International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2005
Results of the 2003 Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) surveys of residents and chief residents in the United States.
To document demographic characteristics of current residents, career motivations and aspirations, and training program policies and resources. ⋯ Median program resources and numbers of outliers are documented to allow residents and program directors to assess the relative adequacy of experience in their own programs. Policy-making bodies and individual programs should consider these results when developing interventions to improve educational experiences of residents and to increase retention of radiation oncologists in academic practice.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2005
ReviewIntegration of surgery with fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for treatment of nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenomas.
To evaluate the efficacy of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) after surgery in the management of residual or recurrent nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas with respect to tumor control and the development of complications. ⋯ The findings of this analysis support the use of surgery followed by FSRT as a safe, effective, and integrated treatment for nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas. Additional follow-up is needed to document the long-term tumor control rates, preservation rates for vision and pituitary function, and neurocognitive outcomes.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2005
Role of prostate dose escalation in patients with greater than 15% risk of pelvic lymph node involvement.
To determine whether the radiation dose is a determinant of clinical outcome in patients with a lymph node risk of >15% treated using whole pelvic (WP), partial pelvic (PP), or prostate only (PO) fields. ⋯ The radiation dose was the most significant determinant of FFBF in patients with a lymph node risk >15% in the patient population studied. These data suggest that the primary tumor takes precedence over lymph node coverage or the use of STAD. Doses >70 Gy are of paramount importance in such intermediate- and high-risk patients.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2005
Increased therapeutic ratio by 18FDG-PET CT planning in patients with clinical CT stage N2-N3M0 non-small-cell lung cancer: a modeling study.
With this modeling study, we wanted to estimate the potential gain from incorporating fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scanning in the radiotherapy treatment planning of CT Stage N2-N3M0 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. ⋯ In this group of clinical CT Stage N2-N3 NSCLC patients, use of FDG-PET scanning information in radiotherapy planning reduced the radiation exposure of the esophagus and lung, and thus allowed significant radiation dose escalation while respecting all relevant normal tissue constraints. This, together with a reduced risk of geographic misses using PET-CT, led to an estimated increase in TCP from 13% to 18%. The results of this modeling study support clinical trials investigating incorporation of FDG-PET information in CT-based radiotherapy planning.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Mar 2005
The pattern of lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer and its influence on the delineation of radiation fields.
The delineation of radiation fields should cover the clinical target volume (CTV) and minimally irradiate the surrounding normal tissues and organs. This study was designed to explore the pattern of lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer and indications for radiotherapy after radical or modified radical mastectomy and to discuss the rational delineation of radiation fields. ⋯ According to our data, we suggest that the radiation field for internal mammary lymph nodes should exclude the fourth and fifth intercostal spaces, which may help to reduce the radiation damage to heart. It is unnecessary to irradiate the supraclavicular lymph nodes for the patients with negative axillary level III nodes, even with positive level I and level II nodes.