Christoph R Arnold1, Frank Kloss2, Sarvpreet Singh3, Danijela Vasiljevic4, Robert Stigler2, Thomas Auberger5, Volker Wenzel6, Günter Klima7, Peter Lukas4, Günter Lepperdinger8, Robert Gassner2. 1. Department of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: Christoph.arnold@i-med.ac.at. 2. Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. 3. Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, Innsbruck, Austria. 4. Department of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. 5. Department of Radiotherapy-Radiooncology, Hospital Traunstein, Traunstein, Germany. 6. Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. 7. Division of Histology and Embryology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. 8. Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Cell Biology, University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy (RT) of the head and neck region is often accompanied by serious side effects. Research in this area is needed to improve treatment outcomes and ameliorate therapy tolerance. Laboratory rodents are barely matching today's clinical standards in RT research. Yet domestic swine (Sus scrofa domestica) have previously proved suitable for various advanced tests in clinical research and training. We therefore investigated whether S. scrofa domestica is also appropriate for irradiation of the mandible. STUDY DESIGN: A common scheme for irradiation treatment of S. scrofa domestica mandibles in a split-mouth design was acquired by applying computed tomography (CT) scanning under sedation. Basing on close anatomic resemblance, a standard treatment plan comprising 2 opposed irradiation fields could be accomplished. RESULTS: RT was carried out in a clinical environment with 2 × 9 Gy. The resulting operating procedure facilitated complication-free sedation, transport, positioning, CT scanning, and effective irradiation. CONCLUSION: Based on common standards applied for RT in humans, domestic pigs can be employed to progress RT clinical research. Due to their human-like anatomy, physiology, size, and weight, the swine model is expedient for advancing experimental RT of the head and neck area.
BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy (RT) of the head and neck region is often accompanied by serious side effects. Research in this area is needed to improve treatment outcomes and ameliorate therapy tolerance. Laboratory rodents are barely matching today's clinical standards in RT research. Yet domesticswine (Sus scrofa domestica) have previously proved suitable for various advanced tests in clinical research and training. We therefore investigated whether S. scrofa domestica is also appropriate for irradiation of the mandible. STUDY DESIGN: A common scheme for irradiation treatment of S. scrofa domestica mandibles in a split-mouth design was acquired by applying computed tomography (CT) scanning under sedation. Basing on close anatomic resemblance, a standard treatment plan comprising 2 opposed irradiation fields could be accomplished. RESULTS: RT was carried out in a clinical environment with 2 × 9 Gy. The resulting operating procedure facilitated complication-free sedation, transport, positioning, CT scanning, and effective irradiation. CONCLUSION: Based on common standards applied for RT in humans, domestic pigs can be employed to progress RT clinical research. Due to their human-like anatomy, physiology, size, and weight, the swine model is expedient for advancing experimental RT of the head and neck area.
Authors: Rebecca M Harman; Sanjna P Das; Arianna P Bartlett; Gat Rauner; Leanne R Donahue; Gerlinde R Van de Walle Journal: Cancer Metastasis Rev Date: 2020-10-28 Impact factor: 9.264