Chemo-photothermal combination therapy has already become a promising strategy for cancer treatment.

Objective This study was performed to assess the changes in diameter of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) in patients with spontaneous isolated SMA dissection (SISMAD) on nonenhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and determine the clinical value of follow-up MDCT after endovascular stent placement (ESP). Methods The diameters of the SMA and superior mesenteric vein (SMV) as measured on nonenhanced MDCT were compared between 20 patients with SISMAD and 20 control subjects. ESP was performed in 14 patients with SISMAD, and follow-up MDCT was performed after ESP. Results The mean diameter of the SMA in the SISMAD group and control group was 11.69 ± 1.26 and 7.10 ± 0.97 mm, respectively, with a statistically significant difference. The SMA diameters were even larger than the SMV diameters. Follow-up MDCT showed stent patency in 13 patients and occlusion in 1 patient. Conclusions An enlarged diameter of the SMA on nonenhanced MDCT is an important finding for diagnosis of SISMAD, and MDCT is a valuable follow-up method after ESP for SISMAD.

Post-operative radiotherapy has commonly been used for early stage breast cancer to treat residual disease. The primary objective of this work was to characterize, through dosimetric and radiobiological modeling, a novel focal brachytherapy technique which uses direct intracavitary infusion of β-emitting radionuclides (186Re/188Re) carried by lipid nanoparticles (liposomes). Absorbed dose calculations were performed for a spherical lumpectomy cavity with a uniformly injected activity distribution using a dose point kernel convolution technique. Radiobiological indices were used to relate predicted therapy outcome and normal tissue complication of this technique with equivalent external beam radiotherapy treatment regimens. Modeled stromal damage was used as a measure of the inhibition of the stimulatory effect on tumor growth driven by the wound healing response. A sample treatment plan delivering 50 Gy at a therapeutic range of 2.0 mm for 186Re-liposomes and 5.0 mm for 188Re-liposomes takes advantage of the dose delivery characteristics of the β-emissions, providing significant EUD (58.2 Gy and 72.5 Gy for 186Re and 188Re, respectively) with a minimal NTCP (0.046%) of the healthy ipsilateral breast. Modeling of kidney BED and ipsilateral breast NTCP showed that large injected activity concentrations of both radionuclides could be safely administered without significant complications.