Results of external irradiation and low-dose-rate intraluminal brachytherapy for esophageal cancer.
The results of definitive radiotherapy to elucidate the optimal doses of external irradiation (ERT) and low-dose-rate intraluminal brachytherapy (ILBT) were analyzed. Between 1979 and 1998, 100 patients with esophageal cancer were treated with ERT and ILBT. ERT was given at a dose of 40-65 Gy/25-32 fractions and ILBT at 10-24.3 Gy/2-3 fractions. The 5-year actuarial survival rate for all cases was 13% and that for patients with tumors of 5 cm or less in length was 22.64%, while for patients with tumors longer than 5 cm the rate was 5% (p < 0.005). In patients with tumors of 5 cm or less in length, the local control rate of those whose ILBT dose was 20 Gy or more was 83%, and for those with an ILBT dose of less than 20 Gy the control rate was 26.5% (p = 0.014). In patients with tumors of 5 cm or less in length, the results of treatment with 60 Gy ERT and 20 Gy ILBT were promising and did not cause severe late complications.
Someya
Masanori
M
Department of Radiology, Sapporo Medical University, School of Medicine, Japan. someya@sapmed.ac.jp
Sakata
Koh-ichi
K
Saito
Akio
A
Nagakura
Hisayasu
H
Oouchi
Atsushi
A
Hareyama
Masato
M
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001918:Brachytherapy; D018196:Carcinoma, Adenosquamous / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011882:Radiotherapy, High-Energy; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome