title: Clinical trial of carbon ion radiotherapy for gynecological melanoma.
abstract: Carbon ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) is an advanced modality for treating malignant melanoma. After we treated our first case of gynecological melanoma using C-ion RT in November 2004, we decided to conduct a clinical trial to evaluate its usefulness for the treatment of gynecological melanoma. The eligibility criteria for enrollment in this study were histologically proven malignant melanoma of the gynecological regions with lymph node metastasis remaining in the inguinal and pelvic regions. The small pelvic space, including the GTV and the metastatic lymph node, was irradiated with up to a total dose of 36 GyE followed by a GTV boost of up to a total dose of 57.6 GyE or 64 GyE in 16 fractions. A series of 23 patients were treated between November 2004 and October 2012. Patient age ranged from 51-80 with a median of 71. Of the tumor sites, 14 were located in the vagina, 6 in the vulva, and 3 in the cervix uteri. Of the 23 patients, 22 were irradiated with up to a total dose of 57.6 GyE, and 1 patient was irradiated with up to a total dose of 64 GyE. Chemotherapy and interferon-β were also used to treat 11 of the patients. Acute and late toxicities of Grade 3 or higher were observed in 1 patient treated with concurrent interferon-β. The median follow-up time was 17 months (range, 6-53 months). There was recurrence in 14 patients, and the 3-year local control and overall survival rates were 49.9% and 53.0%, respectively. C-ion RT may become a non-invasive treatment option for gynecological melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Research Center Hospital for Charged Particle Therapy, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-city, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karasawa
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wakatsuki
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiyohara
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D063193:Heavy Ion Radiotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: carbon ion radiotherapy; gynecological melanoma