Publications (3)7.04 Total impact
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Article: Treatment of facial cutaneous carcinoma with high-dose rate contact brachytherapy with customized molds.
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ABSTRACT: The main treatment given for initial stage facial epitheliomas is surgery, although there are alternatives. We present our results with Ir-192 high-dose rate (HDR) contact brachytherapy. Fifty-one epitheliomas, with a mean size of 1.5 cm and a maximum thickness of 3mm, were treated with HDR contact brachytherapy by means of customized molds, with plastic tubes on bolus for flat surfaces and on wax molds for the nose. A total dose of 48-57 Gy, 3-4 Gy/fraction three times a week, was administered. After a median followup of 45 months, five tumors relapsed (9.8%), four of them on the tip of the nose. The 5-year actuarial local control rate was 89%, 100% for flat surfaces, and 83% for the nose. All of them were salvaged with surgery. The treatment was well tolerated, 21.6% developed severe acute toxicity, with good or very good late cosmetic results. HDR contact brachytherapy is a good alternative to treat facial epitheliomas with a maximum thickness of 3mm. Tip of the nose tumors are not well covered with this technique and a different procedure is required.Brachytherapy 10/2010; 10(3):221-7. · 1.47 Impact Factor -
Article: Breast-conservative surgery with close or positive margins: can the breast be preserved with high-dose-rate brachytherapy boost?
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ABSTRACT: To evaluate the likelihood of preserving the breast in women who show close or positive margins after conservative surgery for early breast carcinoma. Since 1996, 125 women with less than 5 mm or positive margins and positive separate cavity margin sampling were entered in a prospective trial with high-dose radiotherapy. A standard dose of 50 Gy to the whole breast was followed by a high-dose-rate brachytherapy application delivering 3 fractions of 4.4 Gy in 24 hours. The median follow-up was 84 months. There were only seven local recurrences, with an actuarial local control rate of 95.8% at 5 years and 91.1% at 9 years. Actuarial overall and cause-specific survival rates were 92.6% and 95% at 5 years and 86.7% and 90.4% at 9 years, respectively. Late fibrosis was the most common complication, in 30% of patients, with good or excellent cosmetic results in 77%. The final result was that 95.2% of breasts were preserved. Close or positive-margin breast cancer can be well managed with a high-dose boost in a wide tumor bed by means of high-dose-rate brachytherapy. This technique can avoid mastectomy or poor cosmetic resection, with minimal risk of local or general failure.International Journal of Radiation OncologyBiologyPhysics 09/2007; 68(5):1381-7. · 4.11 Impact Factor -
Article: Efficacy of high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy in patients with oral tongue carcinoma.
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ABSTRACT: To evaluate the results of high-dose-rate (HDR)-interstitial brachytherapy (ISBT) in oral tongue carcinomas. Between September 1999 and August 2007, 50 patients were treated for oral tongue carcinoma with HDR-ISBT. The patient's mean age was 58 years. Forty-two patients were in T1-2 stage and 8 patients were in T3 stage; 16 patients were in N+ stage and 34 patients in N0 stage. Exclusive ISBT was given to 17 patients (34%) in T1-2 N0 stage and complementary to external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to 33 patients (66%). A perioperative technique was performed on 14 patients. The median total dose was 44 Gy when HDR was used alone (4 Gy per fraction) and 18 Gy when complementary to 50 Gy EBRT (3 Gy per fraction). The median followup was 44 months. Actuarial disease-free survival rates at 3 and 5 years were 81% and 74%, respectively. Local failure developed in 7 patients. Actuarial local control (LC) rates were 87% and 79% at 3 and 5 years in T1-2 stage 94.5% and 91% and T3 stage 43% and 43% (with salvage surgery). Exclusive HDR cases showed LC in 100% of the cases, and the combined group (EBRT+HDR) showed LC in 80% and 69% of the cases at 3 and 5 years (p=0.044). Soft-tissue necrosis developed in 16% and bone necrosis in 4% of the cases. HDR brachytherapy is an effective method for the treatment of oral tongue carcinoma in low-risk cases. Doses per fraction between 3 and 4 Gy yield LC and complication rates similar to low-dose rate. The perioperative technique promises encouraging results.Brachytherapy 9(3):227-34. · 1.47 Impact Factor
