[en] As a dose increase beyond 70 Gy has demonstrated a benefit in terms of local control for medium-risk prostate cancer, an optimal method of dose escalation is however unknown. The authors report a feasibility study of a boost of curietherapy in pulse dose rate associated with an external radiotherapy. Curietherapy is performed by implantation of ten to twelve parallel needles under echography. The final dosimetry is performed after a scanography merged with the pre-implantation prostatic MRI. Only two patients have been treated, but the boost of curietherapy allows breaking free from organ movements and a more important dose escalation in relationship with the dose gradient. Short communication

[en] The technique involving plesiotherapy and interstitial brachytherapy is interesting in terms of dosimetry, is well tolerated and allows a satisfactory local control of the disease. (N.C.)

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[en] The co-registration of planning CT and ¹⁸F-fluoro-deoxy-2-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) with patient in the sane treatment position is the principally well-established tool for improving the target coverage defined and the target planning volume to treat the metabolic target volume. Most of the interest in the co-registered CT/PET images on volume delineation has focused on conformal radiation therapy of non-small cell lung cancer. In spite of technical difficulties related to the target volume displacements, and the sensitivity and the specificity of FDG-PET images < 100 %, the target volume delineation is significantly changed by the co-registration of FDG-PET images and planning CT by either reduction of the radiation volume (excluding atelectasis or mediastinal lymph node) or the increasing of mediastinal lymph node involvement. Image fusion technique reduces the interobserver variability in target volume delineation. Furthermore, after induction chemotherapy image fusion leads to improve the patient management by detecting locoregional progression disease or the presence of metastatic disease. Other anatomic tumor sites are going to investigate such as: head-and-neck cancer, gynecologic cancer, oesophageal cancer, anal cancer, Hodgkin's disease, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The impact on treatment outcome remains to be demonstrated. (authors)

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[en] Purpose. - To evaluate our updated data concerning survival and locoregional control in a study of locally advanced non inflammatory breast cancer after primary chemotherapy followed by external preoperative irradiation. Patients and methods. - Between 1982 and 1998, 120 patients (75 stage IIIA, 41 stage IIIB, and 4 stage IIIC according to AJCC staging system 2002) were consecutively treated by four courses of induction chemotherapy with anthracycline-containing combinations followed by preoperative irradiation (45 Gy to the breast and nodal areas) and a fifth course of chemotherapy. Three different locoregional approaches were proposed, depending on tumour characteristics and tumour response. After completion of local therapy, all patients received a sixth course of chemotherapy and a maintenance adjuvant chemotherapy regimen without anthracycline. The median follow-up from the beginning of treatment was 140 months. Results. - Mastectomy and axillary dissection were performed in 49 patients (with residual tumour larger than 3 cm in diameter or located behind the nipple or with bifocal tumour), and conservative treatment in 71 patients (39 achieved clinical complete response or partial response >90% and received additional radiation boost to initial tumour bed; 32 had residual mass ≤3 cm in diameter and were treated by wide excision and axillary dissection followed by a boost to the excision site). Ten-year actuarial local failure rate was 13% after irradiation alone, 23% after wide excision and irradiation, and 4% after mastectomy (p =0.1). After multivariate analysis, possibility of breast-conserving therapy was related to initial tumour size (<6 vs. ≥6 cm in diameter, p =0.002). Ten-year overall metastatic disease-free survival rate was 61%. After multivariate analysis, metastatic disease-free survival rates were significantly influenced by clinical stage (stage IIIA-B vs. IIIC, p =0.0003), N-stage (N0 vs. N1-2a, and 3c, p = 0.017), initial tumour size (<6 vs. ≥6 cm in diameter, p = 0.008), and tumour response after induction chemotherapy and preoperative irradiation (clinically complete response + partial response vs. non-response, p = 0.0015). In the non conservative breast treatment group, of the 32 patients with no change in clinical tumour size after induction chemotherapy, the 10-year metastatic disease-free survival rate was 59% with only one local relapse. Arm lymphedema was noted in 17% (14 of 81) following axillary dissection and in 2.5% (1 of 39) without axillary dissection. Cosmetic results were satisfactory in 70% of patients treated by irradiation alone and in 51.5% of patients after wide excision and irradiation. Conclusion. - Despite the poor prognosis of patients with locally advanced non inflammatory breast cancer resistant to primary anthracycline-based regimen, aggressive locoregional management using preoperative irradiation and mastectomy with axillary dissection offers a possibility of long term survival with low local failure rate for patients without extensive nodal disease. On the other hand, the rate of local failure seems to be high in patients with clinical partial tumour response following induction chemotherapy and breast-conserving treatment combining preoperative irradiation and large wide excision. (authors)

[en] The authors report a study which aims at assessing the impact of the intensity-modulated conformational radiotherapy on the acute intestinal toxicity of a postoperative irradiation of stage I and II endometrial cancers. Seven radiotherapy centres participated to this study. They followed a 'dummy run' procedure in order to assess their ability to respect the irradiation protocol. The authors discuss the contouring correlation for different organs. The use of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) atlas leads to a better concordance between the centres. Short communication

[en] To report a retrospective study concerning the impact of fused ¹⁸F-fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-hybrid positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) images on three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) planning for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and methods. - One hundred and one patients consecutively treated for stages I-III NSCLC were studied. Each patient underwent CT and FDG-hybrid PET for simulation treatment in the same radiation treatment position. Images were co-registered using five fiducial markers. Target volume delineation was initially performed on the CT images and the corresponding FDG-PET data were subsequently used as an overlay to the CT data to define target volume. Results. - FDG-PET identified previously undetected distant metastatic disease in 8 patients making them ineligible for curative CRT (one patient presented some positive uptakes corresponding to concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis). Another patient was ineligible for curative treatment because fused CT/PET images demonstrated excessively extensive intrathoracic disease. The gross tumor volume (GTV) was decreased by CT/PET image fusion in 21 patients (23%) and was increased in 24 patients (26%). The GTV reduction was ≥ 25% in 7 patients because CT/PET image fusion reduced pulmonary GTV in 6 patients (3 patients with atelectasis) and mediastinal nodal GTV in 1 patient. The GTV increase was ≥ 25% in 14 patients due to an increase of the pulmonary GTV in 11 patients (4 patients with atelectasis) and detection of occult mediastinal lymph node involvement in 3 patients. Among 81 patients receiving a total dose ≥ 60 Gy at ICRU point, after CT/PET image fusion, the percentage of total lung volume receiving more than 20 Gy (VL20) increased in 15 cases and decreased in 22 cases. The percentage of total heart volume receiving more than 36 Gy increased in 8 patients and decreased in 14 patients. The spinal cord volume receiving at least 45 Gy (2 patients) decreased. After multivariate analysis, one single independent factor made significant effect of FDG/PET on the modification of the size of the GTV: tumor with atelectasis (P = 0.0001). Conclusion. - Our study confirms that integrated hybrid PET/CT in the treatment position and co-registered images have an impact on treatment planning and management of patients with NSCLC. FDG images using dedicated PET scanners with modern image fusion techniques and respiration-gated acquisition protocols could improve CT/PET image co-registration. However, prospective studies with histological correlation are necessary and the impact on treatment outcome remains to be demonstrated. (authors)