Computed Tomography-Guided Interstitial High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy in the Local Treatment of Primary and Secondary Intrathoracic Malignancies

Introduction:Image-guided interstitial (IRT) brachytherapy (BRT) is an effective treatment option as part of a multimodal approach to the treatment of isolated lung tumors. In this study, we report our results of computed tomography-guided IRT high-dose-rate (HDR) BRT in the local treatment of inoperable primary and secondary intrathoracic malignancies.Methods:Between 1997 and 2007, 55 patients underwent a total of 68 interventional procedures for a total of 60 lung lesions. The median tumor volume was 160 cm3 (range, 24–583 cm3). Thirty-seven patients were men and 18 were women, with a median age of 64 years (range, 31–93 years). The IRT-HDR-BRT delivered a median dose of 25.0 Gy (range, 10.0–32.0 Gy) in twice-daily fractions of 4.0 to 15.0 Gy in 27 patients and 10.0 Gy (range, 7.0–32.0 Gy) in once-daily fractions of 4.0 to 20.0 Gy in 28 patients.Results:The median follow-up was 14 months (range, 1–49 months). The overall survival rate was 63% at 1 year, 26% at 2 years, and 7% at 3 years. The local control rate for metastatic tumors was 93%, 82%, and 82% and for primary intrathoracic cancers 86%, 79%, and 73% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Pneumothoraces occurred in 11.7% of interventional procedures, necessitating postprocedural drainage in one (1.8%) patient.Conclusions:In patients with inoperable intrathoracic malignancies, computed tomography-guided IRT-HDR-BRT is a safe and effective alternative to other locally ablative techniques

Außergewöhnliche Manifestation eines Magenkarzinoms mit Meningeosis carcinomatosa und spinaler Metastase

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund:: Eine Meningeosis carcinomatosa ist eine seltene Komplikation solider Tumoren, wie Mamma-, Bronchial- oder gastrointestinale Karzinome. Klinisch manifestiert sie sich mit einer äußerst variablen Symptomatik wie z. B. radikulären Schmerzen mit oder ohne neurologische Ausfälle sowie Kopfschmerzen bis hin zu halluzinatorischen Reizsymptomen. Fallbeschreibung:: Berichtet wird über den seltenen Fall eines 57-jährigen Patienten mit neurologischen Reiz- und Ausfallsymptomen, hervorgerufen durch eine Meningeosis carcinomatosa und eine spinale Metastase bei einem asymptomatischen Siegelringzellkarzinom des Magens. Trotz kombinierter Radiochemotherapie verstarb der Patient bereits 4 Wochen nach Entlassung aus dem Spital an einer Hirnblutung. Schlussfolgerung:: Die Prognose der Meningeosis carcinomatosa ist bis heute unabhängig vom Primärtumor mit einer mittleren Überlebenszeit von 3-4 Monaten sehr schlech

Brachytherapy of stage II mobile tongue carcinoma. Prediction of local control and QOL

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus as to the prognostic model for brachytherapy of tongue carcinoma. This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic factors for local control based on a large population under a unified treatment policy. RESULTS: Between 1970 and 1998, 433 patients with stage II tongue squamous cell carcinoma were treated by low-dose-rate brachytherapy. This series included 277 patients treated with a linear source with a minimum follow-up of 3 years. A spacer was introduced in 1987. The primary local control rates were 85.6%. CONCLUSION: In the multivariate analysis, an invasive growth pattern was a significant factor for local recurrence. The disease-related survival was influenced by old age and an invasive growth pattern. A spacer lowered mandibular bone complications. The growth pattern was the most important factor for recurrence. Brachytherapy was associated with a high cure rate and the use of spacers brought about good quality of life (QOL)

CT-guided iodine-125 seed permanent implantation for recurrent head and neck cancers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate the feasibility, and safety of ¹²⁵I seed permanent implantation for recurrent head and neck carcinoma under CT-guidance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A retrospective study on 14 patients with recurrent head and neck cancers undergone ¹²⁵I seed implantation with different seed activities. The post-plan showed that the actuarial D90 of ¹²⁵I seeds ranged from 90 to 218 Gy (median, 157.5 Gy). The follow-up was 3 to 60 months (median, 13 months). The median local control was 18 months (95% CI, 6.1-29.9 months), and the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5- year local controls were 52%, 39%, 39%, and 39%, respectively. The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5- survival rates were 65%, 39%, 39% and 39%, respectively, with a median survival time of 20 months (95% CI, 8.7-31.3 months). Of all patients, 28.6% (4/14) died of local recurrence, 7.1% (1/14) died of metastases, one patient died of hepatocirrhosis, and 8 patients are still alive to the date of data analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CT-guided ¹²⁵I seed implantation is feasible and safe as a salvage or palliative treatment for patients with recurrent head and neck cancers.</p

InViVo-Brachy: a navigation system for interstitial brachytherapy

HDR brachytherapy is a is a kind of radio therapy that amongst other methods can be performed with interstitial needles. An important working step in this treatment is the fast and accurate implantation of several metallic pipe needles inside a tumour. In the procedure currently used in clinical routine a needle is placed stepwise by controlling the needle position and direction with newly acquired CT scans after every further insertion. This procedure is time consuming (1-2h for ca. 10-15 needles), therefore painful for the patient and relative inaccurate. The estimation of the necessary corrections of the needle direction is complicated and highly depends on the experience of the physician. Additionally the CT device is not available for other applications during this time. This work presents an application where the placement of the interstitial needles can performed fast and accurate by an image guided interactive navigation in a 3D CT data set of the patient