Utility of a skin marker-less setup procedure using surface-guided imaging: a comparison with the traditional laser-based setup in extremity irradiation.

This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a skin marker-less patient setup using a surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT) system for extremity radiotherapy. Twenty-five patients who underwent radiotherapy to the extremities were included in this retrospective study. The first group consisted of 10 patients and underwent a traditional setup procedure using skin marks and lasers.

Preliminary results of a new workflow for MRI/CT-based image-guided brachytherapy in cervical carcinoma.

Purpose: We propose a method of image-guided brachytherapy (IGBT) that combines MRI-based target volume delineation for the first fraction with CT datasets of subsequent fractions, using an automatic, applicator-based co-registration, and report our preliminary experience.

Materials And Methods: The MRI of the first fraction was used for the first brachytherapy planning. For each subsequent brachytherapy fraction, after the same applicator insertion, a new CT scan with the applicator in place was obtained.

Initial experience of radiotherapy plus cetuximab for Japanese head and neck cancer patients.

In Japan, cetuximab with concurrent bioradiotherapy (BRT) for squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) was approved in December 2012. We herein report our initial experience of BRT, with special emphasis on acute toxicities of this combination therapy. Thirty-one non-metastatic SCCHN patients who underwent BRT using cetuximab between July 2013 and June 2014 were retrospectively evaluated.

New approach to relieving pain and distress during high-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation for cervical cancer.

Background And Purpose: To relieve the pain and distress experienced by women who undergo high-dose-rate intracavitary radiotherapy (HDR-ICRT) for cervical cancer and to improve the current status of gynecologic brachytherapy in Japan, a new intravenous anesthetic protocol involving the administration of a combination of propofol and ketamine was developed. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of this new anesthetic protocol during HDR-ICRT for cervical cancer.

Methods And Materials: All the patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer between December 2008 and February 2011, treated with three-channel brachytherapy and subjected to the new sedation protocol, were evaluated.

Delayed renal dysfunction after total body irradiation in pediatric malignancies.

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the incidence of delayed renal dysfunction after total body irradiation (TBI) in long-term survivors of TBI/hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Between 1989 and 2006, 24 pediatric patients underwent TBI as part of the conditioning regimen for HSCT at Chiba University Hospital. Nine patients who survived for more than 5 years were enrolled in this study.