Chordomas are rere tumors arising from the primitive notochord. The commonest affected segment is the sacrum and these chordomas frequently follow a progressive course eith multiple recurrences and metastases and eventual death due to tumor.This report describes two cases of sacrococygeal chordomas with widespread metastases treated by surgery and adjuvant radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: Experimental studies have implicated the wild type p53 in cellular response to radiation. Whether altered p53 function can lead to changes in clinical radiocurability remains an area of ongoing study. This study was performed to investigate whether any correlation between change of p53 and outcome of curative radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancers. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis with...

PURPOSE: This is a retrospective study to evaluate the response rate, acute toxicity, and survival rate of a combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy in limited disease small cell lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-six patients with limited disease small-cell lung cancer who underwent combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy between October 1994 and April 1998 were evaluated. Six cycles of chemotherapy were...

PURPOSE: This study was done to analyze prognostic factors and patterns failure of patients with histologically confirmed adenocarcinama of the uterine cervix. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 1988 to December 1996, a retrospective analysis was under taken for 45 patients who were treated with curative radiation therapy for adenocarcinoma of the to FIGO staging classification, 12 patients were stage lb, 9...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of tadiation therapy and eatrafascial hysterectomy in bulky stage lB,lla-B uterine cervix cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty four patients with bulky stage lB and llA-B carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated with extrafascial hysterectomy following radiation therapy due to doubts of residual disease at Department of therapeutic radiology, Keimyung University, Dongsan Hospital , From April...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the significance of squaous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) and carcinoembryonic anti antigen (CEA) as tumor markers in uterine cervix carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 22 patients with histologically proven primary squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix, tumor volume was checked either by using MRI (in 20 patients) or ultrasound (in 2 patients)or ultrasound (in 2 partients). Pre-treatment serum...

PURPOSE: We reviewed the treatment results for the patients with locally recurrent rectal carcinoma. The object was to evaluate the treatment outcome and to identify the prognostic factors influencing the survival. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Twenty-eight patients with locally recurrent rectal carcinoma treated principally with external-beam radiation therapy between 1982 to 1996 in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Paik and Hanyang...

PURPOSE: To discuss the technical aspect of interstitial brachytherapy including method of implant, insertion time of radioactive source, total radiation dose, and complication, we reviewed patients who had diagnoses of soft tissue sarcoma and were treated by conservative surgery, interstitial implant and external beam radiation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between May 1995 and Dec. 1997, ten patients with primary or recurrent...

PURPOSE: Paclitaxel is a chemotherapeutic agent with a potent microtubule stabilizing activity that arrests mitosis at G2-M phase of cell cycle which is the most radiosensitive period. Therefore paclitaxel is considered as a cell cycle-specific radiosensitizer. This study investigates the effect of paclitaxel on the radiation response of the normal large bowel mucosa of the rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The rats...

PURPOSE: It has been well established that response of cells and tissues to low LET radiations(X- or grmma-ray) can enhanced by comdining with hyperthermia. However, There has been relatively little of hyperthermia on the possible modification of either cellular or tissue responses to other types of radiation. So, We investigated the combined effect of fast neutron irradiation and hyperthermia according...

PURPOSE:The expression of p53, p21/WAF/CIP, Bcl-2, and Bax underlying the radiation-induced apoptosis in different pH environments using SCK mammary adenocarcinoma cell line was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mammary adenocarcinoma cells of A/J mice (SCK cells) in exponential growth phase were irradiated with a linear accelerator at room temperature. The cells were irradiated with 12 Gy and one hour later, the media...

PURPOSE: We have compared the characteristics of Siemens virtual wedge device with physical wedges for clinical application. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the characteristics and physical wedges for various wedge angles (15,30,45,and 60 degrees)using 6- and 15MV photon beams. Wedge factors were measured in water using an ion chamber for various field sizes and depths. In case of virtual wedge device,...

PURPOSE: To develop a method for verifying a treatment setup in stereotactic radiotherapy by matching portal images to DRRs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four pairs of orthogonal portal images of one patient immobilized by a thermoplastic mask frame for fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy were compared with DRRs. Portal images are obtained in AP (anterior/posterior) and lateral directions with a target localizer box containing...