Regional heterogeneity and age-related change in sub-regions of internal capsule evaluated by diffusion tensor imaging.

The internal capsule (IC) includes various fiber tracts supporting sensory, motor and cognitive abilities. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is useful for the diagnosis of brain diseases related to IC. However, there is some risk of misdiagnosis when measuring diffusion parameters throughout the whole IC without knowledge of age-related changes, as the thin structure and branching in multiple directions must be expected to produce sub-regional differences.

Malignant myoepithelioma in the maxillary sinus: case report and review of the literature.

Malignant myoepithelioma of the head and neck usually arises in the salivary glands. We experienced a rare case with malignant myoepithelioma in the maxillary sinus. A 47-year-old woman with malignant myoepithelioma in the maxillary sinus underwent partial maxillectomy.

Classical tandem-source dwelling covering the entire uterus: essential in modern intracavitary radiotherapy for cervical cancer?

Purpose: We investigated whether conventional tandem-source dwelling to cover the entire uterus, classically regarded as the target volume, is necessary in modern intracavitary radiotherapy (ICRT) for cervical cancer.

Materials And Methods: The study included 95 cervical squamous cell carcinoma patients treated by high-dose-rate ICRT (point A dose was 6.0 Gy, with three to five insertions per patient) after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), with central pelvic doses of 12-50 Gy.

Proton irradiation in a single fraction for hepatocellular carcinoma patients with uncontrollable ascites. Technical considerations and results.

Purpose: To present technical considerations and results of proton irradiation in a single fraction for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with uncontrollable ascites.

Patients And Methods: Three HCC patients with uncontrollable ascites underwent proton irradiation of 24 Gy in a single fraction. Hepatic tumors were solitary in two patients, and multiple in one, and tumor sizes were 30, 30, and 33 mm in maximum diameter.

Altered brain activation by a false recognition task in young abstinent patients with alcohol dependence.

Background: Heavy alcohol intake induces both structural and functional changes in the central nervous system. Recent research developments converged on the idea that even in patients with alcohol dependence without apparent structural brain changes, some cognitive impairment exists, and associated functional change could be visualized by neuroimaging techniques. However, these data were from old (more than 50 years) patients using working memory and response inhibition tasks.

Laterality and aging of thalamic subregions measured by diffusion tensor imaging.

Thalamic nuclei are comprised of fibers connecting associated cortical regions, and abnormalities of the thalamus are correlated with abnormalities in cognition and behavior. Some previous studies showed the laterality of the whole thalamus and the regional differences among thalamic nuclei. This led us to assess regional characteristics in five major subregions of both sides of the thalamus using diffusion-tensor imaging.

Proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus: report of three cases.

Three patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and inferior vena cava tumor thrombus (IVCTT) were treated using proton beam therapy at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. A total dose of 50-70 Gy in 10-35 fractions was given to the primary tumor and IVCTT. All the patients survived for more than 1 year from the beginning of proton beam therapy (13-55 months) and no treatment-related toxicity of grade 3 or higher was observed.

Explanation for the failure of neoadjuvant chemotherapy to improve outcomes after radiotherapy for locally advanced uterine cervical cancer from the standpoint of the tumor regression rate.

Purpose: Treatment outcomes for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer are no better with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) combined with radiotherapy (RT) than with RT alone. We investigated the reason for this failure from the standpoint of the tumor regression rate (RR).

Materials And Methods: A total of 48 patients with clinical stage IIB-IVA cervical squamous cell carcinoma were treated clinically with cisplatin-based NAC plus RT (n = 15) or RT alone (n = 33).

Proton beam therapy for aged patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To investigate the safety and efficacy of proton beam therapy for aged patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods And Materials: Twenty-one patients aged > or =80 years with HCC underwent proton beam therapy. At the time of irradiation, patient age ranged from 80 to 85 years (median, 81 years).

Hypofractionated high-dose proton beam therapy for stage I non-small-cell lung cancer: preliminary results of a phase I/II clinical study.

Purpose: To present treatment outcomes of hypofractionated high-dose proton beam therapy for Stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods And Materials: Twenty-one patients with Stage I NSCLC (11 with Stage IA and 10 with Stage IB) underwent hypofractionated high-dose proton beam therapy. At the time of irradiation, patient age ranged from 51 to 85 years (median, 74 years).

Long-term outcome of patients with intracranial germinoma.

Purpose: This study was to clarify the long-term subjective functional state and the therapeutic factors that may influence the outcome and ADL of patients with intracranial germinoma.

Methods And Materials: Subjects were 19 patients with an average age of 16.5 years.

Determination of gate-on and -off timing in respiration-gated radiotherapy.

