Radiation Therapy of Thoracic and Abdominal Tumors

摘要

Until recently, radiotherapy of thoracic and abdominal tumors in animals has been limited. However, the availability of computerized tomography and other imaging techniques to aid in determining the extent of tumor, an increase in knowledge of dose tolerance of regional organs, the availability of isocentrically mounted megavoltage machines, and the willingness of patients to pursue more aggressive treatment is making radiation therapy of tumors in these regions far more common. Tumor remission has been reported after radiation therapy of thymomas. Radiation therapy has been used to treat mediastinal lymphoma refractory to chemotherapy, and may be beneficial as part of the initial treatment regimen for this disease. Chemo-dectomas are responsive toradiation therapy in human patients, and favorable response has also been reported in dogs. Although primary lung tumors in dogs are rare, in some cases radiation therapy could be a useful primary or adjunctive therapy. Lung is the dose-limiting organ inthe thorax. Bladder and urethra! tumors in dogs have been treated using intraoperative and external-beam radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy. These tumors are difficult to control locally with surgery alone, although the optimal method of combining treatment modalities has not been established. Local control of malignant perianal tumors is also difficult to achieve with surgery alone, and radiation therapy should be used. Intraoperative radiation therapy combined with external-beam radiation therapy has been used for the management of metastatic carcinoma to the sublumbar lymph nodes. Tolerance of retroperitoneal tissues may be decreased by disease or surgical manipulation. When intraoperative radiation therapy to the caudal abdominal cavityis used, nerve tissue is likely to be dose limiting, as is the ureter if both ureters are irradiated.