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Fourteen years' experience with Cobalt‐60 radiation therapy in the treatment of early cancer of the true vocal cords
Author(s) -
Marks Richard D.,
FitzHugh G. Slaughter,
Constable William C.
Publication year - 1971
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(197109)28:3<571::aid-cncr2820280307>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - medicine , radiation therapy , laryngectomy , surgery , cure rate , basal cell , cancer , survival rate , carcinoma , larynx
The results of treatment and reasons for failure are analyzed for a group of 110 patients with early (T1 and T2) squamous cell carcinoma of the true vocal cords, all treated with a Cobalt‐60 source. The report covers a period from 1956 through 1969, and presents 5‐year survival figures for over 50% of the patients in the series. For 55 Tl patients, the 5‐year absolute and relative survival rates were 80% and 94%, respectively. Similarly, for 12 T2 patients, the respective figures were 67% and 100%. Employing the actuarial method, the cure rates for radiotherapy alone were calculated utilizing the entire group of 85 Tl patients and 25 T2 patients. The cure rate for Tl lesions was 91%, for T2 lesions, 80%. Only eight radiotherapy failures were discovered in the combined group, and five of these have been salvaged by laryngectomy and now are alive and well. There were no significant complications attributed to the radiation therapy, and, in the five patients who came to surgery, the laryngectomy was carried out with no added morbidity. In six of the eight radiotherapy failures, technical reasons were discovered which may have contributed to the poor results in these patients. The results are compared with a large series of patients recently reported in a review article by Vermund.