Does high-frequency (40-60 MHz) ultrasound imaging play a role in the clinical management of cutaneous melanoma?

The assessment of cutaneous melanoma in the clinical setting is often difficult, and important features such as depth and width remain unknown until the pathology report is received. Access to prognostic features such as vertical height before excisional biopsy would offer a basis for guidance in defining surgical margins and early planning of treatment options. Recently developed high-frequency ultrasound imaging in the 40-to 60-MHz range is a noninvasive method that provides in vivo information about cutaneous lesions.

Brain tumors in children: long-term survival after radiation treatment.

Purpose: To determine the cause of death in children who survive more than 5 years after radiation treatment of a brain tumor.

Methods And Material: Nine hundred and twelve consecutive children with a primary brain tumor irradiated at the Princess Margaret Hospital or Toronto-Bayview Regional Cancer Center from 1958 to 1991, were evaluated for long-term outcome.

Results: Overall 10- and 20-year survival rates were 44% and 37%.

Chronobiology. Implications for cancer chemotherapy.

Experimental studies have documented that both the toxicity and the antitumor activity of many cancer drugs are time dependent. Early clinical trials have confirmed this observation for several drugs. The basic concepts of chronobiology and its application to pharmacology are reviewed.

Engineering modifications for dynamic stereotactically assisted radiotherapy.

To perform dynamic stereotactic radiotherapy, a number of modifications to the commercial linear accelerator were required and these are described in this report. A couch drive system was added to rotate the couch in synchrony with the gantry. A high dose rate beam for this technique is acquired through a head modification, which allows easy removal of the radiation field flattener.

A phantom for beam positioning and visualization.

Purpose: A system was developed which uses the light field on the simulator to allow easy visualization of the treatment field in the sagittal plane of a phantom for complex treatment geometries.

Methods And Materials: The phantom consists of a plastic shell with a vertical metallic plate in the sagittal plane. Magnetic strips attach to the plate to mark the lateral field while the anterior field is marked by a special pointer.

Phase I study of 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin by a 14-day circadian infusion in metastatic adenocarcinoma patients.

Initial experimental and clinical studies have indicated that 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) toxicity can be reduced by delivering 5-FU at around 4 a.m. More recent data have suggested that the toxicity might be reduced even more with delivery at around 9-10 p.

The use of a personal computer in the workload management of a dosimetry section.

A method has been devised using an electronic spreadsheet that will shorten the data processing time and give a printed report of the results. It provides an accurate conversion of raw data to final data.

Radiobiology: nil desperandum.

Recent developments in radiobiology have provided a clearer understanding of the limitations of conventional radiotherapy in cancer treatment and suggest alternative and potentially more effective means of using this form of therapy.

Varicella-zoster infection in adult cancer patients. A population study.

In a retrospective review of varicella-zoster (V-Z) Infections in adult cancer patients, 766 episodes of V-Z Infection were studied among 740 patients seen at a large comprehensive cancer center from 1972 to 1980. The highest risk of infection was present among patients with lymphoma and leukemia. The risk of dissemination of V-Z Infection was significantly associated with the presence of active tumor at the time of Infection.