BackgroundTo appraise the dosimetric features and the quality of the treatment plan for radiosurgery of multiple brain metastases optimized with a novel automated engine and to compare with plans optimized for robotic-based delivery.MethodsA set of 15 patients with multiple brain metastases was selected for this in silico study. The technique under investigation is the recently introduced HyperArc. For all patients, three treatment plans were computed and compared: i: a HyperArc; ii: a standard VMAT; iii) a CyberKnife. Dosimetric features were computed for the clinical target volumes as well as for the healthy brain tissue and the organs at risk.ResultsThe data showed that the best dose homogeneity was achieved with the VMAT technique. HyperArc allowed to minimize the volume of brain receiving 4Gy (as well as for the mean dose and the volume receiving 12Gy, although not statistically significant). The smallest dose on 1 cm3 volume for all organs at risk is for CK techniques, and the biggest for VMAT (p < 0.05). The Radiation Planning Index coefficient indicates that, there are no significant differences among the techniques investigated, suggesting an equivalence among these.ConclusionAt treatment planning level, the study demonstrates that the use of HyperArc technique can significantly improve the sparing of the healthy brain while maintaining a full coverage of the target volumes.

In the present study, we analyze the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) blood serum metabolic profiles of 106 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients during radio (RT) and concurrent radio-chemotherapy (CHRT). Four different fractionation schemes were compared. The blood samples were collected weekly, from the day before the treatment until the last week of CHRT/RT. The NMR spectra were acquired on A Bruker 400 MHz spectrometer at 310 K and analyzed using multivariate methods. Seven metabolites were found significantly to be altered solely by radiotherapy: N-acetyl-glycoprotein (NAG), N-acetylcysteine, glycerol, glycolate and the lipids at 0.9, 1.3 and 3.2 ppm. The NMR results were correlated with the tissue volumes receiving a particular dose of radiation. The influence of the irradiated volume on the metabolic profile is weak and mainly limited to sparse correlations with the inflammatory markers, creatinine and the lymphocyte count in RT and the branched-chain amino-acids in CHRT. This is probably due to the optimal planning and delivery of radiotherapy improving sparing of the surrounding normal tissues and minimizing the differences between the patients (caused by the tumor location and size).

In the present paper we study a lattice model of two species competing for the same resources. Monte Carlo simulations for d = 1,2, and 3 show that when resources are easily available both species coexist. However, when the supply of resources is on an intermediate level, the species with slower metabolism becomes extinct. On the other hand, when resources are scarce it is the species with faster metabolism that becomes extinct. The range of coexistence of the two species increases with dimension. We suggest that our model might describe some aspects of the competition between normal and tumor cells. With such an interpretation, examples of tumor remission, recurrence, and different morphologies are presented. In the d = 1 and d = 2 models, we analyze the nature of phase transitions: they are either discontinuous or belong to the directed-percolation universality class, and in some cases they have an active subcritical phase. In the d = 2 case, one of the transitions seems to be characterized by critical exponents that differ from directed-percolation ones, but this transition could be also weakly discontinuous. In the d = 3 version, Monte Carlo simulations are in a good agreement with the solution of the mean-field approximation. This approximation predicts that oscillatory behavior occurs in the present model but only for d 2. For d 2, a steady state depends on the initial configuration in some cases.

The method of determining the boundaries by using the beam profile gradient can be extremely helpful during the commissioning of the treatment planning system for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy or for other techniques which require very small field sizes.

The ISOLDE radioactive beam facility is the dedicated CERN installation for the production and acceleration of radioactive nuclei. Exotic nuclei of most chemical elements are available for the study of nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental symmetries and atomic physics, as well as for applications in condensed matter and life sciences. In order to broaden the scientific opportunities beyond the reach of the present facility, the ongoing HIE-ISOLDE (High Intensity and Energy) project provides major improvements in energy range, beam intensity and beam quality. A major element of the project is the increase of the final energy of the post-accelerated beams to 10 MeV/u throughout the periodic table. Physics with post-accelerated beams at 4 MeV/u has started this autumn. The increase in energy up to 10 MeV/u is fully funded and it will be implemented at the rate of one cryo-module per year reaching 10 MeV/u for A/q = 4.5 at the start of 2018. In this contribution, a description of the ISOLDE facility including some highlights will be discussed. The present status of the HIE-ISOLDE project will be described as well as the first experiment realised this year.