Development of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Gynecologic Applicators for the Treatment of Cervical Cancer: Historical Analysis
- Department of Radiation Physics, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States)
Purpose: To provide historical background on the development and initial studies of the gynecological (gyn) applicators developed by Dr. Gilbert H. Fletcher, a radiation oncologist and chairperson from 1948 to 1981 of the department at the M.D. Anderson Hospital (MDAH) for Cancer Research in Houston, TX, and to acknowledge the previously unrecognized contribution that Dr. Leonard G. Grimmett, a radiation physicist and chairperson from 1949 to 1951 of the physics department at MDAH, made to the development of the gynecological applicators. Methods and Materials: We reviewed archival materials from the Historical Resource Center and from the Department of Radiation Physics at University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, as well as contemporary published papers, to trace the history of the applicators. Conclusions: Dr. Fletcher's work was influenced by the work on gynecologic applicators in the 1940s in Europe, especially work done at the Royal Cancer Hospital in London. Those efforts influenced not only Dr. Fletcher's approach to the design of the applicators but also the methods used to perform in vivo measurements and determine the dose distribution. Much of the initial development of the dosimetry techniques and measurements at MDAH were carried out by Dr. Grimmett.
- OSTI ID:
- 22056171
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Vol. 82, Issue 4; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0360-3016
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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