EVALUATION OF TOLERANCE DURING TREATMENT, LATE TOLERANCE, AND BETTER EVALUATION OF CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COBALT 60 MOVING STRIP TECHNIQUE

Abstract

Irradiation of the entire abdomen is the logical therapy for ovarian carcinomas spread throughout the abdominal cavity, seminomas with massive periaortic lymph node involvement, and abdominal manifestations of the lymphomas. When irradiation is done either with kilovoltage or megavoltage, through large portals, marked systemic reactions can only be avoided by long protraction; it is likely that the dose administered will not be lethal to a high fraction of tumors. A moving strip technique using megavoltage is better tolerated. In this paper it is shown that a dose of 2,800 rads can be delivered to each segment of the abdomen in 12 days with local systemic reactions kept within safe limits during the treatment. A minimum period of 3 years has now [See table in the PDF file] elapsed in the study of the original patients, which makes an assessment of the late complications possible. No kidney or spinal cord sequelae have been observed. The original patients now have a minimum of 3 years follow-up, so that one can begin to evaluate the permanency of local controls.