The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient method of determining gate-on and -off timing in respiration-gated radiotherapy. Gate-on and -off timing in a breathing cycle were defined as the respiratory signal level for the start of irradiation (Ls) in the expiration phase and that for the end of irradiation (Le) in the inspiration phase, respectively. Thirty subjects participated in this study.

Proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma patients with severe cirrhosis.

Background And Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with severe cirrhosis are usually treated with supportive care because of their poor prognosis. However, the survival of severe cirrhotic patients has recently improved due to advanced treatments. The aim of this study was to define the role of proton beam therapy for HCC patients with severe cirrhosis.

Sequential evaluation of hepatic functional reserve by 99mTechnetium-galactosyl human serum albumin scintigraphy after proton beam therapy: a report of three cases and a review of the literatures.

The treatment strategy for malignant liver tumors should be appropriately determined because post-treatment quality of life greatly depends on the patients' residual hepatic function. In this report, we present three patients with malignant liver tumors treated by proton beam therapy in whom pre- and post-therapeutic hepatic functional reserves were evaluated sequentially for more than a year by 99mTechnetium-galactosyl human serum albumin (99mTc-GSA) scintigraphy. All three patients exhibited the distinctive time course of 99mTc-GSA uptake efficiency, which suggested a transient decline in the ratio of liver activity to heart and liver activity at 15 minutes (LHL15) 3-6 months after proton beam therapy.

Proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with limited treatment options.

Background: The authors conducted a retrospective review to define the usefulness of proton beam therapy for patients who had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with limited treatment options.

Methods: Twenty-one patients with HCC for whom other treatment modalities either were contraindicative or were unfeasible because of coexisting diseases and unfavorable conditions received proton beam therapy. Four patients had renal failure, 2 patients had severe heart disease, 9 patients had severe cirrhosis, 1 patient had aplastic anemia, 1 patient had a dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysm before treatment, and 4 patients had bleeding tendency or unresectable tumors.

Proton beam therapy for invasive bladder cancer: a prospective study of bladder-preserving therapy with combined radiotherapy and intra-arterial chemotherapy.

Purpose: To present outcomes of bladder-preserving therapy with proton beam irradiation in patients with invasive bladder cancer.

Methods And Materials: Twenty-five patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder, cT2-3N0M0, underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor(s), followed by pelvic X-ray irradiation combined with intra-arterial chemotherapy with methotrexate and cisplatin. Upon completion of these treatments, patients were evaluated by transurethral resection biopsy.

Age-related degeneration of corpus callosum measured with diffusion tensor imaging.

The corpus callosum is the major commissure connecting the cerebral hemispheres, and there is evidence of its change with aging. The sub-regions of the corpus callosum (genu, rostral body, anterior midbody, posterior midbody, isthmus, splenium) respectively comprise fibers connecting heteromodal- and unimodal-associated cortical regions, and it is known that abnormalities of the corpus callosum are correlated with abnormalities in cognition and behavior. Yet, little is known about changes in the tissue characteristics of its sub-regions.

Repeated proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the safety and effectiveness of repeated proton beam therapy for newly developed or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods And Materials: From June 1989 through July 2000, 225 patients with HCC underwent their first course of proton beam therapy at the University of Tsukuba. Of them, 27 with 68 lesions who had undergone two or more courses were retrospectively reviewed in this study.

Early determination of uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma radioresponse identifies high- and low-response tumors.

Purpose: To investigate whether early-assessed radioresponse of tumors corresponds with late-assessed radioresponse, which is associated with local disease control in radiotherapy (RT) for cervical cancer.

Methods And Materials: This prospective study included 12 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma treated by RT with or without concurrent cisplatin. Tumor volume was estimated by scheduled magnetic resonance imaging before (preRT), 3 to 4 weeks after (early assessment), and 6 to 7 weeks after (late assessment) RT initiation.

Proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus.

Background: Treatment modalities for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) are limited and controversial; furthermore, the prognosis for these patients is extremely poor. The authors conducted a retrospective review to determine the role of proton beam therapy in the treatment of patients who had HCC with PVTT.

Methods: Twelve patients with HCC who had tumor thrombus in the main trunk or major branches of the portal vein (clinical T3-T4N0M0) were treated with proton beam therapy.

Functional network in the prefrontal cortex during episodic memory retrieval.

A recent consistent finding in neuroimaging studies of human memory is that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is activated during episodic memory retrieval. To date, however, there has been no direct evidence to explain how activity in the right and left PFC and in the anterior and posterior PFC are functionally interconnected. The goal of the present study was to obtain such evidence by event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the functional connectivity method.