Abstract
The 3-years survival rate of 73 patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix in Stage I, II and III, treated by radiotherapy only, has been correlated with the « Radiation Reaction » (RR). Twenty-seven (64.2%) of 42 patients RR+, and 9 (29%) of 31 patients RR—, were alive at the end of the third year. The better survival rate in the patients RR+ was similar in all stages. In Stage I, the survival rate was 83.3% in the RR+ cases, and 57.1% in the RR— cases. In a second group of 27 patients in Stage I, in which radiotherapy was followed by Wertheim's radical hysterectomy, the 3-years survival rate was greater in RR— patients (84.6%) than in RR+ patients (64.3%). In a third group of 59 cases, no correlation between RR and lymph node metastases was found. The results suggest that the evaluation of the RR could be helpful in establishing the treatment of the carcinoma of the cervix Stage I. The cases RR+ have better results when treated by radiotherapy only, while the cases RR— are better treated by radiotherapy followed by radical surgery.
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