No abstract available

[en] Radiotherapy has been one of the main options of the cancer treatment, and divided into three types of therapy; external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy using sealed radiation source, and systemic radioisotope therapy using unsealed radiation source. Recent advances in the treatment planning system and radiotherapy equipment, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) is becoming the standard treatment for a number of tumors. Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is a special type of 3D-CRT targeting the well-defined tumors using narrow radiation beam. It is used for the treatment of small-sized tumors in the brain, spine and body trunk. Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is an advanced type of 3D-CRT using intensity-modulation of external beams in order to optimize the isodose distribution. These high-precision radiation therapies allows better tumor targeting, and decrease the risk of side effects, and in the result, improved treatment outcomes. Recently, particle-beam radiotherapy using ionizing particles (protons and heavy-ions) has been focused in the areas of cancer therapy. While ionizing particles penetrate the tissue, the radiation dose increases up to a maximum near the end of the particle's range (the Bragg peak), and thereafter drops to the almost zero. This feature in the energy deposition profile is very useful to concentrate the dose to the tumor and to decrease the dose to the important normal tissues adjacent to the tumors. Especially, heavy-ions represented by carbon ions have high biological effect to the tumor cells; the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) is considered 2.0-3.0 comparing to the photon (X-ray, γ-ray) and protons. Therefore, heavy-ions therapy is clinically very effective also in the treatment of radio-resistant tumor such as sarcomas, melanoma and adenocarcinoma, and large tumors including large number of hypoxic cells. (author)

No abstract available

[en] We evaluated the effects of low-dose radiation on choroidal neovascular membrane (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Since Chakravarthy reported the benefits from administration of low-dose external-beam irradiation for CNV, many studies have demonstrated that irradiation could have a beneficial treatment effect, whereas several reports have not. In our hospital, 12 eyes with AMD received 10 Gy of 4 MV photons and the other 9 eyes received 20 Gy. Another 4 eyes were untreated as control. After 6 months of treatment, visual acuity was maintained in 11 eyes, improved in 5 eyes, and deteriorated in 5 eyes of treated patients. In control group, visual acuity was maintained in 1 eye and deteriorated in 3 eyes. The size of CNV regressed in 10 eyes, remained stationary in 2 eyes and progressed in 2 eyes of treated patients, while in control group CNV regressed in 2 eyes and remained stationary in 1 eye. After 12 months some CNV progressed. Although the present result seems to be better than those in previous reports, whether or not the treatment is beneficial has to be awaited. (author)

No abstract available

[en] We have performed multidisciplinary treatment with preoperative radiotherapy, hyperthermia, and limb-preserving marginal resection in Kyushu University Hospital from May 1996 to January 1999 for patients with myxoid liposarcoma arising from the lower extremity. All patients had deeply seated tumors in the lower extremities. Primary Sites were the thigh in 5, the popliteal region in 2, and the popliteal-lower leg in 1 patients. Tumor size was more than 10 cm in diameter except in one case. Radiation therapy was given using Linac 4-MV Xray with two opposed beams with 2 or 3 gray (Gy) per fraction, 5 times per week, for a total dose of 30 Gy. Hyperthermia was given twice a week, and started within 15 minutes after irradiation. Hyperthermia was performed using the BSD-1000 Annular Phase Array System, and applied for 30-40 minutes at over 42 deg C in the tumor. Surgical resection was performed approximately 2 weeks after the completion of radiotherapy and hyperthermia. No local recurrence was observed in any of the patients with a mean follow-up time of 34 months (range, 12-49 months). Further, no serious complications were observed after surgery in any of the cases, although three of 8 patients developed distant metastases, as a result of which two of these patients died. (author)

No abstract available

[en] Seventy-five hypopharyngeal cancer patients without lymph-node metastasis, treated with radiotherapy (RT) at Kyushu University Hospital from 1976 through 2003, were evaluated. T category was 10 in T1, 41 in T2, 13 in T3, and 11 in T4. Median total doses of RT were 62.5 Gy (range: 60-74 Gy) in radical intent, and 30 Gy (28.5-41.4 Gy) in the preoperative setting. Patient selection as to radical RT or preoperative irradiation plus surgery was performed at 30-40 Gy by an oncologist of head and neck surgery and a radiation oncologist, according to the tumor response to RT. Most patients were treated with RT combined with concurrent chemotherapy including 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and Vitamin A. As the result, radical RT was selected for 48 patients (T1, 9; T2, 30; T3, 4; T4, 5), and preoperative irradiation plus surgery was selected for 27 patients (T1, 1; T2, 11; T3, 9; T4, 6). For 75 T1-4 cancer patients, the 5-year overall and cause-specific survival rates were 62% and 75%, respectively. The 5-year cause-specific survival (5-year CSS) rates were 100% for T1, 85% for T2, 83% for T3, and 30% for T4. For patients with T1-2 cancers, there was no significant difference in survival between the RT+Surgery group and the RT group; 5-year CSS was 92% vs. 85%, respectively. In the RT group, however, the prognosis of patients with T3-4 cancers (5-year CSS: 29%) was significantly poor compared with that of patients with T1-2 cancers. The 5-year local progression-free survival with laryngeal preservation was 65% in T1-2 cancers, 6% in T3-4 cancers, and 45% in all patients. RT has an advantage for the preservation of laryngeal function compared with surgery. For stage I - II cancers, therefore, RT should be first considered as a radical treatment option. For T3-4 cancers, however, the combination of RT and surgery was thought to be proper treatment. (author)

[en] Between February 1995 and September 2004, 47 patients (53 lesions) with primary ocular adnexal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma were treated with radiotherapy. The median dose delivered was 30 Gy/20 F. Lens shielding was used in 11 patients. Local control rate was 98%. Three, five years OAS (overall survival) and RFS (relapse-free survival) were 100%, 100% and 100%, 88%, respectively. Cataracts developed in 17%. Radiotherapy achieved excellent local control and survival rates in the management of primary ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma. Late adverse effects were tolerable. (author)

No abstract available