, physicists, and radiation therapists in the first years of radiation practice are often forgotten or neglected. This analysis aims at a comprehensive review of...
High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) of the anal region are recognized as precursor lesions to squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA), especially in individuals infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Although recent studies indicate that treating HSIL can reduce progression to SCCA, optimal management strategies remain undefined. High recurrence rates and...
The initial brain metastasis velocity (iBMV) is a prognostic metric introduced for patients receiving stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases (BM), reflecting intracranial disease dynamics. This study aimed to assess the applicability of iBMV in a mixed cohort of breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) patients treated with SRS/fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy...
In definitive radiotherapy/radiochemotherapy (RT/RCT) for localized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the introduction of positron-emission tomography (PET)-CT-based staging/RT planning and dynamic RT techniques (intensity-modulated radiotherapy, IMRT/volumetric modulated arc therapy, VMAT) were important innovations. We performed a retrospective study and compared clinical...
Progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in UICC stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) can be increased with consolidating immunotherapy. Recent studies have shown a strong predictive value of gross tumor volume (GTV) changes during CRT on OS. The TORCH trial investigated the prognostic impact of GTV changes...
This study aimed to investigate the effects of dose escalation through focal boost (FB) to intraprostatic lesions (IPLs) as well as the role of gallium-68 prostate-specific membrane antigen positron-emission tomography (68Ga-PSMA-PET/CT) for staging and treatment planning in patients with Gleason score (GS) 10 prostate cancer (PCa) receiving definitive radiotherapy (RT) and...
Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is fast gaining attention as a preferred treatment alternative for patients with brain metastases (BM) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we examined the efficacy and safety of combining SRT with immunotherapy (IT) and targeted therapy (TT), either separately or concurrently with the aim to formulate an optimal therapeutic...
Facial skin cancer of 42 elderly frail patients was treated with individualised 3D-printed mould applicators for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. The dosimetric outcome was compared to conventionally manufactured individual moulds used before. Tumour-adapted HDR brachytherapy source paths were pre-planned and dosimetrically optimised in the brachytherapy treatment planning...
Purpose Consolidation immunotherapy with immune checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) Durvalumab is an effective treatment for inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a PD-L1 expression ≥ 1% after definitive curative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). While this approach is widely used as standard therapy, it carries an increased risk of immune-related and...
This study aimed to investigate sex differences in anal squamous cell carcinomas (ASCC), with a particular focus on the prognostic significance of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 9th edition staging system for oncological outcome. A retrospective analysis was conducted in 188 patients with histologically confirmed ASCC who underwent definitive (chemo)radiotherapy...
Needle tracking using external prediction techniques such as optical tracking is a modern approach aimed at improving implantation accuracy in gynecologic brachytherapy. This study aims to investigate the corresponding impact of needle bending in situ and to analyze needle path deviations from the intended locations occurring in our current clinical workflow that only considers...