Local interstitial radiation therapy of intrinsic and inaccessible brain
tumors is confronted with two major problems: 1. The tolerance of normal
brain tissue, which is usually involved in local tumor irradiation, i.e.
perifocal white matter edema and demyelinating effects, is crucial. 2.
Data on radiation effects of implanted radioactive sources on neoplastic
tissue, i.e. data on the radiosensitivity and on the biology of tumors,
are still widely unavailable. In clinical practice the dose with which
to achieve a given volume of tumor necrosis is roughly estimated. This
report deals with the experimental findings of Iodine-125 and
Iridium-I92 permanent implants in healthy and neoplastic brain tissue.
Our own experimental findings are correlated with experimental data on
Yttnul11-l)O irradiation from the literature. The study is directed to
collect data on the tolerance non-tumoral brain tissue and to attempt to
establish a dose-response relationship. Morphologic Changes in the Dog
Brain Following Interstitial Iodine-125 Irradiation Iodine-I25 seeds
(manufactured by 3 M Company, St. Paul, M. N.) with an activity of 3.55
mCi were permanently implanted under stereotactic conditions into the
subcortical white matter of the gyrus coronalis of the left hemisphere
in 6 beagle dogs. One animal with a non-radioactive seed implanted under
similar operative conditions served as a control. The animals were
allowed to survive 25, 46, 71, 94, 248, 368 days, respectively, after
the implantation. The control animal survived 46 days. A detailed
description of the experimental procedure is given elsewhere 16. 17.