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.

Treatment Results of Preoperative Radiotherapy Alone vs. Preoperative Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer / 대한치료방사선과학회지

PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy and toxicity of the preoperative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer. METHODS: Forty three Patients (clinically diagnosed stages above or equal to Astler-Coller stage B2 without distant metastasis) were assigned to preoperative radiotherapy alone arm (n=16) or combined preoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy arm (n=27). Preoperative radiotherapy of 4500 cGy to whole pelvis +/- 540 cGy boost to primary site and concurrent chemotherapy of 2 cycles of 5-FU (500 mg/m2) and leucovorin (20 mg/m2) were used. Fifteen patients of preoperative radiotherapy alone arm and 19 of combined arm received surgical resection after preoperative treatment. RESULTS: During the preoperative treatment, no significant complication was developed in both groups. Pathologic results were as follows; complete remission 1, B1 1, B2 6, C1 2, C2 5 in preoperative radiotherapy alone arm and complete remission 2, B1 8, B2 4, C2 3 D2 in combined arm. Postoperative complications were delayed perineal would healing in three patients, intestinal obstruction in three patients (one managed by conservative medical treatment, two by surgical treatment). CONCLUSION: The combined preoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy arm was more effective in pathological response and lymph node negativity rate that the preoperative radiotherapy alone arm. Both the preoperative radiotherapy alone arm and the combined arm were generally well tolerated and did not result in an increased postoperative morbidity.

Value of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Associated Antigen (TA-4) in Patients with Invasive Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix / 대한치료방사선과학회지

We investigated the usefulness of tumor-associated antigen (TA-4) by a radioimmunoasay method in estimating the extent of disease and tracking the clinical course of disease in 58 patients with cervical cancer. According to our results and those of other authors, the normal range of serum TA-4 was arbitrarily taken to be less than 2 ng/ml. The proportion of the pretreatment positive serum TA-4 level of 48 squamous cell carcinoma patients was 60%. And 40% in 5 adenocarcinoma patients. Advanced disease group showed higher incidence of positive serum TA-4 level; 40%, 72%, 63%, and 100% in stage I to IV, respectively. And the absolute values of TA-4 were higher in advanced disease. In patients treated with radiation, elevated serum TA-4 level usually declined after 3000 cGy and further dropped to normal range in 44c13 after 5000 cGy. The Positive rate in Primary cervical cancer was 59% (32/54) and 100% (4/4) in recurrent cervical cancer. And 15 patients with recurrent or persistent disease during follow-up revealed 80% positive serum TA-4 level. In conclusion, it would be suggested that serial serum TA-4 measurements may be helpful in tracking the clinical course during and after treatment.

Emergency Cranial Irradiation Effects in Adult Leukemia with Extremely High Leukocytosis / 대한치료방사선과학회지

We have treated adult acute leukemia 64 patients between January 1990 and October 1991 at the Chungnam National University Hospital. They were examined for the impact of presenting WBC count on the initial course and from them we have chosen twenty patients whose leukocyte count is over one hundred thousands per cubic milimeter. We divided the twenty patients into 4 groups on the base of treatment modalities: conservative therapy only, chemotherapy only, cranial irradiation only, and chemotherapy with cranial irradiation. Early sudden death rate is lower in cranial irradiation with/without chemotherapy groups than the conservative only or chemotherapy only patients. Also the remission rate is high in cranial irradiation with chemotherapy patients. Therefore we suggest that the rapid intervention of cranial irradiation in adult acute leukemia could be helpful in reducing the early sudden death rate and perhaps in increasing the remission rate.