International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Oct 2003
Activity-based costing: a practical model for cost calculation in radiotherapy.
The activity-based costing method was used to compute radiotherapy costs. This report describes the model developed, the calculated costs, and possible applications for the Leuven radiotherapy department. ⋯ The presented activity-based costing model is a practical tool to evaluate the actual cost structure of a radiotherapy department and to evaluate possible resource or practice changes.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Oct 2003
Comparative StudyIntensity-modulated stereotactic radiotherapy vs. stereotactic conformal radiotherapy for the treatment of meningioma located predominantly in the skull base.
This study evaluates a possible advantage of intensity-modulated stereotactic radiotherapy (IMSRT) over stereotactic conformal radiotherapy (SCRT) in the treatment of lesions in the base of the skull. ⋯ In terms of PTV coverage, there is an advantage in using IMSRT for all target shapes, but especially for irregular and concave targets. The dose to OAR is lower with IMSRT, although the volume of normal tissue receiving a low dose can be larger than for SCRT.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Oct 2003
Dosimetric consequences of using a surrogate urethra to estimate urethral dose after brachytherapy for prostate cancer.
To assess the accuracy and dosimetric consequences of defining a surrogate urethra at the geometric center of the prostate in postimplant CT scans. ⋯ Using a surrogate urethra at the geometric center of the prostate may significantly overestimate the urethral dose at Day 0 and certain dosimetric parameters at 1 month. An alternative position for a surrogate urethra accounting for the difference in the location of the Foley catheter near the base of the prostate at Day 0 and 1 month could be considered in future studies.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Oct 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEffect of amifostine on toxicities associated with radiochemotherapy in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.
Radiochemotherapy (RCT) is an effective treatment for locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but can be limited by acute and late toxicities (esophagitis, pneumonitis, and myelosuppression). This trial investigated whether pretreatment with amifostine, a radioprotector, could reduce the incidence of radiochemotherapy-induced acute and late toxicities. ⋯ A total of 68 patients were evaluable for toxicity analysis (RCT group, n = 32; RCT + amifostine, n = 36). There was no significant difference between treatment arms in patient baseline characteristics. The incidence of Grade >or=3 esophagitis during RCT was significantly lower for patients receiving amifostine than for patients receiving RCT alone (38.9% vs. 84.4%%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the incidence of Grade >or=3 acute pulmonary toxicity was significantly reduced in patients treated with RCT plus amifostine compared to patients who received RCT alone (19.4% vs. 56.3%, p = 0.002). At 3 months after RCT, patients treated with amifostine had a significantly lower incidence of pneumonitis than patients who received RCT alone (p = 0.009). Combined response rates (complete plus partial responses) were 82.2% in the RCT group and 88.8% in the RCT plus amifostine group (p = 0.498). Amifostine is effective in reducing the incidence of both acute and late toxicities associated with RCT in patients with locally advanced NSCLC without compromising antitumor efficacy.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Oct 2003
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialDoes short-term androgen deprivation substitute for radiation dose in the treatment of high-risk prostate cancer?
Randomized trials have corroborated the clinical benefit of adding androgen deprivation (AD) to radiotherapy (RT) in the treatment of high-risk prostate cancer. Another competing strategy is to escalate the RT dose using three-dimensional conformal RT (3D-CRT). In this analysis, we asked whether the addition of short-term AD (STAD) (