Acta radiologica: therapy, physics, biology最新文献

A method to predict normal tissue injury is proposed that includes high daily doses and unusual times successfully by calculating a new value called BIR (Biologic Index of Reaction). BIR and NSD were calculated for various normal tissue reactions. With the aid of statistical correlation techniques it is found that the BIR model is better than the NSD model in predicting radiation myelopathy and vocal edema and as good as NSD in predicting rib fracture. Neither model predicts pericardial effusion. In no case were the results of BIR inferior to those of NSD.

Forty mg daily of tamoxifen (Nolvadex) was administered orally to 89 patients with advanced soft tissue mammary carcinoma. At two months 43 per cent of the patients responded. At 6, 12 and 18 months, 42, 35 and 32 per cent, respectively, were still responding to therapy. The side effects were limited, fatique being the most frequent complaint. Oestrogen dependent side effects were not encountered. The therapeutic effect of tamoxifen is similar to that of oestrogen, but the side effects are less.

The frequency of serious complications in the bladder and intestines in 674 patients irradiated for carcinoma of the cervix using three different techniques is reported. The first technique was the Stockholm technique, which gave 5% severe complications. In the other two, the patients received primarily external irradiation without central shielding, complemented with intracavitary treatment. Difficulties in the Stockholm technique and in techniques combining external high-voltage and intracavitary treatment were taken into account, and the frequency of serious complications decreased to less than 1%.

At scanning electron microscopy of cells from the lymph of the thoracic duct, collected by cannulation of patients with malignant tumours of different types, lymphocytes and red blood cells were found, but few malignant cells. The latter came from patients with pulmonary carcinoma and mammary carcinoma with lung metastases. Various abnormal shapes of the red blood cells were observed, possibly due to extrinsic factors such as administered drugs of abnormal metabolites from the malignant disease. The lymphocytes had no consistent pathologic shape, but appeared to act as immunologic, active cells against the malignant cells in the thoracic lymph.

The technique of forming electron beams by one scattering foil and one compensating foil is discussed. This method provides a means for producing large-size uniform dose distributions with much smaller losses in dose rate as compared with conventional beam forming by one foil. Moreover, the energy losses involved in this process and the background [corrected] of concomitant bremsstrahlung are much less. A technique of calculation to determine approximate parameters of the compensating foils is described.

In 55 patients irradiated for malignant lymphoma the complaints were recorded as well as ECG, blood pressure, exercise test and heart volume before, during and one and 6 months following treatment. ECG abnormalities and fall in blood pressure occurred during treatment. Reduced physical working capacity was found one month after treatment. After 6 months all parameters had returned to pretreatment levels. Attention should be paid to the considerable reduction in blood pressure that does occur in some cases during treatment.

Eighty-seven patients were treated with the mantle technique for Hodgkin's disease. Usually 40 Gy in 27 fractions in two series over 71 days were given. A local recurrence was diagnosed in 3 of 87 patients. An analysis of radiation reactions of the lung tissue, heart and pericardium, and spinal cord is reported. It is recommended to give mantle treatment for Hodgkin's disease over a relatively long period of time such as in split-course in two series.

The distribution of 99Tcm after intraperitoneal injection of 99Tcm-labelled ethylene-1-hydroxy-1, 1-diphosphonate (EHDP) in young albino rats was investigated by whole-body autoradiography. The distribution was characterized by a rapid and high uptake in bone and dentine, a rapid but moderate uptake in the urinary system and a slow and slight uptake in liver and spleen.

Biopsy of the nasopharynx was perfomred in 45 patients with Hodgkin's disease as part of the pretherapeutic staging. Seven of the 45 (16%) had microscopic abnormalities in the nasopharynx compatible with Hodgkin's disease. Such abnormalities occurred even in the absence of local ENT-symptoms or signs, and they could not be predicted from the microscopic type of lymph node biopsy, stage of disease or general presentation. A generous biopsy of the nasopharynx is recommended to be included in the staging procedures in Hodgkin's disease.