Long-Term Outcomes for Patients with Prostate Cancer Having Intermediate and High-Risk Disease, Treated with Combination External Beam Irradiation and Brachytherapy

Background. Perception remains that brachytherapy-based regimens are inappropriate for patients having increased risk of extracapsular extension (ECE). Methods. 321 consecutive intermediate and high-risk disease patients were treated between 1/92 and 2/97 by one author (M. Dattoli) and stratified by NCCN guidelines. 157 had intermediate-risk; 164 had high-risk disease. All were treated using the combination EBRT/brachytherapy ± hormones. Biochemical failure was defined using PSA >0.2 and nadir +2 at last followup. Nonfailing patients followup was median 10.5 years. Both biochemical data and original biopsy slides were independently rereviewed at an outside institution. Results. Overall actuarial freedom from biochemical progression at 16 years was 82% (89% intermediate, 74% high-risk) with failure predictors: Gleason score (P = .01) and PSA (P = .03). Hormonal therapy did not affect failure rates (P = .14). Conclusion. This study helps to strengthen the rationale for brachytherapy-based regimens as being both durable and desirable treatment options for such patients. Prospective studies are justified to confirm these positive results

Dare to Ask: Brexit 100 Days

The panel Sasha Langeveldt, Alumnus and Former Kent Union President and activist Sasha is an environmentalist, humanitarian and activist. She was the first black woman to be elected Kent Union President in 2019 - 2020. She led alongside students and the young European society and People’s Vote Campaign on campus as well as nationally. She graduated from Kent in 2018 with a 2:1 in Philosophy. Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky, Business Sustainability Lead, private sector Neva is a University of Kent Alumna. She completed her Master’s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences and has an exchange diploma from SciencesPo Paris. She now works in the private sector as the business sustainability lead for Africa and the Middle East for an agriculture company prior to which she had a decade long career in the EU. She worked in the Commission, Parliament and Committee of the Regions and was the youngest person to become Secretary General. Neva has also worked at the United Nations Development Programme and the Washington DC based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank. She is a visiting fellow at a London-based Localism think tank. Professor Jeremy Carrette, Dean for Europe at the University of Kent Jeremy is Professor of Philosophy, Religion and Culture and Dean for Europe. He is responsible for European strategic planning and for the management of the University European Centres in Brussels and Paris. He is the Chair of the University Brexit Working Committee, overviewing and coordinating the response to the local and sector wide challenges of Brexit. As part of his European work, he is involved in setting up a regional university network across northern France and Belgium for links with regional government, business, and universities. Dr Miriam Sorace, Lecturer in Quantitative Politics at the University of Kent Miriam holds a PhD in Political Science and an MPhil in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin, as well as a BA in Foreign Languages from Università degli Studi di Cagliari. Miriam specialises on quantitative research methods, European political behaviour and public opinion, gendered political behaviour, comparative political institutions and decision-making, and the politics of Brexit. Professor Richard Whitman, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent Richard is the Director of the Global Europe Centre and Professor of Politics and International Relations. He is also an Associate Fellow and former Head of the Europe Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs. His current research interests include Brexit and especially the future foreign and security and defence policies of the UK and the EU. He has regularly been called to give evidence to the UK Parliament on UK and EU foreign and security issues. Richard is the author and editor of many published works on European integration and UK foreign and security policy

CCDC 702005: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures

Translating Preclinical Mri Methods To Clinical Oncology

The complexity of modern in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods in oncology has dramatically changed in the last 10 years. The field has long since moved passed its (unparalleled) ability to form images with exquisite soft-tissue contrast and morphology, allowing for the enhanced identification of primary tumors and metastatic disease. Currently, it is not uncommon to acquire images related to blood flow, cellularity, and macromolecular content in the clinical setting. The acquisition of images related to metabolism, hypoxia, pH, and tissue stiffness are also becoming common. All of these techniques have had some component of their invention, development, refinement, validation, and initial applications in the preclinical setting using in vivo animal models of cancer. In this review, we discuss the genesis of quantitative MRI methods that have been successfully translated from preclinical research and developed into clinical applications. These include methods that interrogate perfusion, diffusion, pH, hypoxia, macromolecular content, and tissue mechanical properties for improving detection, staging, and response monitoring of cancer. For each of these techniques, we summarize the 1) underlying biological mechanism(s); 2) preclinical applications; 3) available repeatability and reproducibility data; 4) clinical applications; and 5) limitations of the technique. We conclude with a discussion of lessons learned from translating MRI methods from the preclinical to clinical setting, and a presentation of four fundamental problems in cancer imaging that, if solved, would result in a profound improvement in the lives of oncology patients. Level of Evidence: 5. Technical Efficacy: Stage 3. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019