Radiation Medicine Commons^™

Multisite Detection Of Tn1549-Mediated Vanb Vancomycin Resistance In Multidrug-Resistant Enterococcus Faecalis St6 In Texas And Florida, Shelby R Simar, Truc T Tran, Kirsten B Rydell, Diana Panesso, German A Contreras, Jose M Munita, Renzo O Cifuentes, Lilian M Abbo, Pranoti Sahasrabhojane, An Q Dinh, Dierdre B Axell-House, Tor Savidge, Samuel A Shelburne, Blake M Hanson, Cesar A Arias

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the United States, vanB-mediated resistance in enterococci is rare. We characterized three sequence type (ST) 6, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis isolates causing bacteremia in unique patients in spatiotemporally distinct settings. Isolates were recovered between 2018 and 2020 in two cities in the United States (Houston, TX; Miami, FL). The isolates harbored the vanB operon on a chromosomally located Tn1549 transposon, and epidemiological data suggested multiple introductions of the vanB gene cluster into ST6 E. faecalis.

Radiation Therapy For Retroperitoneal Sarcomas: A Strass-Ful Situation, Ahsan S Farooqi, B Ashleigh Guadagnolo, Devarati Mitra, Andrew J Bishop

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Locoregional recurrence (LRR) is the predominant pattern of relapse and often the cause of death in patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS). As a result, reducing LRR is a critical objective for RPS patients. However, unlike soft tissue sarcomas (STS) of the superficial trunk and extremity where the benefits of radiation therapy (RT) are well-established, the role of RT in the retroperitoneum remains controversial. Historically, preoperative or postoperative RT, either alone or in combination with intraoperative radiation (IORT), was commonly justified for RPS based on extrapolation from the superficial trunk and extremity STS literature. However, long-awaited results were recently published from …

Determination Of Kinetic Parameters For Bone Turnover In Chronic Kidney Disease With Hemodialysis Patients Using Dynamics 18f-Naf Pet/Ct Imaging, Viyada Sanoesan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Bone turnover measurement using 18F-NaF PET/CT serves as a valuable imaging biomarker for studying bone metabolism at various sites of skeleton. This study aimed to determine the kinetic parameters (Ki–Patlak) for bone turnover prediction as a non-invasive biomarker from dynamic 18F-NaF PET/CT in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with hemodialysis. Moreover, we aimed to investigate whether Ki–Patlak derived from shortened scan time can provide a prediction equivalent to that obtained from routine dynamic scan. Twenty-seven Thai CKD patients on hemodialysis (48 scans) from December 2021 to December 2023 were recruited. After intravenous injection of 18F-NaF of 133±39.3 MBq, dynamic PET/CT …

Radiation-Induced Gastrointestinal (Gi) Syndrome As A Function Of Age, Hongyan Li, Herman C. Kucharavy, Carla Hajj, Liyang Zhao, Guoqiang Hua, Ryan Glass, Phillip B. Paty, Zvi Fuks, Richard Kolesnick, Karen Hubbard, Adriana Haimovitz-Friedman

Publications and Research

Previous studies show increased sensitivity of older mice (28–29 months) compared with young adult mice (3 months, possessing a mature immune system) to radiation-induced GI lethality. Age-dependent lethality was associated with higher levels of apoptotic stem cells in small intestinal crypts that correlated with sphingomyelinase activity, a source of pro-apoptotic ceramide. The objective of this study is to determine whether the cycling crypt base columnar cells (CBCs) in aging animals are specifically more sensitive to radiation effects than the CBCs in young adult mice, and to identify factors that contribute to increased radiosensitivity. Mortality induced by subtotal body radiation was …

Analysis Of Biologically Effective Dose For Retroactive Yttrium-90 Trans-Arterial Radioembolization Treatment Optimization, Mj Lindsey

