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Breast cancer radiotherapy has a clear benefit for both long-term survival and local recurrence rate. However, there is still much concern about the early radiation-induced heart toxicity. This article aimed to clarify the impact of certain cardiac biomarkers and strain echocardiographic imaging on the detection of early cardiac dysfunction. Several studies that reported changes in either echocardiographic and/or serum levels measurements after breast radiotherapy were searched. Despite the established role of cardiac biomarkers to predict late cardiotoxicity after radiotherapy, data concerning early cardiac damage are still lacking. Furthermore, although strain echocardiography represents a specific tool for the detection of cardiac morbidity in certain diseases, much interest concerns its role in the prediction of early heart failure after radiotherapy. Identification of new tools for the detection of early cardiotoxicity after breast radiotherapy may minimize the side-effects of therapeutic modalities in the clinical setting.

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Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies of the genito-urinary tract, having a poor prognosis especially in patients with metastasis. Surgical resection remains the gold standard for localized renal cancer disease, with radiotherapy (RT) receiving much skepticism during the last decades. However, many studies have evaluated the role of RT, and although renal cancer is traditionally considered radio-resistant, technological advances in the RT field with regards to modern linear accelerators, as well as advanced RT techniques have resulted in breakthrough therapeutic outcomes. Additionally, the combination of RT with immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted agents may maximize the clinical benefit. This review article focuses on the role of RT in the therapeutic management of renal cell carcinoma.Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common and aggressive neoplasm of the kidney. It accounts for 3% of all adult cancers and over 90% of kidney cancers (1). The incidence of RCC increases with age; almost 75% of patients are over 60 years of age, while 70-75 is the most predominant age group and a rarity is under 50 (2). Well established risk factors include cigarette smoking, hypertension, obesity and genetic susceptibility (3). RCC has a variable histologic appearance with three different cell types accounting for more than 90% of all cancers (4). The cell types include: 1) clear cell, 2) granular cell, 3) spindle cell or sarcomatoid variant. Among these cell types the most frequent is clear cell renal carcinoma that constitutes almost 75% of all tumors (5).A significant number of cases with RCC may be asymptomatic with the tumor being an incidental finding in a routine radiological examination. The most frequent clinical signs of RCC known as the "classic triad" are gross or microscopic hematuria, intermittent recurrent pain and flank mass. These signs appear in almost 10% of patients and are suggestive of advanced disease. Some patients may experience signs and symptoms related to local mass or systemic paraneoplastic syndromes. It is estimated that almost half RCC are incidentally found during a routine radiological investigation such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography or ultrasound, mainly for the upper abdomen and liver.The most important prognostic factors in RCC are related to the a) gross anatomic extent of the primary renal lesion, b) nuclear grade, c) perinephric extension, d) renal vein extension, e) lymph node involvement and f) presence of distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis.If RCC is detected at an early stage, the primary treatment is surgical. However, approximately 25% of patients may 1365 This article is freely accessible online.

Background: Breast cancer heterogeneity reflects the complex biology of this disease. Breast cancer subtypes, as identified either by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or by gene expression analysis, present different molecular characteristics and prognosis. In this context, molecular imaging techniques providing functional information, contribute in evaluating response to treatment and long-term prognosis among different subtypes. Nuclear imaging diagnosis modalities play an important role for conducting research on cancer biology and developing new treatment approaches. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a radionuclide based imaging method that has the potential to locate the tumor, define its staging, and monitor its response to treatment.Results: In the current study, we will review the utility of the most widely used molecular imaging technique, 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) PET, in order to determine the relationship between standardized uptake values (SUVs) and immunohistopathological factors, as well as to clarify whether PET is able to predict breast cancer phenotypes. Moreover, we will discuss the rising development of new radiopharmaceuticals in PET imaging, such as 18 F-fluoro-17-estradiol (FES), 18 F-fluoro-l-thymidine (FLT), 18 F-fluoromisonidazole (FISO), and 89 Zr-immuno-PET, which give more information about tumor characteristics. Conclusions: In order to improve clinical decision making, enabling hereafter more successful individualized therapies, it is imperative to combine PET radiopharmaceuticals and imaging techniques of critical biologic and pathologic phenomena, including ER, PR and HER2 expression, angiogenesis, hypoxia, apoptosis and metabolic changes in the microenviroment of breast tumors. BackgroundBreast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed noncutaneous malignancy in women worldwide, accounting for approximately 30% of all new cancer diagnoses and about 14% of all cancer deaths in women. About 63,410 new cases of female breast carcinoma in situ and 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2017 among United States (US) women. It is estimated that one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their life, while it is the second most common cause of cancer