Clinical oncologists have been focusing their efforts on attempting to define risk groups of patients with unusual biological reactions to the recommended therapy regimens using molecular biology techniques. The aims of our study were: (i) to find a design and validate a method for fast and reliable analysis of the D1853N (5557G>A) genetic polymorphism in the ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated) gene; (ii) to use side-directed mutagenesis to generate ATM 5557A-positive DNA (reference ATM5557A DNA); and (iii) to analyze a group of patients suffering from cervical carcinoma with adverse responses to radiotherapy. The 5557A variant was found in three of twenty women (15%). Our data show that the prevalence of the 5557A allelic variant in cervical cancer subjects with adverse responses after irradiation probably does not differ from the prevalence common in Caucasians. A larger population study should confirm these preliminary results., Martin Beránek, Monika Drastíková, Simona Paulíková, Igor Sirák, Milan Vošmik, Jiří Petera, and Literatura 31
Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate prostate volume changes and prostate motions during radiotherapy.Methods: In 2010, twenty-five patients were treated for prostate cancer by external beam radiotherapy with implanted fiducial markers. Coordinates of three gold markers on kilovoltage images were calculated daily. Volume changes in target structure were observed through changes in intermarker distances. Differences in patient position between laser-tattoo alignment and gold marker localization were evaluated. Intrafraction motion was assessed by measuring marker displacement on kilovoltage images acquired before and after fraction delivery. Results: Prostate shrinkage was observed in 60% of patients. The average shrinkage was 7% of the prostate’s initial volume. Corrections after laser-tattoo alignment remained mostly below 1 cm. The difference between marker centroid position on the actual images and the planning images was 2 ± 1 mm on average. The extension of intrafraction movements was 7.6 ± 0.2 mm on average. Conclusions: In our retrospective study, the possibility for prostate volume changes during radiotherapy was revealed. Intrafraction movements turned out to be the limiting factor in safety margin reduction., Linda Kašaová, Igor Sirák, Jan Jansa, Petr Paluska, Jiří Petera, and Literatura 16