CMC Senior Theses

Trans-arterial radioembolization (TARE) is a protracted modality of radiation therapy where radionuclides labeled with Yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y) are inserted inside a patient's hepatic artery to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). While TARE has been shown to be a clinically effective and safe treatment, there is little understanding of the radiobiological relationship between absorbed dose and tissue response, and thus there is no dosimetric standard for treatment planning. The Biologically Effective Dose (BED) formalism, derived from the Linear-Quadratic model of radiobiology, is used to weigh the absorbed dose by the time pattern of delivery. BED is a virtual dose that can …

Accuracy Of 177lu Quantification For Dosimetry Calculation Using 12-Swiveling Czt Detectors Spect/Ct Camera, Panattha Damthongsen

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Recently, the 12-cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) based digital detectors SPECT/CT system has been introduced for advanced technology in nuclear medicine instrument, which outperforms conventional cameras. Moreover, the voxel S value-based dosimetry is important and offers more accurate in personalized dosimetry treatment using targeted radionuclide therapy. This study aimed to determine the accuracy of 177Lu quantification through an IEC/NEMA phantom study and to evaluate total-body dosimetry in patients undergoing 177Lu therapy using 12-swiveling digital CZT detectors SPECT/CT camera. The NEMA/IEC body phantom inserted with six fillable spheres (10-, 13-, 17-, 22-, 28-, and 37-mm inner diameter), filled with 177Lu solution of …

Impact Of Contrast Agent Administration On Water Equivalent Diameter For Ssde Calculation In Chest Ct Angiography Examination, Nuttanit Kaewsan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study aimed to determine the impact of intravenous contrast enhancement on the calculation of water equivalent diameter (Dw) for size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) in chest CT angiography (CTA) using different calculation methods in non-contrast and arterial phase images. A cohort of 231 adult patients who underwent chest CT angiography at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH) were included. The 3D Slicer image computing software was used to automatically draw the ROI in each axial CT image to measure area and mean CT number. The Dw values were calculated following the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Report No.220 utilizing …

Improving Radiotherapy Workflow: Evaluation And Implementation Of Deep Learning Auto-Segmentation In A Multi-User Environment, And Development Of Automatic Contour Quality Assurance System, Jingwei Duan

Theses and Dissertations--Radiation Medicine

Radiotherapy is a frequently used therapeutic modality for cancer patients. Accurately contouring of tumors and organs at risk (OARs) is critical for developing optimal treatment plans in radiotherapy, especially after the implementation of Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT). The manual contouring process is time-consuming and suffers from inter-observer variations. However, manual contouring is often hindered by laborious clinical duties, leading to reduced effectiveness, and increased segmentation errors due to fatigue. Additionally, online adaptive radiation therapy(ART), which has been shown to benefit patient outcomes, places higher demands on contouring and quality assurance (QA) speed.

Recently, deep …

Evaluation Of Patient Radiation Dose And Risk Of Cancer From Ct Examinations, Saowapark Poosiri

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Computed Tomography (CT) examinations have been increasingly requested and become the major sources of patient exposure. The cancer risk from CT scans is contingent upon the amount of organ absorbed dose. This study aims to evaluate the cumulative effective doses (CED) and risk of cancer incidence and mortality from recurrent CT examinations in a single day. The patient data at aged 15 to 75 years old performed CT examinations during the period of five years from January 2018 to December 2022 were collected from two academic centers. The CED and organ doses were evaluated using Radimetrics™ Enterprise Platform from Monte …

Characterization Of A Solid-State Detector For Dosimetry In The Diagnostic Energy Range With Verification Via Monte Carlo Estimation Of Average Breast Dose In Mammography, Areej Aljabal

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to develop a simplified QA metric for estimating radiation dose in mammography. This metric, the Mid-Breast Dose (MDB) Index, maybe be proposed as an alternative dose index, consistent with average glandular dose (AGD), for routine QA. MBD was obtained using “Phantom mid-point Air Kerma (AK) measurement” for conventional mammography. The advantage of this method is that MBD can be measured directly without requiring multiple conversion factors. The accuracy of clinical measurements in computing the MBD was assessed by comparing it with the AGD estimated by the Dance formalism experimentally and Monte Carlo simulation.

