Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
-
18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose (FDG) uptake on PET scan is a prognostic factor for outcome in NSCLC. We investigated changes in FDG uptake during fractionated radiotherapy in relation to metabolic response with the ultimate aim to adapt treatment according to early response. ⋯ Time trends in SUVmax showed a large intra-individual heterogeneity and different patterns for metabolic responders and non-responders. These new findings may reflect intrinsic tumour characteristics and might finally be useful to adapt treatment.
-
There is a widespread and increasing tendency to develop hospital performance indicators in the field of accreditation/certification systems and quality benchmarking. A study has been undertaken to develop a set of performance indicators for a typical radiotherapy Centre and to evaluate their ability to provide a continuous quality improvement. ⋯ The indicators tested in a few Italian Centres of radiotherapy and medical physics Services are now ready to be utilized by a larger community.
-
To report on late morbidity and biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) after intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer. ⋯ IMRT for localized or locally advanced prostate cancer combines low morbidity with excellent biochemical control.
-
To determine the dose to regional nodal stations in patients with T1-3N0M0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) without intentional elective nodal irradiation (ENI). ⋯ Although incidental nodal irradiation dose is low in the whole group, the dose to high-risk nodal regions is considerable in patients with T1-3N0 NSCLC when the primary is large and/or centrally located.