European Society For Radiotherapy & Oncology Research Articles

The value of serum HE4 and CA125 levels for monitoring the recurrence and risk stratification of endometrial endometrioid carcinoma

To evaluate the role of serum human epididymis secretory protein 4 (HE4) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) levels for predicting and monitoring the recurrence of endometrial endometrioid carcinoma (EEC) and assessing preoperative risk stratification in EEC patients. A total of 434 EEC patients were selected for this retrospective study between May 2011 and August 2018. Serum HE4 and CA125 levels were analyzed before the initial treatment, at the first postoperative follow-up, and at recurrence or the last follow-up. Patients were risk stratified according to the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) guideline. We compared the ability of these biomarkers for prediction and monitoring by performing receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and identified optimal cut-off values by determining the Youden index. Kaplan-Meier analyses were also performed to determine prognostic value. Preoperative serum HE4 was identified as a significant predictor for the recurrence of EEC (p = 0.014). Preoperative serum HE4 and CA125 levels were related to depth of myometrial invasion, lymph node status and FIGO stage. Serum HE4 and CA125 levels were both statistically significant markers for monitoring the recurrence of EEC (P = 0.000 for each biomarker). When combined, the two markers showed higher levels of sensitivity and specificity. The two biomarkers were also significant biomarkers for evaluating the risk stratification of patients undergoing lymphadenectomy (P = 0.000 for each biomarker). For premenopausal stage I patients, preoperative serum HE4 and CA125 levels were significant predictors of the need for ovarian preservation (P = 0.000 and P = 0.002, respectively). For premenopausal patients with stage I intramucosal differentiation, preoperative serum levels of HE4 were significant predictors for fertility preservation (P = 0.024). Preoperative serum HE4 level can be used to predict the recurrence of EEC. Postoperative serum HE4 and CA125 levels can be used to monitor the recurrence of EEC and are more sensitive when combined. Preoperative serum levels of CA125 and HE4 levels are of significant value for risk stratification in EEC patients.

ESTRO/ESGO/SIOPe Guidelines for the management of patients with vaginal cancer

Primary vaginal malignancies are rare, comprising only 2% of all female genital tract malignancies in adults and 4.5% in children. As part of its mission to improve the quality of...

ESTRO/ESGO/SIOPe guidelines for the management of patients with vaginal cancer

Primary vaginal malignancies are rare, comprising only 2% of all female genital tract malignancies in adults and 4.5% in children. As part of its mission to improve the quality of care for women with gynecological cancers across Europe, the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) jointly with the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOPe) developed evidence-based guidelines in order to improve the management of patients with vaginal cancer within a multidisciplinary setting.ESTRO/ESGO/SIOPe nominated practicing clinicians who are involved in the management of vaginal cancer patients and have demonstrated leadership through their expertise in clinical care and research, their national and international engagement and profile as well as dedication to the topics addressed to serve on the expert panel (13 experts across Europe comprising the international development group). To ensure that the statements were evidence based, the current literature was reviewed and critically appraised. In the case of absence of any clear scientific evidence, judgment was based on the professional experience and consensus of the international development group. Prior to publication, the guidelines were reviewed by 112 independent international practitionners in cancer care delivery and patient representatives and their comments and input were incorporated and addressed accordingly.These guidelines cover comprehensively the diagnostic pathways as well as the surgical, radiotherapeutical and systemic management and follow-up of adult patients (including those with rare histological subtypes) and pediatric patients (vaginal rhabdomyosarcoma and germ cell tumours) with vaginal tumours.

ESGO/ESHRE/ESGE Guidelines for the fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma.

