The impact of patient positioning and use of belly board on small bowel toxicity in patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy for gynecological malignancies.

Aim: To determine the efficacy of belly board device in patients receiving postoperative radiation for gynecological malignancies in terms of setup error and acute small bowel toxicity.

Materials And Methods: Patients requiring postoperative radiation for gynecological malignancies were prospectively randomized to either treatment with supine position (supine arm) or prone position using belly board (prone arm). Each patient underwent computed tomography simulation in the assigned treatment position, and a three-dimensional conformal radiation was planned.

Signaling defects and functional impairment in T-cells from cervical cancer patients.

The ability of T-lymphocytes to recognize antigens and transduce signals to the nucleus successfully is a key component in the initiation and maintenance of an immune response. The present study addressed the expression status of the signal-transducing proteins in relation to the immune impairment in cervical cancer patients. Immune response was measured by evaluating lymphocyte subpopulations CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+), using flowcytometry, natural killer cell activity, using the single-cell cytotoxicity assay, lymphocyte function, using mitogenic response to PHA and T-cell activation following anti-CD3 stimulation, and production of IL-2.