ELECTRON-BEAM THERAPY IS NOT INFERIOR TO SUPERFICIAL X-RAY THERAPY INTHE TREATMENT OF SKIN CARCINOMA

Purpose: To compare recurrence rates and cosmetic results after electr on beam therapy vs, superficial xray therapy for nonmelanoma skin carc inoma. Methods and Materials: A retrospective analysis was performed o n 389 histologically confirmed basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, treated with either superficial x-rays or electron beam therapy, with regard to local control rates and cosmetics, as scored w ith an arbitrary three-point scale. Results: The overall local recurre nce rate was 4.9% (19 out of 389), For small tumors (irradiated surfac es less than or equal to 10 cm(2)) a local recurrence rate of 2.2% was observed, both after electron beam therapy and after superficial x-ra y therapy. Tumor size and previous treatment proved to be important pr ognostic factors with regard to control rate, The well-fractionated el ectron beam therapy yielded better cosmetic results than the large fra ction superficial x-ray therapy. Conclusion: Electron beam treatment i s not inferior to superficial x-ray treatment and even better for larg er tumors, The inferior results of electron beam therapy reported in l iterature might be due to technical factors, which are discussed.