The standard surgical treatment of endometrial carcinoma (EC) consisting of total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy drastically affects the quality of life of patients and creates a challenge for clinicians. Recent evidence-based guidelines of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Society of Pathology (ESP) provide comprehensive guidelines on all relevant issues of diagnosis and treatment in EC in a multidisciplinary setting. While also addressing work-up for fertility preservation treatments and the management and follow-up for fertility preservation, it was considered relevant to further extend the guidance on fertility sparing treatment. To define recommendations for fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma. ESGO/ESHRE/ESGE nominated an international multidisciplinary development group consisting of practicing clinicians and researchers who have demonstrated leadership and expertise in the care and research of EC (11 experts across Europe). To ensure that the guidelines are evidence-based, the literature published since 2016, identified from a systematic search was reviewed and critically appraised. In the absence of any clear scientific evidence, judgment was based on the professional experience and consensus of the development group. The guidelines are thus based on the best available evidence and expert agreement. Prior to publication, the guidelines were reviewed by 95 independent international practitioners in cancer care delivery and patient representatives. The multidisciplinary development group formulated 48 recommendations for fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma in four sections: patient selection, tumour clinicopathological characteristics, treatment and special issues. These recommendations provide guidance to professionals caring for women with endometrial carcinoma, including but not limited to professionals in the field of gynaecological oncology, onco-fertility, reproductive surgery, endoscopy, conservative surgery, and histopathology, and will help towards a holistic and multidisciplinary approach for this challenging clinical scenario. What is new? A collaboration was set up between the ESGO, ESHRE and ESGE, aiming to develop clinically relevant and evidence-based guidelines focusing on key aspects of fertility-sparing treatment in order to improve the quality of care for women with endometrial carcinoma across Europe and worldwide.

ESGO/ESHRE/ESGE Guidelines for the fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma.

The standard surgical treatment of endometrial carcinoma (EC) consisting of total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy drastically affects the quality of life of patients and creates a challenge for clinicians. Recent evidence-based guidelines of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Society of Pathology (ESP) provide comprehensive guidelines on all relevant issues of diagnosis and treatment in EC in a multidisciplinary setting. While also addressing work-up for fertility preservation treatments and the management and follow-up for fertility preservation, it was considered relevant to further extend the guidance on fertility sparing treatment. To define recommendations for fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma. ESGO/ESHRE/ESGE nominated an international multidisciplinary development group consisting of practicing clinicians and researchers who have demonstrated leadership and expertise in the care and research of EC (11 experts across Europe). To ensure that the guidelines are evidence-based, the literature published since 2016, identified from a systematic search was reviewed and critically appraised. In the absence of any clear scientific evidence, judgment was based on the professional experience and consensus of the development group. The guidelines are thus based on the best available evidence and expert agreement. Prior to publication, the guidelines were reviewed by 95 independent international practitioners in cancer care delivery and patient representatives. The multidisciplinary development group formulated 48 recommendations for fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma in four sections: patient selection, tumour clinicopathological characteristics, treatment and special issues. These recommendations provide guidance to professionals caring for women with endometrial carcinoma, including but not limited to professionals in the field of gynaecological oncology, onco-fertility, reproductive surgery, endoscopy, conservative surgery, and histopathology, and will help towards a holistic and multidisciplinary approach for this challenging clinical scenario. A collaboration was set up between the ESGO, ESHRE and ESGE, aiming to develop clinically relevant and evidence-based guidelines focusing on key aspects of fertility-sparing treatment in order to improve the quality of care for women with endometrial carcinoma across Europe and worldwide.

ESGO/ESHRE/ESGE Guidelines for the fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma.

How should fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma be performed? Forty-eight recommendations were formulated on fertility-sparing treatment of patients with endometrial carcinoma. The standard surgical treatment of endometrial carcinoma consisting of total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy drastically affects the quality of life of patients and creates a challenge for clinicians. Recent evidence-based guidelines of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Society of Pathology (ESP) provide comprehensive guidelines on all relevant issues of diagnosis and treatment in endometrial carcinoma in a multidisciplinary setting. While addressing also work-up for fertility preservation treatments and the management and follow-up for fertility preservation, it was considered relevant to further extend the guidance on fertility-sparing treatment. A collaboration was set up between the ESGO, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and the European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (ESGE), aiming to develop clinically relevant and evidence-based guidelines focusing on key aspects of fertility-sparing treatment in order to improve the quality of care for women with endometrial carcinoma across Europe and worldwide. ESGO/ESHRE/ESGE nominated an international multidisciplinary development group consisting of practising clinicians and researchers who have demonstrated leadership and expertise in the care and research of endometrial carcinoma (11 experts across Europe). To ensure that the guidelines are evidence-based, the literature published since 2016, identified from a systematic search was reviewed and critically appraised. In the absence of any clear scientific evidence, judgement was based on the professional experience and consensus of the development group. The guidelines are thus based on the best available evidence and expert agreement. Prior to publication, the guidelines were reviewed by 95 independent international practitioners in cancer care delivery and patient representatives. The multidisciplinary development group formulated 48 recommendations in four sections; patient selection, tumour clinicopathological characteristics, treatment and special issues. Of the 48 recommendations, none could be based on level I evidence and only 16 could be based on level II evidence, implicating that 66% of the recommendations are supported only by observational data, professional experience and consensus of the development group. These recommendations provide guidance to professionals caring for women with endometrial carcinoma, including but not limited to professionals in the field of gynaecological oncology, onco-fertility, reproductive surgery, endoscopy, conservative surgery and histopathology, and will help towards a holistic and multidisciplinary approach for this challenging clinical scenario. All costs relating to the development process were covered from ESGO, ESHRE and ESGE funds. There was no external funding of the development process or manuscript production. G.S. has reported grants from MSD Italia S.r.l., advisory boards for Storz, Bayer, Astrazeneca, Metronic, TESARO Bio Italy S.r.l and Johnson & Johnson, and honoraria for lectures from Clovis Oncology Italy S.r.l. M.G. has reported advisory boards for Gedeon Richter and Merck. The other authors have reported no conflicts of interest. This document represents the views of ESHRE, ESGO and ESGE which are the result of consensus between the relevant stakeholders and where relevant based on the scientific evidence available at the time of preparation. The recommendations should be used for informational and educational purposes. They should not be interpreted as setting a standard of care, or be deemed inclusive of all proper methods of care nor exclusive of other methods of care reasonably directed to obtaining the same results. They do not replace the need for application of clinical judgement to each individual presentation, nor variations based on locality and facility type.

A Delphi study and International Consensus Recommendations: The use of bolus in the setting of postmastectomy radiation therapy for early breast cancer

Bolus serves as a tissue equivalent material that shifts the 95–100% isodose line towards the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The need for bolus for all breast cancer patients planned for postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) has been questioned. The work was initiated by the faculty of the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) breast cancer courses and represents a multidisciplinary international breast cancer expert collaboration to optimize PMRT. Due to the lack of randomised trials evaluating the benefits of bolus, we designed a stepwise project to evaluate the existing evidence about the use of bolus in the setting of PMRT to achieve an international consensus for the indications of bolus in PMRT, based on the Delphi method.

ESGO/ESTRO/ESP guidelines for the management of patients with endometrial carcinoma

A European consensus conference on endometrial carcinoma was held in 2014 to produce multidisciplinary evidence-based guidelines on selected questions. Given the large body of literature on the management of endometrial carcinoma published since 2014, the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Society of Pathology (ESP) jointly decided to update these evidence-based guidelines and to cover new topics in order to improve the quality of care for women with endometrial carcinoma across Europe and worldwide.ESGO/ESTRO/ESP nominated an international multidisciplinary development group consisting of practicing clinicians and researchers who have demonstrated leadership and expertise in the care and research of endometrial carcinoma (27 experts across Europe). To ensure that the guidelines are evidence-based, the literature published since 2014, identified from a systematic search was reviewed and critically appraised. In the absence of any clear scientific evidence, judgment was based on the professional experience and consensus of the development group. The guidelines are thus based on the best available evidence and expert agreement. Prior to publication, the guidelines were reviewed by 191 independent international practitioners in cancer care delivery and patient representatives.The guidelines comprehensively cover endometrial carcinoma staging, definition of prognostic risk groups integrating molecular markers, pre- and intra-operative work-up, fertility preservation, management for early, advanced, metastatic, and recurrent disease and palliative treatment. Principles of radiotherapy and pathological evaluation are also defined.

The 2018 assisi think tank meeting on breast cancer: International expert panel white paper.

We report on the second Assisi Think Tank Meeting (ATTM) on breast cancer which was held under the auspices of the European Society for RadioTherapy & Oncology (ESTRO). In discussing in-depth current evidence and practice it was designed to identify grey areas in diverse forms of the disease. It aimed at addressing uncertainties and proposing future trials to improve patient care. Before the meeting, three key topics were selected: 1) primary systemic therapy, mastectomy, breast reconstruction and post-mastectomy radiation therapy, 2) therapeutic options in ductal carcinoma in situ, and 3) therapy de-escalation in early stage breast cancer. Clinical practice in these areas was investigated by means of an online questionnaire. The time lapse period between the survey and the meeting was used to review the literature and on-going clinical trials. At the ATTM both were discussed in depth and research protocols were proposed.

Metody obrazowania i planowania w radioterapii-sprawozdanie z wybranych wystąpień na 37. spotkaniu ESTRO w Barcelonie.


 W celu uaktualnienia wiedzy dotyczącej metod planowania i obrazowania w radioterapii dokonano analizy wybranych doniesień naukowych przedstawionych na 37. ESTRO FORUM konferencji Europejskiego Towarzystwa Radioterapii i Onkologii (European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology, ESTRO). Realizując panel wystąpień ustnych dla elektroradiologów w zakresie wiedzy na temat metod obrazowania poruszono między innymi zagadnienia dotyczące konturowania narządów krytycznych, które zostaną pokrótce opisane w tej pracy.
 

The potential predictive value of serum srCaS1 levels for overall survival in endometrial cancer.

The main aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of levels of serum soluble receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells (sRCAS1) on the overall survival (OS) rates in patients with endometrial cancer. Furthermore, we analyzed sRCAS1 levels according to the clinicopathological characteristics of the disease. The study group comprised 43 patients who were being treated for endometrial cancer. We included 10 low-risk, 20 intermediate-risk and 13 high-risk endometrial cancers using the criteria of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO). Serum sRCAS1 levels were obtained before and after surgery. Serum sRCAS1 levels were assessed using the ELISA method. In our univariate analysis, both the pre- and post-surgery high sRCAS1 groups of patients with endometrial cancer indicated a shortened OS. However, in our multivariate analysis, when patients' age and disease-related risk was taken into consideration, only the post-surgery sRCAS1 levels remained as independent prognostic factors of a poor OS. Pre-treatment serum sRCAS1 levels were statistically significantly higher than post-surgery sRCAS1 levels; however, the difference between pre- and post-surgery sRCAS1 levels did not influence the patients' OS rate. Pre- and post-surgery sRCAS1 levels did not differ according to tumor grade, stage of the disease or the disease-related risk group. High post-surgery serum sRCAS1 levels seem to be an independent indicator of shortened overall survival in patients with endometrial cancer.

The central role of the pathologist in the management of patients with cervical cancer: ESGO/ESTRO/ESP guidelines.

The European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Society of Pathology (ESP) nominated an international multidisciplinary development group consisting of practicing clinicians who have demonstrated leadership and expertise in cervical cancer to produce evidence-based guidelines regarding all aspects of the management of patients with this disease. Herein, we provide a detailed analysis of the pathological reporting of cervical carcinoma specimens, focusing on practical aspects of specimen sampling and on the core pathological data which are critical for patient management.

Preoperative MR imaging for ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO classification of endometrial cancer.

To retrospectively investigate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings could contribute to predict histologic type, tumor grade and lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) to improve preoperative assessment of endometrial cancer using the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and European Society of Gynecological Oncology (ESGO) classification. Between January 2008 and August 2014, 104 women (mean age, 65±11 [SD] years; range, 32-84 years) with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I endometrial cancer underwent preoperative MRI of the pelvis. Two independent readers evaluated tumor heterogeneity and measured tumor size on T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted and T1-weighted images obtained after gadolinium chelate administration at 2minutes. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was generated from pixel ADC from the whole tumor volume. A short axis>24mm on MRI was associated with histopathologic type 2, grade 3 tumor and presence of LVSI (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in minimum, mean and maximum ADC between presence/absence of LVSI. In 9.1% women (9/99), the accuracy of the ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO classification with the inclusion of the MRI short-axis criterion was higher than that of the conventional ESMO classification to predict high-risk recurrence endometrial cancer (P=0.02). Tumor size reflects histologic type, tumor grade and LVSI in endometrial cancer. FIGO stage 1 endometrial cancer>24mm should be classified preoperatively in the high-intermediate or high-risk recurrence risk groups.

Call for Surgical Nodal Staging in Women with ESMO/ESGO/ESTRO High-Intermediate Risk Endometrial Cancer: A Multicentre Cohort Analysis from the FRANCOGYN Study Group.

The European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO)/European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO)/European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) classification for endometrial cancer (EC) now includes a high-intermediate risk (HIR) group of recurrence due to the adverse prognostic role of lymphovascular space involvement (LVSI) and grade 3 for women at intermediate risk. However, optimal surgical staging, and especially the place of lymphadenectomy, remains to be elucidated. We aimed to establish whether systematic nodal staging should be part of surgical staging for women with HIR EC. We abstracted from a prospectively maintained multicentre database the data of 181 women with HIR EC based on uterine factors (endometrioid type 1, grade 1-2 tumors with deep (≥50%) myometrial invasion and unequivocally positive LVSI, and those with grade 3 tumors with <50% myometrial invasion regardless of LVSI status), who received primary surgical treatment between January 2001 and December 2013. We recorded frequency of lymph node (LN) metastases in those who underwent nodal staging. The secondary outcomes were overall survival and recurrence patterns. Overall, 145 (80.1%) women underwent nodal staging consisting of at least pelvic lymphadenectomy. Of these, 62 (42.7%) had LN disease (9.7% with micrometastases). The respective 5-year overall survival rates according to LN status were 85.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 76.5-91.4), 71.8% (95% CI 61.9-80.4) and 36.0% (95% CI 26.6-46.2) for women with negative LN, positive LN, and unstaged (p=0.047). Unstaged women were more likely to experience nodal recurrence than surgically staged/LN negative women (p=0.05). Systematic nodal staging should be part of surgical staging for women with apparent ESMO/ESGO/ESTRO HIR EC. Sentinel LN biopsy (SLNB) could be an option in this specific setting that may possiblysubstitute comprehensive staging, for the identification of patients with lymphatic dissemination.

An evaluation of the robustness of organ-at-risk recommendations made by GEC/ESTRO according to interobserver variability: a single-center experience.

PurposeGroupe Européen de Curiethérapie (GEC) and European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) has proposed a rectal dose constraint of the most exposed 2-cc volume (D2cc of ≤ 75 Gy EQD2α/β = 3) during external-beam plus high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) in localized prostate cancer patients. This study aimed to evaluate D2cc for rectal contouring via interobserver variability.Material and methodsFour blinded observers contoured rectums of 5 patients. Rectal contouring anatomical limits were determined through previous consensus. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) dosimetric parameters (D0.1cc, D1cc, and D2cc) were analyzed according to GEC/ESTRO recommendations and subjected to intra- and interobserver comparisons. Latter comparisons involved coefficients of variation. For each parameter, the mean, standard deviation (SD), and range were evaluated. The effect of interobserver variation on total dose was analyzed by estimating the biologically equivalent rectal dose (EQD2α/β = 3).ResultsInterobserver coefficients of variation for D0.1cc, D1cc, and D2cc were 5.7%, 4.5%, and 4%, respectively. The highest interobserver rectal delineation variation yielded a rectal dose difference up to 5.8 Gy EQD2. Estimated intraobserver variation for the reported D2cc was 5.5% in the worst-case scenario (non-significant).ConclusionsWe observed acceptable interobserver variability in EQD2 for D2cc, with strong impacts on clinical threshold levels (D2cc ≤ 75 Gy EQD2) in some cases. This small, single-center analysis will be extended in a multicenter study.

