Autoimmunity, New Potential Biomarkers and the Thyroid Gland-The Perspective of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Its Treatment. International journal of molecular sciences Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) is the most common organic specific illness of the thyroid gland. It may manifest as the overproduction or the decline of thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Hyperthyroidism develops due to the overproduction of hormones as an answer to the presence of stimulatory antibodies against the TSH receptor. Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is generally characterized by the presence of thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies, with a concomitant infiltration of lymphocytes in the thyroid. Due to the progressive destruction of cells, AITD can lead to subclinical or overt hypothyroidism. Pathophysiology of AITD is extremely complicated and still not fully understood, with genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors involved in its development. Due to increasing incidence and social awareness of this pathology, there is an urgent need to expand the background concerning AITD. A growing body of evidence suggests possible ways of treatment apart from traditional approaches. Simultaneously, the role of potential new biomarkers in the diagnosis and monitoring of AITD has been highlighted recently, too. Therefore, we decided to review therapeutic trends in the course of AITD based on its pathophysiological mechanisms, mainly focusing on HT. Another aim was to summarize the state of knowledge regarding the role of new biomarkers in this condition. 10.3390/ijms25094703

PET/CT in radiation oncology. Fonti Rosa,Conson Manuel,Del Vecchio Silvana Seminars in oncology The progressive integration of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging in radiation therapy has its rationale in the biological intertumoral and intratumoral heterogeneity of malignant lesions that require the individual adjustment of radiation dose to obtain an effective local tumor control in cancer patients. PET/CT provides information on the biological features of tumor lesions such as metabolism, hypoxia, and proliferation that can identify radioresistant regions and be exploited to optimize treatment plans. Here, we provide an overview of the basic principles of PET-based target volume selection and definition using F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) and then we focus on the emerging strategies of dose painting and adaptive radiotherapy using different tracers. Previous studies provided consistent evidence that integration of F-FDG PET/CT in radiotherapy planning improves delineation of target volumes and reduces the uncertainties and variabilities of anatomical delineation of tumor sites. PET-based dose painting and adaptive radiotherapy are feasible strategies although their clinical implementation is highly demanding and requires strong technical, computational, and logistic efforts. Further prospective clinical trials evaluating local tumor control, survival, and toxicity of these emerging strategies will promote the full integration of PET/CT in radiation oncology. 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2019.07.001