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Biomedical subjects

Robert A Huddart

Publications and source records attributed to Robert A Huddart.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Variability of bladder filling in patients receiving radical radiotherapy to the prostate.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients receiving radical radiotherapy to the prostate are requested to maintain a full bladder to displace the dome of the bladder and small bowel from the target volume. This study investigated patients' ability to consistently maintain a full bladder throughout planning and treatment before (Study 1) and after (Study 2) the introduction of a patient information sheet. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Bladder volumes were measured on 41 patients at CT scanning, simulation and once weekly during treatment using a portable ultrasound device, BladderScan BVI 3000. Patients were asked their assessment of bladder fullness, time since last urination and the volume of fluid drank. A patient information sheet on bladder filling was then introduced and the study repeated on 25 patients (Study 2). The ultrasound bladder volumes measured at CT were compared to the CT scan data. RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between the ultrasound and CT bladder volumes r = 0.88 (P < 0.01). There was a significant decrease between the volume at CT (mean 362 ml, SD 229 ml) and treatment (mean 251 ml, SD 171 ml) in Study 1 (P = 0.002). In Study 2 the mean volume at CT was 286 ml (SD 164 ml) compared to a mean of 312 ml (SD 196 ml) during treatment. The measured volume correlated with patient self-assessment (r = 0.47, P < 0.01). The median volume drank by patients in Study 2 was 350 ml (range 50-825 ml) compared to 450 ml (range 75-1500 ml) in Study 1. CONCLUSIONS: Our initial results showed patients were unable to maintain a constant bladder volume during planning and treatment. Implementation of written bladder filling instructions was shown to improve bladder volume consistency.

Dose Fractionation, Radiation↗
PubMed2006

Recovery of serum testosterone after neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy and radical radiotherapy in localized prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively evaluate the time-course of recovery of serum testosterone levels after a short course of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa) and radical radiotherapy to the prostate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were sequentially measured prospectively in 59 men who received short-course LHRHa treatment and radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. Measurements were made before treatment (baseline), during LHRHa treatment, and at 6, 12, 18, 24 and >40 weeks after the last LHRHa injection. RESULTS: The median (range) time from the first to last LHRHa injection was 116 (54-194) days. The mean (95% confidence interval) testosterone levels (in nmol/L) at baseline, during treatment and at 6, 12, 18, 24 and >40 weeks afterward were 12.0 (10.8-13.1), 0.6 (0.5-0.7), 1.4 (0.6-2.2), 11.4 (9.7-13), 12.2 (10.5-14), 10.4 (8.9-12) and 11.7 (10.5-13). Four men had low baseline testosterone levels (<6.1 nmol/L). At 6 weeks after the last LHRHa injection, no men had testosterone levels in the 'normal' range; 35% were in the normal range at 12 weeks, 85% at 18 weeks, 89% at 24 weeks, and 96% at 1 year. CONCLUSION: After LHRHa treatment and radiotherapy, the testosterone levels of most men had recovered to normal by 18-24 weeks after the last LHRHa injection.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Treating stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumours with a single cycle of chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the rate of relapse in men with stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT) of the testis treated with one cycle of chemotherapy instead of the usual two cycles. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1992 and 1996, 22 men with stage I NSGCT who had normalized tumour markers after orchidectomy and negative findings on computed tomography, and who were at moderate risk of relapse, were treated with one cycle of platinum-containing chemotherapy (bleomycin and etoposide with either cisplatin or carboplatin). RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 10.2 years, none of the patients have relapsed with malignant GCTs. CONCLUSION: The results after one cycle of chemotherapy are no worse than after two cycles. The present study needs to be replicated in a larger cohort of patients to define the relapse risk more accurately. This approach is soon to be tested in a large multicentre trial randomizing patients between one and two cycles.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Technological advances in radiotherapy for the treatment of localised prostate cancer.

There is good evidence that radiation dose escalation in localised prostate cancer is associated with increased cell kill. The traditional two-dimensional (2D) technique of treatment planning and delivery is limited by normal tissue toxicity, such that the dose that can be safely delivered to the prostate by external beam radiotherapy is 65-70 Gy. Several technological advances over the last 20 years have enhanced the precision of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), and have resulted in improved outcomes. The three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) approach reduces the dose-limiting late side-effect of proctitis and has allowed for dose escalation to the whole prostate to 78 Gy. More recently, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), an advanced form of conformal therapy, has resulted in reduced rectal toxicity when using doses greater than 80 Gy. In addition, IMRT can potentially escalate the dose to specific parts of the prostate where there are resistant subpopulations of tumour clonogens, or can be used to extend the high-dose region to pelvic lymph nodes. The addition of androgen deprivation to conventional radiotherapy has an impact on survival and local control. Initial hormone therapy causes cytoreduction of the prostate cancer allowing for a reduction in radiotherapy volume as well as an additive effect on cell kill. Long-term adjuvant androgen deprivation has been shown to improve overall survival in more advanced tumours. Prostate brachytherapy is now a recognised treatment for those with low-risk disease. It achieves similar long-term outcome to other treatment modalities. Brachytherapy can be used as monotherapy for localised disease, or as boost treatment following conventional EBRT for locally advanced disease. New techniques are available to improve the precision of both target definition and treatment verification. This so-called image-guided radiotherapy will help to enhance the accuracy of dose delivery by correcting both for inter-fraction positional variation and for intra-fraction movement of the prostate in real-time and will allow for tighter tumour margins and avoidance of normal tissues, thereby enhancing the safety of treatment.

