Open AccessThe role of radiotherapy in the treatment of aggressive fibromatosis
Author(s) -
Kyoo Ho Shin,
Sang Jin Shin,
Doo Hee Lee,
Eung Shick Kang,
Chang Ok Suh
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
yonsei medical journal/yonsei medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.702
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1976-2437
pISSN - 0513-5796
DOI - 10.3349/ymj.1999.40.5.439
Subject(s) - medicine , radiation therapy , aggressive fibromatosis , fibromatosis , surgery , margin (machine learning) , soft tissue , radiology , machine learning , computer science
Aggressive fibromatosis is a rare benign soft tissue tumor that is difficult to cure because of its infiltrative nature and high tendency to recur locally. The authors retrospectively analyzed 20 patients with histologically-confirmed fibromatosis. All patients underwent surgery with a wide or marginal margin. Five (25%) cases with histologically-negative margins had recurred. External beam radiotherapy was administered to patients whose margins were positive or who had local recurrence. However, out of concern for safety, radiotherapy was not given to two babies and a reproductive-aged woman. The average dose was 5,020 cGy. During the follow-up (mean 32.6 months), all the patients undergoing radiotherapy showed no evidence of local recurrence. A wide local excision has traditionally been the treatment of choice. However, postoperative radiotherapy could be an effective measure for preventing local recurrence in patients with a histologically-positive surgical margin and recurrence independent of any signs of relapse.