| 1. |
- Daşu, Alexandru, et al.
(author)
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Secondary malignancies from prostate cancer radiation treatment : a risk analysis of the influence of target margins and fractionation patterns
- 2011
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In: International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0360-3016 .- 1879-355X. ; 79:3, s. 738-746
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: This study explores the implications for cancer induction of treatment details such as fractionation, planning target volume (PTV) definition, and interpatient variations, which are relevant for the radiation treatment of prostate carcinomas.METHODS AND MATERIALS: Treatment planning data from 100 patients have been analyzed with a risk model based on the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation competition model. The risk model can account for dose heterogeneity and fractionation effects characteristic for modern radiotherapy. Biologically relevant parameters from clinical and experimental data have been used with the model.RESULTS: The results suggested that changes in prescribed dose could lead to a modification of the risks for individual organs surrounding the clinical target volume (CTV) but that the total risk appears to be less affected by changes in the target dose. Larger differences are observed for modifications of the margins between the CTV and the PTV because these have direct impact onto the dose level and dose heterogeneity in the healthy tissues surrounding the CTV. Interpatient anatomic variations also have to be taken into consideration for studies of the risk for cancer induction from radiotherapy.CONCLUSIONS: The results have shown the complex interplay between the risk for secondary malignancies, the details of the treatment delivery, and the patient heterogeneity that may influence comparisons between the long-term effects of various treatment techniques. Nevertheless, absolute risk levels seem very small and comparable to mortality risks from surgical interventions, thus supporting the robustness of radiation therapy as a successful treatment modality for prostate carcinomas.
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| 2. |
- Fowler, Jack F., et al.
(author)
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Is the α/β ratio for prostate tumours really low and does it vary with the level of risk at diagnosis?
- 2013
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In: Anticancer Research. - : International Institute of Anticancer Research (IIAR). - 0250-7005 .- 1791-7530. ; 33:3, s. 1009-1011
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: To answer the questions: Is the α/β ratio (radiosensitivity to size of dose-per-fraction) really low enough to justify using a few large dose fractions instead of the traditional many small doses? Does this parameter vary with prognostic risk factors? Methods and Materials: Three large statistical overviews are critiqued, with results for 5,000, 6,000 and 14,000 patients with prostate carcinoma, respectively. Results: These major analyses agree in finding the average α/β ratio to be less than 2 Gy: 1.55, (95% confidence interval=0.46-4.52), 1.4 (0.9-2.2), and the third analysis 1.7 (1.4-2.2) by ASTRO and 1.6 (1.2-2.2) by Phoenix criteria. All agree that α/β values do not vary significantly with the low, intermediate, high and “all included” risk factors. Conclusion: The high sensitivity to dose-per-fraction is an intrinsic property of prostate carcinomas and this supports the use of hypofractionation to increase the therapeutic gain for these tumours with dose-volume modelling to reduce the risk of late complications in rectum and bladder.
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| 3. |
- Ardenfors, Oscar, et al.
(author)
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Out-of-field doses from secondary radiation produced in proton therapy and the associated risk of radiation-induced cancer from a brain tumor treatment
- 2018
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In: Physica medica (Testo stampato). - : Elsevier BV. - 1120-1797 .- 1724-191X. ; 53, s. 129-136
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeTo determine out-of-field doses produced in proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) therapy using Monte Carlo simulations and to estimate the associated risk of radiation-induced second cancer from a brain tumor treatment.MethodsSimulations of out-of-field absorbed doses were performed with MCNP6 and benchmarked against measurements with tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPC) for three irradiation setups: two irradiations of a water phantom using proton energies of 78-147 MeV and 177-223 MeV, and one brain tumor irradiation of a whole-body phantom. Out-of-field absorbed and equivalent doses to organs in a whole-body phantom following a brain tumor treatment were subsequently simulated and used to estimate the risk of radiation-induced cancer. Additionally, the contribution of absorbed dose originating from radiation produced in the nozzle was calculated from simulations.ResultsOut-of-field absorbed doses to the TEPC ranged from 0.4 to 135 mu Gy/Gy. The average deviation between simulations and measurements of the water phantom irradiations was about 17%. The absorbed dose contribution from radiation produced in the nozzle ranged between 0 and 70% of the total dose; the contribution was however small in absolute terms. The absorbed and equivalent doses to the organs ranged between 0.2 and 60 mu Gy/Gy and 0.5-151 mu Sv/Gy. The estimated lifetime risk of radiation-induced second cancer was approximately 0.01%.ConclusionsThe agreement of out-of-field absorbed doses between measurements and simulations was good given the sources of uncertainties. Calculations of out-of-field organ doses following a brain tumor treatment indicated that proton PBS therapy of brain tumors is associated with a low risk of radiation-induced cancer.
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| 4. |
- Ardenfors, Oscar, et al.
