Stereolithographic modelling as an aid to orbital brachytherapy.

Purpose: This paper describes the technique of stereolithographic biomodelling and its application to a patient who was treated using orbital brachytherapy.

Methods And Materials: The process uses a moving laser beam, directed by a computer, to draw cross-sections of the model onto the surface of photo-curable liquid plastic. Using a stereolithographic apparatus (SLA), solid or surface data is sliced by software into very thin cross-sections.

Testing for mutations of the ataxia telangiectasia gene in radiosensitive breast cancer patients.

Background And Purpose: To determine if clinical radiosensitivity in breast cancer patients is related to mutations of the ataxia telangiectasia gene (ATM).

Materials And Methods: Fifteen patients who had developed a severe late reaction to a standard radiotherapy schedule were examined for evidence of increased in vitro radiosensitivity using the MTT assay. Mutation analysis was performed using a protein truncation assay.

Assessment of pelvic stabilization devices for improved field reproducibility.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the improvement in patient comfort and field positional accuracy provided by a new pelvic stabilization system when delivering multiple field radiotherapy to the pelvis. The Pelvic Cradle (BEHTS Manufacturing, Brisbane, Qld, Australia) is a stabilization device that provides reproducible patient positioning and levelling. Ninety patients were randomized into three groups.

Late effects of radiation therapy for prostate carcinoma: the patient's perspective of bladder, bowel and sexual morbidity.

The patients' perceptions of the late effects of radiation therapy for carcinoma of the prostate on bladder, bowel and sexual function were determined by using a self-administered questionnaire which was posted in June 1996 to patients who had been treated for carcinoma of the prostate between February 1993 and April 1994 at the Herston centre of the Queensland Radium Institute. The questions were based on the SOMA-LENT subjective scales. Moderate bladder morbidity was reported by 15% of patients, with 2% reporting major morbidity.

Radiosensitive melanoma cell line with mutation of the gene for ataxia telangiectasia.

The human melanoma cell lines MM96L, A2058 and HT144 were examined for sensitivity to ionizing radiation and UVB radiation. HT144 demonstrated a significant increase in sensitivity to ionizing and UVB radiation compared with the MM96L and A2058 cells. Sensitivity to both agents was associated with susceptibility to apoptosis.

Loss of heterozygosity of chromosome 13 in Merkel cell carcinoma.

We have examined a series of 24 Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) DNAs for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at eight loci on chromosome 13. All patients were heterozygous for at least one locus. Overall, 18 of 24 (75%) patients showed LOH, among whom 10 patients demonstrated LOH at all informative loci.

Intra-operative implant brachytherapy in the management of soft-tissue sarcomas.

Background: The management of localized soft-tissue sarcomas remains complex. This is a retrospective review of a single institution experience with manual afterloaded brachytherapy following intra-operative implantation of the tumour bed during surgery.

Methods: Twelve patients over a 3-year period had resection for localized soft-tissue sarcomas and desmoids with insertion of intra-operative brachytherapy implants combined with resection for localized soft-tissue sarcomas.

Acute morbidity of radiation therapy for prostate carcinoma.

The acute morbidity of high dose radiation therapy for carcinoma of the prostate in a group of 169 patients treated between February 1993 and April 1994 was examined. Morbidity was determined at the start of therapy, then weekly during therapy and at 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months after therapy. Morbidity was examined from the view of the treating doctor and the patients.

Is surgery necessary in stage III and stage IV cancer of the head and neck that responds to induction chemotherapy?

Objective: To study the influence of surgery in patients who achieve a response to induction chemotherapy.

Design: Nonrandomized retrospective study.

Setting: Comprehensive cancer center.

Deletion mapping of the short arm of chromosome 3 in Merkel cell carcinoma.

Little is known about the biology of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), also called small cell carcinoma of the skin. MCC has similarities with small cell lung cancer (SCLC): both are neuroendocrine malignancies with early metastasis to distant sites and a poor prognosis. Small cell lung cancer biopsies are known to have frequent losses on chromosome 3 in the region 3p21, yet MCCs have not been reported to have 3p deletions by karyotypic analysis.

Computerised data collection for a cancer centre: a Queensland perspective.

The Queensland Radium Institute has had a computerised database for 15 years but there was little uniformity in the data collected and there was considerable scope for improvement. In 1991 the institute decided to upgrade and standardise its data collection system. The improvements will allow easier access to the data for research and audit purposes.

The curative treatment by radiotherapy alone of stage I non-small cell carcinoma of the lung.

This review was initiated to assess the outcome of treatment with radical radiotherapy with curative intent for patients diagnosed as having stage I non-small cell lung cancer. The study involved a retrospective review of 347 patients with T1 and T2N0M0 tumors treated at the Queensland Radium Institute during the period 1985 to 1992. The main reasons for not proceeding to surgery included poor performance status, old age, or refusal to submit to surgery.

Induction of p53 protein by gamma radiation in lymphocyte lines from breast cancer and ataxia telangiectasia patients.

Exposure of human cells to gamma-radiation causes levels of the tumour-suppressor nuclear protein p53 to increase in temporal association with the decrease in replicative DNA synthesis. Cells from patients with the radiosensitive and cancer-prone disease ataxia telangiectasia (AT) exhibit radioresistant DNA synthesis and show a reduced or delayed gamma-radiation-induced increase in p53 protein levels. We have used Western immunoblotting with semiquantitative densitometry to examine the gamma-radiation-induced levels of p53 protein in 57 lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from patients with AT, carriers of the AT gene, breast cancer patients and normal donors.