MBD methodology relies on …

Characterization And Investigation Of Cold Atmospheric Plasma And Its Effects On Cancer Cell Biology, Thomas M. Ritrosky

Theses and Dissertations

Modern cancer treatment uses radiation therapy in over 50% of patient cases. It is an e↵ective way of treating tumors because the mechanisms of cell killing are well known through the damage that ionizing radiation does to DNA. The amount of radiation can be tracked through measuring the dose of the clinical photon or electron beam used. However, there are limitations in the usage of radiation therapy, for example, a tumor can create hypoxic areas that become radioresistant leading to complete ine↵ectiveness of further radiation treatment. This project looks into the application of cold atmospheric plasma as an adjuvant therapy …

A Learning Health System For Radiation Oncology, Rishabh Kapoor

Theses and Dissertations

The proposed research aims to address the challenges faced by clinical data science researchers in radiation oncology accessing, integrating, and analyzing heterogeneous data from various sources. The research presents a scalable intelligent infrastructure, called the Health Information Gateway and Exchange (HINGE), which captures and structures data from multiple sources into a knowledge base with semantically interlinked entities. This infrastructure enables researchers to mine novel associations and gather relevant knowledge for personalized clinical outcomes.

The dissertation discusses the design framework and implementation of HINGE, which abstracts structured data from treatment planning systems, treatment management systems, and electronic health records. It utilizes …

Comparison Of Modified Formalism Output And Trs-398 Absorbed Dose To Water In Electron Beams Reference Dosimetry In Multiple Radiotherapy Centers, Yasumon Thinka

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The study aimed to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of utilizing modified calibration with cylindrical chambers for reference dosimetry in electron beam radiotherapy, challenging the recommendation of using plane-parallel chambers in low-energy electron beams by IAEA's TRS-398 and AAPM's TG-51 standards. Data collection involved six radiotherapy centers in Bangkok using Varian linear accelerators, with chambers including the IBA FC65-G, PTW 30013 cylindrical chambers, and PPC40, Roos plane-parallel chambers. Results of dose comparison between modified and TRS-398 protocols fell within ±2%. For low-energy electron beams, percent dose discrepancies ranged from -1.57% to 0.91%, and from -0.37% to 0.91% for high-energy. The …

Characteristics Of Two-Dimensional Ionization Chamber Array For Patient-Specific Quality Assurance In Pencil Beam Scanning Proton Therapy, Nuttida Rawiwan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Proton therapy is an advanced technique that uses positive particles in external treatment. It can spare normal tissue and increase tumor control probability. In radiotherapy, patient-specific quality assurance is an important part, but according to protons’ characteristics, especially finite range, it is challenging to do verification because when the density has changed the finite range will have drastic changes. Although the two-dimensional ionization chamber array is used for patient-specific quality assurance in pencil beam scanning proton therapy, most studies investigate the IBA MatriXX as the dosimetry device, and few studies explored the PTW OCTAVIUS 1500XDR. This research aims to determine …

Determination Of The Surface Dose Correction Factors For Various Detectors In Proton Scanning Therapy, Pakjira Saruang

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Proton therapy delivers tumors doses precisely but concerns about skin toxicity due to energy dispersion beyond the Bragg peak remain. Accurate surface dose measurement is crucial for calculating the radiation dose patients receive. Studying factors that improve measurement accuracy is essential, as current methods are challenging and often inaccurate. This research aims to determine the surface dose correction factors (Scf) for various detectors in spot scanning beam proton therapy and study the effect of surface dose according to various clinical factors. The PTW Advanced Markus, PTW Roos chamber and IBA FC65-G Farmer chamber were utilized to measure the surface dose …

