Treatment outcome of postoperative radiotherapy for retroperitoneal sarcoma

PURPOSE: To evaluate the treatment outcome and prognostic factor after postoperative radiotherapy in retroperitoneal sarcoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients were treated with surgical resection and postoperative radiotherapy for retroperitoneal sarcoma from August 1990 to August 2008. Treatment volume was judged by the location of initial tumor and surgical field, and 45-50 Gy of radiation was basically delivered and additional dose was considered to the high-risk area. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 41.4 months (range, 3.9 to 140.6 months). The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 51.8% and disease free survival was 31.5%. The 5-year locoregional recurrence free survival was 61.9% and distant metastasis free survival was 50.6%. In univariate analysis, histologic type (p = 0.006) was the strongest prognostic factor for the OS and histologic grade (p = 0.044) or resection margin (p = 0.032) had also effect on the OS. Histologic type (p = 0.004) was unique significant prognostic factor for the actuarial local control. CONCLUSION: Retroperitoneal sarcoma still remains as a poor prognostic disease despite the combined modality treatment including surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. Selective dose-escalation of radiotherapy or combination of effective chemotherapeutic agent must be considered to improve the treatment result especially for the histopathologic type showing poor prognosis.

A Patterns of Care Study of the Various Radiation Therapies for Prostate Cancer among Korean Radiation Oncologists in 2006 / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To conduct a nationwide academic hospital patterns of the practice status and principles of radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The survey will help develop the framework of a database of Korean in Patterns of Case Study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire about radiation treatment status and principles was sent to radiation oncologists in charge of prostate cancer treatment at thirteen academic hospitals in Korea. The data was analyzed to find treatment principles among the radiation oncologists when treating prostate cancer. RESULTS: The number of patients with prostate cancer and treated with radiation ranged from 60 to 150 per academic hospital in Seoul City and 10 to 15 outside of Seoul City in 2006. The primary diagnostic methods of prostate cancer included the ultrasound guided biopsy on 6 to 12 prostate sites (mean=9), followed by magnetic resonance imaging and a whole body bone scan. Internal and external immobilizations were used in 61.5% and 76.9%, respectively, with diverse radiation targets. Whole pelvis radiation therapy (dose ranging from 45.0 to 50.4 Gy) was performed in 76.9%, followed by the irradiation of seminal vesicles (54.0~73.8 Gy) in 92.3%. The definitive radiotherapy doses were increased as a function of risk group, but the range of radiation doses was wide (60.0 to 78.5 Gy). Intensity modulated radiation therapy using doses greater than 70 Gy, were performed in 53.8% of academic hospitals. In addition, the simultaneous intra-factional boost (SIB) technique was used in three hospitals; however, the target volume and radiation dose were diverse. Radiation therapy to biochemical recurrence after a radical prostatectomy was performed in 84.6%; however, the radiation dose was variable and the radiation field ranged from whole pelvis to prostate bed. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that a nationwide Korean Patterns of Care Study is necessary for the recommendation of radiation therapy guidelines of prostate cancer.

The Role of Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Portal Vein Thrombosis from Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To determine the role of radiotherapy for the treatment of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 70 patients that had been diagnosed with HCC and were treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) for the PVT. The radiation dose ranged from 40 Gy to 60 Gy (median dose: 48 Gy) and the biological effective dose (BED) ranged from 31.3 Gy to 78.0 Gy10 (median dose: 61.6 Gy10). Response was determined by measuring the extent of the PVT on a CT image at 0, 1 and 3 months after completion of the radiotherapy. The median follow-up period was 9 months. RESULTS: The response rate was 47.1% (33 patients), with two patients (2.9%) showing a complete response, 31 patients (44.3%) showing a partial response, and 35 patients (50%) showing stable disease or no response. The 1-year progression-free survival rate was 60%, and the median progression-free survival time was 17 months. The median overall survival time was 11 months, the median survival time in the responders was 15 months and in the nonresponders was 8 months (p=0.032). Four patients (5.7%) had transient liver function impairment during treatment. Radiation induced liver disease (RILD) was observed in only one patient (1.4%). CONCLUSION: Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for the treatment of PVT from advanced HCC was a relatively effective and safe method.

