Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Terahara

Publications and source records attributed to A Terahara.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Megavoltage CT-assisted stereotactic radiosurgery for thoracic tumors: original research in the treatment of thoracic neoplasms.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for thoracic tumors with megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) from the point of view of symptom palliation as well as local control. METHODS AND MATERIALS: MVCT-assisted positioning verification and real-time monitoring for a multileaf collimator (MLC) were used to enhance the accuracy of the thoracic SRS. Twenty-two thoracic tumors in 15 patients underwent the present treatment. All but 1 tumor were metastases from various primary malignancies. Eleven patients were symptomatic. The treatment site was the chest wall/pleura in 10 tumors, and the lung in 12 tumors. The median volume of the clinical target was 4.5 cc and the median peripheral dose was 20 Gy, for the lung tumors. For the chest wall/pleura tumors, the median volume of the clinical target was 40 cc and the median peripheral dose was 20 Gy. Conventional fractionated conformal radiation therapy (CRT) followed SRS in 10 tumors. RESULTS: Of 21 tumors eligible for evaluation, there were 13 with complete responses, 6 with partial responses, and 2 without response. Duration of local control ranged from 0.6 to 82 months with a median of 8 months, with only one local recurrence seen. Immediate palliation was obtained in most symptomatic patients. Interstitial changes in the lung were limited. Autopsy performed for a patient revealed remarkable histologic effects with minimal injuries to the lung. CONCLUSION: The geometric accuracy of MVCT-assisted SRS appeared to enhance the clinical efficacy and safety of treatment to thoracic malignancies.

Adult↗

Analysis of dose distribution in gamma knife radiosurgery for multiple targets.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the actual effect of irradiation for other targets in dose planning for the treatment of multiple metastases with Gamma Knife. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We analyzed dose distributions for 51 targets in 10 patients with metastatic brain tumors who underwent radiosurgery with Gamma Knife for the treatment of more than one target in one session. We made dose plans with every attempt to include as many targets as possible and calculate dose distributions separately for each dose matrix. We also calculated the composite dose distribution by including the effect of all shots used. We compared these noncomposite and composite dose distributions. RESULTS: The differences in the mean target dose between the noncomposite dose distribution and the composite one ranged from 0.0 to 4.5 Gy with a mean of 1.5 Gy and was more than 2 Gy in 12 (24%) targets. The difference tended to be larger when targets were small in volume and/or the number of targets was large. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of irradiation from the shots for other targets was not negligible in some cases. This difference of dose distribution should be considered in the analysis of clinical outcomes of cases with multiple targets treated in one session.

Brain Neoplasms↗

A single institutional outcome analysis of Gamma Knife radiosurgery for single or multiple brain metastases.

Although Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is widely used for metastatic brain tumors, optimal patient selection and treatment strategy continue to be investigated. The aim of this study was to provide treatment results with Gamma Knife SRS and to establish prognostic factors. Of the 54 patients treated from 1990 to 1997, 51 patients were evaluable. There were 28 males and 23 females, with a median age of 60 years. Median Karnofsky Index was 80. There were 19 non-small cell lung cancers, eight colon cancers, six renal cell cancers, five ovarian cancers, four gastric cancers, three breast cancers, and six others. Primary tumors were controlled in 33 patients, and extracranial tumors were absent in 25 patients. Sixty-eight metastatic brain tumors in 37 patients underwent SRS as an initial treatment for the brain metastasis. Brain metastasis was solitary in 32 patients. Conventional radiation was combined with SRS in 29 patients, 24 of whom received whole brain radiotherapy. Eight patients had some form of surgical resection. Median survival time was 7.4 months. Five-year actuarial survival and local control rates were 16 and 52%, respectively. Median duration time of keeping pretreatment quality of life was 6.9 months. On a multivariate analysis, uncontrolled primary tumor, combined conventional radiotherapy, and performance status were statistically significant prognostic factors. Four patients who underwent whole brain radiation developed low grade dementia.