Androgen Antagonists↗
PubMed2005

Recent advances in the treatment of testicular cancer.

Testicular cancer is remarkable because it is curable by combination cytotoxic chemotherapy even when widely disseminated. Treatment is defined by widely accepted staging and prognostic factors. Three cycles of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin has been defined as the current optimum treatment in good prognosis metastatic disease, curing 90-95% of patients. Outcomes are less impressive for patients in intermediate and poor prognostic categories. A number of different approaches, including introduction of new agents and dose intensification, are being investigated to improve outcomes in these patients. Data developed over the last few years have identified increased risks of second malignancy and cardiovascular disease in long-term survivors. This has led to re-evaluation of strategies to manage Stage I patients. In particular, the use of radiotherapy in Stage I seminoma and the need for adjuvant therapy in Stage I nonseminoma are being re-examined. It is anticipated that advances in imaging and prognostic factors will facilitate this process.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed2002

Late recurrence in 1263 men with testicular germ cell tumors. Multivariate analysis of risk factors and implications for management.

BACKGROUND: Testicular germ cell tumors are highly curable. However, 10-30% of patients have recurrence after initial treatment. The time-course of recurrence has implications for the duration of follow-up. This study was undertaken to assess the risk and time-course of recurrence and to identify patients at higher risk of late recurrence. METHODS: The records of 1263 patients with primary testicular germ cell tumors presenting to the Royal Marsden Hospital between December 1979 and December 1993 were reviewed. In all, 255 episodes of recurrence were documented (including 44 patients with multiple recurrences) and used to calculate recurrence-free survivals. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients (15 seminomas; 38 nonseminomatous germ cell tumors [NSGCT]) had recurrence more than 2 years after initial presentation. A multivariate analysis of risk of recurrence after 2 years identified positive markers at presentation and the presence of differentiated teratomas in postchemotherapy surgical specimens as significant predictors. Very late recurrence (> 5 years) occurred mainly in patients with metastatic NSGCT (12 of 14 patients) with a 1% annual risk of recurrence between 5 and 10 years. Very late recurrence was also seen in one case of metastatic seminoma and one case of Stage I NSGCT managed by surveillance. Most late recurrences (n = 9) were detected at routine annual follow-up visits but five had recurrences with symptoms leading to an unscheduled clinic visit. CONCLUSION: Late recurrences are rare in patients with testicular germ cell tumors and follow-up to detect recurrence may not be needed after 5 years, except in those presenting with metastatic NSGCTs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis: results of elective and salvage surgery for patients with residual retroperitoneal masses.

BACKGROUND: A mass may persist in the para-aortic region after patients undergo chemotherapy for metastatic, nonseminomatous germ cell tumor of the testis (NSGCT). Retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy removes the mass, which may contain residual active malignancy, and allows histologic assessment of the effectiveness of the chemotherapy. Whereas some have favored early, elective removal of such masses, others have chosen to observe them, reserving salvage surgery for patients who experience disease recurrence. A retrospective analysis was undertaken to define the outcome in these two groups of patients. METHODS: After receiving chemotherapy for metastatic NSGCT, 442 men underwent lymphadenectomy for residual masses (measuring > or = 1 cm in greatest dimension) between 1976 and 1999, inclusive. Three hundred thirty men underwent elective surgery within 3 months of the completion of chemotherapy, and 112 men underwent salvage surgery after receiving reinduction chemotherapy for tumor recurrence. RESULTS: The residual mass was removed completely in 87% and 72% of patients in the elective and salvage lymphadenectomy groups, respectively; was removed with difficulty and possibly incompletely in 9% and 21% of patients, respectively; and was definitely removed incompletely in 4% and 7% of patients, respectively. The operative mortality rate was 0.9% in the elective surgery group and 1.8% in the salvage surgery group. There was malignant teratoma, undifferentiated in 8.5% of patients in the elective surgery group and in 49% of patients in the salvage surgery group (P < 0.001). Differentiated teratoma and necrosis/fibrosis were present in 66.0% and 25.4% of patients in the elective surgery group, respectively, and in 38.4% and 12.5% of patients in the salvage surgery group, respectively. The authors were unable to produce a clinically useful model to predict the presence of necrosis/fibrosis only in either group. The 5-year recurrence free and overall survival rates were 83% and 89%, respectively, in the elective surgery group and 62% and 56%, respectively, in the salvage surgery group. For the salvage surgery group, the completeness of surgical excision and the presence of undifferentiated teratoma were of overriding importance for overall survival. A variety of other patient-related, tumor-related, and surgery-related factors also were significant in the final model for the elective surgery group. CONCLUSIONS: The current results demonstrate the low level of morbidity that can be obtained, even in the salvage surgery group, and the importance of complete surgical resection in this setting. Because it is not possible to predict with sufficient accuracy which patients will have favorable pathology (necrosis/fibrosis), the authors continue to recommend elective surgery for all suitable men with residual masses after they receive first-line chemotherapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk low-stage germ-cell tumours.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the assessment and management of early germ-cell tumours. RECENT FINDINGS: A role has evolved for adjuvant chemotherapy in stage I disease postorchidectomy and in the primary management of stage II disease. SUMMARY: A range of approaches offer high survival in early germ-cell tumours. Treatment should factor in patient choice and resource issues. More sensitive imaging with Positron Emission Tomography may allow more appropriate treatment decisions.

Chemotherapy, Adjuvant↗