Cancer causes millions of deaths each year globally. In most patients, the cause of treatment failure is found associated with the resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The development of tumor cell resistance evokes multiple intracellular molecular pathways. In addition, the limitation in treatment outcome arises due to unintended cytotoxic effects of the synthetic anticancer drugs to normal cells and tissues. Considerable focus of research is, therefore, devoted to examine plant-based herbal compounds which may prove potential anticancer drug for developing effective cancer therapy. Research results from our laboratory have shown that ellagic acid (EA), a natural flavonoid displays enhanced tumor toxicity in combination with gamma radiation to many types of cancers in vitro as well as in vivo. Studies on the underlying mechanisms of toxicity suggest that EA employs the cellular signaling pathways in producing the observed effects. This paper gives an account of molecular mechanisms of EA-induced apoptosis process in tumor cytotoxicity. It is suggested that EA acts as a novel radiosensitizer for tumors and a radioprotector for normal cells which may offer a novel protocol for cancer treatment.

Metastasis or cancer is a functional, molecular and structural disorder which has been an unsolved and fatal mystery and leads to death in most of the individuals suffering from it in spite of the advances made in biomedical and oncological fields. Structurally a tissue consists of cells enclosed by glycocalyx (partially or completely), extracellular matrix incorporating lymphatic and mircovessels. There is a specific amount of glycocalyx sandwiched between extracellular cell matrix and cell membrane depending on the type of the tissue and cell and their location in the biosystems. The common constituents of glycocalyx include biomolecules such as glycolipids, glycoproteins, and oligosaccharides; the glycoproteins are trans-membrane proteins. Any impact due to the interaction between inter- and/or intra-cellular biomolecules or any expected xenobiotics affect extracellular matrix, glycocalyx, cell membrane, cell organelles; these are the prime targets for the investigation related to metastasis. Somehow or the other the glycocalyx has attracted relative less attention of the researchers. The various aspects of the prometastatic interactions involve ligand-receptors, integrins, and other cellular receptors; glycocalyx has its role in such interactions. There are changes in the physicochemical parameters of glycocalyx which affect the cell membrane adversely. These result in malfunctioning of cell signaling, cell proliferation, cell migration, etc. There have been relatively less reports on the structural and functional changes in glycocalyx specifically related to circulating tumor cells and the cancerous cells of organs such as ovary, breast tissue, lungs, and hepatic tissues. In this presentation, an effort is made to review and evaluate the changes in glycocalyx during such interactions between the glycocalyx and the prometastatic molecules.

Background: The use of a customized immobilization thermoplastic mask is essential to compute clinical target volume (CTV) to planning target volume (PTV) margins. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to audit setup reproducibility in head and neck cancers (HNCs) since commencing an intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) program. Patients and Methods: Patients for IMRT of HNC were immobilized using either a plain "S" type mask ("S") or with a customized reenforced support at nasion and chin ("S"-NC) or an extended "U" type mask ("U"- NC), for head (H) and neck (N) regions, following radiotherapy planning contrast-enhanced computed tomography scans used to generate digital reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) at 0° (anteroposterior [A-P]) and 270° (lateral) on which match structures were contoured. Orthogonal MV portal images (PIs), A-P, and lateral were obtained. PIs were matched with the DRRs to obtain the setup variations, and the systemic (∑) and random errors (σ) to calculate PTV margins using the van Herk formula (2.5∑ +0.7σ). Results: Thirty-three patients provided 226 paired PIs with matching done separately for HNC regions. PTV margins for mediolateral, A-P, and craniocaudal directions for the head region were 3, 4, and 5 mm for "S"; 3, 4, and 3 mm for "S"-NC; and 3, 2, and 2 mm for extended "U"- NC type masks, respectively. For neck region, PTV margins were 4, 8, and 5 mm for "S"; 3, 5, and 3 mm for "S"-NC; and 4, 5, and 2 mm for extended "U"- NC type masks. Conclusions: These audits provide the necessary confidence to decrease population-based CTV to PTV margins.