title: The role of radiotherapy in the treatment of aggressive fibromatosis.
abstract: Aggressive fibromatosis is a rare benign soft tissue tumor that is difficult to cure because of its infiltrative nature and high tendency to recur locally. The authors retrospectively analyzed 20 patients with histologically-confirmed fibromatosis. All patients underwent surgery with a wide or marginal margin. Five (25%) cases with histologically-negative margins had recurred. External beam radiotherapy was administered to patients whose margins were positive or who had local recurrence. However, out of concern for safety, radiotherapy was not given to two babies and a reproductive-aged woman. The average dose was 5,020 cGy. During the follow-up (mean 32.6 months), all the patients undergoing radiotherapy showed no evidence of local recurrence. A wide local excision has traditionally been the treatment of choice. However, postoperative radiotherapy could be an effective measure for preventing local recurrence in patients with a histologically-positive surgical margin and recurrence independent of any signs of relapse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. qshin@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: C O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Suh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D018222:Desmoid Tumors / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000532:radiotherapy