(author)
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Are IMRT treatments in the head and neck region increasing the risk of secondary cancers?
- 2014
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In: Acta Oncologica. - : Informa Healthcare. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 53:8, s. 1041-1047
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has been increasingly employed for treating head and neck (H&N) tumours due to its ability to produce isodoses suitable for the complex anatomy of the region. The aim of this study was to assess possible differences between IMRT and conformal radiation therapy (CRT) with regard to risk of radiation-induced secondary malignancies for H&N tumours. Material and methods. IMRT and CRT plans were made for 10 H&N adult patients and the resulting treatment planning data were used to calculate the risk of radiation-induced malignancies in four different tissues. Three risk models with biologically relevant parameters were used for calculations. The influence of scatter radiation and repeated imaging sessions has also been investigated. Results. The results showed that the total lifetime risks of developing radiation-induced secondary malignancies from the two treatment techniques, CRT and IMRT, were comparable and in the interval 0.9-2.5%. The risk contributions from the primary beam and scatter radiation were comparable, whereas the contribution from repeated diagnostic imaging was considerably smaller. Conclusion. The results indicated that the redistribution of the dose characteristic to IMRT leads to a redistribution of the risks in individual tissues. However, the total levels of risk were similar between the two irradiation techniques considered.
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| 5. |
- Lindblom, Emely, et al.
(author)
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Accounting for Two Forms of Hypoxia for Predicting Tumour Control Probability in Radiotherapy : An In Silico Study
- 2018
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In: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 0065-2598 .- 2214-8019. ; 1042, s. 183-187
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The progress in functional imaging and dose delivery has opened the possibility of targeting tumour hypoxia with radiotherapy. Advanced approaches apply quantitative information on tumour oxygenation retrieved from imaging in dose prescription. These do not, however, take into account the potential difference in radiosensitivity of chronically and acutely hypoxic cells. It was the aim of this study to evaluate the implications of assuming the same or different sensitivities for the hypoxic cells. An in silico 3D-model of a hypoxic tumour with heterogeneous oxygenation was used to model the probabilities of tumour control with different radiotherapy regimens. The results show that by taking into account the potential lower radioresistance of chronically hypoxic cells deprived of oxygen and nutrients, the total dose required to achieve a certain level of control is substantially reduced for a given fractionation scheme in comparison to the case when chronically and acutely hypoxic cells are assumed to have similar features. The results also suggest that the presence of chronic hypoxia could explain the success of radiotherapy for some hypoxic tumours. Given the implications for clinical dose escalation trials, further exploration of the influence of the different forms of hypoxia on treatment outcome is therefore warranted.
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| 6. |
- Sandström, Helena, et al.
(author)
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Simultaneous truth and performance level estimation method for evaluation of target contouring in radiosurgery
- 2021
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In: Anticancer Research. - : Anticancer Research USA Inc.. - 0250-7005 .- 1791-7530. ; 41:1, s. 279-288
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background/Aim: The problem of lack of standardisation in target delineation and herewith the variability of target contours in Gamma Knife radiosurgery is as severe as in linac-based radiotherapy in general. The first aim of this study was to quantify the contouring variability for a group of five radiosurgery targets and estimate their true-volume based on multiple delineations using the Simultaneous Truth and Performance Level Estimation (STAPLE) algorithm. The second aim was to assess the robustness of the STAPLE method for the assessment of the true-volume, with respect to the number of contours available as input. Patients and Methods: A multicentre analysis of the variability in contouring of five cases was performed. Twelve contours were provided for each case by experienced planners for Gamma Knife. To assess the robustness of the STAPLE method with respect to the number of contours used as input, sets of contours were randomly selected in the analysis. Results: A high similarity was observed between the STAPLE generated true-volume and the 50%-agreement volume when all 12 available contours were used as input (90-100%). Lower similarity was observed with smaller sets of contours (10-70%). Conclusion: If a high number of input contours is available, the STAPLE method provides a valuable tool in the estimation of the true volume of a target based on multiple contours as well as the sensitivity and specificity for each input contour relative to the true volume of that structure. The robustness of the STAPLE method for rendering the true target volume depends on the number of contours provided as input and their variability with respect to shape, size and position.
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| 7. |
- Raptis, Apostolos, et al.
