ABSTRACT
A prospective phase II study was conducted to evacuate toxicity and results of preoperative radiochemotherapy in locoregionally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). A total of 33 patients entered the study and received 45 Gy to the pelvis plus a supplemental boost of 5.4-9 Gy concurrently with 5 FU c.i. at a dose of 225-275 mg/m2. Thirty patients were operated after 5-7 weeks (20 anterior resection and 10 abdominoperineal excision). In 14 patients (47%) a downstaging was observed, 5 patients experienced a complete clearance of the primary tumor. After a median of 14 months (range, 5-27), 23 patients, are alive and well. And 8 patients experienced a disease progression (4 local-regional and 4 distant). Our results provide further evidence of the utility and effectiveness of preoperative radiochemotherapy in LARC.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/therapy , Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic/therapeutic use , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant , Fluorouracil/therapeutic use , Neoadjuvant Therapy , Radiotherapy, Adjuvant , Radiotherapy, High-Energy , Rectal Neoplasms/therapy , Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/mortality , Adenocarcinoma/radiotherapy , Adenocarcinoma/surgery , Adult , Aged , Combined Modality Therapy , Disease Progression , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Photons/therapeutic use , Prospective Studies , Rectal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Rectal Neoplasms/mortality , Rectal Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Rectal Neoplasms/surgery , Remission Induction , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
A method based on the coherency matrix and suitable for dealing with optical phenomena or devices which affect light polarization is explained. A comparison is made with the Mueller calculus, showing the different features of both types of procedures.
ABSTRACT
In this paper the problem of the light transmission through a cylindrical guide is analyzed. Equations are derived that allow us to evaluate the off-axis distribution of rays both with and without optical contact between the light source and the guide. In the latter case a very peculiar behavior is found for values of the refractive index satisfying the condition: [equation]. The over-all transmission of the guide is also evaluated in the various cases.