Postmastectomy electron-beam chest-wall irradiation in women with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: This retrospective study evaluates the results of postmastectomy electron-beam chest-wall irradiation in patients with breast cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From 1980 to 1994, 144 women with localized breast cancer received postmastectomy radiotherapy. The chest wall was irradiated by electron beam, 6 to 12 MeV energy, depending on wall thickness, 2.0 Gy daily, 5 times/week for total dose of 50 Gy. Forty-one patients received 16-Gy boosts to the mastectomy scar. In addition, the supraclavicular and axilla areas were irradiated by anterior field with 6-MV photon beam. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 84 months. Fifteen patients (10%) had local-regional recurrence (LRR) and 57 patients (40%) had systemic relapse (SR). Median time from mastectomy to LRR was 20 months and median time to SR was 33 months. Axillary lymph nodes status influenced both LRR and SR. LRR rate was 0% in N0 and 12% in N1 disease; SR rate was 14% in N0 and 45% in N1 disease. Disease-free and overall survival was 58% and 67% in 10 years and 50% and 55% in 20 years, respectively. No cardiac toxicity was related to left chest-wall irradiation. CONCLUSION: Postmastectomy electron-beam chest-wall irradiation is as effective as photon-beam irradiation in breast cancer.

Definition of vaginal doses in intrauterine high-dose-rate brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate dosimetric aspects of high-dose-rate (HDR) intrauterine brachytherapy applications and to discuss a possible definition of vaginal points for dose reporting. METHODS AND MATERIALS: HDR brachytherapy was performed using a "Fletcher-like" applicator. Doses to the vaginal mucosa were assessed using 2 sets of points for each ovoid. Fifty treated patients were chosen for the analysis. Repeatability and reproducibility were analyzed. Total doses for the whole treatment at the vaginal points were calculated for each patient. The average dose for both ovoids was determined and the ratio of this dose to the dose at point "A" was calculated. The correlation between delivered doses and vaginal complications was tested statistically. RESULTS: Repeatability and reproducibility were found to be less than 1% compared with patient-to-patient variations (> 99%) for all points. The number of fractions and the number of patients in which the middle ovoid point was "representative" were calculated for the lateral and upper surfaces, respectively. The calculated vaginal-average to point "A" dose ratio was found to be 175% and 130% for the 20 and 25 mm ovoids, respectively. A correlation between delivered doses and the rate of complications was not found. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed method has been validated and allows calculations of vaginal doses. The vaginal-to-point "A" dose ratios allow a fast estimation of the vaginal dose for 20 and 25 mm ovoids. The doses delivered to our patients were below vaginal tolerance.

Interstitial brachytherapy in soft tissue sarcomas: the Rambam experience.

BACKGROUND: There are radiobiologic and technical advantages to the use of interstitial brachytherapy alone or as an adjunct to external beam radiotherapy in the postoperative treatment of soft tissue sarcomas. OBJECTIVES: To review the experience of the Rambam Medical Center in implementing interstitial brachytherapy in the treatment of 32 patients with soft tissue sarcomas. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with variously located soft tissue sarcomas were managed with a combination of surgery and brachytherapy of the tumor bed, with or without EBRT. In 27 of 32 patients, brachytherapy catheters were placed intraoperatively, while in 5 patients the implant was performed as a separate postoperative procedure. Twenty-seven patients received low dose-rate brachytherapy with Iridium-192 seeds. Five patients received fractionated high dose-rate brachytherapy using the microSelectron machine. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 36 months, the overall local control rate was 87.5%. Four of 32 patients (13%) failed locally at the implant site, and 6 (19%) developed lung metastasis. Two of the five patients with lung metastasis had a local recurrence as well. At the time of analysis, eight patients had died of sarcoma (disease-specific mortality rate was 25%), while three had died of intercurrent causes. The 5 year actuarial disease-free survival rate was 56%, and the 5 year actuarial overall survival 70%. Five patients (16%) developed severe wound complications following surgery/brachytherapy, and six patients (19%) developed late local toxicity (fibrosis and telangiectasia). CONCLUSIONS: Wide local excision followed by interstitial brachytherapy has resulted in an 87.5% local control rate with a 16% local complication rate.

Late visual and auditory toxicity of radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Classical irradiation of carcinoma of the nasopharynx involves large fields and high doses; therefore, significant late toxicity and late side effects are to be expected. Given the fact that nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a relatively radiosensitive disease and a significant proportion of patients are long-term survivors, late visual and auditory complications of treatment are of utmost concern for patients and radiation oncologists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term visual and auditory toxicity in patients treated with radiotherapy for NPC. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Forty-three long-term survivors (including 11 children), following definitive radiotherapy for NPC, underwent a thorough visual and auditory evaluation 2-22 years after their treatment. Ophthalmological examination consisted of anamnesis of dry eye syndrome and visual acuity, visual acuity testing, slit-lamp examination, Schirmer test, fundus examination, and intraocular pressure measurement, as well as fluorescein angiography in patients with pathological vascular findings in the fundus examination. Audiological evaluation included anamnesis of hearing loss, tinnitus or vertigo, examination of the ears and nasopharynx, audiogram, and tympanogram. RESULTS: Radiation retinopathy was found in 16% of patients by fundus examination, with one patient (2.3%) developing blindness. Severe dry eye syndrome was present in 26%. Fifty-six percent had some degree of hearing impairment, with 74% showing severe sensorineural hearing loss. Fifty-eight percent of patients reported tinnitus and 26% reported suffering from dizziness. Radiation retinopathy as well as all manifestations of auditory toxicity were found to bear a direct correlation with dose per fraction. CONCLUSIONS: Unless there is tumor involvement, the orbital contents should be completely excluded from the target volume. Auditory toxicity is significant when treating NPC with two-dimensional techniques.

