Case Report: Education and training of RTTs for radiation oncology departments in Russia.

Modern radiotherapy is performed with sophisticated equipment that requires highly qualified professionals. In the Russian Federation the responsibilities of Radiation Therapy Technologists (RTTs) are carried out by medical nurses who receive on-the-job training. The article discusses the problems of RTT education and training, describes our own teaching experience and suggests further development for the national RTT education system in Russia.

[Primary multiple malignant lung tumors. References and a clinical observation].

The problem of primary multiple tumors is relevant to current clinical oncology because of increasing of number of patients with multiple malignant tumors and unsolved issues of treatment. Primary multiple malignant lung tumors is a common oncological situation requires an individualized, differentiated approach to treatment. The results of treatment are associated with the prevalence of the process, stages of tumor development, spare capacity of patients. There is presented clinical example of a patient with metachronous primary multiple malignant tumors of one lung.

[Results of complex treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal using advanced radiotherapy technologies].

During recent decades radiotherapy is the basis, on which it is built a medical complex that is the first-line treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal. An increase of overall and disease-free survival and quality of life of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal at the present stage of development of a comprehensive medical treatment is largely due to the improvement of technical equipment of radiotherapy departments of oncology clinics. The use of modem linear electron accelerators and systems of computer dosimetric planning to create a 3D program of isodose distribution, diagnostic devices (computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) as well as a number of other conditions permit accurate summarizing of proposed dose, reducing of absorbed dose to critical structures, diminishing unplanned interruptions in chemoradiotherapy course by means of modern technologies of conformal radiotherapy (3D CRT, IMRT, VMAT). The paper presents the preliminary results of a comprehensive medical treatment of 14 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal.

[Radiation pneumonitis in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer].

Despite of improvement of radiotherapy techniques and increasing usage of conformal radiation therapy which provides decrease of dose for normal tissues and organs, cases of radiation-induced injuries are still registrated. The aim of this study is to determine frequency and severity of lung toxicity in 513 breast cancer patients with Tis-2N0-2M0 disease after breast conserving surgery and chemotherapy depending from radiation therapy technique and irradiation volume. It is quite clear that in breast cancer patients frequency of lung toxicity after breast conserving surgery and RT increases from 20-24% when irradiating only breast to 37-41% when irradiating breast and regional lymph nodes. In our analysis the frequency of lung toxicity was quite similar for 2D conventional therapy (27,4%) and for 3D conformal therapy (28,7%). The risk of developing radiation pneumonitis increases dramatically with extension of V20 for ipsilateral lung more than 30%, mean lung dose more than 18 Gy, in patients with initial small volume of the lung (less than 110 cm3).