Suggestion for a new grading scale for radiation induced pneumonitis based on radiological findings of computerized tomography: correlation with clinical and radiotherapeutic parameters in lung cancer patients.

Background: The objective of this research is the computed axial tomography (CT) imaging grading of radiation induced pneumonitis (RP) and its correlation with clinical and radiotherapeutic parameters.

Materials And Methods: The chest CT films of 20 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have undergone three- dimensional conformal radiation therapy were reviewed. The proposed CT grading of RP is supported on solely radiological diagnosis criteria and distinguishes five grades.

Sonographic assessment of acute changes in plaque size and echogenicity and in intima-media thickness of carotid arteries after neck radiation therapy.

Background: Ultrasonic assessment of acute changes in carotid artery walls before and after neck radiation therapy (RT).

Methods: Fifty cancer patients scheduled for curative neck irradiation were included and underwent sonographic examination of carotid arteries, with assessment of intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque size and echogenicity before and immediately after completion of RT.

Results: IMT was linearly correlated with age and before RT (r = 0.

Male breast carcinoma: epidemiology, risk factors and current therapeutic approaches.

Male breast cancer is a very rare disease with an incidence of about 0.5-1% comparing with the one of female breast cancer but relatively little is known about its cause. Treatment strategies for breast cancer in males are derived from studies performed among females.

Sensorineural hearing loss after radiotherapy for head and neck tumors: a prospective study of the effect of radiation.

Introduction: In the treatment of head and neck cancers, the cochlea may be damaged if it is within the radiotherapy (RT) area; however, the severity and mechanism of such damage have yet to be clearly defined. The purpose of this study was to analyze the rates of early- and late-stage sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in patients receiving RT due to head and neck cancer and to investigate the reliability of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) measurements and audiometric evaluation.

Study Design: Prospective.