(Full text is available at http://www.manu.edu.mk/prilozi). The Macedonian Society of Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation and Artificial Organs (MSNDTVO) held its Fourth Congress with international participation from 21 to 24 June 2012, in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia. The European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplantation Association (ERA-EDTA) was a patron of this congress w...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It is believed that minimizing inconsistencies in OAR-volume definition will help to improve adequate reporting and interpreting of radiation treatment results. The aim of this paper is to introduce computed tomography (CT)-based delineation guidelines for organs at risk (OARs) in the head and neck area, associated with radiation-induced salivary dysfunction and xerostomi...

In the last decade, many efforts have been made to characterize anatomic changes of head and neck organs at risk (OARs) and the dosimetric consequences during radiotherapy. This review was undertaken to provide an overview of the magnitude and frequency of these effects, and to investigate whether we could find criteria to identify head and neck cancer patients who may benefit from adaptive rad...

AIM To create a presentation method of TCP and NTCP distributions calculated based on dose distribution for a selected CT slice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three 24-bit colour maps - of dose distribution, delineated structures and CT information - were converted into m-by-n-by-3 data arrays, containing intensities of red, green, and blue colour components for each pixel. All calculations were perf...

We compared the effect of set-up error and uncertainty on two radiation therapy treatment plans for head and neck cancer: one using intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and one using conventional three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). We used a Pinnacle3 (Philips Medical Systems, Markham, Ontario) system to create the two treatment plans (7-beam IMRT and 5-beam 3D-CRT) ...

BACKGROUND Intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) has the potential to spare dose to organs at risk (OAR) when compared to intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) while maintaining excellent clinical outcomes. METHODS Ten patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were identified for whom IMPT was planned; 9 patients also had a comparison photon-based IMRT plan generated. Dosimetric comp...

INTRODUCTION Inverse-planned intensity modulated radiation therapy (IP-IMRT) has potential benefits over other techniques for tangential intact breast radiotherapy. Possible benefits include increased homogeneity, faster planning time, less inter-planner variability and lower doses to organs at risk (OAR). We therefore conducted a pilot study of previously treated intact breast patients to comp...

PURPOSE To develop a new IMRT technique to simplify the process and improve efficiency in radiotherapy treatment planning for craniospinal irradiation (CSI) treatment. METHODS Image data of 9 patients who received CSI treatment in 2012 were used, the prescription was 36Gy in 20 fractions. Two treatment plans were created for each patient, one was with the new technique called three-isocenter ...

BACKGROUND Helical Tomotherapy (HT) has unique capacities for the radiotherapy of large and complicated target volumes. Next generation Dynamic Jaw/Dynamic Couch HT delivery promises faster treatments and reduced exposure of organs at risk due to a reduced dose penumbra. METHODS Three challenging clinical situations were chosen for comparison between Regular HT delivery with a field width of ...

Radiotherapy is a localised treatment. The definition of tumour and target volumes for radiotherapy is vital to its successful execution. This requires the best possible characterisation of the location and extent of tumour. Diagnostic imaging, including help and advice from diagnostic specialists, is therefore essential for radiotherapy planning. There are three main volumes in radiotherapy pl...