• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.386-392
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• 2018

Radiation therapy is highly effective for the management of pediatric malignant central nervous system (CNS) tumors including embryonal tumors. With the increment of long-term survivors from malignant CNS tumors, the radiation-related toxicities have become a major concern and we need to improve the treatment strategies to reduce the late complications without compromising the treatment outcomes. One of such strategies is to reduce the radiation dose to craniospinal axis or radiation volume and to avoid or defer radiation therapy until after the age of three. Another strategy is using particle beam therapy such as proton beams instead of photon beams. Proton beams have distinct physiologic advantages over photon beams and greater precision in radiation delivery to the tumor while preserving the surrounding healthy tissues. In this review, I provide the treatment principles of pediatric CNS embryonal tumors and the strategic improvements of radiation therapy to reduce treatment-related late toxicities, and finally introduce the increasing availability of proton beam therapy for pediatric CNS embryonal tumors compared with photon beam therapy.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2008

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is believed to be one of the best radiation treatment techniques. IMRT is able to deliver fatal doses of radiation to the tumor region with minimal exposure of critical organs. It is essential to have a comprehensive quality assurance program to assure precision and accuracy in treatment, due to the character of IMRT. We applied quality assurance technique to the Eclipse treatment planning system and sought to determine its effectiveness in patient treatment planning. An acrylic phantom, film, and an ionization chamber were used in this study.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1997 no.11
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• pp.164-167
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• 1997

The treatment setup of patients during irradiation is an important aspect in relation to the success of radiotherapy. Imaging with the treatment beam is a widely used method or verification of the radiation field position relative to the target area, prior to or during irradiation. In this paper, Real time digital radiography system was implemented or verification of local error between simulation plan and radiation therapy machine. Portal image can be acquired by CCD camera, image board and pentium PC after therapy Radiation was converted into light by a metal/fluorescent Screen. The resulting image quality is comparable to film, so the imaging system represents a promising alternative to film as a method of verifying patient positioning in radiotherapy. Edge detection and field size measurement were also implemented and detected automatically for verification of treatment position. Field edge was added to the original image or checking the anatomical treatment verification by therapy technicians. By means of therapy efficiency improvement and decrease of Radiation side effects with these techniques, Exact Radiation treatments are expected.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2009

We measured the dose distribution for spinal cord and tumor using Gafchromic film, applying 3D and 4D-Treatment Planning for lung tumor within the phantom. A measured dose distribution was compared with a calculated dose distribution generated from 3D radiation treatment planning and 4D radiation treatment planning system. The agreement of the dose distribution in tumor for 3D and 4D treatment planning was 90.6%, 97.64% using gamma index computed for a distance to agreement of 1 mm and a dose difference of 3%. However, a gamma agreement index of 3% dose difference tolerence of and 2 mm distance to agreement, the accordance of the dose distribution around cord for 3D and 4D radiation treatment planning was 57.13%, 90.4%. There are significant differences between a calculated dose and a measured dose for 3D radiation treatment planning, no significant differences for 4D treatment planning. The results provide the effectiveness of the 4D treatment planning as compared to 3D. We suggest that the 4-dimensional treatment planning should be considered in the case where such equipments as Cyberknife with the real time tracking system are used to treat the tumors in the moving organ.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.25-35
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• 2022

Purpose: Planning for radiotherapy relies on implicit estimation of the probability of tumor control and the probability of complications in adjacent normal tissues for a given dose distribution. Methods: The aim of this pilot study was to reconstruct dose-volume histograms (DVHs) from text files generated by the Eclipse treatment planning system developed by Varian Medical Systems and to verify the integrity and accuracy of the dose statistics. Results: We further compared dose statistics for intensity-modulated radiotherapy of the head and neck between the Eclipse software and software developed in-house. The dose statistics data obtained from the Python software were consistent, with deviations from the Eclipse treatment planning system found to be within acceptable limits. Conclusions: The in-house software was able to provide indices of hotness and coldness for treatment planning and store statistical data generated by the software in Oracle databases. We believe the findings of this pilot study may lead to more accurate evaluations in planning for radiotherapy.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2013