The Results of Postoperative Radiotherapy for Endometrial Carcinoma / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcome and prognostic factors of postoperative radiotherapy in endometrial carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From September 1991 to August 2003, 76 patients with endometrial carcinoma received postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy after hysterectomy at Asan Medical Center. Stage was classified as FIGO I in 41 (53.9%), II in 12 (53.9%), and III in 23 (30.3%). Histologic grade 1, 2 and 3 were in 29 (38.2%), 20 (26.3%), and 27 (35.5%) respectively. Forty two patients received both external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and intracavitary radiation (ICR), 34 patients were treated with EBRT or ICR alone. EBRT dose was 50.4 Gy, ICR was performed in 4~6 fractions with 4~5 Gy per fraction. Median follow?up period was 51 (range 5~121) months. RESULTS: Five-year overall survival was 89.6%. In univariate analysis, statistically significant factors to overall survival were FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis and histologic grade. In disease free survival, FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular invasion were significant prognostic factors. Recurrence was seen in 11 patients. Of these, systemic failure was in 10 patients. There were no moderate to severe complications after radiation therapy. CONCLUSION: The outcome of postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy in endometrial carcinoma was good. Main pattern of failure after postoperative radiotherapy was distant metastasis. So, adjuvant chemotherapy may help in improving outcome. Further study on chemotherapy in combined with postoperative radiotherapy will be needed, especially for patients with high risk factors such as high FIGO stage, lymphovascular invasion, and high histologic grade.

Clinical Implementation of an Eye Fixing and Monitoring System with Head Mount Display / 의학물리

A system to non-invasively fix and monitor eye by a head mounted display (HMD) with a CCD camera for stereotactic radiotherapy (SRS) of uveal melanoma has been developed and implemented clinically. The eye fixing and monitoring system consists of a HMD showing patient a screen for fixing eyeball, a CCD camera monitoring patient' s eyeball, and an immobilization mask. At first, patient' s head was immobilized with a mask. Then, patient was instructed to wear HMD, to which CCD camera was attached, on the mask and see the given reference point on its screen. While patient stared at the given point in order to fix eyeball, the camera monitored its motion. Four volunteers and one patient of uveal melanoma for SRS came into this study. For the volunteers, setup errors and the motion of eyeball were analyzed. For the patient, CT scans were performed, with patient' s wearing HMD and fixing the eye to the given point. To treat patient under the same condition, daily CT scans were also performed before every treatment and the motion of lens was compared to the planning CT. Setup errors for four volunteers were within 1 mm and the motion of eyeball was fixed within the clinically acceptable ranges. For the patient with uveal melanoma, the motion of lens was fixed within 2 mm from daily CT scans. An eye fixing and monitoring system allowed immobilizing patient as well as monitoring eyeball and was successfully implemented in the treatment of uveal melanoma for SRS.

Assessment of Respiratory Tumor Movement using 4D Computed Tomography for Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Lung Tumor

