Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Results of Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of Uterine Cervix / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical findings, prognosis and treatment strategy of patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma of cervix. MATERIALS AND MEHTODS: Thirteen patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma of cervix were included in this study, as confirmed histologically and immunohistochemically at the Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University, between May 1944 and October 2001. The mean age of patients was 56 years with a range of 32 to 78 years of age. According to the FIGO staging system, there were 5 patients with stage IB carcinoma, 5 patients with IIA, and 3 patients with stage IIB. Four patients underwent radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy, 3 of these patients also received postoperative radiotherapy, and one patient underwent extrafascial hysterectomy after radiotherapy. Primary radiotherapy was done in 9 patients, and 3 were irradiated postoperatively. Nine patients received chemotherapy, 7 received neoadjuvant and 2 received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The radical purpose of radiotherapy consisted of external irradiation to the whole pelvis (4,500~5,400 cGy) and intracavitary irradiation (3,000~3,500 cGy). RESULTS: The mean follow up duration was 36 months with a range of 3 to 104 months. The overall 5-year survival rate was 61.5% and the 5-year survival rates for stage IB, IIA, IIB were 60.0%, 60.0%, and 66.7% respectively (p=0.99). Eight patients are still alive without disease, and all of the 5 patients with recurrence are dead due to distant metastasis. CONCLUSION: Neuroendocrine carcinoma of cervix is highly aggressive, with early lymphatic dissemination and a high rate of distant recurrence. Therefore, an aggressive therapeutic strategy is required to obtain pelvic and distant disease control. Multimodal therapy should be considered at the time of initial diagnosis.

Hyperfractionation Radiation Therapy in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer / 대한방사선종양학회지

PURPOSE: The effects of hyperfractionation radiation therapy, such as the failure pattern and survival, on the treatment results in advanced stage head and neck cancer were studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between September 1990 and October 1998, 24 patients with advanced stage (III, IV) head and neck cancers, were treated using hyperfractionation radiation therapy in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center. The male to female ratio was 7:1, and the age range from 38 to 71 years with the median of 56 years. With regard to the TNM stage, 11 patients were stage III and 13 were stage IV. The sites of primary cancer were the nasopharynx in six, the hypopharynx in 6, the larynx in five, the oropharynx in three, the maxillary sinus in three, and the oral cavity in one patient. The radiotherapy was delivered by 6 MV X-ray, with a fraction size of 1.2 Gy at two fractions a day, with at least 6 hours inter-fractional interval. The mean total radiation doses was 72 Gy, (ranging from 64.4 to 76.8 Gy). Follow-up periods ranged between 3 and 136 months, with the median of 52 months. RESULTS: The overall survival rates at 3 and 5 years in all patients were 66.7% and 52.4%. The disease-free survival rates at 3 and 5 years (3YDFS, 5YDFS) in all patients were 66.7% and 47.6%. The 3YDFS and 5YDFS in stage III patients were 81.8% and 63.6%, and those in stage IV patients were 53.8% and 32.3%. Ten patients were alive with no local nor distant failures at the time of analyses. Six patients (25%) died due to distant metastasis and 12.5% died due to local failure. Distant metastasis was the major cause of failure, but 2 patients died due to unknown failures and 3 of other diseases. The distant metastasis sites were the lung (3 patients), the bone (1 patient), and the liver (2 patients). One patient died of second esophageal cancer. There were no severe late complications, with the exception of 1 osteo-radionecrosis of the mandible 58 months after treatment. CONCLUSION: Although this study was performed on small patients group, we considered hyperfractionated radiation therapy for the treatment of advanced stage head and neck cancer might improve the disease free survival and decrease the local failure with no increase in late complications despite of the slight increase in acute complications.