Adult↗

Results of radiosurgery for brain stem arteriovenous malformations.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the treatment results of radiosurgery for brain stem arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and to seek optimal dose and treatment volume prescription for these lesions. METHODS: The clinical and radiological data of 30 consecutive patients with brain stem AVM treated with gamma knife radiosurgery were retrospectively reviewed with a mean follow up period of 52.2 months. There were 26 patients with previous haemorrhages and 21 with neurological deficit. Seventeen AVMs were located in the midbrain, 11 in the pons, and two in the medulla oblongata. All of the lesions were small with the intra-axial component occupying less than one third of the area of brain stem parenchyma on axial section of multiplanar MRI or CT. The mean diameter of the nidus was 1.26 cm, and the nidus volume within the brain stem parenchyma ranged from 0.1 to 2.0 cm(3). The mean radiation dose to the AVM margin was 18.4 Gy. RESULTS: The actuarial 3 year obliteration rate was 52.2%; 69.4% in cases treated with standard doses (minimum target dose, 18-20Gy), and 14.3% in cases treated with low doses (<18 Gy) (p<0.05). Two patients sustained symptomatic radiation injury, but there was no permanent neurological deficit caused by radiosurgery. Five patients had haemorrhage from the AVM after irradiation, including four fatal cases, resulting in a 4.0% annual rate of post-treatment bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Radiosurgery is a viable treatment modality for patients with small deep parenchymal brain stem AVMs. A standard radiosurgical dose is safe and effective when directed to a small treatment volume. However, latent interval haemorrhage remains a significant problem until the nidus is obliterated completely.

Adolescent↗

Gamma knife radiosurgery as a primary treatment for prolactinomas.

OBJECT: The purpose of this study was to estimate the efficacy of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) in controlling tumor growth and endocrinopathy associated with prolactinomas. METHODS: Between 1993 and 1997, 164 of 469 patients with pituitary adenomas treated by GKS harbored prolactinomas. The dose to the tumor margin ranged from 9 to 35 Gy (mean 31.2 Gy), and the visual pathways were exposed to a dose of less than 10 Gy. The mean tumor diameter was 13.4 mm. The mean follow-up time for 128 cases was 33.2 months (range 6-72 months). Tumor control was observed in all but two patients who underwent surgery 18 and 36 months, respectively, after GKS. Clinical cure was achieved in 67 cases. Clinical improvement was noted with a decrease in the hyperprolactinemia after GKS. Nonetheless, in 31 (29%) of 108 patients who were followed for more than 2 years no improvement in serum prolactin levels was demonstrated, although this could be normalized by bromocriptine administration after treatment. Nine infertile women became pregnant 2 to 13 months after GKS and all gave birth to normal children. There was no visual deterioration related to GKS. Five women experienced premature menopause. In these patients there was subtotal disappearance of the tumor and an empty sella developed. CONCLUSIONS: Gamma knife radiosurgery as a primary treatment for prolactinomas can be safe and effective both for controlling tumor growth and for normalization of prolactin hypersecretion. A higher margin dose (> or = 30 Gy) seemed to be associated with a better clinical outcome. Gamma knife radiosurgery may make prolactinomas more sensitive to the bromocriptine.

Humans↗

Analysis of the relationship between tumor dose inhomogeneity and local control in patients with skull base chordoma.

