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Petereit DG, Tannehill SP, Grosen EA, Hartenbach EM, Schink JC. Outpatient vaginal cuff brachytherapy for endometrial cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy and complications of postoperative high-dose-rate (HDR) vaginal-cuff brachytherapy (VCB) in patients with endometrial carcinoma. Between August 1989 to September 1997, 191 patients were treated postoperatively after a total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TAH/BSO) with outpatient adjuvant HDR VCB for low-risk endometrial cancer (IB–84%, grade 1 or 2–96%). Patients were treated with 2 HDR fractions, delivered one week apart while under conscious sedation (16.2 Gy X 2 to the vaginal surface). All clinical endpoints were calculated using the Kaplan Meier method. The median time in the brachytherapy suite was 60 min in which no acute complications were observed. The 30-day morbidity and mortality rates were both 0%. With a median follow-up of 38 months (12–82 months), the 4-year survival, relapse-free survival, and vaginal-control rates were 95%, 98%, and 100%, respectively. One patient developed a colo-vaginal fistula at 5 years. Adjuvant HDR VCB in 2 outpatient insertions produced 100% vaginal control rates with minimal morbidity. The advantages of high dose-rate compared to low dose-rate vaginal brachytherapy include patient convenience, markedly shorter treatment times (1 h per insertion), and reduction in the cost and potential morbidity of hospitalization. HDR brachytherapy approach is a cost-effective alternative to either low-dose-rate brachytherapy or whole pelvic radiotherapy in carefully selected patients.

Metastatic neck nodes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck are most commonly managed by surgery, radiotherapy, or combined-modality therapy. For combined-modality cases, the sequencing of surgery and radiotherapy is generally guided by which modality is considered preferable for treatment of the primary tumor. A postradiotherapy neck dissection is often considered for those patients withN1 disease in which the primary is treated with radiotherapy alone.Between February 1991 and October 1995, 25 patients with node-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with planned unilateral (n = 22) or bilateral (n = 3) neck dissection following high-dose radiotherapy. The primary tumor sites included: tongue base (n = 11), tonsil (n = 6), nasopharynx (n = 3), pyriform sinus (n = 2), supraglottic larynx, (n = 1), soft palate (n = 1), and unknown head and neck primary (n = 1). The specific nodal stage breakdown of the 28 individual neck dissections (25 patients) was N1 (n = 1), N2A (n = 5), N2B (n = 15), N3 (n = 7).Nineteen of the 28 neck dissections (68%) demonstrated no evidence of residual carcinoma. Of the nine positive neck dissections, six revealed malignant cells in a single nodal echelon. The 1- and 2-year rate of neck control in all 25 patients was 100% and 93%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year disease-specific survival for all 25 patients was 83% and 60%, respectively. With a minimum follow-up of 2 years, 64% of the 25 patients remain alive with no evidence of disease or dead of non-cancer causes.In this series of postradiotherapy neck dissections, two thirds of the dissections demonstrated no evidence of residual tumor (19/28, or 68%). However, there was not a direct correlation between pretreatment nodal size (neck staging), radiation dose delivered, and the likelihood of achieving a cancer-free neck dissection. Only one of 28 postradiotherapy neck dissections identified tumor outside of nodal stations II-IV. The predictable pattern of residual disease in pathologically positive cases suggests that a selective neck dissection encompassing levels II-IV may be appropriate in a majority of patients.

Preclinical studies demonstrate that amifostine has the potential to selectively protect normal tissues from the harmful effects of radiation without significantly protecting neoplastic tissue. The potential value of such an agent includes reducing treatment-related toxicity and the opportunity for radiation dose escalation in the curative treatment of cancer. An increasing number of human clinical trials have been conducted that define the toxicity profile and efficacy of radioprotection by amifostine when used during fractionated radiation therapy. These trials demonstrate that amifostine is safe and practical to administer in the outpatient setting during fractionated radiation therapy. These studies also illustrate the challenge of accurately evaluating the end point of radioprotection in the clinical setting. This article reviews the recent clinical literature on amifostine, the evidence for normal tissue protection, and the lack of tumor protection by this agent, and suggests possible avenues for future investigation and application of this agent in the field of radiation oncology.