• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.255-259
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• 1992

We have treated adult acute leukemia 64 patients between January 1990 and October 1991 at the Chungnam National University Hospital. They were examined for the impact of presenting WBC count on the initial course and from them we have chosen twenty patients whose leukocyte count is over one hundred thousands per cubic milimeter, We divided the twenty patients into 4 groups on the base of treatment modalities: conservative therapy only, chemotherapy only, cranial irradiation only, and chemotherapy with cranial irradiation. Early sudden death rate is lower in cranial irradiation with/without chemotherapy groups than the conservative only or chemotherapy only patients. Also the remission rate is high in cranial irradiation with chemotherapy patients. Therefore we suggest that the rapid intervention of cranial irradiation in adult acute leukemia could be helpful in reducing the early sudden death rate and perhaps in increasing the remission rate.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.142-145
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• 2001

Purpose : Acute leukemia with hyperleukocytosis (more than $10^5/mm^3$) is at high risk of early sudden death, usually from intracerebral hemorrhage. Emergency cranial irradiation is a relatively simple approach to solve this the problem. We summarized our experience of cranial irradiation in 24 leukemic children who presented with hyperleukocytosis. Methods and Materials : Between 1990 and 1998, 40 children with acute leukemia presenting with hyperleukocytosis were referred for emergency cranial irradiation. Among these patients, 24 children were evaluable. There were 16 boys and eight girls, their ages ranged from 2 to 13 years (median 9.5 years). The initial leukocyte counts ranged $109,910/mm^3\;to\;501,000/mm^3$. Peripheral blood smear was peformed in all patients and noted the morphology of the blast. Introduction of emergency cranial irradiation was determined by the leukocyte counts (more than 100,000/mm) and the existence of the blast in peripheral blood smear. All patients were treated with intravenous hydration with alkaline fluid and oral allopurinol. Cranial irradiation started on the day of diagnosis. With 2 Gy in one fraction in 4 patients, 4 Gy in two fractions in 20 patients. Results : The WBC count had fallen in 19 patients (83%) and no intracerebral hemorrhage occurred after irradiation. There were five cases of early deaths. Four patients died of metabolic complications, and one patient with intracerebral hemorrhage. He died 5 hours after cranial irradiation. No patient had any immediate side effect from cranial irradiation. Conclusion : Our data suggest, that emergency cranial irradiation can be safely chosen and effective in childhood leukemic patients presenting with high leukocyte counts.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.40 no.12 s.403
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• pp.917-927
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• 2002

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.230-236
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• 2013

Our purpose is to present a novel technique for delivering craniospinal irradiation in the supine position using a perfect match, field-in-field (FIF) intrafractional feathering, and simple forward-optimization technique. To achieve this purpose, computed tomography simulation was performed with patients in the supine position. Half-beam, blocked, opposed, lateral, cranial fields with a collimator rotation were matched to the divergence of the superior border of an upper-spinal field. Fixed field parameters were used, and the isocenter of the upper-spinal field was placed at the same source-to-axis distance (SAD), 20 cm inferior to the cranial isocenter. For a lower-spinal field, the isocenter was placed 40 cm inferior to the cranial isocenter at a constant SAD. Both gantry and couch rotations for the lower-spinal field were used to achieve perfect divergence match with the inferior border of the upper-spinal field. A FIF technique was used to feather the craniospinal and spinal-spinal junction daily by varying the match line over 2 cm. The dose throughout the target volume was modulated using the FIF simple forward optimization technique to obtain homogenous coverage. Daily, image-guided therapy was used to assure and verify the setup. This supine-position, perfect match craniospinal irradiation technique with FIF intrafractional feathering and dose modulation provides a simple and safe way to deliver treatment while minimizing dose inhomogeneity.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.40
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• pp.34.1-34.8
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• 2018

Background: Radiation therapy is widely employed in the treatment of head and neck cancer. Adverse effects of therapeutic irradiation include delayed bone healing after dental extraction or impaired bone regeneration at the irradiated bony defect. Development of a reliable experimental model may be beneficial to study tissue regeneration in the irradiated field. The current study aimed to develop a relevant animal model of post-radiation cranial bone defect. Methods: A lead shielding block was designed for selective external irradiation of the mouse calvaria. Critical-size calvarial defect was created 2 weeks after the irradiation. The defect was filled with a collagen scaffold, with or without incorporation of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) (1 ㎍/ml). The non-irradiated mice treated with or without BMP-2-included scaffold served as control. Four weeks after the surgery, the specimens were harvested and the degree of bone formation was evaluated by histological and radiographical examinations. Results: BMP-2-treated scaffold yielded significant bone regeneration in the mice calvarial defects. However, a single fraction of external irradiation was observed to eliminate the bone regeneration capacity of the BMP-2-incorporated scaffold without influencing the survival of the animals. Conclusion: The current study established an efficient model for post-radiation cranial bone regeneration and can be applied for evaluating the robust bone formation system using various chemokines or agents in unfavorable, demanding radiation-related bone defect models.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5401-5406
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• 2015

