Abstract
As an adjuvant to surgery, radiation therapy has consistently proven to be the most successful form of treatment for primary and secondary malignant brain tumors and possibly for inoperable benign tumors. Because the risk of radiation necrosis of normal brain limits the amount of radiation that can be given by external beam therapy at conventional dose rates, interstitial radiation of brain tumors is a logical alternative treatment approach. We discuss the radiobiological advantages of low dose rate irradiation and intratumoral placement of sources that make interstitial irradiation an attractive treatment for brain tumors and review the history of clinical brachytherapy for intracranial neoplasia.
Abstract
Although exposure to high dose ionizing radiation (following therapeutic radiotherapy) has been incriminated in the pathogenesis of many brain tumors, exposure to chronic low dose ionizing radiation has not yet been shown to be associated with tumorigenesis. The authors report a case of a 50-year-old atomic reactor scientist who received a cumulative dose of 78.9 mSv over a 10-year period and was detected to have an acoustic neuroma another 15 years later. Although there is no proof that exposure to ionizing radiation was the cause for the development of the acoustic neuroma, this case highlights the need for extended follow-up periods following exposure to low dose ionizing radiation.
Comparison of free breathing versus breath-hold in perfusion imaging using dynamic volume CT