CAROTID-BODY TUMOR - A CASE FOR RADIOTHERAPY

Carotid body tumours are rare tumours in the head and neck region. Tre atment has been surgery with little or no role for radiotherapy. We de scribe 5 patients with carotid body tumours seen in our department in the last 10 years. Two patients were treated with postoperative radiot herapy after incomplete surgery, 2 had inoperable tumours and were tre ated with radiotherapy alone, and 1 had a complete excision and requir ed follow-up only. In the 4 patients who received radiotherapy, the di sease was stable in 1 patient at 1,1 years and progressive in 2 at 0,6 and 5,6 years respectively; 1 patient did not complete treatment. The patient who had surgery alone for a small tumour was free of disease at 1 year. Small carotid body tumours should be treated with surgery a lone. When the tumour is large or the patient is older we propose radi otherapy as initial treatment because of the high morbidity of surgery . A review of the literature and the results with radiotherapy alone i n varying doses support this view.