(author)
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Cancer risk after breast proton therapy considering physiological and radiobiological uncertainties
- 2020
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In: Physica medica (Testo stampato). - : Elsevier BV. - 1120-1797 .- 1724-191X. ; 76, s. 1-6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The reduced normal tissue dose burden from protons can reduce the risk of second cancer for breast cancer patients. Breathing motion and the impact of variable relative biological effectiveness (RBE) are however concerns for proton dose distributions. This study aimed to quantify the impact of these factors on risk predictions from proton and photon therapy.Materials and methods: Twelve patients were planned in free breathing with protons and photons to deliver 50 Gy (RBE) in 25 fractions (assuming RBE = 1.1 for protons) to the left breast. Second cancer risk was evaluated with several models for the lungs, contralateral breast, heart and esophagus as organs at risk (OARs). Plans were recalculated on CT-datasets acquired in extreme phases to account for breathing motion. Proton plans were also recalculated assuming variable RBE for a range of radiobiological parameters.Results: The OARs received substantially lower doses from protons compared to photons. The highest risks were for the lungs (average second cancer risks of 0.31% and 0.12% from photon and proton plans, respectively). The reduced risk with protons was maintained, even when breathing and/or RBE variation were taken into account. Furthermore, while the total risks from the photon plans were seen to increase with the integral dose, no such correlation was observed for the proton plans.Conclusions: Protons have an advantage over the photons with respect to the induction of cancer. Uncertainties in physiological movements and radiobiological parameters affected the absolute risk estimates, but not the general trend of lower risk associated with proton therapy.
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| 8. |
- Dasu, Alexandru, et al.
(author)
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Prostate alpha/beta revisited - an analysis of clinical results from 14168 patients
- 2012
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In: Acta Oncologica. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 51:8, s. 963-974
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: To determine the dose response parameters and the fractionation sensitivity of prostate tumours from clinical results of patients treated with external beam radiotherapy.Material and methods: The study was based on 5-year biochemical results from 14168 patients treated with external beam radiotherapy. Treatment data from 11330 patients treated with conventional fractionation have been corrected for overall treatment time and fitted with a logit equation. The results have been used to determine the optimum α/β values that minimise differences in predictions from 2838 patients treated with hypofractionated schedules.Results: Conventional fractionation data yielded logit dose response parameters for all risk groups and for all definitions of biochemical failures. The analysis of hypofractionation data led to very low α/β values (1-1.7 Gy) in all mentioned cases. Neglecting the correction for overall treatment time has little impact on the derivation of α/β values for prostate cancers.Conclusions: These results indicate that the high fractionation sensitivity is an intrinsic property of prostate carcinomas and they support the use of hypofractionation to increase the therapeutic gain for these tumours.
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| 9. |
- Daşu, Alexandru, et al.
(author)
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The use of risk estimation models for the induction of secondary cancers following radiotherapy
- 2005
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In: Acta Oncologica. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 44:4, s. 339-347
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Theoretical predictions of cancer risk from radiotherapy may be used as a complementary criterion for the selection of successful treatment plans together with the classical approach of estimating the possible deterministic effects. However, any such attempts must take into consideration the specific features of radiation treatment. This paper explores several possible methods for estimating the risk of cancer following radiotherapy in order to investigate the influences of the fractionation and the non-uniformity of the dose to the irradiated organ. The results indicate that dose inhomogeneity plays an important role in predicting the risk for secondary cancer and therefore for predictive purposes it must be taken into account through the use of the dose volume histograms. They also suggest that the competition between cell killing and the induction of carcinogenic mutations has to be taken into consideration for more realistic risk estimations. Furthermore, more realistic parameters could be obtained if this competition is also included in analyses of epidemiological data from radiotherapy applications.
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| 10. |
- Antonovic, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Clinical oxygen enhancement ratio of tumors in carbon ion radiotherapy : the influence of local oxygenation changes
- 2014
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In: Journal of radiation research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0449-3060 .- 1349-9157. ; 55:5, s. 902-911
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effect of carbon ion radiotherapy on hypoxic tumors has recently been questioned because of low linear energy transfer (LET) values in the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of hypoxia and local oxygenation changes (LOCs) in fractionated carbon ion radiotherapy. Three-dimensional tumors with hypoxic subvolumes were simulated assuming interfraction LOCs. Different fractionations were applied using a clinically relevant treatment plan with a known LET distribution. The surviving fraction was calculated, taking oxygen tension, dose and LET into account, using the repairable–conditionally repairable (RCR) damage model with parameters for human salivary gland tumor cells. The clinical oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) was defined as the ratio of doses required for a tumor control probability of 50% for hypoxic and well-oxygenated tumors. The resulting OER was well above unity for all fractionations. For the hypoxic tumor, the tumor control probability was considerably higher if LOCs were assumed, rather than static oxygenation. The beneficial effect of LOCs increased with the number of fractions. However, for very low fraction doses, the improvement related to LOCs did not compensate for the increase in total dose required for tumor control. In conclusion, our results suggest that hypoxia can influence the outcome of carbon ion radiotherapy because of the non-negligible oxygen effect at the low LETs in the SOBP. However, if LOCs occur, a relatively high level of tumor control probability is achievable with a large range of fractionation schedules for tumors with hypoxic subvolumes, but both hyperfractionation and hypofractionation should be pursued with caution.
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