International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2008
Image-guided radiotherapy via daily online cone-beam CT substantially reduces margin requirements for stereotactic lung radiotherapy.
To determine treatment accuracy and margins for stereotactic lung radiotherapy with and without cone-beam CT (CBCT) image guidance. ⋯ Setup for stereotactic lung radiotherapy using a SBF or alpha-cradle alone is suboptimal. CBCT image guidance significantly improves target positioning and substantially reduces required target margins and normal tissue irradiation.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2008
Locally advanced stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: impact of pre-radiotherapy hemoglobin level and interruptions during radiotherapy.
Stage IV head and neck cancer patients carry a poor prognosis. Clear understanding of prognostic factors can help to optimize care for the individual patient. This study investigated 11 potential prognostic factors including pre-radiotherapy hemoglobin level and interruptions during radiotherapy for overall survival (OS), metastases-free survival (MFS), and locoregional control (LC) after radiochemotherapy. ⋯ Significant predictors for outcome in Stage IV head and neck cancer were performance status, stage, surgery, pre-radiotherapy hemoglobin level, and interruptions during radiotherapy>1 week. It appears important to avoid anemia and radiotherapy interruptions to achieve the best treatment results.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2008
Has the pattern of practice in the prescription of radiotherapy for the palliation of thoracic symptoms changed between 1999 and 2006 at the rapid response radiotherapy program?
Eleven randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing various radiotherapy (RT) schedules for locally advanced lung cancer published since 1991 found no difference in palliation of intrathoracic symptoms. The most commonly prescribed schedule by Canadian Radiation Oncologists (RO) (20 Gy in five fractions [20 Gy/5]), when first evaluated versus 10 Gy/1 in a 2002 RCT, showed a significant survival benefit. A subsequent RCT assessing 20 Gy/5 found worse survival versus 16 Gy/2. This study examines whether the RT prescription for lung cancer palliation in the Rapid Response Radiotherapy Program (RRRP) has changed over time. ⋯ RT schedule for palliation of intrathoracic symptoms did not mirror the results of sequential, conflicting RCTs, suggesting that factors other than the literature influenced practice patterns in palliative thoracic RT.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2008
The growth of radiation oncology in mainland China during the last 10 years.
This study aimed to investigate the growth of radiation oncology in mainland China during the last 10 years. ⋯ Radiation oncology has grown remarkably, and advanced techniques have been implemented very quickly in mainland China during last 10 years, but resources are still far less than the recommendation of the World Health Organization for the population.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2008
Estimate of radiobiologic parameters from clinical data for biologically based treatment planning for liver irradiation.
The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) is initiating a few new hypofractionation regimens (RTOG 0438) to treat liver cancer patients. To evaluate the radiobiologic equivalence between different regimens requires reliable radiobiologic parameters. The purpose of this work is to estimate a plausible set of such parameters for liver tumors and to design new optimized dose fractionation schemes to increase patient survival. ⋯ A plausible set of radiobiologic parameters has been obtained based on clinical data. These parameters may be used for radiation treatment planning of liver tumors, in particular, for the design of new treatment regimens aimed at dose escalation.