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Background The rates of local failure after curative radiotherapy for prostate cancer (PC) remain high despite more accurate locoregional treatments available, with one third of patients experiencing biochemical failure and clinical relapse occurring in 30–47% of cases. Today, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the treatment of choice in this setting, but with not negligible toxicity and low effects on local disease. Therefore, the treatment of intraprostatic PC recurrence represents a challenge for radiation oncologists. Prostate reirradiation (Re-I) might be a therapeutic possibility. We present our series of patients treated with salvage stereotactic Re‑I for intraprostatic recurrence of PC after radical radiotherapy, with the aim of evaluating feasibility and safety of linac-based prostate Re‑I. Materials and methods We retrospectively evaluated toxicities and outcomes of patients who underwent salvage reirradiation using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for intraprostatic PC recurrence. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18 years, histologically proven diagnosis of PC, salvage Re‑I for intraprostatic recurrence after primary radiotherapy for PC with curative intent, concurrent/adjuvant ADT with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) allowed, performance status ECOG 0–2, restaging choline/PSMA-PET/TC and prostate MRI after biochemical recurrence, and signed informed consent. Results From January 2019 to April 2022, 20 patients were recruited. Median follow-up was 26.7 months (range 7–50). After SBRT, no patients were lost at follow-up and all are still alive. One- and 2‑year progression free survival (PFS) was 100% and 81.5%, respectively, while 2‑year biochemical progression-free survival (bFFS) was 88.9%. Four patients (20%) experienced locoregional lymph node progression and were treated with a further course of SBRT. Prostate reirradiation allowed the ADT start to be postponed for 12–39 months. Re‑I was well tolerated by all patients and none discontinued the treatment. No cases of ≥ G3 genitourinary (GU) or gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity were reported. Seven (35%) and 2 (10%) patients experienced acute G1 and G2 GU toxicity, respectively. Late GU toxicity was recorded in 10 (50%) patients, including 8 (40%) G1 and 2 (10%) G2. ADT-related side effects were found in 7 patients (hot flashes and asthenia). Conclusion Linac-based SBRT is a safe technique for performing Re‑I for intraprostatic recurrence after primary curative radiotherapy for PC. Future prospective, randomized studies are desirable to better understand the effectiveness of reirradiation and the still open questions in this field.

Breast cancer represents the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the female population, despite continuing advances in treatment options that have significantly accelerated in recent years. Conservative treatments have radically changed the concept of healing, also focusing on the psychological aspect of oncological treatments. In this scenario, radiotherapy plays a key role. Brachytherapy is an extremely versatile radiation technique that can be used in various settings for breast cancer treatment. Although it is invasive, technically complex, and requires a long learning curve, the dosimetric advantages and sparing of organs at risk are unequivocal. Literature data support muticatheter interstitial brachytherapy as the only method with strong scientific evidence to perform partial breast irradiation and reirradiation after previous conservative surgery and external beam radiotherapy, with longer follow-up than new, emerging radiation techniques, whose effectiveness is proven by over 20 years of experience. The aim of our work is to provide a comprehensive view of the use of interstitial brachytherapy to perform breast lumpectomy boost, breast-conserving accelerated partial breast irradiation, and salvage reirradiation for ipsilateral breast recurrence, with particular focus on the implant description, limits, and advantages of the technique.

Background: among cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular tachycardia (VT) is one that can lead to cardiac death, although significant progress has been made in its treatment, including the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) and radiofrequency catheter ablation. Nevertheless, long-term recurrence rates remain in about half of patients and drastically impact the patient’s quality of life. Moreover, recurrent ICD shocks are painful and are associated with higher mortality and worsening of heart failure. Recently, more and more experiences are demonstrating potential efficacy in the use of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) (also called cardiac radio-ablation) to treat this condition. In this paper, we report our experience in the use of cardiac radio-ablation for the treatment of refractory ventricular tachycardia with a focus on the technique used, along with a review of the literature and technical notes. Case presentation: an 81-year-old male patient with a long history of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy and mechanical mitral prosthesis underwent a biventricular cardioverter defibrillator implant after atrial ventricular node ablation. At the end of 2021, the number of tachycardias increased significantly to about 10 episodes per day. After failure of medical treatment and conventional RT catheter ablation, the patient was treated with SBRT for a total dose of 25 Gy in a single session at the site of the ectopic focus. No acute toxicity was recorded. After SBRT (follow-up 7 months) no other VT episodes were recorded. Conclusion: SBRT appears to be safe and leads to a rapid reduction in arrhythmic storms as treatment for VT without acute toxicity, representing one of the most promising methods for treating VT storms.

The most prevalent and deadly primary malignant glioma in adults is glioblastoma (GBM), which has a median survival time of about 15 months. Despite the standard of care for glioblastoma, which includes gross total resection, high-dose radiation, and temozolomide chemotherapy, this tumor is still one of the most aggressive and difficult to treat. So, it is critical to find more potent therapies that can help glioblastoma patients have better clinical outcomes. Additionally, the prognosis for recurring malignant gliomas is poor, necessitating the need for innovative therapeutics. Immunotherapy is a rather new treatment for glioblastoma and its effects are not well studied when it is combined with standard chemoradiation therapy. We conducted this study to evaluate different glioblastoma immunotherapy approaches in terms of feasibility, efficacy, and safety. We conducted a computer-assisted literature search of electronic databases for essays that are unique, involve either prospective or retrospective research, and are entirely written and published in English. We examined both observational data and randomized clinical trials. Eighteen studies met the criteria for inclusion. In conclusion, combining immunotherapy with radiochemotherapy and tumor removal is generally possible and safe, and rather effective in the prolongation of survival measures.