Infection, vascularization, remodelling - are stem cells the answers for bone diseases of the jaws?

Osteonecrosis after craniofacial radiation (ORN), osteomyelitis and bisphosphonates related necrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) are the predominant bone diseases in Cranio- and Maxillofacial surgery. Although various hypothesis for the pathophysiological mechanisms including infection, altered vascularisation or remodelling exist, the treatment is still a challenge for clinicians. As the classical pharmacological or surgical treatment protocols have only limited success, stem cells might be a promising treatment option, indicated by recently published data

Phase I/II trial evaluating carbon ion radiotherapy for the treatment of recurrent rectal cancer: the PANDORA-01 trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Treatment standard for patients with rectal cancer depends on the initial staging and includes surgical resection, radiotherapy as well as chemotherapy. For stage II and III tumors, radiochemotherapy should be performed in addition to surgery, preferentially as preoperative radiochemotherapy or as short-course hypofractionated radiation. Advances in surgical approaches, especially the establishment of the total mesorectal excision (TME) in combination with sophisticated radiation and chemotherapy have reduced local recurrence rates to only few percent. However, due to the high incidence of rectal cancer, still a high absolute number of patients present with recurrent rectal carcinomas, and effective treatment is therefore needed.</p> <p>Carbon ions offer physical and biological advantages. Due to their inverted dose profile and the high local dose deposition within the Bragg peak precise dose application and sparing of normal tissue is possible. Moreover, in comparison to photons, carbon ions offer an increase relative biological effectiveness (RBE), which can be calculated between 2 and 5 depending on the cell line as well as the endpoint analyzed.</p> <p>Japanese data on the treatment of patients with recurrent rectal cancer previously not treated with radiation therapy have shown local control rates of carbon ion treatment superior to those of surgery. Therefore, this treatment concept should also be evaluated for recurrences after radiotherapy, when dose application using conventional photons is limited. Moreover, these patients are likely to benefit from the enhanced biological efficacy of carbon ions.</p> <p>Methods and design</p> <p>In the current Phase I/II-PANDORA-01-Study the recommended dose of carbon ion radiotherapy for recurrent rectal cancer will be determined in the Phase I part, and feasibilty and progression-free survival will be assessed in the Phase II part of the study.</p> <p>Within the Phase I part, increasing doses from 12 × 3 Gy E to 18 × 3 Gy E will be applied.</p> <p>The primary endpoint in the Phase I part is toxicity, the primary endpoint in the Phase II part is progression-free survival.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>With conventional photon irradiation treatment of recurrent rectal cancer is limited, and the clinical effect is only moderate. With carbon ions, an improved outcome can be expected due to the physical and biological characteristics of the carbon ion beam. However, the optimal dose applicable in this clincial situation as re-irradiation still has to be determined. This, as well as efficacy, is to be evaluated in the present Phase I/II trial.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01528683">NCT01528683</a></p

Measurement of jet-substructure observables in top quark, W boson and light jet production in proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of jet substructure observables is presented using data collected in 2016 by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC with proton-proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV. Large-radius jets groomed with the trimming and soft-drop algorithms are studied. Dedicated event selections are used to study jets produced by light quarks or gluons, and hadronically decaying top quarks and W bosons. The observables measured are sensitive to substructure, and therefore are typically used for tagging large-radius jets from boosted massive particles. These include the energy correlation functions and the N-subjettiness variables. The number of subjets and the Les Houches angularity are also considered. The distributions of the substructure variables, corrected for detector effects, are compared to the predictions of various Monte Carlo event generators. They are also compared between the large-radius jets originating from light quarks or gluons, and hadronically decaying top quarks and W bosons