Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Dear Readers,

I wish you all a happy and healthier New Year 2021. Probably, after some time, we’ll name it a “Vax-Year”. There appeared safe and effective vaccines, which bring hope in the immunization against SARS-CoV-2. A hope for coming back to the future, one could say. I believe, better days are just around the corner. Before I summarize the present JCB edition, I would like to gladly highlight the review on the role of brachytherapy in organ sparing treatment for bladder cancer by Elzbieta Van der Steen-Banasik published in the previous JCB issue. The paper met with an extraordinary interest and readers’ feedback, especially in our social media channels. I strongly believe that this important publication should act as an inception in our minds, resulting in a significat increase in the number of bladders spared.
The JCB 1/2021 issue contains eight clinical papers, including three physics contributions, two case reports, and one review. It opens with two different Spanish works focused on prostate cancer. In the first one, the authors presented the results of a prospective multicenter study on five-year quality of life in patients with high-risk localized prostate cancer treated with EBRT alone vs. EBRT with HDR-BT boost. In the second Spanish paper, the authors assessed toxicity, PSA kinetics, and prostate cancer control after salvage HDR-BT in patients previously treated with a single fraction of 19 Gy. In this paper, the novel concept of salvage 2 × 12 Gy appeared feasible and well-tolerated.
The third clinical manuscript focuses on a dosimetric comparison of CT-guided 125I seed implantation assisted with and without 3D printing non-coplanar template in locally recurrent rectal cancer. In a propensity-score matching study, Lu Wang et al. (China) indicated that such an approach improves the accuracy of seed implantation by increasing the tumor dose and reducing the number of dose cold spots.
The next three clinical investigations are on gynecological malignancies. Manon Kissel et al. (France) demonstrated that VeneziaTM applicator with oblique needles improves CTV coverage in distal parametrial tumor residue and allows to maintain an acceptable dose to OARs. The Japanese group from Tsukuba investigated BT technique selection’s suitability based on pre-BT MRI findings in cervical cancer by evaluating DVH parameters. Cases of large tumors with inadequate response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy, asymmetrical...


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