Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The value of positron emission tomography using [18F]-fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG-PET) for pretherapeutic evaluation of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is beyond doubt. Due to the increasing availability of PET and PET-CT scanners the method is now widely available, and its technical integration has become possible for radiotherapy planning systems. Due to the depiction of malignant tissue with high diagnostic accuracy, the use of FDG-PET in radiotherapy planning of NSCLC is very promising. ⋯ We further review the relevant literature concerning the diagnostic value of FDG-PET and on the integration of FDG-PET data in RT planning for NSCLC. We point out the possible impact in gross tumor volume (GTV) definition and describe methods of target volume contouring of the primary tumor, as well as concepts for the integration of diagnostic information on lymph node involvement into the clinical target volume (CTV), and the possible implications of PET data on the definition of the planning target volume (PTV). Finally, we give an idea of the possible future use of tracers other than [18F]-FDG in lung cancer.
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Comparative Study
Dynamic intensity-modulated non-coplanar arc radiotherapy (INCA) for head and neck cancer.
To define the potential advantages of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) applied using a non-coplanar dynamic arc technique for the treatment of head and neck cancer. ⋯ Dose delivery accuracy with IMRT using a non-coplanar dynamic arc beam geometry potentially improves treatment of head and neck cancer.