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Biomedical subjects

R J Baglan

Publications and source records attributed to R J Baglan.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Para-aortic node biopsy in cervical and endometrial cancers: does it affect survival?

Two hundred ten patients with endometrial and cervical carcinoma had para-aortic node biopsies. Nineteen of the 210 patients (9.0%) had positive para-aortic nodes. These 19 patients received pelvic irradiation, and 18 patients received para-aortic irradiation. The incidence of para-aortic nodal involvement in cervical carcinoma was directly related to the stage of the disease. Eleven of the 12 patients with cervical carcinoma and positive para-aortic nodes received both pelvic and para-aortic irradiation. Three of these patients are alive without disease, resulting in a survival rate of 25%. These patients are surviving for 16, 30, and 41 months. The incidence of positive para-aortic nodes in endometrial adenocarcinoma was related to the uterine length and the histologic grade. The survival rate for patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma and positive para-aortic nodes in this study was 57.1%. Four patients have survived for 1, 30, 60, and 71 months. There were no surgical deaths or radiation therapy complications directly attributable to para-aortic biopsy or irradiation.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Symptomatic radiation-induced pericarditis in Hodgkin's disease.

This is a retrospective review of 193 evaluable patients treated with radiation therapy to the mediastinum for Stages I, II and III-A Hodgkin's disease. Eligible patients were those receiving 3000 rad or more to the mediastinum and no chemotherapy prior to the radiation. During the study period, 13 patients developed symptomatic pericarditis. The interval post treatment to the development of symptoms was six to 34 months. The incidence of pericarditis was studied as a function of: (1) the dose of radiation at a depth of 2 cm, 5 cm and the midplane of the mediastinum; (2) the ratio of anterior to posterior weighting of dose; (3) the presence or absence of intrathoracic tumor; (4) the size of the tumor when present; and (5) the fraction of the heart exposed to the radiation beam. There was a significant increase in the incidence of pericarditis with an increased dose of radiation at 2 cm, 5 cm and midplane depths and also with the presence of a large intrathoracic tumor. A reduction in mediastinal dose is recommended.

Heart↗

Postoperative irradiation in carcinoma of the prostate.

Twenty-eight patients received postoperative radiotherapy with curative intent following either radical prostatectomy (18 patients) or enucleative prostatectomy (10 patients). In patients undergoing radical prostatectomy, the indications for postoperative radiotherapy included positive margins in 13, "close" margins in 2, and seminal vesicle involvement in 3 patients. The majority of patients (82%) received total dose to the prostatic bed in excess of 6500 rad. In over 80% of the patients, the pelvic lymphatics are also treated (to a total dose of 4000-5000 rad). Minimum follow-up is one year, maximum is 10 years, average 54 months, median 41 months. Local recurrence was observed in only 1 patient, who was treated post-enucleation. All of the patients irradiated after radical prostatectomy clinically remained disease-free locally. Approximately one-half of the patients in both the enucleation and radial prostatectomy groups developed evidence of distant metastases. The complications of treatment have been comparable to those in patients treated with radiotherapy only. The continence status has not been affected significantly. All patients (5 in the radical prostatectomy group and 2 in the enucleation group) with incontinence following completion of radiotherapy had documented impairment of continence prior to radiotherapy. Postoperative radiotherapy administered following either radical or enucleative prostatectomy was tolerated well and resulted in excellent local control.

Aged↗

Palliative radiation treatment of cutaneous mycosis fungoides--a dose response.

Between 1966 and 1981, 20 patients (191 lesions) underwent palliative radiation therapy for control of biopsy-proven cutaneous mycosis fungoides. Six patients (47 lesions) and an additional 34 lesions from the remaining 14 patients with complete response to treatment were excluded from the study because of follow-up of less than one year. Included in the remaining 110 lesions were all recurrences and all partial responses. The modalities for treatment included superficial X rays, Cobalt-60 or electron beam irradiation. The total tumor doses employed ranged from 600-4000 cGy. The 110 lesions (14 patients) were retrospectively analyzed to determine the dose required for local control of the lesions. Fifty-three percent of the lesions were classified as plaques, 20% as tumors less than or equal to 3 cm in diameter, and 27% as tumors greater than 3 cm in diameter. Complete response to treatment was observed in 95% of the plaque lesions, 95% of the tumors less than or equal to 3 cm in diameter and 93% of tumor greater than 3 cm in diameter. A complete response to treatment was noted in all lesions receiving greater than 2000 cGy. In the total population of lesions having a complete response, a local infield recurrence rate of 42% was noted in the group receiving less than or equal to 1000 cGy, 32% in those receiving 1001-2000 cGy, 21% in those receiving 2001-3000 cGy, and 0% in the group receiving greater than 3000 cGy. No infield recurrence was seen when the treated lesion received a total tumor dose greater than or equal to TDF of 49. Of those lesions which recurred, the mean time to recurrence for the first three dose ranges above were 5 months, 10 months and 16 months respectively. Eighty-three percent of the 30 recurrences were seen within one year of treatment; 100% of the recurrences occurred within two years of treatment. The data from this study indicate that tumor doses equivalent to at least 3000 cGy at 200 cGy per fraction, five fractions per week (TDF greater than or equal to 49) are needed for adequate local control of cutaneous mycosis fungoides lesions.