PURPOSE: When irradiating a tumor that abuts or displaces any normal structures, the dose constraints to those structures (if lower than the prescribed dose) may cause dose inhomogeneity in the tumor volume at the tumor-critical structure interface. The low-dose region in the tumor volume may be one of the reasons for local failure. The aim of this study is to quantitate the effect of tumor dose inhomogeneity on local control and recurrence-free survival in patients with skull base chordoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: 132 patients with skull base chordoma were treated with combined photon and proton irradiation between 1978 and 1993. This study reviews 115 patients whose dose-volume data and follow-up data are available. The prescribed doses ranged from 66.6 Cobalt-Gray-Equivalent (CGE) to 79.2 CGE (median of 68.9 CGE). The dose to the optic structures (optic nerves and chiasm), the brain stem surface, and the brain stem center was limited to 60, 64, and 53 CGE, respectively. We used the dose-volume histogram data derived with the three-dimensional treatment planning system to evaluate several dose-volume parameters including the Equivalent Uniform Dose (EUD). We also analyzed several other patient and treatment factors in relation to local control and recurrence-free survival. RESULTS: Local failure developed in 42 of 115 patients, with the actuarial local control rates at 5 and 10 years being 59% and 44%. Gender was a significant predictor for local control with the prognosis in males being significantly better than that in females (P = 0.004, hazard ratio = 2.3). In a Cox univariate analysis, with stratification by gender, the significant predictors for local control (at the probability level of 0.05) were EUD, the target volume, the minimum dose, and the D5cc dose. The prescribed dose, histology, age, the maximum dose, the mean dose, the median dose, the D90% dose, and the overall treatment time were not significant factors. In a Cox multivariate analysis, the models including gender and EUD, or gender and the target volume, or gender and the minimum target dose were significant. The more biologically meaningful of these models is that of gender and EUD. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the probability of recurrence of skull base chordomas depends on gender, target volume, and the level of target dose inhomogeneity. EUD was shown to be a useful parameter to evaluate dose distribution for the target volume.

Adult↗

Relief of hemiballism from a basal ganglia arteriovenous malformation after radiosurgery.

A patient with a 3-year history of progressive hemiballism presented with an unruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the contralateral caudate nucleus and putamen. PET demonstrated a matched reduction of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) in the basal ganglia and adjacent frontal lobe. The patient underwent radiosurgery for the AVM. After a period of no clinical change for 6 months, the movement disorder resolved by month 7 post-treatment. The AVM was successfully obliterated 2 years after irradiation without any significant change in the regional CBF or CMRO2.

Arteriovenous Malformations↗

High-dose conformal radiotherapy influenced the pattern of failure but did not improve survival in glioblastoma multiforme.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although glioblastoma multiforme is clearly radiation-resistant, there is evidence of a dose-dependent response relationship. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of higher dose by rotational multileaf collimator (MLC) conformal radiation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1984 to 1995, 38 consecutive cases with intracranial glioblastoma multiforme were treated using the rotational MLC conformal therapy. There were 25 men and 13 women with a median age of 47 years (12-73 years, mean 46.5 years). Median Karnofsky performance score was 80 (30-100, mean 78.2). Median tumor volume was 64 cc (8-800 cc, mean 110.3 cc). All underwent surgical intervention (only biopsy in 1, partial resection in 13, subtotal resection in 21, and gross total resection in 3). Radiation dose to was 60 to 80 Gy (median 68.5 Gy, mean 68.3 Gy) in 21 patients treated before 1990 and 90 Gy in the 17 patients thereafter. Biweekly i.v. chemotherapy was also administered for both arms. RESULTS: The 1-year, 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year overall survival rates were 75%, 42%, 20%, and 15%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed the initial tumor volume, residual tumor volume, and Karnofsky performance score were statistically significant factors for survival. Only the residual tumor volume was statistically significant by multivariate analysis. The 5-year survival rate of patients with residual tumors of 5 cc or less in volume was as good as 37%. Survival of the 90-Gy Group appeared inferior to that of the Low-Dose Group, though no statistical difference was seen (the 3-year survival was 40% vs. 22%). Local failure was observed in 16 of the 19 recurrences in the Low-Dose Group, whereas it was observed in only 4 of the 13 recurrences in the 90-Gy Group. The difference in pattern of failure was statistically significant. Two patients of the High-Dose Group developed radiation necrosis and one died of it. CONCLUSIONS: The high-dose conformal radiotherapy did not improve survival in the disease, but did change the pattern of failure.

Adolescent↗

Radiotherapy of bone metastases of a spinal meningeal hemangiopericytoma.

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare tumor arising from pericapillary cells or pericytes of Zimmerman, and can occur anywhere capillaries are found. We describe a patient with a meningeal hemangiopericytoma who was treated with primary surgical resection and experienced multiple bone metastases 20 years after the first treatment. This patient with multiple bone metastases was treated with multiple courses of irradiation and good palliation was achieved.

