title: Radiation therapy of malignant melanomas: an evaluation of clinically used fractionation schemes.
abstract: To assess the importance of radiation dose fraction size in the treatment of malignant melanomas, the records of 48 patients (83 sites) treated at Tufts-New England Medical Center from 1971 to 1979 have been retrospectively reviewed. During this period, the dose fractionation schemes evolved from standard fraction size to large-dose techniques. Radiation fraction size was observed to be the major factor in the clinical response of melanoma. Fractions of 600-800 rad resulted in the best overall response (80%). The rapid fractionation scheme of 800-400-400 rad on successive days resulted in intermediate response (58%) and may be useful for the palliative treatment of selected patients.
mesh_terms: D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D010166:Palliative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*