Exclusive radiation therapy in endometrial carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
From 1967 to 1986, 250 patients with endometrial carcinoma were treated with exclusive radiation therapy: 178 with a minimal follow-up of 5 years and 146 with a minimal follow-up of 10 years. The mean age was 68 years, ranging from 53 to 82 years, and the median follow-up duration was 8.5 years (minimum of 5 years and maximum of 23 years).


METHODS
All the patients received an external beam radiation treatment (45 Gy in 4.5 to 5 weeks to the whole pelvis) followed by a utero-vaginal brachytherapy.


RESULTS
At 5 years, the overall survival rate was 58.4% and the disease-free survival rate 55%. At 10 years the overall survival rate was 46.5% and the disease-free survival rate was 45.2%. Without considering deaths from intercurrent disease, the overall survival rate was 76.5% and the disease-free survival rate was 65.8% after 5 years, and 68% and 66%, respectively, after 10 years. The causes of failure were: isolated metastasis: 7.3%, local failure: 24.1% (4.5% with and 19.6% without concomittent distant metastasis). The rates of local control and of survival are related to the tumor stage and the tumor grade.


CONCLUSIONS
The results are discussed according to the literature data and show the ability of exclusive radiation treatment to achieve acceptable results and to be a curative alternative for treating endometrial cancer providing that a correct external beam radiation therapy and a suitable brachytherapy are fulfilled.
Dept of Surgery, CRLC Val d'Aurelle, Montpellier, France.
P
P
Rouanet
J B
JB
Dubois
S
S
Gely
H
H
Pourquier
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001918:Brachytherapy; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D011882:Radiotherapy, High-Energy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate