[Ten-year experience with intraoperative radiotherapy]

Abstract

An analysis of the end results of combined treatment for stage III non-small cell lung cancer, stage III gastric cancer and soft-tissue sarcoma has been carried out. Radical surgery was supplemented with intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) with a single dose of 10-20 Gy. The radiation source was an original small-size betatron installed in the operating room. IORT did not interfere with wound healing nor did it involve increase in postoperative lethality. The 5-year survival rates for lung cancer patients who received IORT or surgery alone were 34.1 and 24.4%, respectively. The same indices for gastric cancer in IORT patients were 34.2% while in surgical cases--21.7%. Two-year non-relapse survival in patients with soft-tissue sarcomas showed a rise due to reduced recurrence incidence in irradiated areas.