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Medicina
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Innovations in Cancer Radiation Therapy
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Innovations in Cancer Radiation Therapy

A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144). This special issue belongs to the section "Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2026 | Viewed by 625

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Elona Juozaitytė

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Oncology Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių g. 2, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: radiation oncology; breast cancer; multiomics; molecular tumour markers
Dr. Erika Korobeinikova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Oncology Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių g. 2, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: radiation oncology; head and neck cancer; breast cancer; MR-linac; particle therapy; multiomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Radiation therapy is a central component of modern cancer management, used in curative, adjuvant, and palliative settings across a wide range of malignancies. Over recent decades, technological advances in imaging, treatment planning, and delivery have significantly transformed radiation oncology, enabling greater precision and improved sparing of normal tissues. These developments have expanded clinical indications while increasing the complexity of decision-making in daily oncological practice.

This Special Issue aims to provide an up-to-date clinical and translational overview of innovations in cancer radiation therapy that directly impact patient management. The scope includes technological, biological, and clinical advances that support personalized, safe, and effective radiotherapy in routine practice.

Topics of interest include adaptive and image-guided radiotherapy, MRI-guided and particle therapy, stereotactic techniques, flash therapy, integration of radiotherapy with systemic treatments (including immunotherapy), artificial intelligence-based tools for treatment planning and outcome prediction, and advances in radiobiology, biomarkers, and toxicity reduction strategies.

We welcome original clinical and translational research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and methodological studies addressing innovative approaches and real-world implementation of modern radiation therapy.

Prof. Dr. Elona Juozaitytė
Guest Editor

Dr. Erika Korobeinikova
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Medicina is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • radiation oncology
  • cancer radiotherapy
  • adaptive radiotherapy
  • stereotactic radiotherapy
  • proton therapy
  • MRI-guided radiotherapy
  • precision oncology
  • artificial intelligence

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 1027 KB  
Article
Optimal Duration of Adjuvant Platinum–Etoposide in High-Risk Merkel Cell Carcinoma
by Ronen Brenner, Hanna T. Frumin Edri, Keren Rouvinov, Noa Shani Shrem, Amichay Meirovitz, Sabri El-Saied, Ilia Berezhnov, Anna Ievko, Sofiia Turaieva, Shlomit Fenig, Nashat Abu Yasin, Eyal Fenig, Samer Hussany, Alexander Yakobson and Walid Shalata
Medicina 2026, 62(5), 882; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62050882 - 4 May 2026
Viewed by 381
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine skin malignancy associated with high rates of recurrence and disease-specific mortality. Although adjuvant platinum–etoposide chemotherapy is used in high-risk disease, the optimal number of treatment cycles has not been [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine skin malignancy associated with high rates of recurrence and disease-specific mortality. Although adjuvant platinum–etoposide chemotherapy is used in high-risk disease, the optimal number of treatment cycles has not been established. Materials and Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 104 patients with resected high-risk MCC (pathological stage IIB–III) treated at Israeli medical centers between September 1985 and February 2021. Patients were assigned to one of three treatment groups: radiotherapy alone, four cycles of platinum–etoposide plus radiotherapy, or six cycles of platinum–etoposide plus radiotherapy. The chemotherapy regimen consisted of cisplatin or carboplatin combined with etoposide in 21-day cycles, with the first two cycles administered concurrently with radiotherapy. Primary endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: Four cycles of adjuvant platinum–etoposide combined with radiotherapy were associated with the most favorable survival outcomes at all follow-up time points. Five-year DFS and OS in the four-cycle group were 65% (95% CI: 58–72%) and 75% (95% CI: 68–82%), respectively, compared with 55% and 60% in the six-cycle group, and 40% and 45% in the radiotherapy-only group (p < 0.001). The survival advantage of four cycles over radiotherapy alone was sustained at 10- and 20-year follow-up (p < 0.0001). In patients with stage III disease and nodal involvement, the four-cycle group achieved a median DFS of 93 months and a median OS of approximately 110 months, significantly exceeding outcomes in both the six-cycle and radiotherapy-alone groups. No statistically significant survival benefit from chemotherapy was identified in the small subgroup of patients with stage IIB/T4N0 disease. Conclusions: In patients with high-risk resected MCC, the addition of adjuvant platinum–etoposide chemotherapy to radiotherapy significantly improves DFS and OS, with the greatest benefit observed in patients with stage III disease and lymph node involvement. Four cycles represent an optimal treatment duration, delivering durable long-term survival benefit without the need for more prolonged chemotherapy exposure. These findings support a risk-adapted multimodality approach and provide real-world evidence to guide adjuvant therapy decisions in this rare and aggressive malignancy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Cancer Radiation Therapy)
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