International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2003
Long-term urinary quality of life after permanent prostate brachytherapy.
To evaluate late urinary function after permanent prostate brachytherapy using a validated, patient-administered quality-of-life instrument. ⋯ No significant difference was noted in the overall long-term urinary quality of life when brachytherapy patients were compared with a group of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients of comparable demographics. Of all parameters evaluated, tobacco consumption was the single strongest predictor of late urinary function.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2003
FDG-PET lymph node staging and survival of patients with FIGO stage IIIb cervical carcinoma.
To evaluate the outcome of patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) clinical Stage IIIb cervical carcinoma as a function of site of initial regional lymph node metastasis as detected by 2[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET). ⋯ The cause-specific survival for patients with FIGO Stage IIIb carcinoma is highly dependent on the extent of lymph node metastasis as demonstrated by whole-body FDG-PET.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Jun 2003
Infrastructure of radiotherapy in Spain: a minimal standard of radiotherapy resources.
To assess the state of our specialty, the Spanish Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology ordered a survey of all Spanish services of radiation oncology. ⋯ There is a need for 44 MV units and for the replacement of 67 cobalt units. The present lack of units has had an impact on palliative treatment, which has resulted in pharmacy costs. As long as these instrumental deficiencies are not solved, waiting lists will continue to be inherent to the system. There are also important staff deficiencies, in that about 297 radiation oncologists would be needed to cover the needs.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · May 2003
Comparative StudyIntensity-modulated radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: dosimetric advantage over conventional plans and feasibility of dose escalation.
To compare intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with two-dimensional RT (2D-RT) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) treatment plans in different stages of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and to explore the feasibility of dose escalation in locally advanced disease. ⋯ IMRT is useful in treating all stages of nonmetastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma because of its dosimetric advantages. In early-stage disease, it provides better parotid gland sparing. In locally advanced disease, IMRT offers better tumor coverage and normal organ sparing and allows room for dose escalation.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · May 2003
Linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery for limited, locally persistent, and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma: efficacy and complications.
To evaluate the efficacy and complication of linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) when used as salvage treatment for early-stage persistent and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after primary radiotherapy (RT). ⋯ Our preliminary results indicate that SRS is an effective treatment modality for persistent and recurrent early-stage NPC, with early control rates comparable to other salvage treatments such as brachytherapy and nasopharyngectomy. A modest SRS dose at 12.5 Gy also appears to be effective and is associated with minimal morbidities. More clinical experience and longer follow-up are needed to validate our results and to address fully the role of SRS in salvaging local failures of NPC.