Hypofractionated Radiotherapy for Post-Operative Breast Cancer Patients at Delta Hospital - an Evaluation of Clinical Experience.

Background: As hypofractionated radiotherapy for post-operative breast cancer patients safe, effective and more convenient, it might be beneficial for patients of developing countries like ours. Objective: This study was done to evaluate the safety and efficacy of hypofractionated whole breast radiation therapy in patients who underwent breast conserving surgery and hypofractionated radiation therapy in patients who underwent mastectomy and axillary clearance. Materials and method: This cross sectional study was conducted in Delta Hospital Ltd, Dhaka, Bangladesh, including 50 postoperative patients, (12 patients in Breast Conservation Therapy group and 38 in Post Mastectomy Radiation Therapy group), with invasive ductal carcinoma of breast treated with this hypofractionated radiotherapy protocol during the last 1.5 year. The patients were treated with 3DCRT, LINAC, 6 MV photon and appropriate electron energy. Results: Minimal post treatment acute morbidity was observed. Forty seven patients (94%) had grade-I acute skin toxicity and only 3 patients (6%) developed grade-II acute skin toxicity. Conclusion: Hypofractionated radiotherapy is as safe and effective as conventional fractionated radiotherapy and superior in terms of convenience.

Detection of Artifacts and Its Effects in the Clinical Evaluation of Diagnostic and Therapy CT Images.

Importance of imaging in all clinical or medical research, and especially, of Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT scan), has demonstrated a unique place in diagnostic or radiation therapy. Two-dimensional images of internal structures of the body are examined and reported. This process of imaging, any anatomical location, viz. head and neck, thorax, pelvis, etc. takes about 30 seconds to perform with a minimal dose of less than 1.6- 2.0 mGy. The images are constructed by the hardware with software algorithm, using the attenuation and absorption of X rays of tissues, of varying electron densities of the anatomical structures. Sometimes a contrast dye is injected to a patient intravenously, rectally or orally, to make hollow or fluid-filled structures such as blood vessels more visible. Radiologists and radiation oncologists are confronted with a task to delineate the information of the CT images to a meaningful diagnosis. The images are, therefore, valuable for diagnostic reports, some of these may relate to cancerous tumors and tissues. Cancer treatment, radiation therapy or else, from such observations may start. But an artifact and distortion on such images will contribute to erroneous and/or unusable interpretations in offering a clinical report to provide wrong clinical decisions. The implications of the presence of distortion in CT images is, for a patient, described here so as to instruct the experts, in medical and clinical fields, to rectify the situation in acquiring a sharp and flawless image or in reaching the correct clinical goal.