Dosimetric differences were investigated among single and dual arc RapidArc and fixed-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (f-IMRT) treatment plans for whole pelvic irradiation of lymph nodes. A total of 12 patients who had undergone radical surgery for cervical cancer and who had demonstrated multiple pelvic lymph node metastases were treated with radiotherapy. For all 12 cases, 7-field IMRT...

Stricture formation is recognized as one of the complications of chronic radiation enteritis. Here, we present a case of a 73-year-old woman who presented with small bowel obstruction 16 years after pelvic irradiation for uterine cancer. Computed tomographic (CT) scan of the abdomen demonstrated a 1-cm foreign body in the terminal ileum. Laparotomy revealed a stone of ume (Japanese apricot) stu...

Urinary bladder cystitis occurs in patients receiving radiation therapy for pelvic tumors. Radiation-induced formation of superoxide radicals is believed to damage the urothelium, exposing the underlying bladder smooth muscle to urine, culminating in nerve irritation and muscle dysfunction. We tested whether overexpression of MnSOD could decrease superoxide levels and protect the bladder from r...

Prostate cancer is the second cause of cancer in males. The prophylactic pelvic irradiation is usually needed for treating prostate cancer patients with Subclinical Nodal Metestases. Currently, the physicians decide when to deliver pelvic irradiation in nodal negative patients mainly by using the Roach formula, which gives an approximate estimation of the risk of Subclinical Nodal Metestases. I...

In Japan, radiotherapy with high dose rate remote after loading system (HDR-RALS) for intracavitary brachytherapy is the standard treatment for more than 30 years. This report showed the usefulness of HDR-RALS for uterine cervical cancer. From 1980 through 1999, 442 patients with uterine cervical cancers (stage I: 66, stage II: 161, stage III: 165, stage IV: 50) were treated. Radiotherapy was p...

AIM OF THE STUDY To present a case of a patient with cervical carcinoma in stage IIA who was diagnosed with pelvic bone sarcoma 28 years after radiotherapy. CASE PRESENTATION A 37-year-old woman with IIA cervix cancer was treated with external beam irradiation and brachytherapy. The patient had undergone conventionally fractionated external beam irradiation using the "box" technique, with the...

AIMS To study the spectrum of histological changes in the urinary tract caused by pelvic irradiation. METHODS Biopsy specimens of ureter and bladder and cystectomy specimens from 18 patients who had received pelvic irradiation were studied and the histological features were arbitrarily grouped into early and late changes. RESULTS A wide range of histological changes were noted of which subm...

BACKGROUND Pelvic organs morbidity after irradiation of cancer patients remains a major problem although new technologies have been developed and implemented. A relatively simple and suitable method for routine clinical practice is needed for preliminary assessment of normal tissue intrinsic radiosensitivity. The micronucleus test (MNT) determines the frequency of the radiation induced micronuc...

BACKGROUND This study investigated the local effect and acute toxicity of irinotecan and capecitabine with concurrent intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for the treatment of recurrent rectal cancer without prior pelvic irradiation. METHODS Seventy-one patients diagnosed with recurrent rectal cancer who did not previously receive pelvic irradiation were treated in our hospital from O...