Dosimetric Comparison Of Imrt, Co-Planar Vmat, Non-Coplanar Vmat And Hyperarc For Multiple Brain Metastases Srs, Aksarapak Thawornnittayakul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Multiple brain metastases patients are typically treated by stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT). In addition, there are advanced techniques for treating multiple brain metastases such as 3-dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy (3D-CRT), Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT). A new isocentric VMAT technique called HyperArc was developed for non-coplanar, it is an automated setting for couch angle and collimator angle. This study aims to compare the dosimetric effect for a single isocenter among Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy, and HyperArc for multiple brain metastases stereotactic radiosurgery. For 25 patients …

Dose Evaluation Of A Deep Learning-Based Synthetic Ct Generation In Head And Neck Cancer For Photon And Proton Therapy, Ailada Kuibumrung

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

MRI has been increasingly implemented for the treatment planning process and the MRI-only workflow in both photon and proton therapy. This study aims to investigate and explore the accuracy of dose calculations in head and neck region based on synthetic CT (sCT) images, using the commercial software methods for both volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans. The sCT images were generated from MRI images for five head and neck cancer cases that underwent VMAT and IMPT by MRI Planner commercial software. The mean absolute error (MAE) and mean error (ME) within the body, bone …

Breast Cancer Characterization Using Artificial Intelligence In Screening And Diagnostic Mammogram Of Thai Women, Jaroonroj Wongnil

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Breast cancer is a significant health issue in Thailand, necessitating accurate detection and characterization for effective treatment. This thesis focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence techniques to develop breast cancer screening and diagnosis using mammography images of Thai women. Furthermore, detecting and classifying mammography calcifications, crucial indicators of malignant or benign conditions had also been focused using RCNN and YOLOv4 in this study. AlexNet CNN was developed to increase the robustness of the RCNN model. AlexNet was tested with three different datasets, each consisting of 4,000 cropped ROI images. These datasets were divided into an 80% training set and a 20% …

Safety Of Concurrent Radiation Therapy With Brentuximab Vedotin In The Treatment Of Lymphoma, Susan Y Wu, Penny Q Fang, Ethan B Wang, Sairah Ahmed, Madeleine Duvic, Preetesh Jain, Luis E Malpica Castillo, Ranjit Nair, Raphael E Steiner, Paolo Strati, Auris O Huen, Swaminathan P Iyer, Chelsea C Pinnix, Bouthaina S Dabaja, Jillian R Gunther

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) and the antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin (BV) are standard-of-care treatment options for patients with certain B and T-cell lymphomas; however, there are limited data exploring the safety of concurrent BV and RT (BVRT).

METHODS AND MATERIALS: We performed a single institutional retrospective review of 44 patients who received BVRT.

RESULTS: Twenty percent of patients (9/44) developed new grade 2 or higher (G2+) hematologic toxicity (HT) after BVRT, which was associated with radiation dose (median dose of 35 Gy in those with new G2+ HT compared with 15 Gy in those without;

CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis demonstrates …

Effectiveness Without Efficacy: Cautionary Tale From A Landmark Breast Cancer Randomized Controlled Trial, Yu Shen, Jing Ning, Heather Y Lin, Simona F Shaitelman, Henry M Kuerer, Isabelle Bedrosian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: “Old” randomized controlled trials established breast conserving therapy (BCT) and total mastectomy (TM) equivalence for treating early breast cancer, whereas recent literature report improved survival with BCT. To reconcile this, we performed a simulation study and re-analyzed B-06 trial data.

Methods: We estimated the distributions for overall survival (OS), cumulative incidence functions for breast-cancer-specific death (BCSD) and other causes-specific death (OCSD) by BCT and TM. The restricted mean survival time (RMST) difference and hazard ratio between the two arms were estimated. Given the estimated distributions, we simulated cause-specific death times from each arm, evaluating the power to test treatment …