Radiation Oncology A National Survey of the Availability of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy and Stereotactic Radiosurgery in Canada

Blogger's Note: no references to 'ovarian'/'ovary'/'gyn'

Conclusions

The survey showed a growing adoption of IMRT and SRS in Canada, although the latter was available in less than half of responding centers. Barriers to implementation differed for IMRT compared to SRS. Enhancing human resources is an important consideration in the implementation of new RT technologies, due to the multidisciplinary nature of the planning and treatment process.

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abstract: Whole-brain radiation therapy of brain metastasis.

Prog Neurol Surg. 2012;25:82-95. Epub 2012 Jan 6.

Source

Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada.

Abstract

The purpose of this report was to review the role of whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in the management of brain metastases. In particular, we review the role of WBRT as a prophylactic therapy, and the role of surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) with respect to WBRT, by discussing the relevant randomized controlled trials. WBRT is associated with toxicities and this may influence the decision to use WBRT and, therefore, we review both the acute side effects of WBRT and the moreserious late side effects of neurocognitive impairment and leukoencephalopathy. As patients are living longer with brain metastases the role of WBRT is moving forward; however, using modern radiation technology we may be able to reduce the morbidity of this therapy. We present an extreme case of re-re-treatment WBRT with hippocampal sparing and simultaneous integrated boosts to multiple lesions as one of the future directions under evaluation.