• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.254-258
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• 2019

Purpose: Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) is a well-established technique that enables efficient cardiac sparing in patients with left-sided breast cancer. The aim of the current study was to determine if DIBH is effective for reducing radiation exposure of of liver and other organs at risk in right breast radiotherapy (RT). Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with right-sided breast cancer were enrolled in this study. Three-dimensional conformal RT plans were generated for each patient, with two different computed tomography scans of free breathing (FB) and DIBH. Nodes were contoured according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group contouring guidelines. Dose-volume histograms for the target volume coverage and organs at risk were evaluated and analyzed. Results: DIBH plans showed significant reduction in mean liver dose (5.59 ± 2.07 Gy vs. 2.54 ± 1.40 Gy; p = 0.0003), V_20Gy (148.38 ± 73.05 vs. 64.19 ± 51.07 mL; p = 0.0003) and V_10Gy (195.34 ± 93.57 vs. 89.81 ± 57.28 mL; p = 0.0003) volumes compared with FB plans. Right lung doses were also significantly reduced in DIBH plans. Heart and left lung doses showed small but statistically significant improvement with application of the DIBH technique. Conclusion: We report that the use of DIBH for right-sided breast cancer significantly reduces the radiation doses to the liver, lungs, and heart.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.2051-2054
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• 2015

Background: Radiation therapy is a key part of the combined modality treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), which can achieve locoregional control of disease. The 3D-conformal radiation oncology can be extended-field (EFRT), involved-field (IFRT) and involved node (INRT). New techniques have resulted in a smaller radiation field and lower dose for critical organs such as lung heart and breast. Materials and Methods: In our research, we made a virtual simulation for one patient who was treated in four different radiotherapeutic techniques: mantle field (MFRT), EFRT, IFRT and INRT. After delineatiion we compared dose-volume histograms for each technique. The fusion of CT for planning radiotherapy with the initial PET/CT was made using Softver Xio 4.6 in the Focal program. The dose for all four techniques was 36Gy. Results: Our results support the use of PET/CT in radiation therapy planning. With IFRT and INRT, the burden on the organs at risk is less than with MFRT and EFRT. On the other hand, the dose distribution in the target volume is much better with the latter. Conclusions: The aim of modern radiotherapy of HL and NHL is to reduce the intensity of treatment and therefore PET/CT should be used to reduce and not increase the amount of tissue receiving radiation.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.176-184
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• 2019

Purpose: It is unclear whether adding concurrent chemotherapy (CT) to definitive radiotherapy (RT) following induction CT is a tolerable and cost effective treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients aged 70 years or older with comorbidities. This study evaluated the actual clinical outcomes between concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and RT alone following induction CT or not in patients (≥70 years) in a single institution's clinical practice. Materials and Methods: A total of 82 patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC between 2004 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Their treatment tolerance and clinical outcomes such as overall survival (OS), locoregional recurrence (LRR), treatment toxicities and distant metastasis (DM) were evaluated. Early mortality rates were also evaluated as 4-month mortality after RT. Results: Fifty-four patients received CCRT and 28 patients received RT alone. Induction CT before RT was performed for 68.5% and 50.0% in CCRT and RT alone groups. Treatment tolerance was significantly worse in CCRT (p = 0.046). The median survival was 21.1 and 18.1 months for CCRT and RT alone, which was not statistically significant. LRR and DM were also not different. Most early deaths after CCRT were attributed to non-cancer-related mortality. Acute esophagitis of grade ≥2 occurred more following CCRT (p = 0.017). In multivariate analysis, a Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) of ≥5 and a weight loss of ≥5% after RT were associated with poor OS. The factors adversely affecting 4-month survival were a CCI of ≥5 and CCRT. Conclusion: There were no significant differences in OS, LRR, and DM between CCRT and RT alone treatment in elderly patients. However, there was a poorer tolerance and higher incidence of acute esophagitis in the CCRT group. Specifically, when the patients had a CCI of ≥5, RT alone seems to be reasonable with a low probability of early death.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.662-668
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• 2000