PURPOSE : To assess the respiratory tumor movement using 4D-CT (4-dimensional computed tomography) for minimizing setup and target volume uncertainty of body-frame based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in lung tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS : Fifty-seven stereotactic radiation therapies with respiratory gating system in 44 patients (two targets in seven patients and three in three patients) were executed in Asan Medical Center from May 2005 to June 2006. We used respiratory gating system consisted of RPM (Real-time Positioning Management system, Varian, USA) and 4D-CT (GE healthcare, USA), if tumor movement was exceeding 5 mm by respiration on fluoroscopy. Accurate tumor movement on reconstructed 4D-CT image was determined for respiratory gated therapy. Respiratory gated therapy was done if tumor movement was exceeding 5 mm, and non-gated therapy was done if it was below 5 mm. RESULTS : Forty-five tumors were treated with supine position, and the other twelve were with prone position. Median tumor movement (3-dimensional) by respiration was 8.78+/-5.30 mm, and it was mostly affected by superior-inferior movement (8.53+/-5.23 mm). Tumor movements were different by tumor location, whether upper (5.38+/-2.85 mm) or lower (10.12+/-5.08 mm) lobe (p=0.015). Tumor movement was exceeding 5 mm in 27 (47.3%) tumors, and below 5 mm in 30 tumors in 4D-CT evaluation. Tumor movements on adopted respiratory gated phase were wholly below 5 mm, and its median value was 3.70+/-1.13 mm. CONCLUSION : Assessment of respiratory tumor movement using 4D-CT and gating system was helpful for minimizing target volume uncertainty. As a result, image-guided radiation therapy could improve the treatment accuracy of high precision stereotactic radiosurgery

Strategy of Respiratory Gated Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer Patient in Stereotactic Radiosurgery : Phantom Study

PURPOSE : We propose the measurement method of tumor movement for respiratory gated therapy in lung cancer patient for stereotactic radiosurgery, contouring method of tumor for radiation treatment planning using measured tumor movement. And through phantom study, we ascertain that the tumor movement is properly reflected in determination of PTV, and the tumor is properly and safely treated in full respiration phases and respiratory gated therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS : Lung cancer phantom and 1-dimensional moving phantom were made to evaluate respiratory gated radiation therapy for lung SRS. 4D CT scan was performed using these phantoms and 10 sets of CT images and post-processed MIP (Maximum Intensity Projection) images were used to measure the tumor movement. The measured tumor movement in 4D CT images and MIP images were compared. Also, during radiation exposure in full respiration phases and respiratory gated phases, tumor movement included in radiation exposure was measured using EPID image and compared with measured data in 4D CT images and MIP images. RESULTS : The tumor movement measured in full respiration phases was 28.8mm and 29.1 mm in 4D CT images and MIP images respectively, and in respiratory gated phases, 30~70% phases, was 12 mm and 12.2 mm respectively. The tumor contoured in each phase images and MIP images was well agreed in full respiration phases and respiratory gated phases. The tumor movement included in radiation exposure was 29.3 mm and 8.4 mm in full respiration phases and respiratory gated phases respectively. CONCLUSION : The tumor movement measured in 4D CT images and MIP images was well agreed, so we propose to use of MIP image for contouring of tumor in full respiration phases and respiratory gated phases. In full respiration radiation treatment and respiratory gated radiation therapy, the tumor movement included in radiation exposure was well agreed with measured tumor movement in 4D CT images or MIP images, so we ascertain though this phantom study we can exactly treat the tumor including tumor movement. In respiratory gated radiation therapy, the tumor movement included in radiation exposure was about 30% smaller than measured tumor movement in 4D CT images or MIP images, so we ascertain that we can safely treat the tumor including tumor movement in current provided technique

On-line Setup for Lung Cancer Patient in Stereotactic Radiation Surgery using CBCT

PURPOSE: On-line setup procedure was performed before treatment for lung cancer patient for stereotactic radiation surgery (SRS) using recently introduced Cone Beam CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cone Beam CT was performed for 10 patients who did SRS during 18 July and 1 September, 2006 using On Board Imager (OPB) system made by Varian, USA. The treatment position of patient was corrected comparing Images obtaining from CBCT and used in treatment planning. RESULTS: Comparing the CBCT images and CT images used in treatment planning, the movement of the couch is 2.3+/-2.3 mm, 1.8+/-2.8 mm, 0.3+/-3.5 mm for vertical, lateral, and longitudinal direction. It took about 1 hr for conventional treatment procedure in image acquisition of CT before treatment and image registration. But it took about 4~7 minute in on-line setup using CBCT (1~2 min for image acquisition using CBCT, 2~3 min for CT reconstruction of 2.5 mm slice thickness, 1~2 min for on-line setup using image registration). CONCLUTION: The accurate treatment could be performed after tumor localization for SRS using CBCT images. And the consumed time for tumor localization was reduced significantly.

