Survival benefit for early hormone ablation in biochemically recurrent prostate cancer.

Purpose: To determine whether early initiation of androgen ablation in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer, but without clinically evident metastases, is associated with improved overall or disease-specific survival. To describe subgroups, based on PSA kinetics, which are most likely to benefit from early androgen ablation.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort of 124 patients, who were definitively treated by external beam radiotherapy between 1988 and 1999, and subsequently received androgen ablation for biochemical (92 patients) or clinically metastatic (32 patients) failure, was reviewed.

Comparison of adjuvant versus salvage radiotherapy policies for postprostatectomy radiotherapy.

Purpose: We compared the long-term results of postprostatectomy radiotherapy (RT) from two institutions, one adapting a prospective policy of adjuvant RT and the other salvage RT.

Methods And Materials: Between 1989 and 1997, 69 patients were referred for adjuvant RT to the institution using adjuvant RT and 88 patients with evidence of recurrence were treated in the institution using salvage RT. The salvage group underwent RT after longer postoperative intervals (median, 40.

A retrospective quality of life analysis using the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale in patients treated with palliative radiotherapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To measure symptom palliation in patients treated with radiation therapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods And Materials: Five hundred thirty patients with NSCLC were treated at the Medical College of Virginia between 1988 and 1993. Sixty-three patients with the least favorable prognostic features received palliative radiation to 30 Gy in 10 or 12 fractions for symptoms related to the presence of intrathoracic tumor.

Tissue compensation using dynamic collimation on a linear accelerator.

Purpose: The availability of computer-controlled collimators on some accelerators has led to techniques for dynamic beam modification, mainly to simulate beam wedge filters. This work addresses the practical aspects of dynamic tissue compensation in one dimension using available treatment-planning software.

Methods And Materials: Data derived from the treatment-planning program is used with an iterative calculational routine to determine the monitor unit settings needed for the collimator-controlling computer.

Reirradiation of head and neck neoplasms using twice-a-day scheduling.

Between 1985 and 1988, we have explored the value of twice-a-day (BID) irradiation for the retreatment of head and neck neoplasms. In this pilot study of ten patients we used a schedule of BID irradiation at fraction sizes between 1.4 and 1.