Background: Many recent results of clinical trials show that pre-operative concurrent chemoradiotherapy and surgical resection could increase the survival of N2 positive stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. This study was performed to assess the feasibility, toxicity, and affect rates of concurrent chemoradiotherapy and surgical resection in N2 positive stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. Material and Method: Thirty-one patients who underwent preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for N2 positive stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer from May 1997 to April 1999 were entered into the study. Mean age was 61 yrs(43∼70 yrs), There were 24 men and 7 women. The confirmation of N2 disease were achieved through mediastinoscopic biopsy(24) and CT scans(7). Induction was achieved by two cycles of cisplatin and etoposide(EP) plus concurrent chest radiotherapy to 45 Gy. Resections were done at 3 weeks after the complection of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Resections were performed in 23 patients, excluding 5 refusals and 3 distant metastasis. Result: All patients were compled the thoracic radiotherapy except one who had distant metastasis. Twenty three patients were completed the planned 2 cycles of EP chemotherapy, and 8 patients were received only 1 cycle for severe side effects(6), refusal(1), and distant metastasis(1). There was one postoperative mortality, and the cause of death was ARDS. Three patients who had neutropenic fever and one patient who had radiation pneumonitis were required admission and treatment. Esophagitis was the most common acute side effect, but relatively well-tolerated in most patients. The complection rate of concurrent chemoradiotherapy was 74%, resection rate was 71%, pathologic complete remission rate was 13.6%, and pathologic down-staging rate was 68%. Conclusion: Morbidity related to each treatment was acceptable and many of the patients have benefited down staging of its disease. Further prospective, preferably randomized, clinical trials of larger scale may be warranted to confirm the actual benefit of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy and surgical resection in N2-positive stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2012

Purpose: To develop the dose volume histogram (DVH) management software which guides the evaluation of radiotherapy (RT) plan of a new case according to the biological consequences of the DVHs from the previously treated patients. Materials and Methods: We determined the radiation pneumonitis (RP) as an biological response parameter in order to develop DVH management software. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of lung cancer patients treated with curative 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). The biological event was defined as RP of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) grade III or more. Results: The DVH management software consisted of three parts (pre-existing DVH database, graphical tool, and $Pinnacle^3$ script). The pre-existing DVH data were retrieved from 128 patients. RP events were tagged to the specific DVH data through retrospective review of patients' medical records. The graphical tool was developed to present the complication histogram derived from the preexisting database (DVH and RP) and was implemented into the radiation treatment planning (RTP) system, $Pinnacle^3$ v8.0 (Phillips Healthcare). The software was designed for the pre-existing database to be updated easily by tagging the specific DVH data with the new incidence of RP events at the time of patients' follow-up. Conclusion: We developed the DVH management software as an effective tool to incorporate the phenomenological consequences derived from the pre-existing database in the evaluation of a new RT plan. It can be used not only for lung cancer patients but also for the other disease site with different toxicity parameters.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.815-820
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• 1987

Excision of the metastatic pulmonary sarcoma or carcinoma in the selected cases is now the accepted and the most effective method of treatment. From January 1978 to July 1987, 14 patients with metastatic lung cancer were treated surgically at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Catholic University Medical College. Ages ranged from 26 years to 68 years [mean=38.0 years]. Primary sites were uterus in 6 patients, colorectum in 2, sarcoma of extremities in 2, and 1 case of pancreas, kidney, skin and melanoma of hand. Fourteen posterolateral thoracotomies were done and resected the 36 metastatic masses in 14 patients. Surgical mortality was none. The performed procedures of resection were as follows; lobectomy with wedge resection in 2, lobectomy in 3, segmentectomy in 1 and wedge resection in 8. Eleven patients were received radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or both postoperatively. Among the 14 patients, there were 5 survivors. They are 6, 7, 21, 35, and 63 months postoperatively. Among them, 9 patients were dead. Within one year in 2, two years in 6, and three years in l.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.79-83
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• 1985

