Relationship of sentinel and axillary level I-II lymph nodes to tangential fields used in breast irradiation.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the volume of nodal irradiation associated with breast-conserving therapy, we defined the anatomic relationship of sentinel lymph nodes and axillary level I and II lymph nodes in patients receiving tangential breast irradiation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective analysis of 65 simulation fields in women with breast cancer treated with sentinel lymph node surgery and 39 women in whom radiopaque clips demarcated the extent of axillary lymph node dissection was performed. We measured the relationship of the surgical clips to the anatomic landmarks and calculated the percentage of prescribed dose delivered to the sentinel lymph node region. RESULTS: A cranial field edge 2.0 cm below the humeral head the sentinel lymph node region was included or at the field edge in 95% of the cases and the entire extent of axillary I and II dissection in 43% of the axillary dissection cases. In the remaining 57%, this field border encompassed an average of 80% of cranial/caudal extent of axillary level I and II dissection. In 98.5% of the cases, all sentinel lymph nodes were anterior to the deep field edge and 71% were anterior to the chest wall-interface, whereas 61% of the axillary dissection cohort had extension deep to the chest wall-lung interface. If the deep field edge had been set 2 cm below the chest wall-lung interface, the entire axillary dissection would have been included in 82% of the cases, and the entire sentinel lymph node would have been covered with a 0.5-cm margin. The median dose to the sentinel lymph node region was 98% of the prescribed dose. CONCLUSIONS: By extending the cranial border to 2 cm below the humeral head and 2 cm deep to the chest wall-lung interface, the radiotherapy fields used to treat the breast can include the sentinel lymph node region and most of axillary levels I and II.

Impact of involved field radiotherapy after CHOP-based chemotherapy on stage III-IV, intermediate grade and large-cell immunoblastic lymphomas.

PURPOSE: To analyze the impact of involved field radiotherapy on local control, freedom from progression, and overall survival in patients with clinical Stage III-IV, intermediate grade, or large-cell immunoblastic lymphomas that responded to cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP)-based induction chemotherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From July 1989 through October 1996, 32 patients with clinical Stage III and 27 patients with clinical Stage IV, intermediate grade, or large-cell immunoblastic lymphomas were prospectively enrolled on two protocols at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. None had previously undergone treatment for lymphoma. The median patient age was 54 years (range: 26-85 years). There were a total of 172 involved sites of disease at presentation. All 59 patients received CHOP-based chemotherapy. At least six cycles of chemotherapy were delivered to 92% of the patients. Involved field radiotherapy (39.6-40.0 Gy in 20-22 fractions in 74% of cases) was administered to 28/59 (47%) patients beginning 3-4 weeks after chemotherapy. Sites were irradiated at the discretion of the treating physician. Irradiated and nonirradiated groups were compared in terms of maximum pre-chemotherapy tumor size and University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center tumor score. Kaplan-Meier estimates of local control per patient, freedom from progression, and overall survival for the irradiated and nonirradiated groups were calculated in terms of the stage of disease and treatment delivered. The resulting curves were compared using the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the prognostic significance of tumor size, tumor score, treatment delivered, and stage. RESULTS: The median length of follow-up for all patients was 53 months (range: 4-96 months). The median tumor size at the start of chemotherapy in irradiated patients was 4.5 cm (range: 0-15 cm) versus 3 cm (range: 0-7 cm) in nonirradiated patients (p = 0.004). The irradiated and nonirradiated groups were not significantly different in terms of tumor scores. Radiotherapy improved (p = 0.001) local control (5-year rates: 89% versus 52%) for Stages III and IV combined. This benefit was due to the dramatic improvement (p = 0.0009) in local control for patients with lymphomas measuring > or =4 cm at the start of chemotherapy (5-year rates: 89% for irradiated patients versus 33% for nonirradiated patients). Radiotherapy also improved (p = 0.003) freedom from progression (5-year rates: 85% for irradiated patients versus 51% for nonirradiated patients) for Stages III and IV combined. On multivariate analysis, radiotherapy was the most significant factor affecting local control and freedom from progression. Overall survival was not significantly different (p = 0. 620) between irradiated and nonirradiated patients (5-year rates: 87% versus 81%, respectively). When Stages III and IV were analyzed separately, radiotherapy improved local control and freedom from progression but not overall survival. Radiotherapy was tolerated reasonably well, with the main toxicity being moderate myelosuppression. Eleven out of 12 (92%) patients with recurrent disease at the time of their last follow-up visit were treated initially with chemotherapy alone. CONCLUSION: Involved field radiotherapy improved local control and freedom from progression in patients with > or = 4 cm Stage III-IV, intermediate grade, or large-cell immunoblastic lymphomas that responded to CHOP-based induction chemotherapy. Involved field radiotherapy was tolerated reasonably well.

Fatty liver change as a result of hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy.

Direct hepatic arterial infusion of floxuridine (FUDR) (Roche Laboratories, Division of Hoffman-LaRoche Inc., Nutley, NJ, U.S.A.) has been used extensively in the treatment of metastases of colorectal tumors to the liver. The effectiveness of infusion and tolerance of the chemotherapy has been improved utilizing a totally implantable infusion pump delivery system. However, unequal distribution of drug infusion may occur to different parts of the liver parenchyma as demonstrated by hepatic arterial infusion scintigraphy (HAPS). We present a case of such unequal perfusion in which fatty metamorphosis of the liver occurred in the overperfused liver segment after FUDR therapy. The liver parenchymal changes were followed by serial computerized tomography scans and proven by biopsy during a minilaparotomy. Serial HAPS examinations show redirection of subsequent infusion to the opposite liver lobe due to parenchymal damage and vascular sclerosis. The importance of uniform liver perfusion and a rare dose-related effect of FUDR on liver parenchyma are thereby demonstrated.

Scintigraphy compared to other imaging modalities in benign superior vena caval obstruction accompanying fibrosing mediastinitis.

Evaluation of a 50-year-old man with benign but insidious development of chronic superior vena caval obstruction secondary to old pulmonary histoplasmosis is presented. The radiologic evaluation was done in stages to exclude involvement of other disease. Nuclear scintigraphy revealed the superior vena caval obstruction. Anatomical features are compared to dynamic findings using contrast venography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging to differentiate pulmonary vascular compression from neoplasm and pulmonary embolism. The combination of modalities reveals the character and extent of pathology without extensive interventional procedures.

Role of scintigraphy in establishing optimal perfusion in hepatic arterial infusion pump chemotherapy.

Since 1982, physicians at the Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, have performed 41 hepatic intraarterial chemotherapy infusion pump implantations for palliative treatment of metastatic liver disease from various primary tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Radionuclide hepatic arterial pump imaging has proven to be a very reliable, cost-effective, and uncomplicated method of evaluating liver perfusion as it relates to pump function, catheter integrity, and positioning. Confirmation of satisfactory hepatic perfusion is the key to acceptable treatment by this modality. In combination with periodic computed tomography (CT) scanning and CEA determinations, scintigraphy plays a major role in establishing effective therapy and aids in determining causal factors behind treatment failures.