PURPOSE To investigate the dosimetric results and first clinical experiences with a new designed balloon applicator with adjustable catheters for endoluminal brachytherapy for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer not undergoing surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS The applicator consists of an inflatable rectal balloon with six attached Foley catheters used as guidance for the inserted brach...

Currently, patients having cervical cancer with extension into the lower vagina are being treated with a combination of the Fletcher-Suit applicator, which treats the cervix, and a vaginal cylinder, which treats the lower vagina. With this method, patients receive two separate implants-a procedure that creates greater uncertainty in the dose distribution and unnecessary patient inconvenience. T...

BACKGROUND Surgery plus adjuvant radiotherapy is standard care for locally advanced prostate cancer (stage pT3R1). Intraoperative low-energy photon radiotherapy offers several advantages over external beam radiotherapy, and several systems are now available for its delivery, using spherical applicators, which require only limited shielding. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility ...

background: intraoperative radiation therapy (iort) technique is used to treat a surgically exposed tumor or tumor bed in the treatment of locally advanced intraabdominal, retroperitoneal, pelvic, thoracic, breast and soft tissue tumors. one way to perform iort is to use an existing linac and modify the treatment head using an applicator system. in this study the objectives were to design, and ...

In this study, dose rate distribution around a spherical 137Cs pellet source, from a low-dose-rate (LDR) Selectron remote afterloading system used in gynecological brachytherapy, has been determined using experimental and Monte Carlo simulation techniques. Monte Carlo simulations were performed using MCNP4C code, for a single pellet source in water medium and Plexiglas, and measurements were pe...

Background: Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) technique is used to treat a surgically exposed tumor or tumor bed in the treatment of locally advanced intraabdominal, retroperitoneal, pelvic, thoracic, breast and soft tissue tumors. One way to perform IORT is to use an existing linac and modify the treatment head using an applicator system. In this study the objectives were to design, and ...

PURPOSE To retrospectively compare the potential dosimetric advantages of a multichannel vaginal applicator vs. a single channel one in intracavitary vaginal high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy after hysterectomy, and evaluate the dosimetric advantage of fractional re-planning. MATERIAL AND METHODS We randomly selected 12 patients with endometrial carcinoma, who received adjuvant vaginal cuff ...

PURPOSE To quantify the dosimetric impact of applicator displacements and applicator reconstruction-uncertainties through simulated planning studies of virtual applicator shifts. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty randomly selected high-dose-rate (HDR) titanium tandem-and-ovoid (T&O) plans were retrospectively studied. MRI-guided, conformal brachytherapy (MRIG-CBT) plans were retrospectively generat...

The purpose of this work was to experimentally investigate the out-of-field dose in a water phantom, with several high energy electron beams used in external beam radiotherapy (RT). The study was carried out for 6, 9, 12, and 18 MeV electron beams, on three different linear accelerators, each equipped with a specific applicator. Measurements were performed in a water phantom, at different depth...

A novel phantom is presented for 'full system' dosimetric audit comparing planned and delivered dose distributions in HDR gynaecological brachytherapy, using clinical treatment applicators. The brachytherapy applicator dosimetry test object consists of a near full-scatter water tank with applicator and film supports constructed of Solid Water, accommodating any typical cervix applicator. Film d...