Radiotherapy for Plantar Fibromas (Ledderhose Disease).

Ledderhose disease (plantar fibromas) is histologically related to Dupuytren disease, which has been successfully treated for years with radiotherapy. Many conservative treatments have been advanced for plantar fibromas, including accommodative orthotic devices, which help but do not cure the disease. Surgery is considered the mainstay of treatment for this malady, but the failure rate has been as high as 100%, depending on the type of fasciectomy. Radiotherapy is a new, exciting modality that has shown promising results for treating plantar fibromas.

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head-and-neck cancer in the community setting.

PURPOSE: To review outcomes with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in the community setting for the treatment of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between April 2003 and April 2007, 69 patients with histologically confirmed cancer of the nasopharynx and oropharynx underwent IMRT in our practice. The primary sites included nasopharynx (11), base of tongue (18), and tonsil (40). The disease stage distribution was as follows: 2 Stage I, 11 Stage II, 16 Stage III, and 40 Stage IV. All were treated with a simultaneous integrated boost IMRT technique. The median prescribed doses were 70 Gy to the planning target volume, 59.4 Gy to the high-risk subclinical volume, and 54 Gy to the low-risk subclinical volume. Forty-five patients (65%) received concurrent chemotherapy. Toxicity was graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group toxicity criteria. Progression-free and overall survival rates were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. RESULTS: Median duration of follow-up was 18 months. The estimated 2-year local control, regional control, distant control, and overall survival rates were 98%, 100%, 98%, and 90%, respectively. The most common acute toxicities were dermatitis (32 Grade 1, 32 Grade 2, 5 Grade 3), mucositis (8 Grade 1, 33 Grade 2, 28 Grade 3), and xerostomia (0 Grade 1, 29 Grade 2, 40 Grade 3). CONCLUSIONS: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy in the community setting can be accomplished safely and effectively. Systematic internal review systems are recommended for quality control until sufficient experience develops.

Detection of treatment setup errors between two CT scans for patients with head and neck cancer.

Accuracy of treatment setup for head and neck patients undergoing intensity-modulated radiation therapy is of paramount importance. The conventional method using orthogonal portal images can only detect translational setup errors while the most frequent setup errors for head and neck patients could be rotational errors. With the rapid development of image-guided radiotherapy, three-dimensional images are readily acquired and can be used to detect both translational and rotational setup errors. The purpose of this study is to determine the significance of rotational variations between two planning CT scans acquired for each of eight head and neck patients, who experienced substantial weight loss or tumor shrinkage. To this end, using a rigid body assumption, we developed an in-house computer program that utilizes matrix transformations to align point bony landmarks with an incremental best-fit routine. The program returns the quantified translational and rotational shifts needed to align the scans of each patient. The program was tested using a phantom for a set of known translational and rotational shifts. For comparison, a commercial treatment planning system was used to register the two CT scans and estimate the translational errors for these patients. For the eight patients, we found that the average magnitudes and standard deviations of the rotational shifts about the transverse, anterior-posterior, and longitudinal axes were 1.7 +/- 2.3 degrees, 0.8 +/- 0.7 degrees, and 1.8 +/- 1.1 degrees, respectively. The average magnitudes and standard deviations of the translational shifts were 2.5 +/- 2.6 mm, 2.9 +/- 2.8 mm, 2.7 +/- 1.7 mm while the differences detected between our program and the CT-CT fusion method were 1.8 +/- 1.3 mm, 3.3 +/- 5.4 mm, and 3.0 +/- 3.4 mm in the left-right, anterior-posterior, and superior-inferior directions, respectively. A trend of larger rotational errors resulting in larger translational differences between the two methods was observed. In conclusion, conventional methods used for verifying patient positioning may misinterpret rotational shifts as translational shifts, and our study demonstrated that rotational errors may be significant in the treatment of head and neck cancer.

Results of the 2004 Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) survey.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to document adequacy of training, career plans after residency, use of the in-service examination, and motivation for choice of radiation oncology as a specialty. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In 2004, the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) conducted a nationwide survey of all radiation oncology residents in the United States. RESULTS: The survey was returned by 297 residents (response rate, 54%). Of the respondents, 29% were female and 71% male. The most popular career choice was joining an established private practice (38%), followed by a permanent academic career (29%). Residents for whom a permanent academic career was not their first choice were asked whether improvements in certain areas would have led them to be more likely to pursue an academic career. The most commonly chosen factors that would have had a strong or moderate influence included higher salary (81%), choice of geographic location (76%), faculty encouragement (68%), and less time commitment (68%). Of respondents in the first 3 years of training, 78% believed that they had received adequate training to proceed to the next level of training. Of those in their fourth year of training, 75% believed that they had received adequate training to enter practice. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple factors affect the educational environment of physicians in training. Data describing concerns unique to resident physicians in radiation oncology are limited. The current survey was designed to explore a variety of issues confronting radiation oncology residents. Training programs and the Residency Review Committee should consider these results when developing new policies to improve the educational experiences of residents in radiation oncology.