Radiation Therapy for Bronchial Associated Lymphoid Tissue (BALT) Lymphoma : A case report

A sixty-five year old female was consulted for radiation therapy due to dyspnea. She was diagnosed as stage IV bronchial-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) lymphoma at 5 months ago, and then received chemotherapy for 3 months. She have distressed from dyspnea originated from main bronchus obstruction, and should be supplied with oxygen via nasal prong. She underwent 36 Gy radiation therapy to bronchial mass that obstructs left main bronchus in 18 fractions for four weeks. Dyspnea was markedly improved after radiation therapy, and follow-up chest X-ray showed near complete resolution of mass and obstructed lung parenchyma. No recurrence was detected in lung for sixteen months. We experienced that radiation therapy for BALT lymphoma was effective for tumor control.

Preliminary Results of Phase I/II Study of Simultaneous Modulated Accelerated (SMART) for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To present preliminary results of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using the simultaneous modulated accelerated radiation therapy (SMART) boost technique in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients who underwent IMRT for non-metastatic NPC at the Asan Medical Center between September 2001 and December 2003 were prospectively evaluated. IMRT was delivered using the "step and shoot" SMART technique at prescribed doses of 72 Gy (2.4 Gy/day) to the gross tumor volume (GTV), 60 Gy (2 Gy/day) to the clinical target volume (CTV) and metastatic nodal station, and 46 Gy (2 Gy/day) to the clinically negative neck region. Eighteen patients also received concurrent chemotherapy using cisplatin once per week. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 27 months. Nineteen patients completed the treatment without interruption; the remaining patient interrupted treatment for 2 weeks owing to severe pharyngitis and malnutrition. Five patients (25%) had RTOG grade 3 mucositis, whereas nine (45%) had grade 3 pharyngitis. Seven patients (35%) lost more than 10% of their pretreatment weight, whereas 11 (55%) required intravenous fluids and/or tube feeding. There was no grade 3 or 4 chronic xerostomia. All patients showed complete response. Two patients had distant metastases and loco-regional recurrence, respectively. CONCLUSION: IMRT using the SMART boost technique allows parotid sparing, as shown clinically and by dosimetry, and may also be more effective biologically. A larger population of patients and a longer follow-up period are needed to evaluate ultimate tumor control and late toxicity.

Effectiveness of Fentanyl Transdermal Patch (Fentanyl-TTS, Durogegic(R)) for Radiotherapy Induced Pain and Cancer Pain: Multi-center Trial / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of fentanyl-TTS in the management of radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study was open labelled prospective phase IV multi-center study. the study population included patients with more 4 numeric rating scale(NRS) score pain although managed with other analgesics or more than 6 NRS score pain without analgesics. Patients divided into two groups; patients with radiotherapy induced pain (Group A) and patients with cancer pain treated with radiotherapy (Group B). All patients received 25 ug/hr of fentanyl transdermal patch. Primary end point was pain relief; second end points were change in patient quality of life, a degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician, side effects. RESULTS: Between March 2005 and June 2005, 312 patients from 26 participating institutes were registered, but 249 patients completed this study. Total number of patients in each group was 185 in Group A, 64 in Group B. Mean age was 60 years and male to female ratio was 76:24. Severe pain NRS score at 2 weeks after the application of fentanyl was decreased from 7.03 to 4.01, p=0.003. There was a significant improvement in insomnia, social functioning, and quality of life. A degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician was very high. The most common reasons of patients' satisfactions was good pain control. Ninety six patients reported side effect. Nausea was the most common side effect. There was no serious side effect. CONCLUSION: Fentanyl-TTS was effective in both relieving pain with good tolerability and improving the quality of life for patients with radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. The satisfaction of the patients and doctors was good. There was no major side effect.

