[en] The determination of the position and role of radiotherapy within the interdisciplinary treatment concept of oncologic diseases is surveyed. The relevance of sole, pre-, intra- and postoperative, of adjuvant, palliative and symptomatic radiotherapy is explained. (author)

[en] The invention aims at a sufficient irradiation of the tube angles in treating uterine carcinomas without high exposure of the adjacent tissue. This can be achieved by a centrally positioned afterloading probe in which a point or linear source is moved in an oscillating or a step-by-step way. An absorbing element at the top of the probe allows the modelling of the isodoses

[en] Radiobiological model investigations in slowly growing tumors revealed that tumor regression is more effective in hyperfractionated than conventionally fractionated irradiation

[en] Within the frame of expert opinion in the field of radiology two main tasks must be met by the radiologists: (1) the expert evidence of injuries of health as well as secondary damages occuring in connection with radiation treatment and (2) the performance of diagnostic measures with radiological methods in diagnosing damages for other special branches. The physical defects must be differentiated and evaluated according to the kind of damage and to factors influencing the damages

[en] For different fields of application in irradiation of gynecological tumors a comparison of isodose distribution was done with 'point-shaped' and 'line-shaped' ¹⁹²Ir sources. With flattening of the dose efficiency distribution towards the axis of source in the 'line-shaped' ¹⁹²Ir source an improvement of dose distribution occurred in intracavitary irradiation with the lower and well balanced exposure of the fundus uteri, especially in irradiation of the endometrial carcinoma. On the other hand the irradiation of the vaginal stump turned out to be problematic. In purely vaginal irradiation no differences were found in the medically interesting region of interest. (author)

[en] For afterloading in patients with cervical and endometrial carcinomas isodose plans are represented, standardized to the lengths of the uterus probes and adapted to the tumor stages, and are determined by an applicator tube located centrally within the uterine cavity. By an additional lead shield of the vaginal applicator dose reduction can be attained by the factor 1.6 or 1.4 in the critical organs bladder and rectum, which are relevant for this therapeutic form. An uncritical inclusion of the vagina into the target volume of contact therapy, not justified by tumor invasion, should not be carried out, because of the higher complication rate in critical organs. (author)

[en] In 294 patients with bladder carcinoma, having received after transurethral or transvesical operation a high-voltage irradiation with daily 1.5 Gy and a total target does of 60 Gy (four fields crose firing technique), the influence of quality of physical-technical irradiation planning on survival rat, recurrence rate, side, and late effects was studied. The group of patients with individually computer-based optimizing of irradiation parameters basing on a patients cross-section, ascertained on therapy simulator, show significantly better results with regard to above mentioned criteria than the groups of patients with standard irradiation technique without and with definition of bladder topography. (author)

[en] Autopsy findings in patients with bladder carcinoma, treated by combined operation and radiotherapy, revealed tendencies of tumor spread as well as complications and late effects of radiotherapy. In 24.5% of the cases tumor tissue was found within the bladder and in 30.5% within the minor pelvis. Metastases were found in 24.1% in iliac lymph nodes, in 21.3% in abdominal lymph nodes. Liver, lungs, bones, and kidneys are main organs for hematological metastasizing. Little or undifferentiated carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas showed a greater tendency to metastasize than highly and medium-differentiated ureteral carcinomas. The least radiotherapeutical complications and late effects were found in a fractionation with daily 1.5 Gy and a total dose of 60 Gy. (author)

[en] All issues relating to responsibility, proper authority, permission, and scope of activity of medical specialists, radiation physicists, and other medical staff in radiology in the context of radiotherapeutic practice together with the data for mandatory documentation in irradiation plans and records are covered in the GDR by two legal provisions, the Rules on Ionizing Radiation Therapy dated September 24, 1985, and the Guidelines on Radiotherapy of the same date. All institutions involved in radiotherapy have to obtain permission by December 31, 1988. Checkup programmes have been drafted by radiation physicists and radiotherapists affiliated to the GDR Society of Medical Radiology. These are model programmes made available to all users by the Institute of Medical Engineering at the GDR Ministry of Health. They are to be used for wide-ranging quality assurance in X-ray therapy and teletherapy centres as for after-loading equipment, systems of irradiation planning, therapy simulators, and contact radiotherapy. (author)

[en] The dose distribution of a 'line-shaped' ¹⁹²Ir source was measured in 1,152 measuring points in a water phantom. Using regression analysis the analytical description of dose distribution was obtained. Comparative measurements in a solid miramide phantom in 45 measuring points revealed good reproduction of the dose distribution. Taking an ideal line source distribution as a basis, the r-dependence of correction factor, obtained by regression analysis, refers to a dispersion effect. The angle-dependent deviation of dose distribution from the ideal line source can be described by cos-terms with the single and double angle between line source axis and measuring point. (author)