Hypofractionated conformal HDR brachytherapy in hormone naïve men with localized prostate cancer. Is escalation to very high biologically equivalent dose beneficial in all prognostic risk groups?

Purpose: To analyze the long-term effect of local dose escalation using conformal hypofractionated high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) boost and pelvic external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in hormone-naïve men with localized prostate cancer.

Patients And Methods: A total of 579 men were consecutively treated with pelvic EBRT and dose escalating HDR-BT since 1986 in two prospective trials: 378 patients at William Beaumont Hospital (1991-2002), and 201 patients at Kiel University (1986-1999). BT optimization was done modulating both, the dwell times and spatial source positions.

Accelerated partial breast irradiation: a dosimetric comparison of three different techniques.

Purpose: We report the first single-institutional dosimetric comparison of patients treated with three forms of accelerated partial breast irradiation: interstitial HDR brachytherapy, the MammoSite balloon apparatus, and 3D conformal external beam quadrant irradiation (3D-CRT).

Methods: A retrospective dosimetric comparison of interstitial HDR brachytherapy, MammoSite balloon brachytherapy, and 3D-CRT was performed. Thirty patients including 10 from each treatment technique were included for a dosimetric comparison of the dose received by the ipsilateral breast, PTV, heart, and ipsilateral lung.

Partial breast irradiation in breast conserving therapy by way of intersitial brachytherapy.

Objective: To examine early and late toxicities, evaluate cosmetic results, and determine the need for reoperation or additional diagnostic procedures in patients treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) delivered by way of an interstitial implant in breast-conserving therapy.

Methods: A total of 199 patients with stage I or II breast cancer were managed with lumpectomy followed by radiation restricted to the tumor bed using an interstitial implant (APBI). Retrospective analyses were performed for early and late toxicities (infection, fat necrosis, breast pain, edema, erythema, fibrosis, pigmentation changes, and telangiectasias), need for reoperation or additional diagnostic procedures, cosmetic results, and local control.

Long-term outcome by risk factors using conformal high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) boost with or without neoadjuvant androgen suppression for localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze, during the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) era, the long-term outcome of patients treated with conformal high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy boost to the prostate with or without androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) when patients are stratified by risk factors for failure.

Methods And Materials: Between 1986 and 2000, 611 patients were treated for clinically localized prostate cancer in three prospective trials of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and dose-escalating HDR brachytherapy (BT) boost. There were 104 patients treated at Seattle, 198 at Kiel University, and 309 at William Beaumont Hospital.

Workshop on partial breast irradiation: state of the art and the science, Bethesda, MD, December 8-10, 2002.

Breast conserving surgery followed by radiation therapy has been accepted as an alternative to mastectomy in the management of patients with early-stage breast cancer. Over the past decade there has been increasing interest in a variety of radiation techniques designed to treat only the portion of the breast deemed to be at high risk for local recurrence (partial-breast irradiation [PBI]) and to shorten the duration of treatment (accelerated partial-breast irradiation [APBI]). To consider issues regarding the equivalency of the various radiation therapy approaches and to address future needs for research, quality assurance, and training, the National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, Radiation Research Program, hosted a Workshop on PBI in December 2002.

Ongoing clinical experience utilizing 3D conformal external beam radiotherapy to deliver partial-breast irradiation in patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving therapy.

Purpose: We present our ongoing clinical experience utilizing 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) to deliver partial-breast irradiation (PBI) in patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving therapy.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one patients referred for postoperative radiation therapy after lumpectomy were treated with PBI using our previously reported 3D-CRT technique. Ninety-four percent of patients had surgical clips outlining the lumpectomy cavity (mean: 6 clips).

High dose rate brachytherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer.

The optimal treatment of patients with localized prostate cancer remains controversial. Significant clinical data are available, however, demonstrating that patients treated with radiation therapy (RT) have a significantly better outcome as the dose to the gland is increased. What remains debatable, however, is how to best deliver these higher doses of RT without significantly increasing normal tissue toxicities.

The role of high-dose rate brachytherapy in locally advanced prostate cancer.

Although the optimal management of patients with locally advanced prostate cancer remains undefined, sufficient clinical data have emerged showing that patients treated with radiation therapy (RT) have a significantly better outcome as the dose to the gland is escalated. What remains unresolved, however, is how to best deliver these higher tumoricidal doses of RT. Conformal high-dose rate brachytherapy (C-HDR BT) is an alternative means of precise dose escalation that offers similar tumoricidal effects as 3-dimensional (3D) conformal external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with potential additional advantages.