Optimal Timing for the Administration of Capecitabine with Preoperative Chemoradiation for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: Capecitabine is an oral fluoropyrimidine carbamate and it is known as an effective radiosensitizer. Capecitabine and its metabolite reach their peak concentration in the plasma at 1~2 hours after a single oral administration of capecitabine and the levels fall rapidly thereafter. To verify the radiosensitizing effect of capecitabine that is based on such pharmacokinetic characteristics, we performed a retrospective analysis on the optimal timing of capecitabine administration with performing preoperative chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 171 patients who were treated with preoperative radiotherapy and concurrent capecitabine administration for rectal cancer, 56 patients were administered capecitabine at 1~2 hours before radiotherapy (group A), and at other time in the other 115 patients (group B). Total mesorectal excision was done at 4 to 6 weeks after the completion of chemoradiation. The radiosensitizing effect of capecitabine was evaluated on the basis of the pathological response. RESULTS: Complete pathological regression of the primary tumor was observed in 12 patients (21.4%) for group A and in 11 patients (9.6%) for group B (p=0.031). Residual disease less than 0.5 cm (a good response) was observed in 19 patients (33.9%) for group A and in 23 patients (20.0%) for group B (p=0.038). On multivariate analysis, the capecitabine ingestion time showed marginal significance. CONCLUSION: When performing preoperative chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer, the radiosensitizing effect of capecitabine was enhanced when it was administered 1 hour before radiotherapy.

Study of Respiration Simulating Phantom using Thermocouple-based Respiration Monitoring Mask / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To develop the respiration simulating phantom with thermocouple for evaluating 4D radiotherapy such as gated radiotherapy, breathing control radiotherapy and dynamic tumor tracking radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The respiration monitoring mask (ReMM) with thermocouple was developed to monitor the patient's irregular respiration. The signal from ReMM controls the simulating phantom as organ motion of patients in real-time. The organ and the phantom motion were compared with its respiratory curves to evaluate the simulating phantom. ReMM was used to measure patients' respiration, and the movement of simulating phantom was measured by using RPM(R). The fluoroscope was used to monitor the patient's diaphragm motion. RESULTS: Comparing with the curves of respiration measured by thermocouple and those of the organ motion measured by fluoroscope and RPM, the standard deviations between the curves were 9.68% and 8.53% relative to the organ motion, respectively. The standard deviation of discrepancy between the respiratory curve and the organ motion was 8.52% of motion range. CONCLUSION: Patients felt comfortable with ReMM. The relationship between the signal from ReMM and the organ motion shows strong correlation. The phantom simulates the organ motion in real-time according to the respiratory signal from the ReMM. It is expected that the simulating phantom with ReMM could be used to verify the 4D radiotherapy.

Effectiveness of Breath Hold with a ABC for SRS of Lung Cancer

PURPOSE: It is very important to remove or to reduce the effect of organ motion due to respiration in stereotatic radiosurgery of lung. This study reports the effectiveness of the breath hold technique with a ABC for reducing the breathing effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Whole body stereotactic frame (Elekta, Sweden) was used for lung SRS. Patients who have tumor motion range larger than 10 mm from fluoroscopic observation were selected to apply a ABC. Seventeen patients were enrolled in this study. Passive breath hold is possible with our ABC. Automatic breath hold was set at 80% of deep inspiration. Breath hold time was 25~30 seconds depending on the patients. Three consecutive CT scans were performed as indicated in Asan Medical Center SRS procedure for each patients. Lung volume and PTV differences between with breath hold and free breath were examined for 5 patients. RESULTS: The breath hold technique with ABC could be applied for 15 patients. Inter-, intra-treatment organ motion with ABC showed 1.5 mm, while it was 2.3 mm with abdomen compress. When with breath hold technique, PTV and CTV was reduced 33.7% and 45.4%, respectively, and lung volume was increased 32.3 % compared to conventional SRS method. CONCLUSION: Better target localization could be achieved with breath hold technique in lung SRS. Tumor motion could be minimized and relative lung volume irradiation could be reduced

