PREVENTION OF MALIGNANT SEEDING AFTER INVASIVE DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES IN PATIENTS WITH PLEURAL MESOTHELIOMA - A RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF LOCAL RADIOTHERAPY

The purpose of this randomized prospective study was to assess the eff icacy of local radiotherapy in preventing malignant seeding along inva sive diagnostic procedures (cytology, needle biopsy, thoracoscopy, or chest tube placement) in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Forty consecutive patients with histologically proven malignant mesot helioma were enrolled, Twenty patients received three daily sessions o f radiotherapy at a dosage of 7 Gy 10 to 15 days after thoracoscopy. T he other 20 patients did not receive radiotherapy. None of the 20 pati ents treated developed entry tract metastasis, In contrast, 8 of the 2 0 (40%) patients who were not treated developed metastases. These find ings confirm the efficacy and safety of early local radiotherapy in pr eventing malignant Seeding after invasive diagnostic procedures in pat ients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.