To clip or not to clip the breast tumor bed? A retrospective look at the geographic miss index and normal tissue index of 110 patients with breast cancer.

Objective: Planning of breast radiation for patients with breast conserving surgery often relies on clinical markers such as scars. Lately, surgical clips have been used to identify the tumor location. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the geographic miss index (GMI) and the normal tissue index (NTI) for the electron boost in breast cancer treatment plans with and without surgical clips.

Evaluation of Sentinel Lymph Node Dose Distribution in 3D Conformal Radiotherapy Techniques in 67 pN0 Breast Cancer Patients.

Introduction. The anatomic position of the sentinel lymph node is variable. The purpose of the following study was to assess the dose distribution delivered to the surgically marked sentinel lymph node site by 3D conformal radio therapy technique.

Linearity of the dose monitor system at low monitor units.

Background And Purpose: The accuracy of the dose monitor system of a medical electron accelerator is of crucial importance for the precise delivery of the prescribed dose. Special attention is given to the case of low monitor units (MU). The long-term stability of the dose monitor system is analyzed.

Gastrointestinal cancer web sites: how do they address patients' concerns?

Background: We studied the quality of web sites containing information on gastrointestinal cancer, focusing on the way these web sites dealt with the special concerns of these patients.

Materials And Methods: Searching the Internet for German-language gastroenterological cancer web sites, we collected 9,947 web pages from 14 search engines. Evaluation was done with a 36-item questionnaire.

Spectrophotometric skin measurements correlate with EORTC/RTOG-common toxicity criteria.

Purpose: It was investigated whether the elementary EORTC/RTOG-CTC score (Common Toxicity Criteria) for radiotherapy skin reactions correlates with spectrophotometric measurements of the skin color. PATIENTS, MATERIAL, AND METHODS: In 41 patients irradiated for unilateral breast cancer the regular scoring by CTC was done during radiotherapy. In parallel, a total of 4,920 spectrophotometric measurements to determine the skin color were performed at baseline, at the beginning of radiotherapy, and at 20, 40 and 60 Gy.

[Analysis of the actual number of physicians in radiotherapy units in Germany].

Background: Physician workload directly influences the ability of an institution to provide high standards in radiotherapy services.

Material And Methods: Data of 189 radiotherapy units of the DEGRO survey 2000 complemented and corrected (Table 1) are analyzed with simple and multiple linear regression (models in Table 2).

Results: In 21 private radiotherapy facilities actual numbers of physicians split up in 0.

Vitiligo at the sites of irradiation in a patient with Hodgkin's disease.

Background: Vitiligo is one of the most common skin disorders. However, the etiology of vitiligo is still unknown. Current hypotheses discuss autoimmune, autotoxic and neuronal mechanisms.