Carcinoma of the breast has been treated by surgery followed by irradiation of the chest wall and regional lymphatics treatment planning of the breast cancer is required that lung must be spared as much as possible. However megavoltage irradiation of the internal mammary chain results in high dose to underlying heart, esophagus and spinal cord. Electron beam can be used for the irradiation of the internal mammary chain instead of megavoltage beam. We studied dose distribution of single anterior electron field, compared with traditional treatment methods. 12 and 15MeV electron beam with bolus has good dose distribution to spare underlying lung tissue and other organs.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.463-475
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• 2015

The standard treatment of locally advanced type of mid-esophageal cancer is concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT). We evaluated the feasibility of chemotherapy with adding docetaxel to the classical basic regimens of cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and radiotherapy up to 70.2 Gy using dose escalations for esophageal cancer. It was possible to escalate radiation treatment dose up to 70.2 Gy by the respiratory-gated intensity-modulated radiotherapy (gated-IMRT) based on the 4DCT-simulation, with improving target coverage and normal tissue (ex., lung, heart, and spinal cord) sparing. This study suggested that the definitive chemo-radiotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (i.e., DCF-R) and gating IMRT is tolerable and active in patients with locally advanced mid-esophageal cancer (AEC).

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.31-43
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• 2017

Together with radiotherapy, chemotherapy using cytotoxic agents is one of the most common therapies in cancer. Metabolic changes in cancer cells are drawing much attention recently, but the metabolic alterations by anticancer agents have not been much studied. Here, we investigated the effects of commonly used cytotoxic agents on lung normal cell MRC5 and lung cancer cell A549. We employed cis-plastin, doxorubicin, and 5-Fluorouracil and compared their effects on the viability and metabolism of the normal and cancer cell lines. We first established the concentration of the cytotoxic reagents that give differences in the viabilities of normal and cancer cell lines. In those conditions, the viability of A549 decreased significantly, whereas that of MRC5 remained unchanged. To study the metabolic alterations implicated in the viability differences, we obtained the metabolic profiles using $^1H$-NMR spectrometry. The $^1H$-NMR data showed that the metabolic changes of A549 cells are more remarkable than that of MRC5 cells and the effect of 5-FU on the A549 cells is the most distinct compared to other treatments. Heat map analysis showed that metabolic alterations under treatment of cytotoxic agents are totally different between normal and cancer cells. Multivariate analysis and weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) revealed a distinctive metabolite signature and hub metabolites. Two different analysis tools revealed that the changes of cell metabolism in response to cytotoxic agents were highly correlated with the Warburg effect and Reductive lipogenesis, two pathways having important effects on the cell survival. Taken together, our study addressed the correlation between the viability and metabolic profiles of MRC5 and A549 cells upon the treatment of cytotoxic anticancer agents.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.147-155
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was designed to determine the influencing factors and clinical course of pathologically proven cases of radiation-induced brain injury (RIBI). Materials and Methods: The pathologic records of twelve patients were reviewed; these patients underwent surgery following radiotherapy due to disease progression found by follow-up imaging. However, they were finally diagnosed with RIBI. All patients had been treated with 3-dimensional conventional fractionated radiotherapy and/or radiosurgery for primary or metastatic brain tumors with or without chemotherapy. The histological distribution was as follows: two falx meningioma, six glioblastoma multiform (GBM), two anaplastic oligodendroglioma, one low grade oligodendroglioma, and one small cell lung cancer with brain metastasis. Results: Radiation necrosis was noted in eight patients and the remaining four were diagnosed with radiation change. Gender (p = 0.061) and biologically equivalent dose $(BED)_3$ (p = 0.084) were the only marginally influencing factors of radiation necrosis. Median time to RIBI was 7.3 months (range, 0.5 to 61 months). Three prolonged survivors with GBM were observed. In the subgroup analysis of high grade gliomas, RIBI that developed <6 months after radiotherapy was associated with inferior overall survival rates compared to cases of RIBI that occurred ${\geq}6$ months (p = 0.085). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that RIBI could occur in early periods after conventional fractionated brain radiotherapy within normal tolerable dose ranges. Studies with a larger number of patients are required to identify the strong influencing factors for RIBI development.