2017 AAPM Annual Meeting
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Session Title: In Memoriam of John "Jack" F. Fowler: The Mathematics of Dose-fractionation Effects
Question 1: Jack fowler’s early education and training was in the field of:
Reference:Presented in the abstract
Choice A:Biology.
Choice B:Mathematical modeling.
Choice C:Biophysics.
Choice D:Radiation Physics.
Choice E:Biochemistry.
Question 2: Jack Fowler was a pioneer in which of the following fields:
Reference:Presented in the abstract.
Choice A:Effects of radiation on conductivity of plastics.
Choice B:Solid-state dosimetry.
Choice C:Arc radiotherapy dose distributions.
Choice D:Fractionation effects in radiotherapy.
Choice E:All of the above.
Question 3: In the early 1960s, Jack Fowler proposed using a mathematical model to define the biological effectiveness of a course of fractionated radiotherapy. This was the_________model.
Reference:Fowler JF. Development of radiobiology for oncology—a personal view. Physics in Medicine and Biology. 2006 Jun 20;51(13):R263.
Choice A:The linear-quadratic.
Choice B:Nominal Standard Dose.
Choice C:Time-Dose-Fraction (TDF).
Choice D:CRE.
Choice E:LNT.
Question 4: Jack Fowler popularized the useful term ‘BED,' which is defined as follows:
Reference:Fowler JF. Development of radiobiology for oncology—a personal view. Physics in Medicine and Biology. 2006 Jun 20;51(13):R263.
Choice A:Biologically Effective Dose, defined at 2 Gy/day.
Choice B:Biologically Effective Dose if given in many small fractions.
Choice C:Biologically Equivalent Dose, defined at 2 Gy/day.
Choice D:Biologically Equivalent Dose if given in many small fractions.
Choice E:Berendsen Equivalent Dose, in honor of Eddie Berendsen’s contributions to radiobiology.
Question 5: In the early 1980’s Jack Fowler and other investigators proposed that late and acute radiotherapy effects had different fractionation dependencies reflecting underlying cellular repair characteristics. Jack often summarized typical characteristics as:
Reference:J. Stitt, J. Fowler, B., Thomadsen, D. Buchler, B. Paliwal, T. Kinsella High Dose Rate Intracavitary Brachytherapy for Carcinoma of the Cervix: The Madison System: I. Clinical and Radiobiological Considerations Int J Radia Oncol Biol Phys 24: 335-348 (1992).
Choice A:Alpha/beta = 10 for late responding tissues and 3 for acutely responding tissues.
Choice B:Alpha/beta = 3 for late responding tissues and 10 for acutely responding tissues.
Choice C:Acutely responding tissues gain tolerance depending on an overall time factor.
Question 6: If the dose-limiting, normal tissue toxicity of interest is characterized by an a/ß ratio of 6 Gy, and the corresponding tumor possesses an a/ß ratio of 2 Gy, it is most likely that a patient being treated for this type of cancer would benefit from:
Reference:Fowler JF: The radiobiology of prostate cancer including new aspects of fractionated radiotherapy. Acta Oncol 44:265-76, 2005
Choice A:Split course treatment.
Choice B:Accelerated treatment.
Choice C:Hypofractionation.
Choice D:Hyperfractionation.
Question 7: Late developing radiation toxicities:
Reference:Fowler JF: The radiobiology of prostate cancer including new aspects of fractionated radiotherapy. Acta Oncol 44:265-76, 2005
Choice A:Are typically seen during or within the first few weeks after radiotherapy.
Choice B:Can be reduced by lowering the total dose.
Choice C:Will be decreased if the same total dose is given in smaller fractions.
Choice D:B and C.
Question 8: Which of the following tumors is (are) thought to have a lower alpha/beta ratio than most late responding normal organs and tissues:
Reference:Fowler JF: The radiobiology of prostate cancer including new aspects of fractionated radiotherapy. Acta Oncol 44:265-76, 2005
Choice A:Prostate cancer.
Choice B:Lung cancer.
Choice C:Melanoma.
Choice D:A and C.
Question 9: The linear-quadratic equation is an actual description of the biology behind radiation effects.
Reference:Fowler JF. Development of radiobiology for oncology—a personal view. Physics in Medicine and Biology. 2006 Jun 20;51(13):R263.
Choice A:True.
Choice B:False.
Question 10: The linear-quadratic model works for any treatment dose rate or delivery duration.
Reference:Bentzen, SM. Equieffective dose and bioeffect modeling – In reply to Dr. Fowler. Radiot and Oncol 108: 355, 2013
Choice A:True.
Choice B:False.
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