ESMO-ESGO-ESTRO Consensus Conference on Endometrial Cancer: diagnosis, treatment and follow-up

The first joint European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) consensus conference on endometrial cancer was held on 11-13 December 2014 in Milan, Italy, and comprised a multidisciplinary panel of 40 leading experts in the management of endometrial cancer. Before the conference, the expert panel prepared three clinically relevant questions about endometrial cancer relating to the following four areas: prevention and screening, surgery, adjuvant treatment and advanced and recurrent disease. All relevant scientific literature, as identified by the experts, was reviewed in advance. During the consensus conference, the panel developed recommendations for each specific question and a consensus was reached. Results of this consensus conference, together with a summary of evidence supporting each recommendation, are detailed in this article. All participants have approved this final article.

ESMO–ESGO–ESTRO consensus conference on endometrial cancer: Diagnosis, treatment and follow-up

The first joint European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) and European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) consensus conference on endometrial cancer was held on 11–13 December 2014 in Milan, Italy, and comprised a multidisciplinary panel of 40 leading experts in the management of endometrial cancer. Before the conference, the expert panel prepared three clinically-relevant questions about endometrial cancer relating to the following four areas: Prevention and screening, surgery, adjuvant treatment and advanced and recurrent disease. All relevant scientific literature, as identified by the experts, was reviewed in advance. During the consensus conference, the panel developed recommendations for each specific question and a consensus was reached. Results of this consensus conference, together with a summary of evidence supporting each recommendation, are detailed in this article. All participants have approved this final article.

Characterization of GaN dosimetry for 6 MV photon beam in clinical conditions

We characterized a recently proposed implantable GaN-based dosimeter in clinical conditions, for its application in external radiotherapy according to ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology) practical guidelines. Our studies were carried out using a 6 MV photon beam with the dosimeter under test in a water tank or a PMMA phantom. They were focused on evaluating short term and long term reproducibility of measurements, and assessing the effects of parameters such as field size, source-skin distance, use of wedge filter, beam incidence, dose rate, accumulated dose, GaN-induced dose perturbation, air cavities and temperature. The estimated repeatability and reproducibility are better than 0.5% and 2% at 1σ respectively. There are no significant effects of the parameters under our studies, apart from field size and temperature. The field-size dependence is due to over-compensation of the GaN response method of the dosimeter, the resulting errors remain lower than 5% for field sizes up to 10 × 10 cm2. The temperature dependence mainly results from the GaN luminescence properties, and causes the GaN response to decrease steadily when increasing temperature, with a sensitivity of −1.4%/°C. The observed quasi-linear temperature dependence may facilitate the correction to improve the accuracy of measurements.

EURECCA colorectal: Multidisciplinary management: European consensus conference colon & rectum

