International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
-
Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jul 2005
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialHealth-related quality of life in men receiving prostate brachytherapy on RTOG 98-05.
To prospectively assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) during the first year after treatment with prostate brachytherapy (PB) alone for T1c-2a prostate cancer. ⋯ This article represents the first prospective, multi-institutional study of HRQOL in men treated with PB and demonstrates that patients undergoing PB have a very high overall HRQOL. The rate of incontinence by 1 year after PB is low, but many patients continue to have obstructive symptoms at 1 year. Although 78% of 1-year respondents state that they can achieve an erection with or without assistance, almost 50% report a decrease in sexual function.
-
Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jul 2005
Assessment of residual error for online cone-beam CT-guided treatment of prostate cancer patients.
Kilovoltage cone-beam CT (CBCT) implemented on board a medical accelerator is available for image-guidance applications in our clinic. The objective of this work was to assess the magnitude and stability of the residual setup error associated with CBCT online-guided prostate cancer patient setup. Residual error pertains to the uncertainty in image registration, the limited mechanical accuracy, and the intrafraction motion during imaging and treatment. ⋯ On the basis of the residual setup error measurements, the margin required after online CBCT correction for the patients enrolled in this study would be approximatively 3 mm and is considered to be a lower limit owing to the small intrafraction motion observed. The discrepancy between setup corrections derived from registration using coils or soft tissue can be due in part to the lack of complete three-dimensional information with the coils or to the difficulty in prostate delineation and requires further study.
-
Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jul 2005
Dose-volume modeling of salivary function in patients with head-and-neck cancer receiving radiotherapy.
We investigated the factors that affect salivary function after head-and-neck radiotherapy (RT), including parotid gland dose-volume effects, potential compensation by less-irradiated gland tissue, and functional recovery over time. ⋯ Stimulated parotid salivary gland dose-volume models strongly correlated with both stimulated salivary function and quality-of-life scores at 6 months after RT. The mean stimulated saliva flow rates improved from 6 to 12 months after RT. Salivary function, in each gland, appeared to be lost exponentially at a rate of approximately 5%/1 Gy of mean dose. Additional research is necessary to distinguish among the models for use in treatment planning. The incidence of xerostomia was significantly decreased when the mean dose of at least one parotid gland was kept to < 25.8 Gy with conventional fractionation. However, even lower mean doses imply increased late salivary function.
-
Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jul 2005
Comparative StudyComparison of low and high dose rate brachytherapy in the treatment of uterine cervix cancer. Retrospective analysis of two sequential series.
This retrospective analysis aims to report on the comparative outcome of cervical cancer patients treated with low dose rate (LDR) and high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy. ⋯ This comparative series suggests similar outcome for Stages I and II patients treated with either HDR or LDR brachytherapy. Lower overall and disease-free survival and marginally lower local control were observed for Stage III patients treated with HDR brachytherapy. Less late rectal complications were observed in the HDR group patients. These findings were probably the result of the relatively low HDR brachytherapy dose delivered at Point A.