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The aim is to assess the outcome of patients treated for vaginal carcinoma with radiation therapy in terms of long-term tolerance and survival. This single-center retrospective study included patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina treated with pelvic external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with or without vaginal brachytherapy (VB) between 1990 and 2013. Thirty-seven patients were included with stage I (24%), II (60%), III (8%), or IV (8%) vaginal tumors. Median age was 66 years (range 27–86 years). Median tumor size was 4 cm (range 0.7–12 cm). Seven patients underwent first intention surgery. The 37 patients received pelvic EBRT (45 Gy) with inguinal irradiation in 57% of cases. Fifteen (41%) received concurrent chemotherapy. Low-dose supplemental VB was performed in 31 patients (84%) (median dose: 20 Gy). Median follow-up was 59 months (range 7–322 months). Four patients (11%) had late grade 3–4 complications. Relapse occurred in 11 patients (30%), five of them locally. The 5-year relapse-free and cancer-specific survival rates were 68% and 76%, respectively. Surgery and concurrent chemotherapy did not seem to have an impact on the course of the disease. In our experience, pelvic EBRT leads to prolonged survival with acceptable long-term toxicity in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina.

[Purpose] Chronic inflammation contributes to cancer development via multiple mechanisms. We hypothesized that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are also an independent risk factor for survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., [Materials and methods] Prospective multicenter data from 345 consecutive NSCLC patients treated from January 2013 to January 2017 were assessed. Median follow-up for all patients was 13 months (range 3–60 months). There were 109 patients with baseline heart disease (HD 32%), 149 with arterial hypertension (43%), 85 with diabetes mellitus (25%), 129 with hyperlipidemia (37%) and 45 with venous thromboembolism events (VTE 13%). A total of 289 patients (84%) were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy (CT), 300 patients (87%) received thoracic radiation therapy (RT; median radiation dose: 60 Gy [range 12–70]); and 50 (15%) patients underwent surgery., [Results] Our cohort consisted of 305 men (88%) and 40 (12%) women, with a median age of 67 years (range 31–88 years). Seventy percent had a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≥ 80. Multivariate analyses showed a lower OS and higher risk of distant metastasis in patients with advanced stages (p = 0.05 and p, [Conclusions] HD and VTE are associated with a higher risk of mortality and distant metastasis in NSCLC patients. Chronic inflammation associated with CVDs could be an additional pathophysiologic factor in the development of distant metastasis., This work was supported by grants from ISCIII (Fis: PI13/01155, PI16/02104) and Consejeria de Salud of the Junta de Andalucia (PI-0096-2012).

The present work aims at evaluating intensity-modulated radiation therapy with simultaneous integrated boost (IMRT-SIB) in squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the larynx and hypopharynx. We performed a single institutional retrospective analysis on 116 pharyngo (29%)-laryngeal (71%) SCC patients (93% male) treated with IMRT-SIB to 66–69.96 Gy in 33 fractions between 2008 and 2016. Those who underwent surgery (54%) received adjuvant radiation of 66 Gy at 2 Gy/fraction to the surgical bed. 16 patients (14%) were treated for a local recurrence after prior surgery. High-risk lymph node regions received 59.4 Gy at 1.8 Gy/fraction and low risk regions 54.12 Gy at 1.64 Gy/fraction. The median age was 60 years and 95% of patients had an ECOG performance status 0–2. Most had advanced stage disease (III 22%, IV 74%). Chemotherapy was delivered in 74% of cases. Median follow-up was 32 months. Two and three-year overall survival for all patients was 87% and 82%, respectively. There were 28 (24%) locoregional recurrences and 19 (16%) distant failures. Grade 3 mucositis, dermatitis, and xerostomy were observed in 12%, 10%, and 3%, respectively. A longer IMRT-SIB overall treatment time was associated with a higher risk of mortality (HR 1.09, CI 1.01–1.17, P = 0.02). Postoperative IMRT-SIB associated with a significantly lower risk of any recurrence (HR 0.34, CI 0.18–0.64, P = 0.001) and higher local control (HR 0.06, CI 0.01–0.24, P