Radiation therapy-induced left vocal cord paralysis following lung stereotactic body radiation therapy: A case report and review of the literature.

We report the case of a 50-year old women with an oncological history of metastatic breast carcinoma who underwent lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) of 60Gy in 8 fractions for a left upper lobe metastatic lesion. Seven months later, she complains about hoarseness and weakness of voice. Tumoral relapse and other frequent etiologies were excluded. The diagnosis of radiation induced left recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis causing left vocal cord paralysis (VCP) was made. The symptomatology did not improve till the disease progression and death of the patient 29 months after SBRT. VCP after lung SBRT is a rare adverse event that has not yet been well described in the medical literature.

[A survey of Belgian practice for non-malignant diseases]. / Une enquête de l'utilisation en Belgique de la radiothérapie pour des affections bénignes, non-tumorales.

Two prior surveys were carried out in 1995 and 1999 to evaluate the use of radiotherapy in the treatment of non-malignant disease. In 2016, the same questionnaire was used and sent to the 24 centers of the country: 22 responded. A major decrease was observed in the number of patients treated: 360 in 2016 in contrast to 954 in 1999 and 1113 in 1995. The most frequent indications remain the prevention of heterotopic bone formation, keloids or gynecomastia. A new indication was observed: trigeminal nevralgia treated with radiosurgery. Two frequent indications in the past disappeared: the prevention of coronary restenosis and the macular degeneration. A great agreement was observed regarding the possible indications for radiotherapy but also to avoid it for inflammatory pathologies.

Illustration of a fatal radiation-induced lung aneurysm: Is central lung stereotactic radiotherapy to be banned?

Stereotactic body radiation therapy is still controversial for inoperable patients with central lung lesion. We report the case of a 59-year-old woman with previous history of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who was treated by lung stereotactic body irradiation for an inoperable lymph node in station 10R. One year after, a fibroscopy showed a necrosis of the right main bronchus mucosae and the CT showed a radio-induced aneurysm protruding into the right inferior lobular bronchus. The patient eventually died a few hours later with a massive haemoptysis. This case highlights the potential toxicity of central lung stereotactic body radiation therapy and raises the question of its legitimacy.

Multimodality imaging using PET/CT (18F)-fluorodeoxyglucose for radiotherapy field delineation of localized Hodgkin lymphoma.

It is now well demonstrated that (18F)-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT is the most accurate imaging method for determining disease extent in Hodgkin lymphoma. Thus, up-front PET/CT is mandatory for involved node radiation therapy design. For a proper use of this new imaging modality for radiotherapy, some adaptations should be made to the PET/CT acquisition as well as to the report. Initial PET/CT should be performed in the radiotherapy treatment position. Nuclear medicine physicians should report to the radiation oncologist the precise location of each involved lymph node, for which the use of a common atlas of upper diaphragmatic nodal stations could be useful. All these new procedures have to be implemented in close collaboration among the different medical specialists providing care to Hodgkin lymphoma patients. We report here the usual procedures of PET/CT acquisition in the radiotherapy environment and propose a more sophisticated description of the different lymph nodes for a more efficient nuclear medicine report to the radiation oncologist.

Prone left-sided whole-breast irradiation: significant heart dose reduction using end-inspiratory versus end-expiratory gating.

PURPOSE: To quantify the influence on heart dose metrics of prone left-sided whole-breast irradiation in an end-inspiratory phase (PrIN) versus an end-expiratory phase (PrEX). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty patients underwent CT-simulation in PrIN and PrEX. Dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy was planned for whole-breast irradiation with a median prescription dose of 40.05Gy in 15 fractions and maximal sparing of the organs at risk. Dose-volume parameters were analyzed for heart, left anterior descending coronary artery, ipsilateral lung and both breasts. RESULTS: PrIN consistently reduced (P<0.001) heart and left anterior descending coronary artery dose metrics compared to PrEX. Population averages for maximum and mean heart dose were 6.2Gy and 1.3Gy for PrIN versus 21.4Gy and 2.5Gy for PrEX, respectively. Moreover, a maximum heart dose less than 10Gy was achieved in 80% of patients for PrIN. Target dose distribution, ipsilateral lung and contralateral breast sparing by radiation dose were similar for both procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Inspiratory gating consistently reduced heart dose metrics pointing to a possible benefit of breathing-adapted radiotherapy for prone left-sided whole-breast irradiation.