Background: Brain metastases are the most common intra-cranial neoplasms. The incidence is on a rise due to advanced imaging techniques. Aims: The objective of the study was to analyse the clinical and demographic profile of patients with brain metastases from primary solid tumors. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective single institutional study covering 130 consecutive patients with brain metastases from January 2007 to August 2014. Results: Some 64.6% of the patients were females. The majority were in the sixth decade of life. The site of the primary tumor was the lungs in 50.8% of the cases. The overall median time from the diagnosis of the primary malignancy to detection of brain metastases was 21.4 months. Survival was found to be significantly improved in patients with solitary brain lesions when compared to patients with multiple brain metastases, and in patients undergoing surgical excision with or without cranial irradiation when compared to whole brain irradiation alone. The majority of the cases belonged to the recursive partitioning analysis class II group. Whole brain radiation therapy was delivered to 79% of the patients. Conclusions: Most of the patients with brain metastases in the study belonged to recursive partitioning analysis classes II or III, and hence had poor prognosis. Most of the patients in the Indian context either do not satisfy the indications for surgical excision or are incapable of bearing the high cost associated with stereotactic radiosurgery. Treatment should be tailored on an individual basis to all these patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.156-165
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• 2019

Purpose: Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is a standard treatment for limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) showing a response to initial treatment, but many patients do not receive PCI due to comorbidities or refusal. This study aims to define the patient group for whom PCI can be omitted with minimal risk. Materials and Methods: Patients with LS-SCLC who underwent radiotherapy with curative aim at our institution between January 2004 and December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who did not receive PCI were evaluated for brain metastasis-free survival (BMFS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and prognostic factors for survival, and treatment outcomes were compared with a patient cohort who received PCI. Results: A total of 350 patients achieved a response following thoracic radiotherapy, and 190 of these patients did not receive PCI. Stage I-II and a complete response (CR) to initial therapy were good prognostic factors for BMFS and OS on univariate analysis. Patients with both stage I-II and a CR who declined PCI showed comparable 2-year BMFS to those who received PCI (92% vs. 89%). In patients who achieved CR, PCI did not significantly improve OS or PFS. Conclusion: There should be less concern about omitting PCI in patients with comorbidities if they have stage I-II or a CR, with brain metastasis control being comparable to those patients who receive PCI.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.125-131
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• 1990

In X-ray irradiation, dose distribution depends on multiple parameters, one of them being tissue inhomogeneity to change the dose significantly. considerable dose attenuation through the mid-cranial fossa is expected because of various bony structures in it. Dose distribution around the mid-cranial fossa, following irradiation with 6 MV photon beam, was measured with LiF TLD micro-rod, and compared with the expected dose inthe same sites. In our calculation with $C_f$(correction factor), the expected dose attenuation revealed about $3.74\%$ per 1 cm thickness of bone tissue. And the differences between the expected dose with correction for bone tissue and the measured dose by TLD was small, agreeing within an average variation of $\pm0.21\%$.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.163-166
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• 2015

The prophylactic use of phenytoin during and after brain surgery and cranial irradiation is a common measure in brain tumor therapy. Phenytoin has been associated with variety of adverse skin reactions including urticaria, erythroderma, erythema multiforme (EM), Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and toxic epidermal necrolysis. EM associated with phenytoin and cranial radiation therapy (EMPACT) is a rare specific entity among patients with brain tumors receiving radiation therapy while on prophylactic anti-convulsive therapy. Herein we report a 41-year-old female patient with left temporal glial tumor who underwent surgery and then received whole brain radiation therapy and chemotherapy. After 24 days of continous prophylactic phenytoin therapy the patient developed minor skin reactions and 2 days later the patient returned with generalized erythamatous and itchy maculopapuler rash involving neck, chest, face, trunk, extremities. There was significant periorbital and perioral edema. Painful mucosal lesions consisting of oral and platal erosions also occurred and prevented oral intake significantly. Phenytoin was discontinued gradually. Systemic admistration of corticosteroids combined with topical usage of steroids for oral lesions resulted in complete resolution of eruptions in 3 weeks. All cutaneous lesions in patients with phenytoin usage with the radiotherapy must be evoluated with suspicion for EM.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.147-156
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• 2005

Purpose : To observe the histopathological changes and caspase-3 expression in the submandibular gland in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats after irradiation. Materials and Methods : The male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing approximately 250 gm were divided into four groups: control, diabetes, irradiation, and diabetes-irradiation groups. Diabetes mellitus was induced in the rats by injecting streptozotocin. Rats in the control and irradiation groups were injected with citrate buffer only. After 5days, rats in irradiation and diabetes-irradiation groups were irradiated with a single absorbed dose of 10 Gy to the head and neck region. All the rats were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after irradiation. The specimen including the submandibular gland were sectioned and observed using histopathological and immunohistochemical methods. Results : In the irradiation group, the condensed nucleus, karyolysis, and degeneration of the acinar cells and atrophy of the duct cells were observed in the early experimental phase. However, the acinar cells were found to be normal at 28 days after irradiation. In the diabetes group, the condensed nucleus, karyolysis, atrophy, and degeneration of the acinar cells were observed in the early experimental phase. However, the acinar cells were found to be normal at 21 days after diabetic state induction. In the diabetes-irradiation group, the ductal epithelial cells were predominant in their glandular tissues at 28 days after irradiation. In all of the experimental groups, the most prominent change of the acinar cells and ductal cells were observed at 14 days after diabetic state induction and irradiation. Conclusion The expression of caspase-3 in the acinar cells and ductal cells of the submandibular gland was weak after irradiation, but that in the acinar cells, ductal cells, and fibrous cells of the submandibular gland was prominent after diabetic state induction.