title: Low-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy preserves good quality of life in buccal mucosa cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the results and long-term changes in radiation toxicity of stage I-II buccal mucosa cancer patients treated by low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy with (198)Au grains.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 133 stage I-II buccal mucosa carcinomas patients received (198)Au grain implantation brachytherapy between January 1982 and July 2005: 75 of them were treated by (198)Au grain implantation alone and 58 were treated by (198)Au implantation in combination with external irradiation. The average (198)Au-grain dose was 70 Gy in 7 days. Gross tumor areas ranged from 2.4 cm(2) to 9 cm(2), and the clinical target areas ranged from 6 cm(2) to 15 cm(2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The follow-up periods ranged from 3 months to 20 years (mean: 5 years 11 months and median: 5 years 1 months). Failure at the site of the primary lesion occurred in 17 patients. Post-treatment mucosal ulceration developed in 15 patients, and all were cured within 25 months by conservative treatment. Osteoradionecrosis was diagnosed in 8 patients, but only one patient required surgical treatment. No severe complications or aggravation of complications developed more than 10 years after treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of low-dose-rate (LDR)-brachytherapy (BT) alone and LDR-BT in combination with external irradiation at a total dose of 25 Gy were acceptable from the standpoint of cure rate and QOL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Japan. ablajan23@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Abulajiang
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tayier
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006050:Gold Radioisotopes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D019226:Oral Ulcer / Q000209:etiology; D010025:Osteoradionecrosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D006050:Gold Radioisotopes