[Mycosis fungoides and radiotherapy. Value of the combination: total skin electron therapy and whole-body photon therapy]

Abstract

Between 1975 and 1983, 46 patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) were treated with radiotherapy. The patients were classified according to the Stanford system (table II) and to the TNMB system (table III). The superficial lesions were treated with total skin electron-therapy (TSE) (7), and the visceral and lymph node lesions received additional whole-body photon therapy (WBP) (7). The results are summarized in table I. Initial complete regression was obtained in 21 of the 46 patients; 15 had partial regression. At the moment, 11 are alive without any apparent lesion. There were 9 complete remissions in each of the stage I and stage II groups. In stages III and IVa groups the course of the disease was improved by the two types of irradiation combined. In stage IVb patients the leukaemia was not improved. The survival curves (fig. 1 to 6) offer a simplified representation of the factors responsible for a favourable course.