J Korean Soc Ther Radiol Oncol.
1998 Sep;16(3):351-355.
Angiosarcoma of the Scalp: A Case Report and the Radiotherapy Technique
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Gachon Medical College, Gil Medical Center, Inchon, Korea.
Abstract
- Cutaneous angiosarcomas are uncommon malignancies which account about 1% of sarcomas. They are found most commonly in the head and neck regions, frequently on the scalp. Although preferred treatment has been combined surgery and postoperative radiation therapy, the extensiveness and multiplicity of the lesions set limits to such an approach and the patient is often referred for radiotherapy without surgery. As the entire scalp usually needs to be treated, radiation therapy is a challenging problem to radiation oncology staffs. We report a case of angiosarcoma of the scalp, which was treated successfully by radiation therapy with a simple and repeatable method using mixed photon and electron beam technique. Using a bolus to increase the surface dose of the scalp and to minimize dose to the normal tissues of the brain desirable but difficult technically to be well conformed o the three dimensional curved surface such as vertex of the head. A helmet made of thermoplastics filled with paraffin was elaborated and used for the treatment, resulting of the relatively uniform surface doses along the several points measured on the scalp, the difference among the points not exceeding 7% of the prescribed dose by TLD readings.
