PURPOSE: To present preliminary results of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using the simultaneous modulated accelerated radiation therapy (SMART) boost technique in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients who underwent IMRT for non-metastatic NPC at the Asan Medical Center between September 2001 and December 2003 were prospectively evaluated. IMRT was delivered using the "step and shoot" SMART technique at...

PURPOSE: In order to find out whether stereotactic radiation therapy (RT) using CyberKnife (CK) could improve survival rate and lower acute toxicity compared to conventional RT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From April 2003 through April 2004, 19 patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status < or =3 and locally advanced pancreas cancer without distant metastasis, evaluated by CT or PET/CT,...

PURPOSE: This study explored the anal sphincter-saving rate and down-staging rate after preoperative chemoradiotherapy for treating lower rectal cancer. We also explored the prognosis of the patients who refused surgery after preoperative chemoradiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty seven patients with histologically proven lower rectal cancer who underwent preoperative chemoradiotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. In each case, the tumor location was 0 to...

PURPOSE: It is well known from clinical experience that acute complications of chemoradiation therapy vary from patients to patients. However, there are no known factors to predict these acute complications before treatment starts. The human XRCC1 gene is known as a DNA base excision repair gene. We investigated the possibilities of XRCC1 gene polymorphisms as a predictor for the acute complications...

PURPOSE: We wanted to determine the clinical characteristics and prognosis according to the VEGF expression in stage II cervical carcinoma patients treated with definitive radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 31 patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer from 1995 to 2003 at Samsung Medical Center and their paraffin block tissue samples were available for study. The median age of the...

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the late rectal complications in cervix cancer patients following treatment with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and high dose rate intracavitary radiation (HDR ICR). The factors affecting the risk of developing late rectal complications and its incidence were analyzed and discussed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of 105 patients with cervix cancer who were treated with radical radiotherapy...

PURPOSE: We examined whether intratumoral (i.t.) administration of dendritic cells (DCs) into a treated tumor could induce local and systemic antitumor effects in a mouse tumor model. METHODS AND MATERIALS: C57BL/6 mice were inoculated s.c. in the right and left thighs with MCA-102 fibrosarcoma cells on day 0 and on day 7, respectively. On day 7, the tumors (usually 6 mm...

PURPOSE: Renal irradiation can lead to the development of radiation nephropathy, and this is characterized by the accumulation of extracellular matrix and final fibrosis. To determine the possible role of the glomerular epithelial cell, the radiation-induced changes in the expression of its genes associated with the extracellular matrix were analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rat glomerular epithelial cells (GEpC) were irradiated ...

PURPOSE: Oral mucositis is a common toxicity of radiation or chemotherapy, which is used a treatment for head and neck cancer. We investigated effects of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) on radiation-induced oral mucositis in rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Spraque-Dawley rats (7 per group) exposed to a single dose of 25 Gy (day 0) on their head, except for...