International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2013
Health-related quality of life in elderly patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma treated with short-course radiation therapy plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide.
To describe the quality of life (QOL) in elderly patients with glioblastoma (GBM) treated with an abbreviated course of radiation therapy (RT; 40 Gy in 15 fractions) plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ). ⋯ A short course of RT in combination with TMZ in elderly patients with GBM was associated with survival benefit without a negative effect on HRQOL until the time of disease progression.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2013
Salvage HDR brachytherapy for recurrent prostate cancer after previous definitive radiation therapy: 5-year outcomes.
Evaluate efficacy and toxicity of salvage high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) for locally recurrent prostate cancer after definitive radiation therapy (RT). ⋯ Prostate HDRB is an effective salvage modality with relatively few long-term toxicities. We provide potential predictors of biochemical control for prostate salvage HDRB.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2013
A comprehensive quality assurance program for personnel and procedures in radiation oncology: value of voluntary error reporting and checklists.
This report describes the value of a voluntary error reporting system and the impact of a series of quality assurance (QA) measures including checklists and timeouts on reported error rates in patients receiving radiation therapy. ⋯ A comprehensive QA program that regularly monitors staff compliance together with a robust voluntary error reporting system can reduce or eliminate errors that could result in serious patient injury. We recommend the adoption of these relatively simple QA initiatives including the use of checklists and timeouts for all staff to improve the safety of patients undergoing radiation therapy in the modern era.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2013
Differences in brainstem fiber tract response to radiation: a longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study.
To determine whether radiation-induced changes in white matter tracts are uniform across the brainstem. ⋯ Changes in the structural integrity of white matter tracts, assessed by DTI, were not uniform across the brainstem after radiation therapy. These results support a role for tract-based assessment in radiation treatment planning and determination of brainstem tolerance.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2013
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers for MRI-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy: novel marker-flange for cervical cancer and marker catheters for prostate cancer.
To present a novel marker-flange, addressing source-reconstruction uncertainties due to the artifacts of a titanium intracavitary applicator used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT); and to evaluate 7 different MRI marker agents used for interstitial prostate BT and intracavitary gynecologic HDR BT when treatment plans are guided by MRI. ⋯ The use of interstitial/intracavitary markers for MRI-guided prostate/gynecologic BT was observed to be feasible, providing accurate source pathway reconstruction. The novel marker-flange can produce extremely intense, accurate signals, demonstrating its feasibility for gynecologic HDR BT.