RESULTS OF RADIOTHERAPY AND VITAMIN-E IN THE TREATMENT OF PEYRONIES-DISEASE

Purpose: A retrospective analysis of 38 patients with Peyronie's disea se treated with primary radiotherapy in the period of 1975-1993. Metho ds and Materials: Important complaints were curvature of the penis dur ing erection for 92% of the patients, painful erection for 68%, and pr oblems with sexual intercourse for 37.5%. Average size of all indurate d plaques was 2.5 cm. The average pretreatment duration of symptoms wa s 9.5 months, All 38 patients were irradiated with orthovoltage radiot herapy (200 and 250 kV photons) with a total dose of 9 Gy in 5 alterna ting days (regimen A), Because of minimal response, 16 patients were i rradiated again with another 9 Gy in 5 days and finally received 18 Gy (regimen B). Results: With regimen A, a satisfying improvement was ac hieved for the majority of the patients: 65% experienced less penile p ain during erection, 40% reported less curvature of the penis, and 47% experienced an improvement of their sex life, With the higher dose of regimen B there was an additional improvement for a minority of the p atients: 25% reported less pain during erection, 21% had less curvatur e, and 29% experienced an improved sex life, With regimen A, pain impr ovement was statistically significantly superior when compared to regi men B. For all other improvements (curvature, sexual intercourse, and induration) no dose-response relation could be demonstrated between re gimen A and the higher dose regimen B. No patient experienced any radi ation-induced morbidity, After evaluating regimen A and regimen B, the overall result was that 76% experienced less pain, 60% reported an im proved sex life, and 48% had a diminished curvature during erection. C onclusion: From this analysis it can be concluded that the distressing symptoms of Peyronie's disease can be treated successfully with radio therapy. Radiotherapy proves to be a safe, noninvasive treatment metho d without causing morbidity, Low-dose radiotherapy with only a few fra ctions is recommended for an effective treatment result.