"High-risk" tumors of the lip treated with external beam radiotherapy and high-dose-rate brachytherapy: Long-term outcome.

Background: Radiotherapy is a well-established treatment for lip cancer, with external radiotherapy (EBRT) or brachytherapy (BT).

Methods: This study evaluated outcome, tumor control, and aesthetics, for 101 patients with carcinoma of the lip, not suitable for surgery, treated with combined EBRT and BT.

Results: Squamous cell carcinoma was seen in 78 patients, basal cell carcinoma in 15, and other histologies in 8 patients.

High levels of health-related quality of life five years after curative treatment of prostate cancer with HDR-brachytherapy and external beam radiation.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in men with prostate cancer treated 2002-2008 with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) combined with high dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRBT), Cohort A, and to compare these data with age-adjusted normative data. In addition, differences in HRQoL following adjustments of the brachytherapy technique in 2001 were investigated by comparing Cohort A with men treated at the same clinic from 1998-2000, Cohort B.

Methods And Material: Cohort A: 1495 men treated with EBRT 2 Gy to 50 Gy and 2 fractions of 10 Gy HDRBT at a single centre, 2002-2008, still alive at five years.

Experience of using MOSFET detectors for dose verification measurements in an end-to-end Ir brachytherapy quality assurance system.

Purpose: Establishment of an end-to-end system for the brachytherapy (BT) dosimetric chain could be valuable in clinical quality assurance. Here, the development of such a system using MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) detectors and experience gained during 2 years of use are reported with focus on the performance of the MOSFET detectors.

Methods And Materials: A bolus phantom was constructed with two implants, mimicking prostate and head & neck treatments, using steel needles and plastic catheters to guide the Ir source and house the MOSFET detectors.

Dosimetric and Radiobiological Evaluation of Hybrid Inverse Planning and Optimization for Cervical Cancer Brachytherapy.

Aim: To compare manual graphical optimization (GrO) with hybrid inverse planning optimization (HIPO) of cervical cancer brachytherapy treatment plans using physical and radiobiological tools.

Patients And Methods: Ten patients suffering from cervical cancer, treated with pulsed brachytherapy using GrO plans, were included in the study. For each patient, four different HIPO class solutions with different dose objectives to the target and constraints to the organs at risk (OAR) produced four optimized plans, that were each compared to the corresponding GrO plan.

Dose specification for ¹⁹²Ir high dose rate brachytherapy in terms of dose-to-water-in-medium and dose-to-medium-in-medium.

Dose calculation in high dose rate brachytherapy with (192)Ir is usually based on the TG-43U1 protocol where all media are considered to be water. Several dose calculation algorithms have been developed that are capable of handling heterogeneities with two possibilities to report dose: dose-to-medium-in-medium (Dm,m) and dose-to-water-in-medium (Dw,m). The relation between Dm,m and Dw,m for (192)Ir is the main goal of this study, in particular the dependence of Dw,m on the dose calculation approach using either large cavity theory (LCT) or small cavity theory (SCT).

Monte Carlo dosimetry of the eye plaque design used at the St. Erik Eye Hospital for (125)I brachytherapy.

Purpose: At St. Erik Eye Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, ocular tumors of apical height above 6 mm are treated with brachytherapy, using iodine-125 seeds attached to a gold alloy plaque while the treatment planning is performed assuming homogeneous water surroundings. The aim of this work was to investigate the dose-modifying effects of the plaque and the seed fixating silicone rubber glue.

Experience from long-term monitoring of RAKR ratios in (192)Ir brachytherapy.

Background: Ratios of values of brachytherapy source strengths, as measured by hospitals and vendors, comprise constant differences as, e.g., systematic errors in ion chamber calibration factors and measurement setup.

Is the use of a surrogate urethra an option in prostate high-dose-rate brachytherapy?

Purpose: To investigate the accuracy and the dosimetric consequences of substituting a surrogate urethra assumed to be at the geometric center of the prostate, in place of the true urethra when using high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: One hundred prostate cancer patients treated with HDR brachytherapy constituted the study group. A pre-plan was made with the urethra visualized.

Clinical outcome in patients with prostate cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy and high dose-rate iridium 192 brachytherapy boost: a 6-year follow-up.

To report the long-term results for treatment of localized carcinoma of the prostate using high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, conformal external beam radiotherapy (3D EBRT) and neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy (TAB). From 1998 through 1999, 154 patients with localized prostate cancer were entered in the trial. Biologically no evidence of disease (bNED) was defined at PSA levels < 2 microg/l.

Prostate displacement kit: reducing the radiation dose to the rectum.

During high dose-rate brachytherapy boost in 20 patients the use of a prostate-water-rectal-displacement-kit contributed to an increase in the distance between the prostate and the rectum, however, the prostate was not totally immobilized by the needles, implying the necessity for an very careful on-line dose-planning dosimetry.

Prostate volume determination: differential volume measurements comparing CT and TRUS.

Purpose: To compare the differences in prostate volume assessed by computerized tomography (CT), step-section transrectal ultrasound (TRUS-step), and TRUS with ellipsoid-formula volume calculation (TRUS-ellipsoid).

Methods And Materials: Thirty-one patients with localized prostate cancer treated with combined external conformal radiotherapy and high dose rate brachytherapy, who had prostate volumes evaluated using CT, TRUS-step and TRUS-ellipsoid according to our clinical routine for dose planning. The measurements were collected retrospectively based on actual dose-plans.