TREATMENT OF LOCAL RADIATION LESIONS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS.

The purpose of this paper is the demonstration and analysis of the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation in treatment of chronic drug-resistant neuropathy pain in a patient with radiation-induced plexopathy. She underwent radiation therapy for cancer of the right breast in 2000. Ten years later she complained with pain and weakness her right arm. After physical examination and investigation right-side brachial plexopathy was diagnosed. Antidepressant and anticonvulsant had positive effect during one year but then pain appeared again. That is why the patient has been implanted the system of epidural electrostimulation of thickening of the cervical spinal cord. During the post-operative period significant improvement of pain relief was noted. The doses of analgesics were decreased. Spinal cord stimulation efficacy for treatment of chronic pain was repeatedly proved in clinical investigation and meta-analyses. Nevertheless spinal cord stimulation effects on radiation-induced neurological disorders and possible pathophysiological mechanisms are not enough examined. All these facts require further investigation.

[Early-onset radiation complications and tissue damage in the treatment of head and neck tumors].

The report discusses the results of an evaluation of the effectiveness of combined radiotherapy in 1,192 cases of head and neck tumors divided into 4 groups: distant radiotherapy in standard fractions of 1.8-2.3 Gy, 5 times a week, TTD of 60 Gy (group 1 - 486 40.8%); radiotherapy + local UHF hyperthermia + regional intraarterial chemotherapy + hyper glycemia + administrations of regional intraarterial chemotherapy + hyperglycemia + local UHF hyperthermia (group 2 - 244 20.5%); accelerated superfractition radiotherapy with variable STD of 1 and 1.5/2 Gy, TTD of 60 Gy, plus neoadjuvant polychemotherapy with cisplatin 100 mg/lm2 + 5-fluorouracil, continuous intravenous infusion of 3,000 mg for 72 h (group 3 - 204 17%1); combined photon-neutron therapy (group 4 - 258 21.6%): neutron beam therapy - 36 (3%); interstitial neutron brachytherapy with 252 Cf sources in combination with external beam gamma-therapy and chemotherapy. Overall radiation injury incidence was 1,087 (91.2%); oral mucositis grade I (WHO) - 110 (9.2%), grade II - 166(13.9%), grade III - 811 (68%), radiation dermatitis - 279 (23.4%), grade I/II - 196 (16.4%), grade III/IV - 83 (7%). Grade III/IV side effects developed in 26.7% after gamma therapy and in 72.2% - in the photon-neutron group (p < or = 0.0001). Skin damage was rare, as expected, in the photon-brachytherapy group (1.8%) (p < or = 0.0001). Hence, Cf252 neutron brachytherapy and radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy appeared to produce the most sparing effects.