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Adjuvant radiation therapy for regional nodal metastases from malignant melanoma. A randomized, prospective study
Author(s) -
Creagan Edward T.,
Cupps Roger E.,
Ivins John C.,
Pritchard Douglas J.,
Sim Franklin H.,
Soule Edward H.,
O'Fallon Judith R.
Publication year - 1978
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(197811)42:5<2206::aid-cncr2820420518>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - medicine , radiation therapy , lymphadenectomy , melanoma , randomized controlled trial , adjuvant therapy , nodal , oncology , dissection (medical) , biopsy , survival analysis , lymph node , prospective cohort study , cancer , metastasis , surgery , cancer research
After nodal metastasis from malignant melanoma, approximately 80% of patients die from disseminated disease. To clarify the role of radiation therapy (XRT) following node dissection, 56 patients with biopsy‐proven nodal metastasis participated in a randomized, prospective clinical trial which compares radiation therapy to the regional lymph node area following lymphadenectomy (27 patients) with lymphadenectomy alone (29 patients). Interesting differences in the survival curves (p = 0.09) and in the disease‐free interval curves (p = 0.08) for the two treatment groups proved to be attributable to imbalances in the age and nodal distributions in the treatment groups. Covariate analysis identified age and sex as the factors having the most significant (p < 0.04) effect on survival and identified the number of positive nodes as the covariate having the most significant (p < 0.02) effect on disease‐free interval. Treatment did not have a significant effect upon survival or disease‐free interval. Cancer 42:2206–2210, 1978.