Adult↗

Control of epilepsy associated with cerebral arteriovenous malformations after radiosurgery.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of radiosurgery for symptomatic epilepsy associated with cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). METHODS: Thirty five patients with unruptured epileptogenic AVMs were studied with a mean follow up of 43.0 months. The duration of epilepsy before radiosurgery ranged from 2 months to 21 years (mean 2.8 years). Fifteen patients showed partial seizures; eight of these had associated secondary generalisation. The remaining 20 patients showed only generalised seizures without preceding focal seizures. RESULTS: At the final follow up examination, 28 patients remained seizure free, whereas seizures continued in seven. Variables significantly associated with continuity of seizures after radiosurgery were the number of seizures before therapy (p<0.01) and duration of epilepsy (p<0.05). According to Engel's classification, the 10 patients with intractable seizures before treatment included five with grade I, four with grade III, and one with grade IV. The frequency of seizures began to decrease several months after radiosurgery; much shorter than the time required for morphological change in the AVMs. CONCLUSIONS: Radiosurgery seems to be beneficial for seizure control in patients with unruptured epileptogenic AVM.

Adolescent↗

Arteriovenous malformations in the basal ganglia and thalamus: management and results in 101 cases.

OBJECT: Because arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in the basal ganglia and thalamus are difficult to treat, the authors conducted a retrospective study to determine the best management strategy for these lesions. METHODS: The authors reviewed the management and outcome in 101 patients with AVMs treated between 1971 and 1995. In 15 conservatively treated patients, hemorrhage occurred in 71.4% (annual rate 11.4%), and the morbidity and mortality rates were 7.1% and 42.9%, respectively, during a mean follow-up period of 6.6 years. Total microsurgical resection was performed in 15 patients with no mortality resulting, but motor function deteriorated permanently in three of them (20%). Postoperative morbidity correlated well with the location of the AVM and with preoperative motor function. In cases of lenticular AVMs without motor weakness, a postoperative decrease in motor function was significantly more common than in the remaining patients. In patients with motor weakness before surgery, AVMs in the thalamus or caudate nucleus were successfully resected. Among 66 patients treated with gamma knife radiosurgery, three had permanent radiation-induced neurological deficits, and three others experienced bleeding (new bleeding in one case and rebleeding in two). The treatment-associated morbidity rate was 6.7%, and the actuarial rate of complete obliteration was 85.7% at 2.5 years. In five patients treated with embolization alone, the morbidity and mortality rates associated with the procedure or bleeding were 40% and 20%, respectively. The morbidity and mortality rates in the pre-gamma knife era were 22.2% and 22.2%, whereas those for the post-gamma knife era are currently 10.4% and 1.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that conservatively treated AVMs are more likely to bleed and thus produce a high incidence of patient mortality. Multimodal treatment including radiosurgery, microsurgery, and embolization improved clinical outcomes by making it possible to treat difficult cases successfully.

Adolescent↗

[Clinical evaluation of heavy-particle radiotherapy using dose volume histogram (DVH)].

Radiotherapy with heavy particles such as proton and heavy-charged particles is a promising modality for treatment of localized malignant tumors because of the good dose distribution. A dose calculation and radiotherapy planning system which is essential for this kind of treatment has been developed in recent years. It has the capability to compute the dose volume histogram (DVH) which contains dose-volume information for the target volume and other interesting volumes. Recently, DVH is commonly used to evaluate and compare dose distributions in radiotherapy with both photon and heavy particles, and it shows that a superior dose distribution is obtained in heavy particle radiotherapy. DVH is also utilized for the evaluation of dose distribution related to clinical outcomes. Besides models such as normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) and tumor control probability (TCP), which can be calculated from DVH are proposed by several authors, they are applied to evaluate dose distributions themselves and to evaluate them in relation to clinical results. DVH is now a useful and important tool, but further studies are needed to use DVH and these models practically for clinical evaluation of heavy-particle radiotherapy.

Elementary Particles↗

Role of radiosurgery in the management of cavernous sinus meningiomas.

OBJECTIVE: To provide our early experience and philosophy in the utility of radiosurgery in the management of cavernous sinus meningiomas. METHODS: Twenty-five consecutive cases with cavernous sinus meningiomas treated between 1990 and 1995 were reviewed. Three cases were treated with gamma-knife radiosurgery, 15 with preceding surgery and gamma knife, 7 with surgery. Mean follow-up following radiosurgery and surgery were 34.8 and 25.4 months, respectively. RESULTS: The 5-year actuarial tumor control rate following radiosurgery was 85.7% and tumor remission rate was 61.4%. Permanent neurological deterioration after radiosurgery was seen in 1 case (5.9%), whereas newly developed or worsened neurological deficits permanently persisted in 59.1% of patients after surgery. There was a clear correlation between surgical radicality and postoperative morbidity rate. CONCLUSIONS: Gamma-knife radiosurgery is a valuable addition to surgical removal in the treatment of cavernous sinus meningiomas. Combination of non-radical resection and subsequent radiosurgery is recommended to improve treatment-associated morbidity.

Adult↗

[Gamma knife radiosurgery for metastatic brain tumors: neuropathological report of two autopsy cases and review of literatures].

More than 40,000 cases have been treated with gamma knife radiosurgery, but few neuropathological reports are available. This paper describes two autopsy cases in which the patients had been treated with gamma knife. As these patients died 67 and 24 days after therapy, early neuropathological changes are reported. The first case was a 58-year-old woman diagnosed with multiple brain metastases from breast cancer. One of these lesions, in the medullaoblongata, was irradiated with a gamma knife. Sixty-seven days later, she died from heart failure. The second case was a 69-year-old man diagnosed with multiple brain metastases from lung cancer. One of these lesions, in the pons, was irradiated with a gamma knife. Twenty-four days later, he died from acute renal failure caused by hepatorenal syndrome. In both cases, the irradiated lesions were well demarcated from the undamaged surrounding tissues on light microscopy. Histologically, the tumor cells showed a variety of degenerative changes, such as pyknosis, multinuclear cells, and vacuolar degeneration in the cytoplasm. Fibrosis, more prominent in the first case, was observed spreading in the irradiation field, adhering to the hyalinized and thickened vessel walls. Demyelination was also observed in the first case. As far as we know, this report is the first published description of fibrosis in the radiosurgical irradiation field.

Aged↗

Dose-volume histogram analysis of high dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy for uterine cervix cancer.

PURPOSE: We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between dose distribution and local control using a dose-volume histogram (DVH) in patients with cancer of the uterine cervix treated by definitive radiotherapy including intracavitary brachytherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Twenty-five patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix who underwent definitive radiotherapy between August 1987 and April 1994 were selected for the present study. They included 15 patients with local control and 10 patients with local recurrence. In principle, these patients were treated with 50 Gy of external beam pelvic radiotherapy and a point A dose of 24 Gy, in four fractions, of intracavitary brachytherapy. The DVHs of tumor volumes were calculated by superimposing three-dimensional (3D) dose distributions on computed tomography (CT) images taken before brachytherapy. RESULTS: Differential DVHs revealed a tendency for the portion of the total tumor volume to which the delivered dose was low to be larger in patients with local recurrence. The tumor volumes and the absolute dose volumes of which the absorbed dose was less than 24 Gy [DV (< 24 Gy)] were significantly larger in patients with local recurrence than those in local control patients (p = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively). The percent DV (<24 Gy) was not significantly different in the two groups. In patients with larger tumor volume, the absolute DV (<24 Gy) was also larger and a strong linear correlation was noted between them. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of dose distribution of brachytherapy using DVH was useful to evaluate the quality of dose distribution quantitatively. The absolute dose volume was considered more important than the percent dose volume for evaluation of the clinical outcome. Our study suggested that unfavorable dose distribution for the tumor volume in brachytherapy was one of the reasons of poor local control in patients with large tumor volume.

