title: High dose rate vaginal brachytherapy in early stage endometrial carcinoma: preliminary analysis.
abstract: From 1987 to 1993, 69 women diagnosed with FIGO stages I and II carcinoma of the endometrium underwent postoperative adjuvant irradiation (RT) under protocol with high dose rate (HDR) afterloading vaginal apex brachytherapy. All patients initially underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy. Forty-four women received HDR brachytherapy alone and 25 received external beam RT as well as HDR brachytherapy. The median follow-up was 45 months. The 5-year disease-free survival was 92% and the overall survival rate was 79%. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that grade, age, and stage were significant predictors of survival. The overall acute and late side effects were minimal. It appears that HDR vaginal brachytherapy is prevention of vaginal recurrence in endometrial carcinoma and should be considered an effective treatment option.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology and Biophysics, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Yacoub
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Blevins
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kuban
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: el-Mahdi
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000379:methods*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010052:Ovariectomy; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D014621:Vagina