Image-guided radiotherapy using megavoltage cone-beam computed tomography for treatment of paraspinous tumors in the presence of orthopedic hardware.

PURPOSE: This report describes a new image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) technique using megavoltage cone-beam computed tomography (MV-CBCT) to treat paraspinous tumors in the presence of orthopedic hardware. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A patient with a resected paraspinous high-grade sarcoma was treated to 59.4 Gy with an IMRT plan. Daily MV-CBCT imaging was used to ensure accurate positioning. The displacement between MV-CBCT and planning CT images were determined daily and applied remotely to the treatment couch. The dose-volume histograms of the original and a hypothetical IMRT plan (shifted by the average daily setup errors) were compared to estimate the impact on dosimetry. RESULTS: The mean setup corrections in the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical directions were 3.6 mm (95% CI, 2.6-4.6 mm), 4.1 mm (95% CI, 3.2-5.0 mm), and 1.0 mm (95% CI, 0.6-1.3 mm), respectively. Without corrected positioning, the dose to 0.1 cc of the spinal cord increased by 9.4 Gy, and the doses to 95% of clinical target volumes 1 and 2 were reduced by 4 Gy and 4.8 Gy, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Megavoltage-CBCT provides a new alternative image-guided radiotherapy approach for treatment of paraspinous tumors in the presence of orthopedic hardware by providing 3D anatomic information in the treatment position, with clear imaging of metallic objects and without compromising soft-tissue information.

Repeat CT imaging and replanning during the course of IMRT for head-and-neck cancer.

PURPOSE: Many patients with head-and-neck (H&N) cancer have tumor shrinkage and/or weight loss during the course of radiotherapy. We conducted this retrospective study to determine the dosimetric effects of repeat computed tomography (CT) imaging and replanning during the course of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) on both normal tissues and target volumes. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective chart review identified 13 patients with H&N cancer treated with IMRT who had repeat CT imaging and replanning during the course of radiotherapy. The first IMRT plan for each patient was generated based on the original planning CT scan acquired before the start of treatment. Because of tumor shrinkage or weight loss during radiotherapy, a second CT scan was acquired, and a new plan was generated and used to complete the course of IMRT. CT-CT fusion was used to correct patient positioning differences between the scans. By using a commercial inverse IMRT planning system, a hybrid IMRT plan was generated for each patient by applying the beam configurations of the first IMRT plan (including the intensity profile of each beam) to the anatomy of the second CT scan. The dose-volume histograms of the actual and hybrid IMRT plans were compared using analysis of variance methods for repeated measures. RESULTS: All patients had locally advanced, nonmetastatic Stage III or IV disease, including 6 nasopharynx, 6 oropharynx, and 1 unknown primary site. All patients were treated with concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy. When replanning vs. not replanning was compared, the hybrid IMRT plans (without replanning) demonstrated reduced doses to target volumes and increased doses to critical structures. The doses to 95% (D95) of the planning target volumes of the gross tumor volume (PTVGTV) and the clinical target volume (PTVCTV) were reduced in 92% of patients, by 0.8-6.3 Gy (p=0.02) and 0.2-7.4 Gy (p=0.003), respectively. The maximum dose (Dmax) to the spinal cord increased in all patients (range, 0.2-15.4 Gy; p=0.003) and the brainstem Dmax increased in 85% of patients without replanning (range, 0.6-8.1 Gy; p=0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Repeat CT imaging and replanning during the course of IMRT for selected patients with H&N cancer is essential to identify dosimetric changes and to ensure adequate doses to target volumes and safe doses to normal tissues. Future prospective studies with larger sample sizes will help to determine criteria for repeat CT imaging and IMRT replanning for H&N cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Septic pericarditis, aortic endarteritis, and osteomyelitis in a dog.

A 7-year-old, female spayed rottweiler was referred with a history of an acute onset of collapse attributable to cardiac tamponade. Thoracic radiographs revealed an enlarged cardiac silhouette compatible with pericardial effusion, sternal osteomyelitis, and an unusual mineralized lesion determined later to be within the aortic wall. The pericardial effusion was a septic exudate secondary to infection with Staphylococcus species and hemorrhage into the pericardium through a mineralized aortic lesion. The case demonstrates the importance of complete evaluation of thoracic radiographs in a patient with cardiac disease and the potential value of cytopathological evaluation of pericardial fluid.