[Photodynamic therapy and prostate cancer]

[Image-guided tumor ablation]

INTRODUCTION

Ablatives techniques for destroying in situ a tumoral process aim tissular necrosis by the application of several physical principles.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We searched MEDLINE^®, Embase^®, using (MeSH) words; from January 2005 through May 2017, and we looked for all the studies. Investigators graded the strength of evidence in terms of methodology, language and relevance.

RESULTS

Forty-seven articles were analyzed. We described ablative techniques and sorted them in thermal and non-thermal therapies according to the used physical principle and their frequency of use in the urological pathology.

CONCLUSION

Percutaneous ablative therapies are mini-invasive techniques, which have an important role in tumors focal treatment. This article is a review of the ablative therapies and describes their physical principles, their equipment and their recent technological modifications, which have been developed to improve the clinical success of these techniques.

(Z)-3-(4-Methylbenzylidene)-4-oxopentanoic acid

The title compound, C13H14O3, a levulinic acid derivative, crystallizes with two independent molecules (AandB) in the asymmetric unit. The compound adopts aZconfiguration about the C=C bonds in both molecules. The dihedral angle between the toluene ring and the carboxylic acid group is 72.83 (7)° in moleculeAand 83.64 (8)° in moleculeB. The toluene rings are inclined to the ketone substituents by 27.03 (9)° forAand 30.84 (6)° forB. In the crystal, like molecules are linked by pairs of O—H...O hydrogen bonds, formingA–AandB-Binversion dimers.

Focal high-dose-rate brachytherapy: a dosimetric comparison of hemigland vs. conventional whole-gland treatment

PURPOSE

To determine the utility of focal high-dose-rate brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer, we investigated the impact on target coverage and dose to organs at risk (OARs) with hemigland (HG) compared with whole-gland (WG) treatment.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A total of 10 WG implants were used to generate 10 WG and 20 HG (left and right) treatment plans optimized with the inverse planning simulation annealing algorithm using Oncentra MasterPlan (Nucletron B.V., Veenendaal, The Netherlands). The standard distribution of 17-18 catheters designed for WG was used to generate HG plans. The same OARs namely bladder, rectum, and urethra contours and dose constraints were applied for HG and WG plans. The HG contour was a modification of the WG contour whereby the urethra divided the prostate into HGs. The prescription dose was 7.25 Gy×6. Evaluated dose parameters were target dose D90, V100, and V150 and D0.1 cc, D1 cc, and D2 cc to OARs.

RESULTS

The HG plans had a D90, V100, and V150 to the HG target of 112%, 97.6%, and 33.8%, respectively. The WG plans had a D90, V100, and V150 to the WG target of 108%, 98.8%, and 26.5%, respectively. The OAR D2 cc doses were significantly lower in HG vs. WG plans: rectum (53.1% vs. 64.1%, p<0.0001), bladder (55.9% vs. 67.5%, p<0.0001), and urethra (69.3% vs. 95.2%, p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

In the present model, HG plans yielded a statistically significant decreased radiation dose to OARs and provided complete target coverage with a catheter array designed for WG coverage. The good dosimetry results obtained in this study support the feasibility of HG brachytherapy by using a subset of the WG catheter array. Catheter distribution and dosimetry refinements tailored to subtotal prostate brachytherapy should be explored to see if further improvements in dosimetry can be achieved.

Lanthanide-doped upconverting phosphors for bioassay and therapy

Lanthanide-doped fluorescent materials have gained increasing attention in recent years due to their unique luminescence properties which have led to their use in wide-ranging fields including those of biological applications. Aside from being used as agents for in vivo imaging, lanthanide-doped fluorescent materials also present many advantages for use in bioassays and therapy. In this review, we summarize the applications of lanthanide-doped up-converting phosphors (UCPs) in protein and gene detection, as well as in photodynamic and gene therapy in recent years, and outline their future potential in biological applications. The current report could serve as a reference for researchers in relevant fields.

Pros and cons of focal therapy for localised prostate cancer

In prostate cancer, an interesting and intriguing option to overcome the risks of whole-gland treatment is focal therapy, with the aim of eradicating known cancer foci and reducing collateral damages to the structures essential for maintaining normal urinary and sexual function. Ablation of all known lesions would favorably alter the natural history of the cancer without impacting health-related quality of life and allows for safe retreatment with repeated focal therapy or whole-gland approaches if necessary. Our objective is to reassess the possibilities and criticisms of such procedure: the rationale for focal therapy and the enthusiasm come from the success of conservative approaches in treating other malignancies and in the high incidence of overtreatment introduced by prostate cancer screening programs. One of the challenges in applying such an approach to the treatment of prostate cancer is the multifocal nature of the disease and current difficulties in accurate tumor mapmaking.