BackgroundCare for patients with colon and rectal cancer has improved in the last 20years; however considerable variation still exists in cancer management and outcome between European countries.Large variation is also apparent between national guidelines and patterns of cancer care in Europe. Therefore, EURECCA, which is the acronym of European Registration of Cancer Care, is aiming at defining core treatment strategies and developing a European audit structure in order to improve the quality of care for all patients with colon and rectal cancer. In December 2012, the first multidisciplinary consensus conference about cancer of the colon and rectum was held. The expert panel consisted of representatives of European scientific organisations involved in cancer care of patients with colon and rectal cancer and representatives of national colorectal registries. MethodsThe expert panel had delegates of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO), European Society of Pathology (ESP), European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European Society of Radiology (ESR), European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP), European CanCer Organisation (ECCO), European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) and the European Colorectal Cancer Patient Organisation (EuropaColon), as well as delegates from national registries or audits. Consensus was achieved using the Delphi method. For the Delphi process, multidisciplinary experts were invited to comment and vote three web-based online voting rounds and to lecture on the subjects during the meeting (13th–15th December 2012). The sentences in the consensus document were available during the meeting and a televoting round during the conference by all participants was performed. This manuscript covers all sentences of the consensus document with the result of the voting. The consensus document represents sections on diagnostics, pathology, surgery, medical oncology, radiotherapy, and follow-up where applicable for treatment of colon cancer, rectal cancer and metastatic colorectal disease separately. Moreover, evidence based algorithms for diagnostics and treatment were composed which were also submitted to the Delphi process. ResultsThe total number of the voted sentences was 465. All chapters were voted on by at least 75% of the experts. Of the 465 sentences, 84% achieved large consensus, 6% achieved moderate consensus, and 7% resulted in minimum consensus. Only 3% was disagreed by more than 50% of the members. ConclusionsMultidisciplinary consensus on key diagnostic and treatment issues for colon and rectal cancer management using the Delphi method was successful. This consensus document embodies the expertise of professionals from all disciplines involved in the care for patients with colon and rectal cancer. Diagnostic and treatment algorithms were developed to implement the current evidence and to define core treatment guidance for multidisciplinary team management of colon and rectal cancer throughout Europe.

EURECCA colorectal: Multidisciplinary Mission statement on better care for patients with colon and rectal cancer in Europe

BackgroundCare for patients with colon and rectal cancer has improved in the last twenty years however still considerable variation exists in cancer management and outcome between European countries. Therefore, EURECCA, which is the acronym of European Registration of cancer care, is aiming at defining core treatment strategies and developing a European audit structure in order to improve the quality of care for all patients with colon and rectal cancer. In December 2012 the first multidisciplinary consensus conference about colon and rectum was held looking for multidisciplinary consensus. The expert panel consisted of representatives of European scientific organisations involved in cancer care of patients with colon and rectal cancer and representatives of national colorectal registries. MethodsThe expert panel had delegates of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO), European Society of Pathology (ESP), European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), European Society of Radiology (ESR), European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP), European CanCer Organisation (ECCO), European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) and the European Colorectal Cancer Patient Organisation (EuropaColon), as well as delegates from national registries or audits. Experts commented and voted on the two web-based online voting rounds before the meeting (between 4th and 25th October and between the 20th November and 3rd December 2012) as well as one online round after the meeting (4th–20th March 2013) and were invited to lecture on the subjects during the meeting (13th–15th December 2012). The sentences in the consensus document were available during the meeting and a televoting round during the conference by all participants was performed. All sentences that were voted on are available on the EURECCA website www.canceraudit.eu.The consensus document was divided in sections describing evidence based algorithms of diagnostics, pathology, surgery, medical oncology, radiotherapy, and follow-up where applicable for treatment of colon cancer, rectal cancer and stage IV separately. Consensus was achieved using the Delphi method. ResultsThe total number of the voted sentences was 465. All chapters were voted on by at least 75% of the experts. Of the 465 sentences, 84% achieved large consensus, 6% achieved moderate consensus, and 7% resulted in minimum consensus. Only 3% was disagreed by more than 50% of the members. ConclusionsIt is feasible to achieve European Consensus on key diagnostic and treatment issues using the Delphi method. This consensus embodies the expertise of professionals from all disciplines involved in the care for patients with colon and rectal cancer. Diagnostic and treatment algorithms were developed to implement the current evidence and to define core treatment guidance for multidisciplinary team management of colon and rectal cancer throughout Europe.