Purpose: We reviewed the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with anal canal carcinoma who were treated with curative intent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) at Severance Hospital from 2005 to 2011. Materials and Methods: Data for 38 eligible patients treated during this period were reviewed. All patients were treated with curative intent using radiotherapy (RT) with (n = 35) or without concomitant chemotherapy (n = 3). Among 35 patients who received CRT, most of the chemotherapeutic regimens were either 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus mitomycin C (23 patients) or 5-FU plus cisplatin (10 patients). Recurrence-free survival (RFS), colostomy-free survival (CFS), overall survival (OS), and locoregional control (LRC) rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and survival between subgroups were compared using the log-rank test. Cox's proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis. Results: Over a median follow-up period of 44 months (range, 11 to 96 months), 3-year RFS, CFS, OS, and LRC were 80%, 79%, 85%, and 92%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, tumor size >4 cm was an independent predicting factor for poorer RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 6.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.42 to 28.5; p = 0.006) and CFS (HR, 6.25; 95% CI, 1.39-28.0; p = 0.017), while the presence of external iliac lymph node metastasis was an independent prognosticator for poorer OS (HR, 9.32; 95% CI, 1.24 to 70.3; p = 0.030). No treatment-related colostomies or deaths occurred during or after treatment. Conclusion: Curative intent CRT resulted in excellent outcomes that were comparable to outcomes in previous randomized trials. No severe treatment-related toxicities were observed.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.655-662
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• 2010

By using lotus notes server-client system, the database related to general information of cancer patients, radiation treatment simulation, cancer treatment information and all kinds of information of radiation oncology department need to be developed for effective information management and also user interface was developed for input and output of information. This database also could be used for clinical study, patient care research and medical education. By the development of this electronic chart of the department of radiation oncology, the clinic datum and medical information management could be connected effectively and treatment information according to treatment machine also could be acquired and contributed for improving treatment efficiency, cutting down the waiting time for clinic.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.446-449
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• 2002

The video based electronic portal imaging device (EPID), which could display the portal image in near real time, was implemented to verify treatment position error in FSRT(Fractionated Stereotatic Radiation Therapy) instead of a portal film. Also, Developed FSRT system was composed of the stereotactic frame, frame mounting system and collimator cones. The verification of treatment position is very crucial in special therapies like FSRT. In general, the FSRT uses high dpse rate at small field size for treating small intracranial lesions. To evaluate quantitative positioning errors in FSRT, we used the first FSRT image as reference image and obtained the second FSRT image that was moved 2mm intentionally and detected intracranial contours after image processing. The generated 2mm error could be verified by overlapping only contours of two images. Through this study, the radiation treatment efficiency could be improved by performing precise radiation therapy with a developed video based EPID and FSRT.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.167-176
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• 2000

The objective of recent radiation therapy is to improve the quality of treatment and the after treatment quality of life. In Korea, sharing the same objective, significant advancement was made due to the gradual increase of patient number and rapid increase of treatment facilities. The advancement includes generalization of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), application of linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and furthermore, the introduction of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Authors in this paper prospectively review the followings: the advancement of radiation oncology in Korea, the recent status of four-dimensional radiation therapy, IMRT, the concept of the treatment with biological conformity, the trend of combined chemoradiotherapy, the importance of internet and radiation oncology information management system as influenced by the revolution of information technology, and finally the global trend of telemedicine in radiation oncology. Additionally, we suggest the methods to improve radiotherapy treatment, which include improvement of quality assurance (QA) measures by developing Koreanized QA protocol and system, regional study about clinical protocol development for phase three clinical trial, suggestion of unified treatment protocol and guideline by academic or research societies, domestic generation of treatment equipment's or system, establishment of nationwide data base of radiation-oncology-related information, and finally patterns-of-care study about major cancers.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.11-25
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• 1980

The increasing utilization of radioactive isotopes in industry, medicine and research has raised the question, 'How should hospitals deal with radiation injuries when they occur?' A system for initial management of radiation injuries has been developed by Radiation Management Corporation. Radiation injuries are classified and a treatment plan outlined for each at the emergency and short term medical care phase. This system includes clinical prognosis as well as a detailed plan for quick set up or a Radiation Emergency Area in any hospital. Procedures for patient admission, preparation of the facility, general decontamination, sample taking, and wound decontamination are included.