A 65-Year-Old Man with Recent History of Radiation Therapy to the Head and Neck Reporting for Treatment of a Non-restorable Tooth.

Patients with a history of head and neck radiation involving or adjacent to tooth-bearing areas are at increased risk of developing osteonecrosis following dental procedures. The dental provider should thus aim to preserve the patient's dentition after radiation therapy. Root canal therapy with coronectomy may be an option for a nonrestorable tooth, whereas atraumatic extraction can be considered if retaining the tooth is impossible. When treating a patient with a history of head and neck radiation, it is recommended that the dental provider reviews the patient's radiation records and consults with the patient's radiation oncologist to better stratify treatment risks.

Virtual reality-based simulation improves gynecologic brachytherapy proficiency, engagement, and trainee self-confidence.

PURPOSE: Intracavitary brachytherapy is critical in treatment of cervical cancer with the highest rates of local control and survival. Only about 50% of graduating residents express confidence to develop a brachytherapy practice with caseload as the greatest barrier. We hypothesize that virtual reality (VR)-based intracavitary brachytherapy simulation will improve resident confidence, engagement, and proficiency. METHODS: We created a VR training video of an intracavitary brachytherapy case performed by a board-certified gynecologic radiation oncologist and medical physicist. Residents performed a timed intracavitary procedure on a pelvic simulator before and after viewing the VR simulation module on a commercially available VR headset while five objective measures of implant quality were recorded. The residents completed a pre- and postsimulation questionnaire assessing self-confidence, procedural knowledge, and perceived usefulness of the session. RESULTS: There were 14 residents, including five postgraduate year (PGY)-2, three PGY-3, four PGY-4, and two PGY-5, who participated in the VR curriculum. There were improvements in resident confidence (1.43-3.36), and subjective technical skill in assembly (1.57-3.50) and insertion (1.64-3.21) after the simulation. Average time of implant decreased from 5:51 to 3:34 (p = 0.0016). Median technical proficiencies increased from 4/5 to 5/5. Overall, the residents found VR to be a useful learning tool and indicated increased willingness to perform the procedure again. CONCLUSIONS: VR intracavitary brachytherapy simulation improves residents' self-confidence, subjective and objective technical skills, and willingness to perform brachytherapy. Furthermore, VR is an immersive, engaging, time-efficient, inexpensive, and enjoyable tool that promotes residents interest in brachytherapy.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy versus sublobar resection for stage I NSCLC.

PURPOSE: To compare sublobar resection and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Patients undergoing sublobar resection or SBRT for stage I NSCLC from 2007 to 2014 at Duke University Medical Center were evaluated. The primary endpoint of interest was freedom from local recurrence. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and Cox proportional hazards multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: 221 patients with stage I NSCLC undergoing sublobar resection (n = 151; 105 wedge and 46 segmentectomy) or SBRT (n = 70) were evaluated. The majority (89%) of patients receiving SBRT were medically inoperable, and compared with surgical patients, were significantly older (74 vs 70 years, p = 0.019), had higher Charlson Comorbidity Indices (3.7 vs 2.7, p < 0.001), larger tumors (2.4 cm vs 1.7 cm, p < 0.001), and worse baseline pulmonary function. At 3 years, freedom from local recurrence was 90% (95% CI 82-94%) for surgery and 85% (95% CI 65-94%) for SBRT (p = 0.71). While overall survival and disease-free survival were higher in the surgical cohort, no differences were noted in cancer-specific disease-free survival (60% vs. 65%, p = 0.84). On multivariate analysis, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.19-1.61, p < 0.001) and lower diffusion capacity (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96-0.98, p < 0.001) were independently associated with inferior overall survival. No differences in overall survival between surgery and SBRT (HR 1.20, 95% CI 0.74-1.95, p = 0.46) were observed after correcting for baseline imbalances in prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: SBRT and sublobar resection provided similar rates of local tumor control and overall clinical outcomes in stage I NSCLC.