Low-dose, Whole-lung Radiotherapy for Pulmonary Extramedullary Hematompoiesis : A case report

A seventy-seven year old female was consulted for radiation therapy due to the infiltration of lung and pleural effusion from myelofibrosis. She was diagnosed clinically as extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH), and had severe dyspnea and cardiac dysfunction originated from pulmonary hypertension. She underwent low-dose (2 Gy) whole-lung radiation therapy in 4fractions of 50 cGy each. Clinical symptom, especially dyspnea, and chest X-ray imaging was markedly improved after radiation therapy. We experienced that the low-dose whole-lung radiation therapy to EMH in lung might be effective for the palliation of pulmonary hypertension

The Significance of Ku70 Expression in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to determine whether the expressions of the two components of DNA-dependent protein kinase, Ku70 and DNA-PKcs, influence the response to radiotherapy (RT) and outcome of treatment of non-disseminated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in patients who received definitive RT. MATERIASL AND METHODS: Sixty-six patients with NPC who were treated with radiotherapy alone or with concurrent chemotherapy between June 1995 and December 2001 were divided into groups based on the levels of immunoreactivity for Ku70 and DNA-PKcs in pretreatment biopsy specimens. The over-expression of Ku70 or DNA-PKcs groups included patients whose biopsy specimens showed at least 50% immunopositive tumor cells; patients in which less than 50% of the tumor cells in the biopsy tissues were immunopositive were placed in the low Ku70 and DNA-PKcs groups. The immunoreactivities for Ku70 and DNA-PKcs were retrospectively compared with the sensitivity of the tumor to radiation and the patterns of therapy failure. Univariate analyses were performed to determine the prognostic factors that influenced locoregional control of NPC. RESULTS: The five-year locoregional control rate was significantly higher in the low Ku70 group (Ku(-)) (85%) than in the high Ku70 group (Ku(+)) (42%) (p=0.0042). However, there were no differences in the metastases-free survival rates between the two groups (Ku70 (+), 82%; Ku70 (-), 78%; p=0.8672). Univariate analysis indicated that the over-expression of Ku70 surpassed other well-known predictive clinocopathologic parameters as an independent prognostic factor for locoregional control. Eighteen of 22 patients who had locoregional recurrences of the tumor displayed an over-expression of Ku70. No significant association was found between the level of DNA-PKcs expression and the clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the level of Ku70 expression can be used as a molecular marker to predict the response to RT and the locoregional control after RT and concurrent chemotherapy in patients with non-disseminated NPC.

Prediction of Prognosis to Concurrent Chemo-Radiotherapy by Standardized Uptake Value of 2-18F Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose for Nasopharyngeal Carcinomas / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To prospectively evaluate the use of positron emission tomography with the glucose analog fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) to predict disease-free survival (DFS) after concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with non-disseminated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MATERIASL AND METHODS: We studied 41 patients with non-disseminated NPC scheduled to undergo platinum- based CCRT were eligible for this study. Patients were studied by FDG-PET prior to the CCRT. FDG uptake of tumors were measured with the maximal standardized uptake value (SUV). RESULTS: Complete response rate was 100%. In ten patients who presented with any component of treatment failure, the median SUVmax was 8.55 (range: 2.49~14.81) in any component of failure and the median SUVmax was 6.48 (range: 2.31~26.07) in the remaining patients without any such failure. Patients having tumors with high FDG uptake had a significantly lower 3-year DFS (51% v 91%, P=0.0070) compared with patients having low uptake tumors. CONCLUSION: FDG uptake, as measured by the SUV, has potential value in predicting DFS in NPC treated by CCRT. High FDG uptake may be a useful parameter for identifying patients requiring more aggressive treatment approaches.

