Search

Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of definitive radiotherapy for patients with superficial esophageal cancer. Material and methods: From 1990 through 2006, 97 patients with stage I disease were treated with radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy. All patients were diagnosed with panesophagoscopy and computed tomography. Chemotherapy was added in 61 patients, and intra-cavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) was used in 27 patients. Results: The patients were 90 men and seven women with a median age of 65.7years (range; 41–89). At last follow-up with a median follow-up duration of 35.7months, 3year-overall and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 81.5% (95% C.I.=73.3–89.7%) and 55.8% (95% C.I.=45.2–66.4%), respectively. Shorter tumor length was a significantly favorable factor for the PFS rate (P =0.02) and local failure-free (LFF) rate (P =0.007) on both univariate and multivariate analyses. Although the addition of ICBT had no apparent benefit for survival or tumor control, the rate of severe adverse effects including lethal esophageal ulcers, showed a higher tendency in patients receiving ICBT. Conclusions: Our results regarding efficacy from the viewpoint of organ preservation are promising. Special care would be taken for the use of ICBT for patients with superficial esophageal cancer, especially if they have received chemoradiotherapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Purpose: To report the feasibility of dynamic conformal arc radiotherapy with rectum hollow-out technique (DCAT-HO) for localized prostate cancer. Methods and materials: Between October 2000 and April 2007, 204 patients with clinically localized or locally advanced prostate cancer were treated with DCAT-HO. All patients were given neoadjuvant total androgen deprivation (AD) therapy (median 6 months, range 2–27 months). All patients with T3 or T4 stage received post-irradiation AD for 24 months. A total of 128 patients (63%) were treated with 70Gy, and 76 patients (37%) were treated with 74Gy. Acute and late toxicities were scored by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group morbidity grading scales. PSA relapse was defined as three successive PSA elevations after a post-treatment nadir. The median follow-up was 37 months. Results: Both the acute Grade 2 rectal and urinary toxicities were 1.0%, and no patients experienced acute Grade 3 or higher symptoms. The 3-year rates of both ⩾ late Grade 2 rectal and urinary toxicities were 3.4%. The 3-year PSA relapse-free survival for low, intermediate, and high-risk group patients treated with 70 Gy were 54%, 75%, and 87%, respectively. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the feasibility of DCAT-HO in a large number of patients with short follow-up. DCAT-HO reduced the volume of the rectum exposed to higher doses and this led to an overall reduction in late rectal toxicity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]