Interstitial HDR brachytherapy for advanced recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Background: Surgical treatment remains the mainstay therapy for recurrence of head and neck cancer after previous radiotherapy. In inoperable cases, interstitial high-dose rate brachytherapy is a treatment option for local dose escalation.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients who were treated solely with brachytherapy for advanced non-resectable recurrences of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck and who previously received radiotherapy was performed.

Advantage of robotic needle placement on a prostate model in HDR brachytherapy.

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of the robot-assisted needle positioning with that of the conventional template-guided method with the help of a prostate model in high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy.

Materials And Methods: A prostate model of fresh porcine abdomen and special polyvinylchloride (PVC) sheets was developed. To verify the model, deviations from 311 needle placements of real prostate implants were analyzed.

Preoxygenated hyperventilated hypocapnic apnea-induced radiation (PHAIR) in breast cancer patients.

Introduction: The study was performed to quantify the benefit of preoxygenated hyperventilated hypocapnic apnea-induced radiation (PHAIR) for breath hold (BH) time in patients with breast cancer.

Methods And Materials: We compared in a single blind study 6 healthy volunteers and 10 breast cancer patients using PHAIR. Both groups were subdivided into two arms, each including 4min eupnea and hyperventilation with 20 breaths/min to 19-20mmHG FeCO2 before apnea without (hBH) and with 100% oxygen (ohBH).

Atlas-based semiautomatic target volume definition (CTV) for head-and-neck tumors.

Purpose: To develop a new semiautomatic method to improve target delineation in head-and-neck cancer.

Methods And Materials: We implemented an atlas-based software program using fourteen anatomic landmarks as well as the most superior and inferior computerd tomography slices for automatic target delineation, using an advanced laryngeal carcinoma as an example. Registration was made by an affine transformation.

Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy of glomus jugulare tumors. Local control, toxicity, symptomatology, and quality of life.

Background And Purpose: For glomus jugulare tumors, the goal of treatment is microsurgical excision. To minimize postoperative neurologic deficits, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) was performed as an alternative treatment option. Stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy (SRT) could be a further alternative.