Interstitial hyperthermia and interstitial iridium 192 implantation: a technique and preliminary results.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Astrahan.
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From 1985 to 1987, 22 head and neck sites in 20 patients with recurrent tumors were treated with interstitial thermoradiotherapy (ITRT). The sites treated were 15 neck (68%), four tongue (18%), two parotid (9%), and one buccal mucosa (4%). Squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in 21 sites and adenocarcinoma in the other. All patients had prior radiotherapy (RT), including 15 who underwent a combination of RT and surgery. Interstitial RT with iridium 192 (mean dose, 40 Gy) was combined with interstitial microwave hyperthermia (mean thermal dose, 90 units). Complete response (CR) was obtained in 15 (68%) sites and partial response (PR) in seven (32%) sites. There were no local recurrences in the 15 CR patients during a period of observation of up to 30 months. Of the seven PR patients, one had radical neck dissection and is free of tumor after 28 months. Tumor volume was an important factor influencing CR (P less than .001), whereas RT and thermal dose were not (P = .3). Of the 20 patients treated, 19 experienced major subjective benefit. Serious complications occurred in two patients: one had localized soft tissue necrosis, the other had aspiration pneumonia. ITRT was well-tolerated by patients despite prior aggressive therapy. High objective response rate and low toxicity demonstrate the value of this treatment combination in the management of patients with postradiation recurrence of head and neck tumors.
Ophthalmic plaque radiotherapy has been demonstrated to be a useful alternative to enucleation in the treatment of small choroidal melanomas. The prognosis for tumours larger than 8 mm in height, however, continues to be poor. Treatment complications limit the radiation dose which may be delivered to these larger tumours. Hyperthermia has been shown to enhance the effectiveness of radiotherapy for many tumours, particularly malignant melanoma. The use of hyperthermia in conjunction with plaque radiotherapy may improve local tumour control for larger choroidal melanomas, allowing patients to maintain useful vision. We have developed an instrument which enables the combination of localized current field hyperthermia with radiotherapy using an episcleral plaque. The system is simple and inexpensive. We have measured temperature distributions in tissue-like phantoms, in excised bovine eyes, and in vivo in normal rabbits. In each of the cases studied, temperature varied by less than 1 degree C within 3 mm of, and across the concave surface of the plaque. At distances greater than 3 mm, the temperature gradient was approximately -0.3 degree C per millimetre.
Between 1984 and 1986, 31 sites in 27 patients with biopsy proven tumours were treated with a combination of interstitial microwave hyperthermia (HT) and iridium 192 implants (RT). The 31 sites treated included fifteen (48 per cent) head and neck, six (20 per cent) breast, four (13 per cent) vagina and cervix, and six (20 per cent) others. All patients had prior surgery, RT, or chemotherapy. Of the 31 sites treated, 19 (61 per cent) had complete response (CR) with no recurrence in the volume treated. Additionally, eight patients remained free of tumour from 3 to 24 months. Partial response (PR) was seen in 11 (36 per cent) sites while one (3 per cent) had lesser degree tumour regression. Tumour control rate correlated well with the dose of radiation, p = 0.02, and tumour volume, p = 0.02, but not with thermal dose. Treatment complications of significance occurred in one (3 per cent) site, which developed soft tissue necrosis. This study again has demonstrated the effectiveness of RT-HT combination in treatment of recurrent tumours.
Using a 500 kHz radiofrequency electromagnetic heating system, the effects of localized current field hyperthermia in normal rabbit eyes were examined. A specially designed scleral plaque placed on normal rabbit eyes was heated to temperatures of 43 degrees C, 45 degrees C, and 47 degrees C for a period of 45 min. The effects of hyperthermia were monitored by clinical examination, fluorescein angiography, electroretinography and histopathology. A graded effect with increasing temperature was found at the lower temperature, and it was confined to the treatment field. At 47 degrees C the electroretinogram was extinguished due to diffuse photoreceptor damage outside the treatment field, as demonstrated by histopathology and electron microscopy. This study indicates that hyperthermia at 45 degrees C for 45 min is the maximum allowable temperature without causing diffuse retinal damage in the normal rabbit eye.
A new applicator for intraurethral hyperthermic treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia is described. The applicator uses an insulated helical antenna wound on the outer surface of a silicone urological (Foley) balloon catheter. The balloon catheter assures rapid and reproducible localization of the antenna in the prostatic urethra. Two small cannulae are fixed to the exterior surface of the applicator. One holds a temperature control sensor at a fixed location, the other is used to map temperature along the applicator. Two-dimensional SAR and steady-state temperature distributions measured in a plane tangent to the applicator in a tissue-equivalent phantom are presented, as well as longitudinal temperature distributions measured in situ at the applicator-urethral interface. Prostatic temperatures were also measured intraoperatively. The applicator appears to be capable of elevating temperature to greater than 42 degrees C in a cylindrically symmetric volume of about 4 cm length and about 0.5 cm radial penetration surrounding the antenna. The heating characteristics of this applicator are similar to an earlier design that employed an array of three dipoles. The helical applicator is narrower, more flexible and simpler to use than the earlier design.
A muscle-stimulating material made of polyacrylamide gel (PAG) for testing various kinds of hyperthermia applicators was investigated. The permittivity and conductivity dispersion of PAG, as well as an internal wavelength and penetration depth, were in good agreement with those of actual muscle at frequencies between 500 MHz and 3 GHz. A single formula for PAG covering three ISM bands, most commonly used for hyperthermia, 433, 915 and 2450 MHz, is presented. The physical properties of the PAG phantom allow any desired form or shape to be moulded, including shapes conforming to the actual geometry of an interstitial or intracavitary applicator. Utilization of a multilayer phantom makes possible the generation of experimental three-dimensional specific absorption rate (SAR) distributions composed from several two-dimensional SAR images at different depths or radial distances from the applicator. Spatial resolution of 1 mm can be achieved. The two-dimensional SAR distributions at different depth values for commercial superficial applicator, an interstitial antenna and a new oesophageal applicator are presented.