Phase 1/2 trial of single-session stereotactic body radiotherapy for previously unirradiated spinal metastases.

Background: In this phase 1/2 study, the authors tested the hypothesis that single-fraction stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for previously unirradiated spinal metastases is a safe, feasible, and efficacious treatment approach.

Methods: All patients were evaluated by a multidisciplinary team. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging studies were obtained before treatment and at regular intervals to define both target volume and response to treatment.

Effects of variable placement of superior tangential/supraclavicular match line on dosimetric coverage of level III axilla/axillary apex in patients treated with breast and supraclavicular radiotherapy.

Purpose: To determine the differences in dosimetric coverage of the Level III axillary node target as a function of the superior tangential/supraclavicular match line in breast cancer patients undergoing with tangential breast and supraclavicular fossa radiotherapy.

Methods And Materials: The data from 20 consecutive breast cancer patients who were treated with breast conservation surgery and Level I and II axillary dissection followed by radiotherapy to the undissected Level III axilla/supraclavicular fossa were retrospectively analyzed. The nodal volumes were delineated from the computed tomography simulation data set.

Field-in-field technique with intrafractionally modulated junction shifts for craniospinal irradiation.

Purpose: To plan craniospinal irradiation with "field-in-field" (FIF) homogenization in combination with daily, intrafractional modulation of the field junctions, to minimize the possibility of spinal cord overdose.

Methods And Materials: Lateral cranial fields and posterior spinal fields were planned using a forward-planned, step-and-shoot FIF technique. Field junctions were automatically modulated and custom-weighted for maximal homogeneity within each treatment fraction.

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and conventional three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for high-grade gliomas: does IMRT increase the integral dose to normal brain?

Purpose: To determine whether intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment increases the total integral dose of nontarget tissue relative to the conventional three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) technique for high-grade gliomas.

Methods And Materials: Twenty patients treated with 3D-CRT for glioblastoma multiforme were selected for a comparative dosimetric evaluation with IMRT. Original target volumes, organs at risk (OAR), and dose-volume constraints were used for replanning with IMRT.