Recurrence after radiotherapy for glottic carcinoma
Article Abstract:
Cancer of the glottis, the vocal apparatus of the larynx (voicebox), is variously treated by surgery, radiotherapy, or a combination of the two. Each approach has its proponents. Except in the case of advanced cancer, when surgery is the only responsible approach, it seems that there is little survival difference between surgery and radiotherapy. However, since surgery invariably results in the loss of the larynx (and speech), there is a compelling reason to lean towards radiotherapy, as long as survival is not compromised. The authors reviewed the cases 478 patients who were treated for cancer of the glottis by irradiation; of these, 320 were receiving initial treatment while the remainder were suffering a recurrence of previously treated cancer of the glottis. Follow-up revealed that 10 percent of the previously untreated patients developed primary recurrences. Patients suffering a recurrence were treated surgically, with removal of the larynx. The 5-year survival after suffering a primary recurrence was 39 percent, while the 5-year survival rate among the patients suffering a recurrence in lymph nodes was 16 percent. Among the various risk factors for survival after relapse, the importance of lymph node recurrence was so great that other risk factors were of little significance. Of the patients for whom 5-year follow-up was possible, 49 percent were alive and still retained their larynx, 5 percent were alive without a larynx, 13 percent had died of glottic cancer, and 33 percent had died of other causes. The results suggest that the application of radiotherapy as the primary treatment for glottic cancer, keeping surgery in reserve as treatment for recurrence, results in a majority of patients surviving 5 years and over 90 percent retaining their larynx (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Cancer
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0008-543X
Year: 1991
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Prostate-specific antigen: monitoring the response of carcinoma of the prostate to radiotherapy with a new tumor marker
Article Abstract:
Tumor markers are substances, usually proteins, that are preferentially associated with tumor cells rather than normal tissues. In many cases, the appearance of increased levels of a tumor marker in the blood precedes the clinically detectable recurrence of a tumor in a patient. The clinical value of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a sensitive marker for cancer of the prostate, was analyzed among 110 patients undergoing radiotherapy for local prostate cancer. The blood level of PSA was elevated in 83 percent of the patients with prostate cancer prior to treatment. Nine patients suffered recurrent disease subsequent to radiation treatment; in none of these patients did the PSA level return to normal after treatment. However, among the 101 patients who did not experience recurrence, the PSA level of 74 returned to normal. The possibility that the remaining patients with abnormal PSA levels may develop disease recurrence is being monitored as follow-up continues. The failure of PSA to return to normal levels within six months of treatment may be considered to be a sign of possible treatment failure; these patients may be candidates for early treatment intervention. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Cancer
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0008-543X
Year: 1990
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