Present status of fast neutron therapy in Asian countries

The present status of the treatment with fast neutrons performed in Asian countries is reviewed and the experiences with respect to the radiobiological indications are presentated and discussed. There are three facilities under operation, the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) in Chiba, the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) in Tokyo and the Korea Cancer Center Hospital (KCCH) in Seoul. The clinical experiences can be summarized as follows: Fast neutrons are the treatment of choice for carcinoma of the salivary gland, Pancoast tumor of the lung, osteosarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma and malignant melanoma. Provided the isodose planning can be improved, it seems that also squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and esophagus, adenocarcinoma of the lung, stage I and prostatic adenocarcinoma can be benefit from neutron therapy. The same holds for malignant meningioma, while the benefit for glioblastoma multiforme has not yet been confirmed. Studies are going on for the treatment of other cancers and for evaluating the possible role of neutron therapy in combination with surgery.

Prophylactic oral nystatin and fungal infections in very-low-birthweight infants

Prevention of systemic fungal infection in the very-low-birthweight infant is important since it is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. To determine if oral nystatin administration could prevent fungal colonization and infection, we evaluated 67 preterm infants with birthweights less than 1250 gm. Thirty-three infants received 1 ml (100,000 units/ml) of nystatin inside the mouth every 8 hours until 1 week after extubation. Oropharyngeal, rectal, blood, and urine cultures were obtained on the 1st day of life and weekly. Endotracheal cultures were obtained three times a week from intubated infants. Four (12%) of the 33 nystatin-treated infants had positive cultures, two (6%) developed systemic infection. The control group consisted of 34 infants, 15 (44%) had positive fungal cultures and 11 (32%) developed systemic infection. Fungi isolated were Candida species and Torulopsis glabrata. Colonized infants were dependent on the respirator (P less than 0.001), had indwelling catheters (P less than 0.01), and received antibiotics (P less than 0.05) for a longer period than infants free from fungi and their mortality was significantly higher (P less than 0.05). We conclude that prophylactic administration of oral nystatin reduces fungal colonization and infection in very-low-birthweight infants.