ASRT SEAL EXAMS QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Identifying with the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person. - Answers -
Empathy
Under the new standards (NCRP Report No. 91), an effective dose equivalent limit of
____ rem/year for occupational exposure is recommended. - Answers - The NCRP
report states the 5 rem/year is the acceptable limit for occupational exposure.
Radiation therapy is the first line of treatment for which of the following cancers? -
Answers - Radiation therapy is typically the first line of treatment for head and neck
cancers, unless the disease is too advanced and surgery may be advised. Breast
cancer patients typically undergo surgical excision as the first treatment, and
lymphomas and leukemias are generally treated with chemotherapy.
Xerostomia occurs after ______ cGy resulting in significant long-term effects. - Answers
- 1,000 cGy
For a member of the general public, the maximum exposure of radiation should not
exceed _____? - Answers - For a member of the general public, maximum exposure
should not exceed 100 mrem in one year's time. For those who work with radiation, the
maximum dose limits for adults increases significantly as follows: 5,000 mrem per year
for full body dose, 15,000 mrem per year for lens of the eye exposure and 50,000 mrem
per year for extremities. For an undeclared pregnant radiation worker the maximum
dose exposure remains 5,000 mrem per year but, once declared the maximum dose
exposure drops to 500 mrem over the time period of pregnancy.
In the CT scanner, movable lasers are used to do which of the following? Please select
all that apply. - Answers - Movable lasers are used in the CT simulation room and
communicate with virtual simulation and/or treatment planning systems. While the most
common use of these systems is to provide coordinates for the isocenter of the patient's
treatment plan, some systems can project field size, blocks, and multileaf collimation
onto the patient's skin. If moveable lasers are used in the CT simulation, radiation
therapists should complete daily quality assurance on the system.
Halfway through treatment , the radiation therapist notices that the table angle has
drifted out of tolerance by 5 degrees. What should the radiation therapist do? - Answers
- Stop the treatment and get the patient off the table while you notify the doctor
The treatment planning volume which encompasses suspected positive lymph node
chains is the: - Answers - CTV
The GTV, or gross target volume, encompasses disease which can be seen on imaging
or can be palpated. The PTV, or planning target volume, includes a margin on the CTV
to compensate for set-up uncertainties. The PTV margin has decreased with the
, addition of Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Irradiated volume is anything that
receives substantial dose.
Which of the following is an indication to screen patients for lung cancer with low dose
CT scans? - Answers - Low dose CT screening can decrease the mortality of patients
who are at high risk for developing the disease. High risk patients are those between
the ages of 55-75 years old, have at least a 30 pack year smoking history, and are
current smokers or have quit within the past 15 years.
When would a wedge be used in a treatment field? - Answers - Wedges can be used to
compensate for missing tissue. The heel of the wedge is placed towards the missing
tissue. Wedges are also used to correct dose nonuniformity.
When treating with multiple fields, what is true regarding beam weighing? - Answers -
Beam weighing can be used whenever multiple beams are used. Weighting of the fields
is useful when the target is not located at midplane, or when the beams pass through a
sensitive structure. Beams that are closest to the target are weighted more to pull the
dose to the target, and the beam farther from the sensitive structure is weighted more to
pull dose away from it.
The first echelon lymph node for prostate cancer is the ______ nodes. - Answers -
Obturator
The obturator node is one of the first lymph nodes involved when prostate cancer
spreads through the lymphatics, followed by the external iliacs, hypogastric, and
common iliac nodes. Distantly, prostate commonly spreads to the bone.
In the TNM staging system, a Tx would indicate: - Answers - In the TNM staging
system, T represents the status of the tumor. Tx indicates the tumor cannot be
evaluated. T0 indicates a tumor that cannot be found. Tis represents in situ disease. T1-
T4 indicates the size and/or extent of invasion. While the specifics differ for each
specific cancer, T1 is the most favorable while T4 is the least favorable.
By which two lymph node routes does ovarian cancer spread most often? - Answers -
para-aortic and pelvic
Chemotherapy is indicated for which of the following? - Answers - Chemotherapy is
indicated in the treatment of aggressive and/or advanced cancers. A patient with cancer
limited to the vocal cord would only need radiation therapy. The same situation applies
to a ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) breast cancer case. Similarly, basal cell carcinomas
typically do not require chemotherapy, but rather radiation alone.
The term used to describe table movement per rotation divided by slice thickness is: -
Answers - Pitch describes table movement per rotation divided by slice thickness.
When pitch is less than 1, there is overlap between rotations. While the image quality is
high (because no information is missed between slices), the scan dose is also high.
