Factors predicting an increased dose to the penile bulb in permanent seed prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: Erectile dysfunction following permanent seed brachytherapy for prostate cancer may be related to the dose to the penile bulb. We investigated anatomic and dosimetric factors that might contribute to an increased dose to the penile bulb.

Methods And Materials: One-month CT and MR images were examined for 50 consecutive patients treated with exclusive (125)I permanent seed prostate brachytherapy to a prescribed dose of 145 Gy.

The potential role of breast conservation surgery and adjuvant breast radiation for adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast.

Purpose: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is a rare breast cancer variant and optimal management is unclear. A review of this unusual tumour was performed at our Institution, to assess the role of breast conservation in the management of this disease.

Methods And Materials: A review of all cases of ACC of breast (1960-2000) treated at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) was undertaken.

Smoking cessation in patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer.

Objective: To determine patients' smoking status after the diagnosis and treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and to identify factors associated with smoking cessation.

Design: Cross-sectional survey study conducted over a 2-year period.

Setting: Head and neck surgery clinic of an academic tertiary care hospital.

Induction of the mar operon by miscellaneous groceries.

Aim: To investigate the potential of non-antibacterial consumer products to act as inducers of the multiple antibiotic resistance (mar) operon of Escherichia coli SPC105.

Methods And Results: Wells were cut into chemically defined agar medium (CDM) contained within Petri dishes. Molten agar slurries were prepared by mixing known quantities of 35 consumer products with molten CDM and these were pipetted into each well.

MRI-CT fusion to assess postbrachytherapy prostate volume and the effects of prolonged edema on dosimetry following transperineal interstitial permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: Quality assurance through postplan assessment is an integral part of permanent seed prostate implants. The use of MRI-CT fusion for 1-month postimplant dosimetry permits accurate assessment of prostate volume without seed induced artifact and uncertainties of prostate contour inherent to CT assessments. Routine use of MRI-CT fusion reveals significant prostate edema may persist several weeks.

Design and fabrication of annular arrays for high-frequency ultrasound.

The design, fabrication, and performance of miniature high-frequency annular arrays are described. A 50-MHz, 2-mm-diameter, 7-element, equal-area annular array was fabricated and tested. The array elements were defined using photolithography and the electrical contacts were made using ultrasonic wire bonding.

Report of a multicenter Canadian phase III randomized trial of 3 months vs. 8 months neoadjuvant androgen deprivation before standard-dose radiotherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of 3 months vs. 8 months of neoadjuvant hormonal therapy before conventional dose radiotherapy (RT) on disease-free survival using prostate-specific antigen PSA and biopsies as end points for clinically localized prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: Between February 1995 and June 2001, 378 men were randomized to either 3 or 8 months of flutamide and goserelin before conventional-dose RT (66 Gy) at four participating centers.

The diagnostic value of inhibin in infertility evaluation.

The fertility patient is entitled to a rapid and accurate diagnosis, a realistic assessment of the prospects for achieving pregnancy, and the timely initiation of an appropriate and effective therapy. The evaluation of ovarian reserve prior to initiation of ovarian stimulation is an important aspect of the infertility work-up of a woman requiring assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs). The ability of the ovary to respond to gonadotropin stimulation by the recruitment of a cohort of follicles is central to the success of treatment such as in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Production of two volatile glucosinolate hydrolysis compounds in Nasturtium montanum and Cleome chelidonii plant cell cultures.

Callus and suspension cultures established from Nasturtium montanum and Cleome chelidonii were shown to produce glucosinolates by analysis of their hydrolysis products. Large increases in two glucosinolate hydrolysis products were noted when cultures were supplemented with L-cysteine and L-methionine, and further increases were produced in N. montanum with l-tryptophan supplementation.

Chemical shift MR imaging of hyperattenuating (>10 HU) adrenal masses: does it still have a role?

Purpose: To evaluate chemical shift magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for the characterization of hyperattenuating adrenal masses.

Materials And Methods: Adrenal MR images obtained from January 1998 to February 2003 were reviewed. Patients were excluded if they did not undergo unenhanced computed tomography or did not have an adrenal mass with attenuation higher than 10 HU, adequate follow-up, or pathologic diagnosis for use as a reference standard.

Manually respiratory-triggered single-shot fast spin-echo: a non-breath-hold T2-weighted method for liver lesion detection.

Objectives: To determine whether manual respiratory triggering of a T2-weighted single-shot fast spin-echo sequence (M-SSFSE) improves detection and characterization of liver lesions compared with conventional breath-held single-shot fast spin-echo (C-SSFSE) technique.

Methods: M-SSFSE is performed by manually triggering a series of single-slice acquisitions through the liver at end of expiration. There were 171 hepatic lesions in 49 patients.

Unit-delay focusing architecture and integrated-circuit implementation for high-frequency ultrasound.