Pure versus follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma: clinical features, prognostic factors, treatment, and survival.

BACKGROUND: The follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC) is a common subtype of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Few studies have compared the clinical behavior and treatment outcome of patients with FVPTC with the outcome of patients with pure papillary carcinoma (PTC). A retrospective study was performed to identify the influence of FVPTC compared with PTC on therapeutic variables, prognostic variables, and survival. METHODS: A clinicopathologic analysis of 243 patients with papillary carcinoma was performed. One hundred forty-three tumors were PTC, and 100 tumors were FVPTC. The following variables were evaluated: age at diagnosis, tumor size, stage of tumor, treatment, capsular invasion, and survival. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 11.5 years. The median age was 43 years in the PTC group and 44 years in the FVPTC group. The median tumor size, disease stage, and type of initial surgery and iodine 131 ablation were similar. More patients had capsular invasion by the tumor and less metastases to cervical lymph nodes in the FVPTC group. The actuarial survival of patients age < 40 years was higher compared with the survival of patients age > 50 years in both groups. The 21-year overall actuarial survival was 82% in patients with PTC and 86% in patients with FVPTC (P value not significant). CONCLUSIONS: The pathologic and clinical behaviors of PTC and FVPTC were comparable. Prognostic factors, treatment, and survival also were similar. Patients in both groups must be treated identically.

Phase II study of gemcitabine combined with radiation therapy in patients with localized, unresectable pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gemcitabine is an active agent in pancreatic cancer, with known radiosensitizing properties. Therefore, a phase II study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of gemcitabine combined with radiation therapy in patients with localized unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. METHODS: Weekly gemcitabine at a dose of 1,000 mg/m(2) for 7 weeks was given as an induction phase. Patients who showed both clinical benefit response (CBR) and reduced or stable tumor size on computed tomography (CT) scan entered the chemoradiotherapy phase of the treatment. This consisted of gemcitabine 400 mg/m(2) weekly x3 every 28 days for 2 cycles, given concurrently with radiotherapy, for a total dose of 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions. After completion of radiotherapy, gemcitabine was continued as maintenance. RESULTS: Twenty patients entered this study. Ten patients (50%) achieved CBR to gemcitabine in the induction phase; these patients had no objective tumor progression and were therefore enrolled in the chemoradiotherapy phase. Four patients (20%) had a partial response, and three patients (15%) underwent pancreatectomy. Two patients had negative surgical margins, and in one patient histologic examination of the residual mass showed only fibrosis. The median survival for the entire group was 8 months, and the median survival has not yet been reached for the chemoradiotherapy group. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with gemcitabine concomitant with radiation therapy according to the present schedule is well tolerated and can provide prolonged CBR and disease stabilization in patients with localized, unresectable pancreatic cancer.

A prospective single-center registry for the use of intracoronary gamma radiation in patients with diffuse in-stent restenosis.

Based on single-center prospective registry data, the study evaluates short- and long-term results of intracoronary gamma radiation in patients with diffuse in-stent restenosis in the reality of routine clinical practice. Percutaneous coronary intervention and subsequent catheter-based irradiation with iridium-192 was performed in 84 vessels (81 patients) with diffuse in-stent restenosis. Repeat coronary angiography was performed in 35 patients with clinical restenosis. With a mean follow-up of 12.0 +/- 0.5 months, major adverse cardiac events were observed in 29 (34.5%) patients, including 2 cases of cardiac death, 3 myocardial infarctions, 21 target lesion revascularizations, and 4 target vessel revascularizations. Five of six patients with total occlusion of the target vessel at baseline developed target lesion restenosis. Late total occlusion of the target vessel was observed in four patients. The 1-year event-free survival rate was 69.8%. Total occlusion of the target vessel at baseline was the single independent predictor of cardiac events at 1-year follow-up (P < 0.001). In patients with a target lesion in the left anterior descending artery, predictors of cardiac events also included female sex (P = 0.014), current smoking (P = 0.014), stenting during brachytherapy session (P = 0.02), and smaller reference vessel diameter at baseline (P = 0.01). The results of our registry are similar to those of randomized trials. As applied in routine clinical practice, intracoronary gamma radiation is a feasible, safe, and effective tool in the treatment of diffuse in-stent restenosis. Late events in the entire group were predicted by total occlusion at baseline.