Objective:To report clinical and dosimetric outcomes of a consecutive series of patients with anal cancer treated with volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) concomitant to chemotherapy (CT).Methods:A cohort of 39 patients underwent VMAT employing a schedule consisting of 50.4 Gy/28 fractions to the gross tumour volume (GTV) and 42 Gy/28 fractions to the elective nodal volumes for patients with cT2N0 disease. Patients with cT3–T4/N0–N3 tumours were prescribed 54 Gy/30 fractions to the GTV and 50.4 Gy/30 fractions to the gross nodal volumes if sized ≤3 cm or 54 Gy/30 fractions if > 3 cm. Elective nodal regions were given 45 Gy/30 fractions. CT was administered concurrently following Nigro's regimen. The primary end point was acute toxicity. Secondary end points were colostomy-free survival (CFS), disease-free survival (DFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). Dosimetric data are also provided.Results:Median follow-up was 21 months. Maximum acute toxicities were: dermatologic—G3: 18%...

Background: Carcinoma of the prostate gland is the most frequent malignant tumour affecting male population. While the large majority of tumours is represented by adenocarcinoma, pure squamous cell carcinoma comprises only 0,5–1% of all prostate neoplastic lesions. It is characterised by a high degree of malignancy, commonly metastasising to the bone (mainly with osteolytic lesions), liver and lungs with a median survival time of 14 months. Several therapeutic approaches have been employed in the effort to treat prostate pure squamous cell carcinoma, including radical surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. All of them mostly failed to gain a significant survival benefit. Case report: We herein report on a case of pure squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate approached with combined-modality treatment, with the administration of 3 courses of cisplatin 75 mg/m² on day 1 and continous infusion 5-fluorouracil 750 mg/m² on day 1 to 5 and, subsequently, radiotherapy, with the delivery of a total dose of 46 Gy to the whole pelvis, with additional boost doses of 20 Gy to the prostatic bed and adjunctive 6 Gy to the prostate gland (72 Gy in total). The patient remained free of disease for 5 years, finally experiencing local relapse and, subsequently, dying of acute renal failure due to bilateral uretero-hydro-nephrosis. In addition, we provide a complete overview of all reported cases available within the medical literature. Conclusion: Since it remains questionable which should be the most appropriate therapeutic approach towards prostate pure squamous cell carcinoma, our report demonstrates that a prolonged disease control, with a consistent survival time, may be achieved by the combination of an effective local treatment such as radiotherapy with systemic infusion of chemotherapeutic drugs.

A multi-institutional retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the pattern of care and clinical outcomes of anal cancer patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) techniques. In a cohort of 987 patients, the clinical complete response (CR) rate (beyond 6 months) was 90.6%. The 3-year local control (LC) rate was 85.8% (95% CI: 84.4–87.2), and the 3-year colostomy-free survival (CFS) rate was 77.9% (95% CI: 76.1–79.8). Three-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 80.2% and 88.1% (95% CI: 78.8–89.4) (95% CI: 78.5–81.9), respectively. Histological grade 3 and nodal involvement were associated with lower CR (p = 0.030 and p = 0.004, respectively). A statistically significant association was found between advanced stage and nodal involvement, and LC, CFS, PFS, OS and event-free survival (EFS). Overall treatment time (OTT) ≥45 days showed a trend for a lower PFS (p = 0.050) and was significantly associated with lower EFS (p = 0.030) and histological grade 3 with a lower LC (p = 0.025). No statistically significant association was found between total dose, dose/fraction and/or boost modality and clinical outcomes. This analysis reports excellent clinical results and a mild toxicity profile, confirming IMRT techniques as standard of care for the curative treatment of anal cancer patients. Lymph node involvement and histological grade have been confirmed as the most important negative prognostic factors.