CARdioimaging in Lung Cancer PatiEnts Undergoing Radical RadioTherapy: CARE-RT Trial

Abstract

Background: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common, steady growing lung tumour that is often discovered when a surgical approach is forbidden. For locally advanced inoperable NSCLC, the clinical approach consists of a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, eventually followed by adjuvant immunotherapy, a treatment that is useful but may cause several mild and severe adverse effect. Chest radiotherapy, specifically, may affect the heart and coronary artery, impairing heart function and causing pathologic changes in myocardial tissues. The aim of this study is to evaluate the damage coming from these therapies with the aid of cardiac imaging. Methods: This is a single-centre, prospective clinical trial. Patients with NSCLC who are enrolled will undergo computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before chemotherapy 3 months, 6 months, and 9–12 months after the treatment. We expect to enrol 30 patients in 2 years. Conclusions: Our clinical trial will be an opportunity not only to highlight the timing and the radiation dose needed for pathological cardiac tissue changes to happen but will also provide useful data to set new follow-up schedules and strategies, keeping in mind that, more often than not, patients affected by NSCLC may present other heart- and lung-related pathological conditions.

Therapeutic efficacy of rare earth carbonate with chemoradiotherapy in late-stage non-small cell lung cancer: a cohort prospective study

“…Despite the aggressive treatment regimen, the half-decade survival metrics offer a somber picture, delineating a survival rate that languishes between 25% and 30%. Sterilized rare earth carbonate (REC) is a mixture of rare earth carbonates and is widely used in various fields such as industry and medicine (12)(13)(14)(15). Due to the high cost-effectiveness and strategic value of RCE, REC is considered an important resource in industrial production.…”

Multimodal Diagnostics of Changes in Rat Lungs after Vaping

“…An endoscopic lung imaging technique combines the advantages of whole-lung structure imaging with the ability of a morphological examination to reveal a fine subcellular structure. Modern non-invasive imaging methods such as ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) allow detailed and dynamic 3D analysis of anatomical structures in living organisms, but these methods have a limited spatial resolution, which is often not sufficient to visualize tissue and cell microstructures [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has considerable potential for lung microstructure analysis [20][21][22].…”