Despite the lack of level 1 evidence, metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) is used widely in the management of metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) patients. Data are continuously emerging from well-designed prospective studies. To summarise and report the evidence on oncological and safety outcomes of MDT in the management of mPCa patients. We searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for prospective studies assessing progression-free survival (PFS), local control (LC), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)-free survival (ADT-FS), overall survival (OS), and/or adverse events (AEs) in mPCa patients treated with MDT. A meta-analysis was performed for 1- and 2-yr PFS, LC, ADT-FS, OS, and rate of AEs. Meta-regression and sensitivity analysis were performed to account for heterogeneity and identify moderators. We identified 22 prospective studies (n = 1137), including two randomised controlled trials (n = 116). Two studies were excluded from the meta-analysis (n = 120). The estimated 2-yr PFS was 46% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 36-56%) or 42% (95% CI: 33-52%) after excluding studies using biochemical or ADT-related endpoints. The estimated 2-yr LC, ADT-FS, and OS were 97% (95% CI: 94-98%), 55% (95% CI: 44-65%), and 97% (95% CI: 95-98%), respectively. Rates of treatment-related grade 2 and ≥3 AEs were 2.4% (95% CI: 0.2-7%) and 0.3% (95% CI: 0-1%), respectively. MDT is a promising treatment strategy associated with favourable PFS, excellent LC, and a low toxicity profile that allows oligorecurrent hormone-sensitive patients to avoid or defer ADT-related toxicity. Integration of MDT with other therapies offers a promising research direction, in particular, in conjunction with systemic treatments and as a component of definitive care for oligometastatic PCa. However, in the absence of randomised trials, using MDT for treatment intensification remains an experimental approach, and the impact on OS is uncertain. Direct treatment of metastases is a promising option for selected prostate cancer patients. It can delay hormone therapy and is being investigated as a way of intensifying treatment at the expense of manageable toxicity.

The EU Horizon 2020 Framework-funded Standardized Treatment and Outcome Platform for Stereotactic Therapy Of Re-entrant tachycardia by a Multidisciplinary (STOPSTORM) consortium has been established as a large research network for investigating STereotactic Arrhythmia Radioablation (STAR) for ventricular tachycardia (VT). The aim is to provide a pooled treatment database to evaluate patterns of practice and outcomes of STAR and finally to harmonize STAR within Europe. The consortium comprises 31 clinical and research institutions. The project is divided into nine work packages (WPs): (i) observational cohort; (ii) standardization and harmonization of target delineation; (iii) harmonized prospective cohort; (iv) quality assurance (QA); (v) analysis and evaluation; (vi, ix) ethics and regulations; and (vii, viii) project coordination and dissemination. To provide a review of current clinical STAR practice in Europe, a comprehensive questionnaire was performed at project start. The STOPSTORM Institutions’ experience in VT catheter ablation (83% ≥ 20 ann.) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (59% > 200 ann.) was adequate, and 84 STAR treatments were performed until project launch, while 8/22 centres already recruited VT patients in national clinical trials. The majority currently base their target definition on mapping during VT (96%) and/or pace mapping (75%), reduced voltage areas (63%), or late ventricular potentials (75%) during sinus rhythm. The majority currently apply a single-fraction dose of 25 Gy while planning techniques and dose prescription methods vary greatly. The current clinical STAR practice in the STOPSTORM consortium highlights potential areas of optimization and harmonization for substrate mapping, target delineation, motion management, dosimetry, and QA, which will be addressed in the various WPs.

Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR) is a non-invasive treatment for refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT). This manuscript aimed to systematically review prospective trials on STAR and pool harmonized outcome measures in a meta-analysis. Following registration in PROSPERO (CRD42023439666), MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL, and Google Scholar were searched on 2023-09-11 to identify reports describing results of prospective trials evaluating STAR for VT. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBINS-I tool. Meta-analysis was performed using generalised linear mixed models. We identified ten prospective trials in which 82 patients were treated with STAR between 2016 and 2022. The 90-day rate of treatment-related grade ≥3 adverse events was 0.10 (95%CI: 0.04-0.2). The proportions of patients achieving given VT burden reductions were 0.61 (95%CI: 0.45-0.74) for ≥95%, 0.80 (95%CI: 0.62-0.91) for ≥75%, and 0.9 (95%CI: 0.77-0.96) for ≥50% in 63 evaluable patients. The one-year overall survival rate was 0.73 (95%CI: 0.61-0.83) in 81 patients, one-year freedom from recurrence was 0.30 (95%CI: 0.16-0.49) in 61 patients, and one-year recurrence-free survival was 0.21 in 60 patients (95%CI: 0.08-0.46). Limitations include methodological heterogeneity across studies and moderate to significant risk of bias. STAR is a promising treatment method, characterized by moderate toxicity. We observed one-year mortality of approximately 27% in this population of critically ill patients suffering from refractory VT. Most patients experience a significant reduction in VT burden; however, one-year recurrence rates are high. STAR should still be considered an investigational approach, and recommended to patients primarily within the context of prospective trials.

The aim of the present study was to determine the level of adiposity and obesity in Polish adolescents and compare the results with earlier studies conducted in this population as well as those carried out in other populations. The study group consisted of 456 boys and 514 girls aged 14-18 years living in Cracow chosen from randomly selected secondary schools. Weight, height, waist, and hip circumference (WC, HC) as well as triceps, biceps, subscapular, and suprailiac skinfold thickness (SFT) were measured. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), subscapular/triceps skinfold ratio (STR), and percentage body fat were computed. The prevalence of overweight and obesity based on Polish children growth reference were calculated and age-dependent and gender-specific smoothed percentile curves for BMI and ROC curves were generated. Weight, height, WC, HC (up 16yr), WHtR (up 15yr), and WHR were considerably higher in males than females. Weight, height, and HC increased with age; WHtR remained the same. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 10.2% (boys 10.3%; girls 10.1%) and 4.2% (boys 5.3%; girls 3.3%). ROC analysis revealed that WHtR was the best tool for detection of obesity (AUC of 0.982±0.007) in males, whereas the sum of four SFTs (AUC: 0.968±0.011) and WHtR (AUC: 0.963±0.012) were the best predictors of obesity in females. The level of adiposity in Cracow adolescents increased during the last decade. However, it is still lower than in other well-developed societies struggling with obesity epidemics.

The electrophysiology-guided noninvasive cardiac radioablation, also known as STAR (stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation) is an emerging treatment method for persistent ventricular tachycardia. Since its first application in 2012 in Stanford Cancer Institute, and a year later in University Hospital Ostrava, Czech Republic, the authors from all around the world have published case reports and case series, and several prospective trials were established. In this article, we would like to discuss the available clinical evidence, analyze the potentially clinically relevant differences in methodology, and address some of the unique challenges that come with this treatment method.

Introduction: There is growing interest in the prognostic value of routinely performed pre-treatment blood test indices, such as the RDW or SII, with the latter combining the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). These indices were shown to be prognostic for survival in some malignancies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between pre-treatment RDW and SII, and OS in patients treated with radiotherapy for primary localised cervical cancer. Material and Methods: This retrospective analysis included patients treated with definitive CRT between 2011 and 2017 for histopathologically confirmed FIGO 2018 stage IB2-IVA cervical cancer. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kaplan–Meier method, two-sided log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards models, with the AIC serving as a prediction error estimator. Results: The study group included 249 patients with a median age of 57.2 years and a median follow-up of 75.8 months. The majority were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (237; 95.2%) and had FIGO stage III (211; 84.7%). Approximately half of the patients (116; 46.4%) had regional lymph node metastases. Patients with a low RDW (≤13.4%) and low SII (≤986.01) had a significantly longer OS (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002). The RDW remained as an independent prognostic factor in the multivariable model (high vs. low; HR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.32–3.16; p = 0.001). Including RDW in the model decreased the Akaike Information Criterion from 1028.25 to 1018.15. Conclusions: The RDW is a cheap and widely available index that is simultaneously an independent prognostic factor for survival and could be used to improve pre-treatment prognosis assessments in patients with cervical cancer undergoing CRT. Available data encourage assessing the RDW as a prognostic factor in prospective trials to aid the identification of candidates for treatment escalation.