ABSTRACT
Brain masses diagnosed in 47 pet dogs as tumors by CT scans, and confirmed in 12 dogs by necropsies, were injected with iodinated contrast media and treated by a modified CT scanner, the CTRx. Twenty-six dogs that received six or more weekly treatments of about 5.6 Gy per fraction, of which about 25% was contributed by radiation from the iodine, for a median total dose of 39 Gy, had a median survival of 230 days. This compares well with the 150 days reported for 25 dogs given 46-48 Gy of cobalt-60 radiation to the whole brain, and is significantly greater than the 6 to 13 days in untreated historic controls.
Subject(s)
Astrocytoma/veterinary , Brain Neoplasms/veterinary , Dog Diseases/radiotherapy , Meningeal Neoplasms/veterinary , Meningioma/veterinary , X-Ray Therapy , Animals , Astrocytoma/mortality , Astrocytoma/radiotherapy , Biopsy , Brain Neoplasms/mortality , Brain Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Dog Diseases/mortality , Dogs , Meningeal Neoplasms/mortality , Meningeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Meningioma/mortality , Meningioma/radiotherapy , Organ Size , Radiation Dosage , Random Allocation , Survival Rate , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/veterinary , X-Ray Therapy/veterinaryABSTRACT
Spontaneous brain tumors in 25 pet dogs were diagnosed and treated with a modified CT scanner. Five or more weekly 9-Gy fractions resulted in marked clinical improvement in most dogs and a significant decrease in tumor size in many dogs without adverse effects from the radiotherapy.
Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/veterinary , Dog Diseases/diagnosis , Dog Diseases/radiotherapy , Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/veterinary , Animals , Brain Neoplasms/diagnosis , Brain Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Dogs , Female , MaleABSTRACT
Many tumors in the brain and in other tissues can be delineated precisely in images obtained with a CT scanner. After the scan is obtained the patient is taken to another room for radiation therapy and is positioned in the beam with the aid of external markers, simulators or stereotactic devices. This procedure is time consuming and subject to error when precise localization of the beam is desired. The CT scanner itself, with the addition of a collimator, is capable of delivering radiation therapy with great precision without the need for external markers. The patient can be scanned and treated on the same table, the isocenter of the beam can be placed precisely in the center of the lesion, the beam can be restricted to just those planes in which the lesion appears several arcs can be obtained by simply tilting the gantry, and the position of the patient in the beam can be monitored continuously during therapy. We describe here the properties of the CTX, the CT scanner modified for therapy.
Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed , Animals , Brain Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Cobalt Radioisotopes/therapeutic use , Dogs , Film Dosimetry , Gamma Rays , Humans , Models, Structural , Radiation Dosage , Radiotherapy Dosage , Radiotherapy, High-Energy , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
An immunotherapy protocol based on intracranial implantation of stimulated, autologous lymphocytes into the tumor bed following surgical debulking of malignant glioma is described. Phase I clinical trials in human patients are now in progress. Preliminary data representing the first 39 patients treated are presented briefly.