High-frequency ultrasound (above 10 MHz) has been used successfully in many medical applications, including eye, skin, gastrointestinal, intravascular, and Doppler flow imaging. Most of these applications use single-element transducers, thereby imposing a tradeoff between resolution and depth of field. Fabrication difficulties and the need for high-speed electronic beamformers have prevented widespread use of arrays at high frequencies.

Management of recurrent locoregional breast cancer: oncologist survey.

Locoregional recurrence (LRR) after therapy for early breast cancer is common. A questionnaire was used to assess consensus between breast oncologists about the definition, prognosis and management of patients with LRR. The questionnaire was mailed to surgical, radiation and medical oncologists in Canada, the UK and the USA.

Phase I clinical study of infusional 5-fluorouracil with oxaliplatin and gemcitabine (FOG regimen) in patients with solid tumors.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose, recommended phase II dose (RPTD) and toxicities of the FOG regimen (infusional 5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, gemcitabine).

Patients And Methods: Patients with advanced solid tumors were treated in an accelerated titration scheme. 5-Fluorouracil was administered intravenously at 200 mg/m(2)/day for 14 days and repeated every 21 days (one cycle).

Administration of oxaliplatin to patients with renal dysfunction: a preliminary report of the national cancer institute organ dysfunction working group.

Oxaliplatin is an approved agent with clinical activity in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. Preliminary pharmacokinetic evidence suggests that oxaliplatin is predominantly cleared by renal excretion; however, formal dosing guidelines in patients with renal impairment are lacking. The National Cancer Institute Organ Dysfunction Working Group initiated the following dose-escalation pharmacokinetic trial of oxaliplatin in patients with varying degrees of renal function.

Phase II trial of pegylated-liposomal doxorubicin in the treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelial tract.

34 patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who had not received prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease were treated with pegylated-liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) 50 mg/m(2) by a 1-h intravenous infusion (i.v.) every 4 weeks in a multi-institutional phase II trial.

Dose-escalating and pharmacological study of oxaliplatin in adult cancer patients with impaired renal function: a National Cancer Institute Organ Dysfunction Working Group Study.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to determine the toxicities, pharmacokinetics, and maximum tolerated doses of oxaliplatin in patients with renal impairment and to develop formal guidelines for oxaliplatin dosing in this patient population.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-seven adult cancer patients with variable renal function received intravenous oxaliplatin at 60 to 130 mg/m2 every 3 weeks. Patients were stratified by 24-hour creatinine clearance (CrCL) into four cohorts: group A (controls, CrCL > or =60 mL/min), group B (mild dysfunction, CrCL 40 to 59 mL/min), group C (moderate dysfunction, CrCL 20 to 39 mL/min), and group D (severe dysfunction, CrCL <20 mL/min).

Predicting the behaviour of G-RAM networks.

A Generalising Random Access Memory (G-RAM) neuron is distinguished from conventional neuron models by the fact that its tolerance to departures in similarity from its training pattern is variable. Details of this are given in this paper as it affects the behaviour a class of digital probabilistic neural networks which have been achieving attention in the neural networks literature for some years now. Such systems are also called n-tuple systems, weightless systems or p-RAM systems.

Patient education and informed consent in head and neck surgery.

Objective: To examine the effects of an educational intervention, in the form of printed material, on patient knowledge and recall of possible risks from parotidectomy or thyroidectomy.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled study conducted during a 9-month period.

Setting: Head and neck surgery clinic of an academic tertiary care hospital.

Expansion of air bubbles in aqueous solutions of nitrous oxide or xenon.

Background: Anaesthesia using xenon may be contraindicated in some situations because of its diffusion into intravascular bubbles. The expansion of air bubbles in water equilibrated with either nitrous oxide or xenon was studied.

Methods: Equilibrated water was transferred to a stirred vial, closed except for a long, narrow-bore tube.

Multi-detector row helical CT in preoperative assessment of small (< or = 1.5 cm) liver metastases: is thinner collimation better?

Purpose: To determine the value of collimations less than 5 mm in detecting hepatic metastases 1.5 cm or smaller by using multi-detector row helical computed tomography (CT).

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one patients underwent contrast material-enhanced multi-detector row helical CT before hepatic resection in this prospective study.

A Phase III placebo-controlled trial of oral pilocarpine in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head-and-neck cancer.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that the use of oral pilocarpine during and after radiotherapy (RT) for head-and-neck cancer would reduce the symptoms of post-RT xerostomia.

Methods And Materials: One hundred thirty patients were randomized in a double-blind method to receive either pilocarpine (5-mg tablets) or placebo three times daily starting on Day 1 of RT and continuing for 1 month after treatment. The eligibility criteria included a planned dose of >50 Gy as radical or postoperative RT for head-and-neck cancer, with at least 50% of both parotid glands included in the treatment fields.