The aim of radiation protection standards is to make the radiation workplace as safe as is humanly possible. The gradual evolution over the last 20 years has been towards a more precise definition of the limits for occupational exposure. These have been created not only in terms of short-term effects but also more importantly in terms of long-term risks involving such problems as the potential for carcinogenesis and genetic change. In the United States the National Committee for Radiation Protection has recom mended that 5 rems (50 mSv) should remain as the maximum permissible dose equiva...

In the last decade brachytherapy experienced a dramatic up- swing. The introduction of new radioisotopes with favorable nuclear physical properties, computer-assisted dosimetry, and the advent of modified afterloading techniques set off this revolutionary development. The main topics discussed in this book are brain tumors and tumors of the head and neck, choroidal melanoma, breast cancer, carcinoma of the anal ca- nal, carcinoma of the prostate, and gynecological malignan- cies.

The development of the capacity to use electron beams at various energies stimulated the development of the new technology of intraoperative radiation therapy. The visual ization of the primary tumor, definition of the site to be irradiated, and knowledge of the size of tumor to be irradiated, including adequate margins for microscopic extent along with debulking of the tumor, have allowed intraoperative radiation therapy to be pur sued in a wide variety of disease processes. Not only is it possible to treat tumors that were highly resistant, but it is also possible to specifically localize...

The administration of chemotherapeutic agents by continuous infusion with concomitant radiation therapy heralds a new approach in the treatment of cancer. This comprehensive book on the subject includes, besides a discussion of its scientific basis, the most promising clinical data on the use of continuous infusion chemotherapy and radiation. Thus, it is an important update for clinical investigators involved in frontline research as well as for practicing physicians participating in the direct care of cancer patients. The contributions include the latest results of this new approach in a...

The diagnosis of cancer in a child is a devastating finding not only to the parents but often to the child. Even though the situation is relatively easy to accept among adults, it is difficult to accept among children because of their general helpless state. The advances that have been made in the management of a child with cancer in the last 20 years have been dramatic in character. These have occurred not only by virtue ofthe contributions from early diagnosis and more precise staging but also from the contribu tions made by surgery, radiation therapy, and the more widespread utilization of...

In the last two decades, there has been a major increase in the actual numbers of women diagnosed with breast cancer (from 65000 new cases 20 years ago in the United States to 183000 in 1993). Concomitant with this has been a shift toward making the diagnosis earlier and toward diagnosing an earlier stage ofthe disease (more than 70% of diagnoses were of advanced-stage disease two decades ago, whereas more than 70% of diagnoses are now earlier-stage disease in 1992). These changes are clearly related to the woman's greater sensitivity to abnormalities in the breast and her seeking medical...

The use of hyperthermia in radiation oncology is well established. Many publications cover the whole field of possibilities and problems of this therapeutic modality. The new development of interstitial and intracavitary hyperthermia, however, is not well known: there are only a few relevant publications in different journals. Therefore, it was appropriate that SAUER and SEEGENSCHMIEDT organized an international meeting on this topic, where experiences with this new and promising technique were compiled and discussed by experts. The papers of this symposium together with additional review...

In the United States in 1993 the American Cancer Society estimated that there were about 1,300,000 new cases of invasive cancer diagnosed. At the time of presentation about 70% of those patients represented limited local regional disease without evidences of distant dissemination. About 30% of the patients had demonstrated metastatic disease at the time of initial diagnosis or about 390,000 patients. Of those patients with local regional disease about 56% would be cured by the best treatment programs including surgery, radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy when given for cure....

The impact of basic science radiobiological research is now being recognized of significant importance in clinical radiation oncology. Observations made in the laboratory using animals as'well as tissue culture have led to a better biologic understanding of techniques for altered fractionation, techniques for measuring tumor cell proliferation, the possi bilities and limitations of methods for evaluation of nonrandomized clinical studies in deriving time dose relationships for human tumors as well as a better understanding of repair kinetics in mammalian cells, fractionation sensitivity and...

Lung cancer is not a single disease process but is a group of biologically variable diseases. Therefore, accurate and complete diagnosis along with complete workup of the patient prior to decision-making in treatment is essential to devise the most appropriate treatment strategy. In North America adenocarcinoma of the lung now accounts for about 40% of all lung cancers and stage for stage these tumors have a poorer prognosis than squamous cell cancers of the lung. Many prognostic indicators have been identified such as genetic markers and neuroen docrine differentiation, which have important...