Dose escalation using conformal high-dose-rate brachytherapy improves outcome in unfavorable prostate cancer.

Purpose: To overcome radioresistance for patients with unfavorable prostate cancer, a prospective trial of pelvic external beam irradiation (EBRT) interdigitated with dose-escalating conformal high-dose-rate (HDR) prostate brachytherapy was performed.

Methods And Materials: Between November 1991 and August 2000, 207 patients were treated with 46 Gy pelvic EBRT and increasing HDR brachytherapy boost doses (5.50-11.

An Internet-ready database for prospective randomized clinical trials of high-dose-rate brachytherapy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

Purpose: To demonstrate a new interactive Internet-ready database for prospective clinical trials in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: An Internet-ready database was created that allows common data acquisition and statistical analysis. Patient anonymity and confidentiality are preserved.

Dosimetric characteristics of the MammoSite RTS, a new breast brachytherapy applicator.

Purpose: A new device has been developed with the goal of making breast-conserving therapy more widely available, by making breast brachytherapy as monotherapy simpler and more accurate. This is the first published report on the dosimetric characteristics of this device.

Materials And Methods: The experience of a single institution participating in a multi-institutional trial is reported.

The emerging role of brachytherapy in the management of patients with breast cancer.

Brachytherapy remains an important treatment option in the overall management of patients with breast cancer. In patients treated with breast conserving therapy (BCT), prospective randomized trials have established the advantage of a boost in most patients. Interstitial brachytherapy has consistently been shown to provide an important option to boost patients, and in certain clinical settings it may provide a more appropriate means of dose delivery.

Direct evidence that prostate tumors show high sensitivity to fractionation (low alpha/beta ratio), similar to late-responding normal tissue.

Purpose: A direct approach to the question of whether prostate tumors have an atypically high sensitivity to fractionation (low alpha/beta ratio), more typical of the surrounding late-responding normal tissue.

Methods And Materials: Earlier estimates of alpha/beta for prostate cancer have relied on comparing results from external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy, an approach with significant pitfalls due to the many differences between the treatments. To circumvent this, we analyze recent data from a single EBRT + high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy protocol, in which the brachytherapy was given in either 2 or 3 implants, and at various doses.

Intraoperative planning and evaluation of permanent prostate brachytherapy: report of the American Brachytherapy Society.

Purpose: The preplanned technique used for permanent prostate brachytherapy has limitations that may be overcome by intraoperative planning. The goal of the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) project was to assess the current intraoperative planning process and explore the potential for improvement in intraoperative treatment planning (ITP).

Methods And Materials: Members of the ABS with expertise in ITP performed a literature review, reviewed their clinical experience with ITP, and explored the potential for improving the technique.

The use of high-dose-rate brachytherapy alone after lumpectomy in patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving therapy.

Purpose: We present the preliminary results of our in-house protocol using outpatient high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy as the sole radiation modality following lumpectomy in patients with early-stage breast cancer.

Methods And Materials: Thirty-seven patients with 38 Stage I-II breast cancers received radiation to the lumpectomy cavity alone using an HDR interstitial implant with (192)Ir. A minimum dose of 32 Gy was delivered on an outpatient basis in 8 fractions of 4 Gy to the lumpectomy cavity plus a 1- to 2-cm margin over consecutive 4 days.

Accelerated treatment of breast cancer.

Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) restricted to the tumor bed, by means of an interstitial implant, and lasting 4 to 5 days after lumpectomy was prospectively evaluated in early-stage breast cancer patients treated with breast-conserving therapy (BCT). The goals of the study were to determine whether treatment time can be reduced and whether elective treatment of the entire breast is necessary.

Materials And Methods: Between January 1993 and January 2000, 174 cases of early-stage breast cancer were managed with lumpectomy followed by RT restricted to the tumor bed using an interstitial implant.

Phase II prospective study of the use of conformal high-dose-rate brachytherapy as monotherapy for the treatment of favorable stage prostate cancer: a feasibility report.

Purpose: To evaluate the technical feasibility and tolerance of image-guided transperineal conformal high-dose-rate (C-HDR) brachytherapy as the sole treatment modality for favorable, localized cancer of the prostate, and to analyze possible intrafraction and interfraction volume changes in the prostate gland which may affect dosimetric quality.

Methods And Materials: Patients were eligible for this prospective Phase II trial if they had biopsy proven adenocarcinoma of the prostate with favorable prognostic factors (Gleason score < or =7, PSA < or =10 ng/ml and Stage < or =T2a). The technique consisted of a transperineal implant procedure using a template with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guidance.