Identifying with the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person. - Answers -
Empathy
Under the new standards (NCRP Report No. 91), an effective dose equivalent limit of
____ rem/year for occupational exposure is recommended. - Answers - The NCRP
report states the 5 rem/year is the acceptable limit for occupational exposure.
Radiation therapy is the first line of treatment for which of the following cancers? -
Answers - Radiation therapy is typically the first line of treatment for head and neck
cancers, unless the disease is too advanced and surgery may be advised. Breast
cancer patients typically undergo surgical excision as the first treatment, and
lymphomas and leukemias are generally treated with chemotherapy.
Xerostomia occurs after ______ cGy resulting in significant long-term effects. - Answers
- 1,000 cGy
For a member of the general public, the maximum exposure of radiation should not
exceed _____? - Answers - For a member of the general public, maximum exposure
should not exceed 100 mrem in one year's time. For those who work with radiation, the
maximum dose limits for adults increases significantly as follows: 5,000 mrem per year
for full body dose, 15,000 mrem per year for lens of the eye exposure and 50,000 mrem
per year for extremities. For an undeclared pregnant radiation worker the maximum
dose exposure remains 5,000 mrem per year but, once declared the maximum dose
exposure drops to 500 mrem over the time period of pregnancy.
In the CT scanner, movable lasers are used to do which of the following? Please select
all that apply. - Answers - Movable lasers are used in the CT simulation room and
communicate with virtual simulation and/or treatment planning systems. While the most
common use of these systems is to provide coordinates for the isocenter of the patient's
treatment plan, some systems can project field size, blocks, and multileaf collimation
onto the patient's skin. If moveable lasers are used in the CT simulation, radiation
therapists should complete daily quality assurance on the system.
Halfway through treatment , the radiation therapist notices that the table angle has
drifted out of tolerance by 5 degrees. What should the radiation therapist do? - Answers
- Stop the treatment and get the patient off the table while you notify the doctor
The treatment planning volume which encompasses suspected positive lymph node
chains is the: - Answers - CTV
The GTV, or gross target volume, encompasses disease which can be seen on imaging
or can be palpated. The PTV, or planning target volume, includes a margin on the CTV
to compensate for set-up uncertainties. The PTV margin has decreased with the
, addition of Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Irradiated volume is anything that
receives substantial dose.
Which of the following is an indication to screen patients for lung cancer with low dose
CT scans? - Answers - Low dose CT screening can decrease the mortality of patients
who are at high risk for developing the disease. High risk patients are those between
the ages of 55-75 years old, have at least a 30 pack year smoking history, and are
current smokers or have quit within the past 15 years.
When would a wedge be used in a treatment field? - Answers - Wedges can be used to
compensate for missing tissue. The heel of the wedge is placed towards the missing
tissue. Wedges are also used to correct dose nonuniformity.
When treating with multiple fields, what is true regarding beam weighing? - Answers -
Beam weighing can be used whenever multiple beams are used. Weighting of the fields
is useful when the target is not located at midplane, or when the beams pass through a
sensitive structure. Beams that are closest to the target are weighted more to pull the
dose to the target, and the beam farther from the sensitive structure is weighted more to
pull dose away from it.
The first echelon lymph node for prostate cancer is the ______ nodes. - Answers -
Obturator
The obturator node is one of the first lymph nodes involved when prostate cancer
spreads through the lymphatics, followed by the external iliacs, hypogastric, and
common iliac nodes. Distantly, prostate commonly spreads to the bone.
In the TNM staging system, a Tx would indicate: - Answers - In the TNM staging
system, T represents the status of the tumor. Tx indicates the tumor cannot be
evaluated. T0 indicates a tumor that cannot be found. Tis represents in situ disease. T1-
T4 indicates the size and/or extent of invasion. While the specifics differ for each
specific cancer, T1 is the most favorable while T4 is the least favorable.
By which two lymph node routes does ovarian cancer spread most often? - Answers -
para-aortic and pelvic
Chemotherapy is indicated for which of the following? - Answers - Chemotherapy is
indicated in the treatment of aggressive and/or advanced cancers. A patient with cancer
limited to the vocal cord would only need radiation therapy. The same situation applies
to a ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) breast cancer case. Similarly, basal cell carcinomas
typically do not require chemotherapy, but rather radiation alone.
The term used to describe table movement per rotation divided by slice thickness is: -
Answers - Pitch describes table movement per rotation divided by slice thickness.
When pitch is less than 1, there is overlap between rotations. While the image quality is
high (because no information is missed between slices), the scan dose is also high.
