International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Oct 1999
Dose-volume analysis for quality assurance of interstitial brachytherapy for breast cancer.
The use of brachytherapy in the management of breast cancer has increased significantly over the past several years. Unfortunately, few techniques have been developed to compare dosimetric quality and target volume coverage concurrently. We present a new method of implant evaluation that incorporates computed tomography-based three-dimensional (3D) dose-volume analysis with traditional measures of brachytherapy quality. Analyses performed in this fashion will be needed to ultimately assist in determining the efficacy of breast implants. ⋯ Preliminary results using our new technique to evaluate implant quality with CT-based 3D dose-volume analysis appear promising. Dosimetric quality and target volume coverage can be concurrently analyzed, allowing the possibility of evaluating implants prospectively. Considering that target volume coverage may be suboptimal even after radiographically verifying accurate implant placement, techniques similar to this need to be developed to ultimately determine the true efficacy of brachytherapy in the management of breast cancer.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Oct 1999
The importance of adequate follow-up in defining treatment success after external beam irradiation for prostate cancer.
We reviewed our institution's experience treating patients with localized prostate cancer with external beam radiation therapy (RT) to determine how differences in the length of follow-up affect the determination of treatment outcome using the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) Consensus Panel Definition of biochemical failure (BF). ⋯ When the ASTRO Consensus Panel definition of BF is used to calculate treatment success with external beam RT for prostate cancer, adequate follow-up is critical. Depending upon the length of time after treatment, significantly different rates of BC (varying by 15% to 30%) can be calculated for the same time interval chosen for analysis. These results suggest that data should only be reported if the length of follow-up extends at least beyond the time point at which actuarial results are examined for the majority of patients.