Cobalt Radioisotopes↗

Comparison of symptomatic and prophylactic irradiation of brain metastases from oat cell carcinoma of the lung.

In this analysis, the results of brain irradiation of 39 patients with symptomatic brain metastases from oat cell carcinoma of the lung were compared with the published results of patients whose brains were irradiated prophylactically. The goals were: (1) to substantiate a clinical impression that patients with symptomatic brain metastases respond well to radiation and often experience no further neurologic deterioration until death; and (2) to compare the outcomes of symptomatic and prophylactic radiation of the brain for oat cell carcinoma of the lung. Of 39 patients with proven brain metastases who received cranial irradiation, 25 (64%) achieved complete palliation and remained free of neurologic symptoms, 4/4 (100%) achieved complete palliation; for moderate symptoms, 12/15 (80%); and for severe symptoms, 9/20 (45%). A summary of 12 reports from the literature shows that for patients with oat cell carcinoma of the lung receiving prophylactic cranial irradiation, the incidence of brain metastases is 28/525 (5%), while for patients receiving no prophylactic therapy it is 51/223 (23%). When the results of symptomatic and prophylactic cranial irradiation were compared, it was found that symptomatic irradiation controls central nervous system disease, as well as prophylactic therapy, while eliminating the need for brain irradiation in three-fourths of the patients.

Brain Neoplasms↗

Effects of irradiation on mixed müllerian tumors of the uterus.

A retrospective study of 54 patients with histologically proven malignant mixed müllerian tumors of the uterus was undertaken with main emphasis on the evaluation of the effects of irradiation on pelvic tumor control. The tumors were staged according to the FIGO classification for endometrial carcinoma and 24 were classified as Stage I, 10 as Stage II, 13 as Stage III and seven as Stage IV. Patients with Stage I and II were treated with surgery alone (9 patients, three surviving) or preoperative intracavitary irradiation (13 patients, eight surviving) or preoperative combination of intracavitary and external irradiation (12 patients, six surviving). Five patients with Stage III and IV were treated with surgery alone, two were treated with a combination of irradiation and surgery and 11 with radiation alone. None of these patients survived. In seven patients showing no residual tumor in the uterine specimen after irradiation, no pelvic failures were noted, whereas seven of 17 (41.2%) with residual tumor developed pelvic recurrences. In patients with Stage I treated with surgery alone, three out of six recurred in the pelvis whereas only three of 17 (17%) receiving preoperative irradiation developed pelvic recurrences. However, in Stage II six of eight patients treated with preoperative irradiation failed in the pelvis. Correlation with the doses of irradiation given to the uterus or the pelvic lymph nodes indicate that with doses below 5000 rads a significantly higher number of pelvic recurrences take place, whereas these are uncommon with doses over 6000 rads. The difference in pelvic recurrences between dosage levels is not, however, statistically significant. It is suggested that patients with Stage I and II malignant mixed müllerian tumors of the uterus should be treated with preoperative radiation and total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Patients with more advanced disease have extremely poor prognosis and should be treated with radiation therapy alone. This tumor has a high propensity to spread through lymphatics and hematogenous metastases are seen in approximately 75% of the patients. Because of this dissemination, significant improvements in survival rate will not be seen until effective cytotoxic agents are available.

Female↗

Natural history of patients after abdominal-perineal resection. Implications for radiation therapy.

The records of one hundred twenty-three consecutive abdominal perineal resections for rectosigmoid carcinoma were reviewed. One hundred sixteen cases were adenocarcinoma, and seven cases squamous cell carcinoma. Clinical outcome was documented in 111 cases. Overall, 42% survived five years or more. Ultimately 44 of the 123 patients (36%) were proven to have died with tumor and 19 patients (15%) developed clinical manifestations of recurrent pelvic tumor. Five of the 116 patients with adenocarcinoma (4%) died with evidence of pelvic disease only. Second primary tumors were observed in 22 patients (18%). The authors suggest preoperative irradiation to reduce local recurrence and possibly increase disease-free survival. Physicians following these patients should consider them at high risk for cancer in general.

Adenocarcinoma↗