Case report: non-malignant cause of brachiocephalic vein compression following treatment for lung cancer.

Obstruction of venous return in the mediastinum or thoracic inlet is well recognized, particularly in oncological practice. In most cases the obstruction is of the superior vena cava. For such venous obstruction to occur following treatment for lung cancer usually implies malignant lymph node involvement and therefore a grave prognosis.

The changing face of radiation oncology in Australia 1950-1995: a personal view.

In 1950, orthovoltage X-rays were used to treat a wide spectrum of malignant disease but results were impaired by poor depth dose and significant reactions; radium and radon were used commonly and superficial X-ray therapy was used for a large number of skin cancers as well as many benign skin conditions. Since megavoltage X-ray therapy was introduced to Australia and with earlier diagnosis, high standards for qualification as a radiation oncologist set by the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists (RACR), improved imaging and tumour localization, improved beam characteristics, computerization and dosimetry, patients are now better treated with improved local control and less morbidity. Public facilities have been chronically underfunded by governments resulting in waiting lists for treatment, and free standing private practices are important in sharing the ever increasing workload consequent to the increasing and ageing population.

Radiation sensitivity of Merkel cell carcinoma cell lines.

Purpose: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), being a small cell carcinoma, would be expected to be sensitive to radiation. Clinical analysis of patients at our center, especially those with macroscopic disease, would suggest the response is quite variable. We have recently established a number of MCC cell lines from patients prior to radiotherapy, and for the first time are in a position to determine their sensitivity under controlled conditions.

Combined modality therapy for esophageal carcinoma: preliminary results from a large Australasian multicenter study.

Purpose: This report updates local control and survival experience and focuses on treatment toxicity in 294 patients with esophageal cancer who have been treated at six Australasian centers using three prospective unrandomized protocols that used concurrent radiation, cisplatin, and modest dose infusional fluorouracil.

Methods And Materials: Protocol 1--"definitive" chemoradiation. One hundred and thirty-seven patients have been treated with "definitive" radiation to 60 Gy in 6 weeks plus two courses of cisplatin (80 mg/m2) and infusional fluorouracil (800 mg/m2/day over 4 days) during the first and fourth weeks of radiation.

Radiation therapy for nodal disease in malignant melanoma.

Radiation therapy has been widely used for palliative management of inoperable metastatic malignant melanoma. For patients with nodal disease, response rates of approximately 70% have been reported. There are limited data concerning the role of adjuvant irradiation following therapeutic lymph node dissection.

Normal tissue radiosensitivity in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: To investigate whether in vitro radiosensitivity of lymphocytes derived from a blood sample will predict late effects from radiotherapy in breast cancer patients.

Methods And Materials: Blood samples were collected from consenting patients who had received radiotherapy for breast cancer. Lymphocytes were extracted and transformed by the Epstein-Barr virus.

The importance of postoperative radiation therapy in the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To determine the role of postoperative radiation therapy in the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).

Methods And Materials: Eighty patients with MCC of the skin were treated with curative intent at the Queensland Radium Institute between 1981 and 1991. Fifty-one patients (63.

Conservative therapy of breast cancer in Queensland.

Purpose: Primary radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery has been an accepted alternative to mastectomy in Europe and North America for many years. In Australia, however, the history of breast conservation for early invasive breast cancer is much shorter. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of breast conservation in a state-wide Australian radiotherapy service.

Treatment decisions in T3N0M0 glottic carcinoma.

Purpose: To analyze the results of T3N0M0 glottic carcinoma treated with radiotherapy, surgery, or both.

Methods And Materials: The records were retrospectively reviewed of 97 patients with this tumor subsite and stage seen for treatment at the Queensland Radium Institute over a 29-year period. The results for radiotherapy with surgical salvage of failure (XRT/SS) were compared to those with surgery with or without radiotherapy (SURG/SURG+XRT).

Characterisation of four Merkel cell carcinoma adherent cell lines.

We have previously described the establishment of a number of cell lines from Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), also known as small cell cancer of the skin or neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. These cells, all of which grew as suspension cultures, were found to resemble small cell lung cancer (SCLC) lines types 1, 2 and 3 by their morphology and growth characteristics. We now report 4 more MCC cell lines which resemble the SCLC type 4 cell lines in that they grow as adherent monolayers.

External beam radiation therapy as an agent in the aetiology of carcinoma of the bile duct: a report on two patients.

Two cases of biliary duct carcinoma occurring in patients who had received prophylactic abdominal irradiation 17 years previously are described. Although external beam radiation has been implicated in the aetiology of many malignancies, there is only one previous report of it being associated with carcinoma of the bile duct. All patients receiving external beam irradiation for curable malignancies require long term follow-up so that treatment induced malignancies may be detected.

Pituitary adenomas: long-term results for radiotherapy alone and post-operative radiotherapy.

Purpose: Analysis of prognostic factors and long-term results of treatment of pituitary adenomas.

Methods And Materials: The study involved a retrospective review of outcome in a series of 268 patients with pituitary adenomas, treated at the Queensland Radium Institute from January 1962 to December 1986. The study population included 108 patients treated with radiotherapy alone and 160 patients treated by surgery and post-operative radiotherapy.