Treatment of basal cell carcinoma of the skin with ultrasoft X-rays.
The results of a follow-up study carried out in 1975-76 are described. The study involved 454 patients who had received ultrasoft X-ray treatment for basal cell carcinomas during the period 1965-1969. In females, the percentage of recurrence was 4.9, in males, 11.9. The figures indicating the frequency of recurrence are minimum ones; the patients were selected to a certain extent, the large tumors being treated surgically. The most important result of the study was the observation that approximately 30% of the X-ray scars examined were so disfiguring from a cosmetic point of view that they must be characterized as unacceptable. The indications for X-ray treatment of basal cell carcinomas should, consequently, be limited to deep-growing tumors or tumors which are not well demarcated, and to tumors in elderly patients, who should be spared surgery.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*