BACKGROUND: Our first trial on radiotherapy for painful heel spur published in 2012 comparing the analgesic effect of a standard dose (6 × 1.0Gy within three weeks) to that of a very low one (6 × 0.1Gy within three weeks) resulted in a highly significant superiority...
Area of Interest
Identification of suitable endogenous controls for gene and miRNA expression studies in irradiated prostate cancer cells.
This study aimed to to evaluate the stability of commonly used endogenous control genes for messenger RNA (mRNA) (N = 16) and miRNAs (N = 3) expression studies in prostate cell lines following irradiation. The stability of endogenous control genes expression in irradiated (6 Gy) versus unirradiated controls was quantified using NormFinder and coefficient of variation analyses. HPRT1 and 18S were identified as most and least stable endogenous controls, respectively, for mRNA expression studies in irradiated prostate cells. SNORD48 and miR16 miRNA endogenous controls tested were associated with low coefficient of variations following irradiation (6 Gy). This study highlights that commonly used endogenous controls can be responsive to radiation and validation is required prior to gene/miRNAs expression studies.
H Lawlor, Armelle Meunier, Niamh McDermott, Thomas Lynch and Laure Marignol
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Acceptance, commissioning and clinical use of the WOmed T-200 kilovoltage X-ray therapy unit
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to characterize the performance of the WOmed T-200-kilovoltage (kV) therapy machine. METHODS: Mechanical functionality, radiation leakage, alignment and interlocks were investigated. Half-value layers (HVLs) (first and second...
Comprehensive quality assurance phantom for the small animal radiation research platform (SARRP)
PURPOSE: To develop and test the suitability and performance of a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) phantom for the Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP). METHODS AND MATERIALS: A QA phantom was developed for carrying out daily, monthly and annual QA...
Modeling a superficial radiotherapy X-ray source for relative dose calculations
The purpose of this study was to empirically characterize and validate a kilovoltage (kV) X-ray beam source model of a superficial X-ray unit for relative dose calculations in water and assess the accuracy of the British Journal of Radiology Supplement 25 (BJR 25)...
Semi-automatic cone beam CT segmentation of in vivo pre-clinical subcutaneous tumours provides an efficient non-invasive alternative for tumour volume measurements
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of using cone beam CT (CBCT) scans obtained in radiation studies using the small-animal radiation research platform to perform semi-automatic tumour segmentation of pre-clinical tumour volumes. METHPOD: Volume...
Modern radiation therapy for primary cutaneous lymphomas: field and dose guidelines from the International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group.
Primary cutaneous lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of diseases. They often remain localized, and they generally have a more indolent course and a better prognosis than lymphomas in other locations. They are highly radiosensitive, and radiation therapy is an...
Systematic calibration of an integrated x-ray and optical tomography system for preclinical radiation research
PURPOSE: The cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) guided small animal radiation research platform (SARRP) has been developed for focal tumor irradiation, allowing laboratory researchers to test basic biological hypotheses that can modify radiotherapy outcomes in ways...
Magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia enhances radiation therapy: A study in mouse models of human prostate cancer.
PURPOSE: We aimed to characterise magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia (mNPH) with radiation therapy (RT) for prostate cancer. METHODS: Human prostate cancer subcutaneous tumours, PC3 and LAPC-4, were grown in nude male mice. When tumours measured 150 mm3 magnetic iron...