title: [Reirradiation with brachytherapy for recurrent tongue cancer after initial brachytherapy].
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of reirradiation with brachytherapy in the treatment of patients with tongue cancer that had recurred after initial brachytherapy. A retrospective analysis was performed in 12 patients with tongue cancer treated by reirradiation with brachytherapy using rigid linear sources such as the 226Ra-needle or 192Ir-hairpin at Kyushu University Hospital from 1978 to 1998. The patients included 8 men and 4 women, who ranged in age from 30 to 69 years (mean, 52 years). At the time of reirradiation, 7 patients had stage I cancer, and 5 had stage II cancer, according to the UICC (1997) classification. The median follow-up time of the surviving patients was 92 months. The 5-year relapse-free and cause-specific survival rates were 31% and 64%, respectively. The 5-year cause-specific survival rate varied according to the interval between the first and second course of brachytherapy and was 25% for intervals of less than 12 months and 83% for intervals of more than 12 months. Only 4 patients with local recurrence were recognized after their second course of brachytherapy. Among the 6 patients who survived more than 2 years after reirradiation without local recurrence, symptomatic complications such as soft tissue necrosis and minimal bone necrosis were found in 3 patients, but these side effects were not serious enough to require surgery. Reirradiation with a second course of brachytherapy may be useful in the treatment of patients with tongue cancer that recurs more than 12 months after initial brachytherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kunitake
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terashima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jingu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masuda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome