An outline of the Hokkaido University PACS (HU-PACS) and 10 months experience of its clinical use are reported. It is concluded that HU-PACS is a useful clinical tool, even though some points still remain to be improved.

Computer Systems↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Telephone line transfer using a local filing system in Hokkaido.

An image-data transfer system using a public telephone line has been constructed between Hokkaido University Hospital (HUH) and Nakashibetsu Town Hospital (NTH). The latter is situated about 420 km from Sapporo and does not have full-time radiologists. A local filing system coupled with a film reader and an optical disk had been installed in HUH in 1986, and in NTH in 1988. Both systems were connected by a public telephone line along which the transfer speed is 9600 bps. Images originating at NTH, mostly CT, were digitized by the film reader and sent to HUH after compression at a ratio of about 5:1 to 10:1. Clinical information concerning a patient was also sent to HUH using facsimile. Radiologists interpreted the transferred data (12 CT images on a film) on the CRT and sent back a written report to NTH using facsimile. The system and its image quality are largely acceptable, especially in an emergency case for brain and abdomen, although the transfer of a film takes about 7 to 20 min.

Computer Communication Networks↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical experience--16 months of HU-PACS.

Sixteen months experience with HU-PACS (Hokkaido University PACS) is reported. This report describes the hardware and software aspects of HU-PACS in its working state. Evaluation of the system is also reported, and usefulness of PACS concludes paper.

Computers↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Results of prophylactic adjuvant chemotherapy for early stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck.

Results were reviewed in 46 patients who had stage I and II head and neck non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and received five to six cycles of CVP chemotherapy after regional irradiation. Disease-free survival, pattern of relapse, and time of relapse were compared with those of 64 patients, who received regional irradiation alone. Adjuvant, post irradiation CVP significantly improved five-year survival in stage I (and IE) disease, 49.6% to 81.9% (p less than 0.05), but was less successful in patients with heavier tumor burden, such as stage II disease or advanced loco regional disease in Waldeyer's ring (48.3% to 63.7%; p greater than 0.10 in stage II patients). In addition, in those who relapsed, the time and pattern of relapse were not altered by adjuvant CVP chemotherapy. This easily tolerated, mild adjuvant chemotherapy, we conclude, failed to prove significant in preventing relapse, especially in patients with heavier tumor burden.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term results of treatment with mild toxicities in small cell lung carcinoma.

Results of treating small cell lung carcinoma with mild toxicities were investigated retrospectively. From 1974 to 1981, 38 patients were treated according to three institutional protocols: radiation alone (RAD), radiation with ifosfamide (IFOS), and radiation with adriamycin, vincristine, and cyclophosphamide (AOC). Of the three five-year survivors, two were treated with IFOS and one with RAD. The time period between admission and the beginning of radiotherapy was longer and the treatment field smaller in AOC than in the other two protocols. IFOS and RAD showed less toxicity. Our study indicated that IFOS and RAD should be regarded as curative treatments for limited disease and are suitable for patients who do not have sufficient bone marrow reserve.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An experience with slit beam rotation therapy (SBRT).

A new rotation therapy technique using slit beams of 10 Mev X-rays (3.3 mm X 50 mm at isocenter FCD 100 cm) was developed. The dose distribution of a 360-degree rotation of the slit beam described above is similar to that of a 137-Cs needle. The axes of a 360-degree rotation of the slit beam were arranged to cover the target volume to produce a dose distribution similar to interstitial irradiation. This technique was named as the slit beam rotation therapy. Twenty patients who had radioresistant tumors or were difficult to control by conventional therapy have been treated with this technique, combined with or without conventional external beam irradiation, since 1982. Eight out of ten extracranial lesions showed good regression and a palliative effect was obtained without severe morbidity. A one year survival rate of 67% in six patients with glioblastoma multiforme was achieved by this method. Although the feasibility study is still in progress, this new treatment technique looks highly promising.

Brachytherapy↗