Phase II study of preoperative oxaliplatin, capecitabine and external beam radiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer: the RadiOxCape study.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative radiotherapy has been shown to decrease the local recurrence rate of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Capecitabine and oxaliplatin are both active anticancer agents in the treatment of patients with advanced colorectal cancer and have radiosensitizing properties. Therefore, these drugs would be expected to improve effectiveness of preoperative radiotherapy in terms of local control and prevention of distant metastases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty patients with rectal cancer (T3-T4 and/or N+) received radiotherapy (1.8 Gy, 5 days a week over 5 weeks, total dose 45 Gy, 3D conformational technique) in combination with intravenous oxaliplatin 50 mg/m2 once weekly for 5 weeks and oral capecitabine 825 mg/m2 twice daily on each day of radiation. Surgery was performed 6-8 weeks after completion of radiotherapy. The main end points were safety and efficacy as assessed by the pathological complete response (pCR). RESULTS: The most frequent grade 3/4 adverse event was diarrhea, occurring in 30% of patients. pCR was found in five (14%) patients. According to Dworak's classification, good regression was found in six (18%) additional patients. CONCLUSIONS: Combination of preoperative radiotherapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin is feasible for downstaging rectal cancer.

Evaluation of a leaf position optimization tool for intensity modulated radiation therapy of head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Since 1996, patients are treated at Ghent University Hospital with a multi-segment technique using MultiLeaf Collimators. The segments were obtained by using the Beam's eye view projections of the planning target volume (PTV) and the organs at risk (OARs), after which the segments weights were optimized. To investigate if optimization of the leaf positions would further improve the intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans, a tool optimizing leaf positions and segment weights simultaneously, was developed. This tool is called SOWAT, which is the acronym for segment outline and weight adapting tool. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The tool evaluates the effects of changing the position of each collimating leaf of all segments on the value of the objective function. Only changes that improve the value of the objective function are retained. Between December 1999 and January 2001, 30 head and neck patients were treated with IMRT. Two patient groups were distinguished: pharyngeal and laryngeal tumors (n=17) and sinonasal tumors (n=13). A specific set of physical endpoints was evaluated for each group. Dose statistics of the treatment plans without and with SOWAT were analyzed. RESULTS: When using SOWAT for the pharyngeal and laryngeal cases, the PTV dose homogeneity increased with a median of 11% (range 2-27%), while the maximum dose to the spinal cord was decreased for 14 of the 17 patients. In four plans where parotid function preservation was a goal, the parotid mean dose was lower than 26 Gy in one plan without SOWAT, and in four plans with SOWAT. For the sinonasal tumors, the PTV dose homogeneity increased with a median of 7% (range 1-14%). SOWAT lowered the mean dose to 53 of the 63 optic pathway structures (retina, optic nerve and optic chiasm). SOWAT leaves the number of segments unchanged and has little or no effect on the delivery time. CONCLUSIONS: SOWAT is a powerful tool to perform the final optimization of IMRT plans, without increasing the complexity of the plan or the delivery time.

An implementation strategy for IMRT of ethmoid sinus cancer with bilateral sparing of the optic pathways.

PURPOSE: To develop a protocol for the irradiation of ethmoid sinus cancer, with the aim of sparing binocular vision; of developing a strategy of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning that produces dose distributions that (1) are consistent with the protocol prescriptions and (2) are deliverable by static segmental IMRT techniques within a 15-minute time slot; of fine tuning the implementation strategy to a class solution approach that is sufficiently automated and efficient, allowing routine clinical application; of reporting on the early clinical implementation involving 11 patients between February 1999 and July 2000. patients and methods: Eleven consecutive T1-4N0M0 ethmoid sinus cancer patients were enrolled in the study. For Patients 1-8, a first protocol was implemented, defining a planning target volume prescription dose of 60 to 66 Gy in 30-33 fractions and a maximum dose (Dmax) of 50 Gy to optic pathway structures and spinal cord and limit of 60 Gy to brainstem. For Patients 9-11, an adapted (now considered mature) protocol was implemented, defining a (planning target volume) prescription dose of 70 Gy in 35 fractions and a Dmax to optic pathway structures and brainstem of 60 Gy and to spinal cord of 50 Gy. RESULTS: The class solution-directed strategy developed during this study reduced the protocol translation process from a few days to about 2 hours of planner time. The mature class solution involved the use of 7 beam incidences (20-37 segments), which could be delivered within a 15-minute time slot. Acute side effects were limited and mild. None of the patients developed dry eye syndrome or other visual disturbances. The follow-up period is too short for detection of retinopathy or optic nerve and chiasm toxicity. CONCLUSION: Conventional radiotherapy of ethmoid sinus tumors is associated with serious morbidity, including blindness. We hypothesize that IMRT has the potential to save binocular vision. The dose to the optic pathway structures can be reduced selectively by IMRT. Further enrollment of patients and longer follow-up will show whether the level of reduction tested by the clinical protocol is sufficient to save binocular vision. An adaptive strategy of IMRT planning was too inefficient for routine clinical practice. A class solution-directed strategy improved efficiency by eliminating human trial and error during the IMRT planning process.

A retrospective analysis of the results of p(65) + Be neutrontherapy for the treatment of prostate adenocarcinoma at the cyclotron of Louvain-la-Neuve. Part I: Survival and progression-free survival.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively evaluate survival, progression-free survival (PFS) and biological response in a series of patients irradiated with mixed neutron/photon beams for locally advanced prostate cancer in our institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred and eight patients were treated between January 1990 and December 1996. Fifty-five of these were recruited for pT3 or pN1 tumors after radical prostatectomy. Neoadjuvant androgen deprivation was given in 106 patients. The treatment protocol consisted of a mixed photon/neutron irradiation in a two-to-three proportion, up to a total equivalent dose of 66 Gy (assuming a clinical RBE value of 2.8). Pre- and post-treatment PSA determinations were available in practically all cases. Study endpoints were overall survival (OAS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to investigate the prognostic value of baseline characteristics on survival and progression-free survival were a progression was defined as local, regional, metastatic or biological progression. Mean age was 69 years (49-86); mean pretreatment PSA was 15 (0.5-330) in all patients and 14 (0.5-160) in those receiving neoadjuvant hormonotherapy; seven patients only had an initial PSA < or = 4 ng/mL; 15% were T1, 46% were T2, 28% were T3 or pT3 and 4% were T4 (7% unspecified); WHO grade of differentiation was I in 38%, II in 38% and III in 14% (5% unspecified). RESULTS: The median follow-up was 2.8 years (0-7.8). Five-year overall survival (OAS) was 79% (95% CI: 71-87%) and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 64% (95% CI: 54-74%) for the entire series. PFS in patients with an initial PSA > or = 20 ng/mL was the same. PFS could be predicted by two optimal Cox regression models, one including histological grade (p = 0.003) and initial PSA (p = 0.0009) as cofactors, the other including histological grade (p = 0.003) and T stage (p = 0.02). The main prognostic factors for overall survival were PSA and age. Biological responses with PSA < 1.5 ng/mL, < 1 ng/mL and < 0.5 ng/mL at any time after treatment were documented in 70%, 61% and 47% of the patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: Five-year OAS was 79%, PFS was 64%, and biological response was 70% for prostate cancer patients treated with mixed photon/neutron beams as applied at Louvain-la-Neuve, which are good results as compared with the literature. The usual prognostic factors were confirmed.

An isocenter position verification device for electronic portal imaging: physical and dosimetrical characteristics.

The physical and dosimetrical characteristics of a device, designed to visualize the isocenter position on electronic portal images, were examined. The device, to be mounted on the gantry head of the accelerator, containing five spheric lead markers, was designed in order to visualize the isocenter position on portal images. A quality control device was designed to check the reliability of this technique. The disturbance of the dose distribution by the markers was studied with gel dosimetry. The use of markers resulted in a precise and accurate method to visualize the isocenter on portal images. A maximum underdosage of 11%, due to attenuation by the markers, was observed. The use of markers to visualize the isocenter position on portal images, is a fast and reliable method when analyzing patient setup errors with online electronic portal imaging.