Radiotherapy for early vocal cord cancer: a dosimetric analysis of 60CO versus 6 MV photons.

Background: Currently, many patients with early vocal cord cancers are treated with 6 MV photons, but almost all the published radiotherapy data are based on patients treated with 60Co, 2-MV, or 4-MV X-rays. A theoretical risk of underdosage exists with higher energy beams due to lack of dose build-up. This dosimetric study compares 6-MV photons with 60Co.

Testicular seminoma: a failure analysis and literature review.

Purpose: A retrospective analysis of 74 patients with pure seminoma, treated at the University of Florida between 1964 and 1989, was undertaken.

Methods And Materials: All patients received megavoltage irradiation, with chemotherapy reserved for salvage. At 10 years, the probability of relapse-free survival was 91% for Stage I, 93% for Stage IIA, 83% for Stage IIB, and 75% for Stage III patients.

Downstaging of esophageal cancer after preoperative radiation and chemotherapy.

Objective: This retrospective, nonrandomized review evaluates 125 patients with esophageal carcinoma (adenocarcinoma and squamous cell) who underwent either surgery only or preoperative chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy followed by surgery. Major end points were survival and postchemoradiation downstaging.

Methods: Forty-four patients underwent radiation therapy of 4500 cGy over 5 weeks.

The role of lymphangiography in designing fields for elective pelvic node irradiation in Hodgkin's disease.

Purpose: We attempted to design a standard pelvic nodal treatment field such that all lymph nodes usually visualized on lymphangiogram would be irradiated with optimal midline blocking of normal tissues.

Methods And Materials: Two standard fields for treatment of pelvic lymph nodes were designed, based on bony landmarks. The standard fields were applied to the anterior-posterior view of 35 pretherapy lymphangiograms, and the fields were then assessed for inclusion of visible lymph nodes.

Radiotherapy alone for carcinoma of the vagina: the importance of overall treatment time.

Purpose: Review treatment results, complications, and the importance of overall treatment time for carcinoma of the vagina treated with radiotherapy alone.

Methods And Materials: Between October 1964 and October 1990, 65 patients with histologically confirmed carcinoma of the vagina received definitive radiotherapy at the University of Florida. All patients had a minimum 2-year follow-up.

Management of Cervical Esophageal Carcinoma.

Surgery and radiotherapy yield equivalent results for patients with carcinoma of the cervical esophagus, with long-term survival of less than one in four patients. The advantages of radiotherapy are lower rates of acute morbidity and mortality compared with surgery, and potential for larynx preservation. The advantage of surgery is that the transposed stomach may function better over the long term than an irradiated esophagus, which tends to become stenotic over time.

Long-term complications of laparotomy in Hodgkin's disease.

Objective: The authors determined the incidence of complications in 133 patients who had undergone staging laparotomy with splenectomy before treatment for Hodgkin's disease (stages I-IV).

Methods And Materials: Medical records were reviewed, and the patients or their relatives were interviewed. Median follow-up after laparotomy was 15.

Current management of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal.

The management of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal is controversial. Treatment currently varies from abdominoperineal resection to combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Our aim is to review the management of this disease and present our current treatment policies.

Stage III ovarian carcinoma: an analysis of treatment results and complications following hyperfractionated abdominopelvic irradiation for salvage.

Purpose: Patients with persistent disease found at laparotomy following platinum-based chemotherapy for Stage III ovarian carcinoma have a remote chance of cure with second-line chemotherapy or conventional radiotherapy. To decrease relapse rates and improve tolerance, we have used twice-daily radiotherapy in 28 such patients.

Methods And Materials: Twenty-eight patients with Stage III epithelial ovarian carcinoma were treated with curative intent at the University of Florida with hyperfractionated, continuous-course radiotherapy for persistent disease at laparotomy after administration of platinum-based chemotherapy.

Stage IB and IIA-B Carcinoma of the Intact Uterine Cervix: Impact of Tumor Volume and the Role of Adjuvant Hysterectomy.

A review of parameters influencing the prognosis of patients with stages IV and IIA-B carcinoma of the cervix treated with radiotherapy alone is presented. The effect of tumor diameter, a factor not included in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system, is emphasized. Potential alternative treatment strategies, particularly adjuvant hysterectomy, are addressed.

Conservative alternatives in the management of early adenocarcinoma of the rectum.

The majority of patients with adenocarcinoma of the rectum are treated with radical surgical procedures. Lesions located in the distal third of the rectum are usually treated by abdominoperineal resection, and those situated in the proximal portion of the rectum are treated by low-anterior resection. Relatively small, moderately or well differentiated lesions have a low risk of lymph node metastasis, and are therefore amenable to conservative (ie, rectum-sparing) procedures.