Matched-pair analysis of conformal high-dose-rate brachytherapy boost versus external-beam radiation therapy alone for locally advanced prostate cancer.

Purpose: We performed a matched-pair analysis to compare our institution's experience in treating locally advanced prostate cancer with external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) alone to EBRT in combination with conformal interstitial high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy boosts (EBRT + HDR).

Materials And Methods: From 1991 to 1998, 161 patients with locally advanced prostate cancer were prospectively treated with EBRT + HDR at William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan. Patients with any of the following characteristics were eligible for study entry: pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of >/= 10.

Interim report of image-guided conformal high-dose-rate brachytherapy for patients with unfavorable prostate cancer: the William Beaumont phase II dose-escalating trial.

Purpose: We analyzed our institution's experience treating patients with unfavorable prostate cancer in a prospective Phase II dose-escalating trial of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) integrated with conformal high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy boosts. This interim report discusses treatment outcome and prognostic factors using this treatment approach.

Methods And Materials: From November 1991 through February 1998, 142 patients with unfavorable prostate cancer were prospectively treated in a dose-escalating trial with pelvic EBRT in combination with outpatient HDR brachytherapy at William Beaumont Hospital.

Improving the dosimetric coverage of interstitial high-dose-rate breast implants.

Purpose/objective: We performed a retrospective computed tomography (CT)-based three-dimensional (3D) dose-volume analysis of high-dose-rate (HDR) interstitial breast implants to evaluate the adequacy of lumpectomy cavity coverage, and then designed a simple, reproducible algorithm for dwell-time adjustment to correct for underdosage of the lumpectomy cavity.

Methods And Materials: Since March 1993, brachytherapy has been used as the sole radiation modality after lumpectomy in selected protocol patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving therapy. In this protocol, all patients received 32 Gy in 8 fractions of 4 Gy over 4 days.

Dose-volume analysis for quality assurance of interstitial brachytherapy for breast cancer.

Purpose/objective: The use of brachytherapy in the management of breast cancer has increased significantly over the past several years. Unfortunately, few techniques have been developed to compare dosimetric quality and target volume coverage concurrently. We present a new method of implant evaluation that incorporates computed tomography-based three-dimensional (3D) dose-volume analysis with traditional measures of brachytherapy quality.

A comprehensive review of prostate cancer brachytherapy: defining an optimal technique.

Purpose: A comprehensive review of prostate cancer brachytherapy literature was performed to determine if an optimal method of implantation could be identified, and to compare and contrast techniques currently in use.

Methods And Materials: A MEDLINE search was conducted to obtain all articles in the English language on prostate cancer brachytherapy from 1985 through 1998. Articles were reviewed and grouped to determine the primary technique of implantation, the method or philosophy of source placement and/or dose specification, the technique to evaluate implant quality, overall treatment results (based upon pretreatment prostate specific antigen, (PSA), and biochemical control) and clinical, pathological or biochemical outcome based upon implant quality.

Iridium-192 transperineal interstitial brachytherapy for locally advanced or recurrent gynecological malignancies.

Purpose: To assess treatment outcome for patients with locally advanced or recurrent gynecological malignancies treated with continuous low-dose-rate (LDR) remote afterloading brachytherapy using the Martinez Universal Perineal Interstitial Template (MUPIT).

Materials And Methods: Between 7/85 and 6/94, 69 patients with either locally advanced or recurrent malignancies of the cervix, endometrium, vagina, or female urethra were treated by 5 different physicians using the MUPIT with (24 patients) or without (45 patients) interstitial hyperthermia. Fifty-four patients had no prior treatment with radiation and received a combination of external beam irradiation (EBRT) and an interstitial implant.

Use of three-dimensional radiation therapy planning tools and intraoperative ultrasound to evaluate high dose rate prostate brachytherapy implants.

Purpose: We performed a pilot study to evaluate the quality of high dose rate (HDR) prostate implants using a new technique combining intraoperative real-time ultrasound images with a commercially available 3-dimensional radiation therapy planning (3D RTP) system.

Methods And Materials: Twenty HDR prostate implants performed by four different physicians on a phase I/II protocol were evaluated retrospectively. Radiation therapy (RT) consisted of pelvic external beam RT (EBRT) to a dose of 46 Gy in 2-Gy fractions over 5 weeks and 2 HDR implants (prescribed dose of 950 cGy per implant).