International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Apr 2000
Cancer pain management by radiotherapists: a survey of radiation therapy oncology group physicians.
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) physicians were surveyed to determine their approach to and attitudes toward cancer pain management. ⋯ Physicians' perceptions of barriers to cancer pain management remain quite stable over time, and physicians continue to report inadequate pain treatment education. Future educational efforts should target radiation oncologists as an important resource for the treatment of cancer pain.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Apr 2000
Optimization of beam weights in conformal radiotherapy planning of stage III non-small cell lung cancer: effects on therapeutic ratio.
To evaluate the effects of beam weight optimization for 3D conformal radiotherapy plans, with or without beam intensity modulation, in Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ⋯ Optimization using a biophysical objective function allowed an increase of the therapeutic ratio of radiotherapy planning for Stage III NSCLC.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Apr 2000
Clinical TrialHigh-dose-rate intraoperative radiation therapy (HDR-IORT) for retroperitoneal sarcomas.
Retroperitoneal sarcomas represent a formidable challenge to the treating oncologist due to their location, large size, and poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to determine if the addition of high-dose-rate intraoperative radiation therapy (HDR-IORT) to surgery and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) would improve the outcome in these patients. ⋯ We are encouraged by the favorable local control rate and the acceptable morbidity with this new technique applied to a challenging patient population.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Apr 2000
Comparative StudyComparison of biochemical disease-free survival of patients with localized carcinoma of the prostate undergoing radical prostatectomy, transperineal ultrasound-guided radioactive seed implantation, or definitive external beam irradiation.
This retrospective study compares the long-term biochemical disease-free survival for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy, transperineal ultrasound-guided (125)Iodine implantation, or external beam irradiation alone in a tertiary referral community-based hospital. ⋯ For patients with low or intermediate risk disease, external beam, ultrasound-guided (125)I, or a radical prostatectomy give comparable long-term biochemical disease-free survival. For patients with high risk disease, a radical prostatectomy provides a significantly improved biochemical disease-free survival. Our current protocols utilize androgen ablation in combination with conformal three-dimensional external beam irradiation or androgen ablation in conjunction with external beam irradiation and (103)Pd seed implantation for patients at high risk for extra capsular disease. It is too early to determine if this combination therapy will give results comparable to radical prostatectomy. For patients who obtain a 1 year nadir PSA of < 1, the biochemical disease-free survival is durable with little risk of subsequent recurrence.
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Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. · Apr 2000
Late rectal toxicity after conformal radiotherapy of prostate cancer (I): multivariate analysis and dose-response.
The purpose of this paper is to use the outcome of a dose escalation protocol for three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) of prostate cancer to study the dose-response for late rectal toxicity and to identify anatomic, dosimetric, and clinical factors that correlate with late rectal bleeding in multivariate analysis. ⋯ A multivariate logistic regression model is presented which describes the probability of developing late rectal bleeding after conformal irradiation of prostate cancer. Late rectal bleeding correlated with factors which may indicate that a greater fractional volume of rectal wall was exposed to high dose, such as smaller rectal wall volume, inclusion of the rectum within the 50% isodose on the isocenter slice, and higher rectal D(max).