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Studies of chemical sensitization in the radiotherapy of oral and cervical carcinomas
Author(s) -
Krishnamurthi S.,
Shanta V.,
Nair M. Krishnan
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(1967)20:5<822::aid-cncr2820200538>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - medicine , radiation therapy , cervix , buccal administration , cervical cancer , cancer , stage (stratigraphy) , radical surgery , surgery , carcinoma , oncology , paleontology , biology , pharmacology
The primary treatment for carcinomas of the oral cavity and the uterine cervix at the Cancer Institute in Madras, India is radiotherapy followed by radical surgery if and to the extent necessary. Following radiation alone, the five‐year disease‐free survival rate of patients with oral cancer is only 29%; with cervix cancer it is 42%. Post‐irradiation surgery is indicated wherever possible, but the serious morbidities involved in the surgery led us to try the method of chemical sensitization to radiotherapy. In buccal carcinomas, Synkavit and in the cervix, S.P.I., were used as sensitizers. Standard lesions (whole‐cheek fibrotic carcinomas and stage III cervical carcinomas) were used in the trial. Concurrently cases were randomized into control and study groups closely comparable biologically and clinically. The sensitizers were administered according to a special protocol and results assessed by the “triple blind” technique. The techniques of radiotherapy employed were standardized for the cancer at each site. The primary healing rate and the survival rate were selected to be the criteria of response. Studied were 145 cases with buccal carcinomas and 137 cases with stage III cervical carcinomas. Differential response was highly significant in favor of the sensitized cases, P <0.02 for buccal carcinomas and P =0.0005 for cervical carcinomas.