A Preliminary Results of a Randomized Trial Comparing Monthly 5-flourouracil and Cisplatin to Weekly Cisplatin Alone Combined with Concurrent Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: To determine the superior chemotherapeutic regimen between monthly 5-FU plus cisplatin (FP) and weekly cisplatin alone in concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer, the compliance of treatment, response, survival and toxicities were analyzed between the two arms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 1998 and December 2001, 61 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (stage IIB through IVA) and negative para-aortic lymph nodes were randomly assigned to either `monthly FP' (arm I, n=34) or `weekly cisplatin' (arm II, n=27) with concurrent radiotherapy. The patients of arm I received FP (5-FU 1, 000 mg/m2/day+cisplatin 20 mg/m2/day, for 5 days, for 3 cycles at 4 week intervals) and those of arm II received cisplatin (30 mg/m2/day, for 6 cycles at 1 week intervals) with concurrent radiotherapy. The radiotherapy consisted of 41.4~50.4 Gy external beam irradiation in 23~28 fractions to the whole pelvis, with high dose rate brachytherapy delivering a dose of 30~35 Gy in 6~7 fractions to point A. During the brachytherapy, a parametrial boost was delivered. The median follow-up period for survivors was 44 months. RESULTS: The compliance of treatment in monthly FP weekly cisplatin arms were 62 and 81%, respectively. The complete response rates at 3 months were 96 and 88% in arms I and II, respectively. The 4-year overall survival and disease free survival rates were 64 and 54% in the arm I and 77 and 66% in the arm II, respectively. The incidence of hematologic toxicity more than grade 2 was 29% in the arm I and 15% in the arm II. Only one patient in arm I experienced grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicity. No severe genitourinary toxicity was observed. CONCLUSION: No significant difference was observed in the compliance, responses, survival rates and acute toxicities between the two treatment arms. More patients and further follow up will be required.

4D CT for Stereotactic Radiosurgery of Lung Cancer : A case report

For Stereotactic Radiosurgery of lung tumor, 4 dimensional CT was done during for free breathing of the patient. The movement of the treated target was measured in the CT images, and appropriate breathing cycle was selected for treatment. For patient A, the movement of the treatment target was 10.1 mm during full breathing cycle, and 5.4 mm for treated breathing cycle, 30~70%. For patient B, the movement was 13 mm, and 3.5 mm for full breathing cycle and treated breathing cycle, respectively.

Polymorphisms of DNA Repair Gene XRCC1 and Radiation Sensitivity

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to find lung cancer-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and define their association with clinical results. Material and Methods: One hundred and thirty-six non-small cell lung cancer patients, who received radiotherapy at the Asan Medical Center, were recruited between August 2002 and September 2003. Demographic and clinical informations were obtained from a self-administered questionnaire and from the subject's medical records, respectively. Blood samples were collected from all study subjects at the time of enrollment. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes using a QIAamp DNA Blood Mini Kit. TaqMan assay, denaturing HPLC and single base pair primer extension assay using SNaPshot kits were employed as the SNP screening techniques. The candidate SNP for screening was XRCC1-R399Q. RESULTS: Patients carrying the 399Gln variant allele had a significantly longer progression-free survival than those with the 399Arg homozygote in tumor stages I-IIIa (p=0.005). In the Cox-proportional hazards model, the XRCC1 codon 399 polymorphism was a statistically significant predictor for progression-free survival in tumor stages I-IIIa (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: The use of molecular predictors of the progression-free survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients, particularly at stages I-IIIa, may provide important criteria for prognosis of the patients undergoing radiotherapy. However, there is still a need for further study to establish the role of these polymorphisms as useful predictors