ABSTRACT
We report on seed migration to the vertebral venous plexus after low dose rate prostate brachytherapy with (125)I. A 74-year-old man with T1c N0 M0 adenocarcinoma of the prostate with a Gleason score of 6 (3+3) and prostate-specific antigen level of 14.94 ng/ml underwent interstitial prostate brachytherapy. Six weeks after treatment at the follow-up to determine aftercare a migrated seed was detected in the vertebral venous plexus and a second one in the right lung. No tissue damage around the migrated seeds was documented and the patient exhibited no clinical symptoms.
Subject(s)
Brachytherapy/adverse effects , Brachytherapy/instrumentation , Foreign-Body Migration/diagnosis , Foreign-Body Migration/etiology , Prostheses and Implants/adverse effects , Spine/blood supply , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prostatic Neoplasms/radiotherapyABSTRACT
Thus far, amifostine, a new radioprotective substance, had been given as short infusion 30 minutes before radiotherapy. In our investigation for the first time we have administered the substance as bolus injection (200 mg/m2 dissolved in 10 ml sodium chloride 0.9%). 42 patients with malignancies of the head and neck region, recurrences of rectal carcinomas and bronchial carcinomas had been treated with different solution volumes over different time periods. Using amifostine as a bolus injection had led to a statistically significant decrease in acute toxicity (p = 0.012). In comparison to short infusion (15 minutes) we have documented the same radioprotective impact. Hence, bolus injection of amifostine is feasible and can spare manpower and time in the department of radiotherapy.
