[Automated delivery of codes for charge in radiotherapy]. / Automatisierte Leistungsübermittlung in der Strahlenheilkunde.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: For the medical billing of Radiotherapy every fraction has to be encoded, including date and time of all administered treatments. With fractions averaging 30 per patient and about 2,500 new patients every year the number of Radiotherapy codes reaches an amount of 70,000 and more. Therefore, an automated proceeding for transferring and processing therapy codes has been developed at the Department of Radiotherapy Freiburg, Germany. This is a joint project of the Department of Radiotherapy, the Administration Department, and the Central IT Department of the University Hospital of Freiburg. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The project consists of several modules whose collaboration makes the projected automated transfer of treatment codes possible. The first step is to extract the data from the department's Clinical Information System (MOSAIQ). These data are transmitted to the Central IT Department via an HL7 interface, where a check for corresponding hospitalization data is performed. In the further processing of the data, a matching table plays an important role allowing the transformation of a treatment code into a valid medical billing code. In a last step, the data are transferred to the medical billing system. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After assembling and implementing the particular modules successfully, a first beta test was launched. In order to test the modules separately as well as the interaction of the components, extensive tests were performed during March 2006. Soon it became clear that the tested procedure worked efficiently and accurately. In April 2006, a pilot project with a few qualities of treatment (e.g., computed tomography, simulation) was put into practice. Since October 2006, nearly all Radiation Therapy codes (approximately 75,000) are being transferred to the comprehensive Hospital Information System (HIS) automatically in a daily routine.

[Department and patient management in radiotherapy. The Freiburg model]. / Abteilungs- und Patientenmanagement in der Strahlenheilkunde. Das Freiburger Modell.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The activities in radiotherapy are mainly affected by numerous partly very complex operational procedures which have to be completed while high safety requirements have to be fulfilled. This fact and steadily increasing economic pressure are forcing us to develop new strategies which help us to optimize our operational procedures and assure their reliability. As there are not so many radiotherapeutic institutions and the main focus, up to now, was mainly stressed on the acceleration systems (radiation planning, acceleration control), only few industrial systems are available which could also support the economic, organizational and administrative needs of radiotherapy. METHODS: During the building operations for the "new clinic for radiotherapy" at the University Hospital Freiburg, Germany, the staff of the clinical and administrative information and the medical physicists developed, in close cooperation with the physicians, a comprehensive concept to control and organize a radiotherapeutic institution. This concept was examined during the construction phase of the new clinic and the adjoined HBFG ("Hochschulbauförderungsgesetz") process by the "Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft" and financed totally by federal funds. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The precondition for the goal to operate a homogeneous and comprehensive management of a clinic for radiotherapy was the direct connection of the acceleration area with the organizational/administrative surrounding. The thus developed common basic dates and consistence created transparency and allowed us for the first time to control all operational procedures by EDV-technical means. After 2 years full-time operation and implementation of numerous particular projects we are now ready for film- and paperless digital work.

Erythropoietin to treat head and neck cancer patients with anaemia undergoing radiotherapy: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Anaemia is associated with poor cancer control, particularly in patients undergoing radiotherapy. We investigated whether anaemia correction with epoetin beta could improve outcome of curative radiotherapy among patients with head and neck cancer. METHODS: We did a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 351 patients (haemoglobin <120 g/L in women or <130 g/L in men) with carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx. Patients received curative radiotherapy at 60 Gy for completely (R0) and histologically incomplete (R1) resected disease, or 70 Gy for macroscopically incompletely resected (R2) advanced disease (T3, T4, or nodal involvement) or for primary definitive treatment. All patients were assigned to subcutaneous placebo (n=171) or epoetin beta 300 IU/kg (n=180) three times weekly, from 10-14 days before and continuing throughout radiotherapy. The primary endpoint was locoregional progression-free survival. We assessed also time to locoregional progression and survival. Analysis was by intention to treat. FINDINGS: 148 (82%) patients given epoetin beta achieved haemoglobin concentrations higher than 140 g/L (women) or 150 g/L (men) compared with 26 (15%) given placebo. However, locoregional progression-free survival was poorer with epoetin beta than with placebo (adjusted relative risk 1.62 [95% CI 1.22-2.14]; p=0.0008). For locoregional progression the relative risk was 1.69 (1.16-2.47, p=0.007) and for survival was 1.39 (1.05-1.84, p=0.02). INTERPRETATION: Epoetin beta corrects anaemia but does not improve cancer control or survival. Disease control might even be impaired. Patients receiving curative cancer treatment and given erythropoietin should be studied in carefully controlled trials.

Stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy for Klatskin tumours.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In spite of various efforts perihilar cholangiocellular carcinoma (Klatskin tumour) has still a bad prognosis. The treatment of patients with inoperable Klatskin tumours by stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy (SFRT) was analysed retrospectively. PATIENTS, METHODS AND MATERIALS: In our department 13 patients were treated for Klatskin tumours by SFRT (32-56 Gy, 3 x 4 Gy/week) from 1998 to 2008. The treatment technique was developed from stereotactic body frame radiotherapy to image guided (IGRT) stereotactic radiotherapy with control of patient positioning by cone beam computer tomography (CBCT). 6/13 patients received additional chemotherapy before or after SFRT. RESULTS: A median survival of 33.5 (6.6-60.4) months after diagnosis was reached by SFRT. The median time of freedom from tumour progression was 32.5 (6.1-60.4, last patient died without tumour progression) months. The therapy was tolerated very well. Nausea was the most common side effect. 5/13 patients suffered from recurrent cholangitis caused and enhanced by the primary tumour and drainages or stents in the bile ducts. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of reaching local control being still the main problem of Klatskin tumour patients, SFRT seems to be a very promising method for the treatment of these tumours.

Does radiation prevent 5-fluorouracil-induced colitis in the early phase of radiochemotherapy? A case report and literature review.

CASE REPORT: A 43-year-old man with T3 N2 M0 adenocarcinoma of the lower rectum was admitted for preoperative radiochemotherapy (RCT). Daily fractions of 1.8 Gy (planned total dose: 50.4 Gy) and concomitant chemotherapy consisting of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, and mitomycin C (MMC) were administered. On day 10, the patient developed abdominal pain and massive diarrhea. Computed tomography, endoscopy, histopathologic and serologic tests revealed severe colitis confined to the upper abdomen and most probably related to 5-FU. Unexpectedly, the bowel inflammation was restricted to areas not irradiated. 4 months later, during the course of disease, relapse with pulmonary metastases occurred. A palliative chemotherapy with 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and leucovorin was started. Again, the patient suffered from severe diarrhea and dose reduction was necessary. DISCUSSION: It was speculated that in the early phase of RCT the well-known anti-inflammatory nature of low-dose radiation prevented exacerbation of colitis. To the authors' knowledge, this observation has not been published before. With respect to the current literature and the clinical findings it is discussed that both increased leukocyte/endothelial cell adhesion and altered release of reactive oxygen species or inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) may play a role in 5-FU-induced colitis. CONCLUSION: This observation led to the hypothesis that the anti-inflammatory effect of low-dose irradiation may attenuate 5-FU-induced colitis in the very early phase of RCT. It appears worthwhile to separate side effects of RCT into radiation- and chemotherapy-induced effects, which requires a detailed diagnostic work-up. This differentiation has an impact on planning individual therapy: the authors did not saw conclusive evidence of an increased radiosensitivity but chemosensitivity in their patient and therefore continued radiotherapy. This assumption was confirmed when the patient received palliative 5-FU-based chemotherapy due to pulmonary relapse, and again, severe diarrhea occurred.

Religious belief as a coping strategy: an explorative trial in patients irradiated for head-and-neck cancer.

PURPOSE: To explore the role of religious belief in coping with disease symptoms and treatment-related side effects in patients with head-and-neck cancer under radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospectively collected data were used with a cohort of head-and-neck cancer patients treated by radiotherapy and epoetin beta or placebo within a double-blind multicenter trial. All patients were divided into believers and nonbelievers. Answers to a quality of life questionnaire at four points in time during radiotherapy were analyzed according to both groups. Clinical parameters and therapy side effects were controlled regularly. RESULTS: 62.1% of the patients (66/105) sent back a baseline questionnaire discriminating between believers and nonbelievers. For 34.2% (40/105) data of all four measures could be obtained. On average, believers felt better in all categories of side effects at all points of time before, during and directly after therapy. CONCLUSION: Religious faith seems to play an important role in coping strategies of radiotherapy patients. More research in this area would be worthwhile.

