RADIOTHERAPY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TEMPORAL BONE CHEMODECTOMA

Forty patients with 42 temporal bone chemodectomas were treated with r adiotherapy alone (37 tumors) or subtotal resection and irradiation (5 tumors) at the University of Florida between 1968 and 1992. Thirty-th ree lesions were previously untreated, whereas 9 had undergone prior t reatment (surgery, 6 lesions; radiotherapy, 1 lesion; or both, 2 lesio ns) and were treated for locally recurrent disease. All 3 patients who received prior radiotherapy had been treated at other institutions. P atients had minimum follow-up times as follows: 2 years, 40 patients ( 100%); 5 years, 31 patients (78%); 10 years, 21 patients (53%), 15 yea rs, 16 patients (40%); 20 years, 9 patients (23%); and 25 years, 2 pat eints (5%). The local control rate at 20 years, calculated by the Kapl an-Meier product-limit method for the overall group of 42 lesions, was 89%. The likelihood of cause-specific survival at 20 years was 94%. T he incidence of treatment-related complications was acceptable. We con clude that irradiation offers a high, probability of tumor control wit h relatively minimal risks for patients with chemodectomas of the temp oral bone.