Brachytherapy↗

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for brain stem metastases: two autopsy cases.

Early neuropathological findings were obtained at autopsy in two cases of brain stem metastasis treated with the Gamma Knife. In both cases, light microscopy radiation changes were strictly localized. Residual tumor tissue in the irradiation field showed marked degenerative changes including multinuclear cells, atypical nuclei and vacuolar degeneration. A characteristic finding in the irradiation field was fibrosis associated with hyalinized and thickened vessels. In more peripheral regions, demyelination and vacuolar degeneration were seen. This is the first report demonstrating extravascular fibrosis in the irradiated field following radiosurgery.

Aged↗

[Verification of rotational conformation radiotherapy using megavoltage CT scanning].

Although portal imaging is a promising method of verification during static multi-port irradiation, it cannot be applied directly to dynamic irradiation such as rotational conformation with multi-leaf collimator movement. A real-time beam monitoring system based on megavoltage computed tomography scanning has been developed to establish a verification method for the rotational conformation technique. The exit beam through the patient is extracted by the same detector unit as that used for megavoltage scanning during the actual treatment. The beam edge is defined as the 50% level of the maximum dose of the detector array. Megavoltage computed tomography is done after patient setup and just prior to the actual irradiation. Detected beam pathways are overlaid on this image approximately every 1 sec. Therapists can monitor the correlation between the target and actual beam pathways on a real-time computer display. The accuracy of field edge detection has been proven to be less than 2 mm from various measurements. Field errors were identified in two of 54 sessions using this method. Although several limitations remain to be solved, the method presented is an useful tool for treatment verification of high accuracy radiation therapy, particularly rotational conformation irradiation.

Brachytherapy↗

Radiation therapy in early glottic carcinoma: uni- and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors affecting local control.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this report is to clarify prognostic factors affecting local control of T1 and T2 glottic tumors and to define an optimal regimen for radiation therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Two hundred and ten patients (199 males, 11 females, age range 30 to 86 years with an average of 62 years) with previously untreated invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the glottis were treated with radiation therapy at the University of Tokyo between January 1972 and December 1989. Endoscopic microsurgery was introduced as an integral part of treatment in 1974. From 1974 to 1979 the radiation dose was gradually reduced, reaching a mean of 20 Gy in 2 weeks in 1979. From 1980 to 1983, the total dose increased to 50.4 Gy, with a fraction size of 1.8 Gy, over a mean of 5.6 weeks. From 1984 onward, the mean total radiation dose increased to 60 Gy with a fraction of 2 Gy. RESULTS: Recurrence-free 5 year survival rates for T1a, T1b, and T2 were 79%, 73%, and 67%, respectively. When the relationship between radiation dose and local control rates was analyzed for each year from 1974 to 1989, total doses were strongly associated with local control for patients with T1a disease. Age, sex, daily dose, total dose, radiation machine (Co-60 or 10 MV Lineac), treatment technique (anterior wedged pair or parallel opposed fields), treatment volume, use of endoscopic microsurgery, and involvement of the anterior commissure were examined for effects upon relapse-free survival in T1a disease by uni- and multivariate analysis. Total dose was the only significant factor for T1a disease (p < 0.02). The effect of these variables upon relapse-free survival in T2 disease as well as the effect of cord mobility, and number of involved sites was examined by multivariate analysis. Total dose (p < 0.03), cord mobility (p < 0.05), and number of involved sites (p < 0.04) significantly affected relapse-free survival in T2 disease. CONCLUSION: At least 50 Gy is required for treatment of T1 disease when 2 Gy is used as a daily dose, even if endoscopic microsurgery is performed. Better local control of T2 disease in patients with impaired cord mobility or more than three involved sites leads to an improved prognosis; we recommend doses of at least 70 Gy or use of hyperfractionation in such patients with these factors. Although the daily dose did not significantly affect prognosis in multivariate analyses, 1.8 Gy is not recommended for treatment of T2 tumors instead of 2 Gy.

Adult↗