Is older age associated with a worse prognosis due to different patterns of care? A long-term study of 1346 patients with glioblastomas or brain metastases.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to find out whether the worse prognosis of older patients with primary or metastatic brain tumors can be explained by different patterns of care compared with younger patients. METHODS: A data base that included 430 patients with glioblastomas and 916 patients with brain metastases who underwent radiotherapy at the author's hospital between 1980 and 2000 was analyzed. Patterns of care were compared for different age groups using the chi-square test. RESULTS: In both patient groups, age turned out to be an independent risk factor. Older age was associated with worse overall survival. Independent of the cut-off age (< 50 years vs. > or = 50 years, < 60 years vs. > or = 60 years, < 65 years vs. > or = 65 years, and < 70 years vs. > or = 70 years), there were no statistically significant differences between the age groups concerning the use of different imaging modalities (computed tomography scans vs. magnetic resonance imaging), type of surgery (none vs. biopsy vs. resection), waiting time for radiotherapy (< median vs. > or = median), radiotherapy treatment planning (simulator-based vs. computer-based), use of radiation sources (cobalt unit vs. linear accelerator), and fractionation protocols (conventional vs. modified). When the recruitment period of 21 years was divided into 3 intervals, impressive changes with regard to the patterns of care became apparent. However, the changes were seen similarly throughout the different age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Older age did not limit access to state-of-the-art patterns of care in neurooncology. Patients participated in medical progress irrespective of their age. The worse prognosis of older patients with glioblastomas or brain metastases was not determined by age-related differences in access to health care.

The brain tumor board: lessons to be learned from an interdisciplinary conference.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to analyze the work of the interdisciplinary Brain Tumor Board (BTB) which was established at Freiburg University Hospital in 1998. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1998 to December 2003, a total of 1,516 patients were discussed in 259 meetings of the BTB. The protocols of the BTB were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: In 79% of the patients, the diagnosis was based on histological findings or a typical radiological appearance of a lesion, or both. This group was composed of 4 subgroups: 28% benign skull base tumors (19% meningiomas, 4% pituitary adenomas, 3% acoustic schwannomas, 2% others), 24% primary brain tumors of glial origin (8% glioblastomas, 12% gliomas other than glioblastomas, 5% oligoastrocytomas or oligodendrogliomas), 19% brain metastases, and 8% other brain or skull base tumors. In 13% of the cases, the exact diagnosis was still unknown when the patient was presented. 8% of the presentations were motivated by nontumorous interdisciplinary problems (e.g. arterio-venous malformations). The recommendations given by the BTB included: 23% further diagnostic procedures (11% non-invasive examinations, 12% stereotactic biopsies), 57% active antitumoral therapy (22% resection, 17% fractionated radiotherapy, 13% radiosurgery, 5% chemotherapy, <1% embolization), 20% no treatment (14% watchful waiting, 6% supportive care). 91% of the BTB recommendations were realized within 3 months. CONCLUSION: Interdisciplinary care seems to be particularly necessary in patients with benign skull base tumors, gliomas and brain metastases. Decisions made in a small interdisciplinary group of experts have a high potential of subsequently being realized.

[Participation of radiotherapy in interdisciplinary palliative care units--challenge and chance]. / Strahlentherapeutische Beteiligung an interdisziplinären palliativmedizinischen Einrichtungen--Herausforderung und Chance.

BACKGROUND: In Germany, a sufficient system of palliative care does not exist. Possibilities for participation of radiooncologists in the further development of this promising part of medical action are reported. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Experiences from interdisciplinary work in the field of palliative care are described. This experience is communicated for use in the actual discussion about the future of palliative care in Germany, especially in the field of radiooncology. RESULTS: A palliative care unit can only work in a team of different professions, which means different physicians, but also nurses, social workers, psychologists or pastors. A palliative care unit will benefit from working with radiooncologists as well as radiooncologists will do from working in the field of palliative care. CONCLUSION: In times of growing interest in and need for palliative care, radiooncologists should actively participate in the development of palliative care units in Germany. The aim of this participation should be to reasonably arrange the treatment of incurably ill patients with the chances of modern radiotherapy. Another aim should be to improve the treatment of "classic" radiation oncology patients by ideas of palliative care. The further development of palliative care in Germany should not take place without the participation of radiooncologists. This will meet the interests of palliative care and radiotherapy and-most importantly-the patients' interests.