INTERSTITIAL BRACHYTHERAPY FOR PENILE CARCINOMA - A MULTICENTRIC SURVEY (259 PATIENTS)

Although cancer of the penis is a rare disease, we have collected 506 cases through a multicentric study. In the present study we analyse th e results obtained from 259 patients treated by interstitial brachythe rapy from 1959 to 1989. Among the 259 patients, 184 males had exclusiv e brachytherapy (group A) while 75 received a combination of surgery a nd brachytherapy and/or external beam irradiation (EBI) (group B), Fiv e- and 10-year survival rates are, respectively: overall survival, 66 and 52%; cause-specific survival, 88 and 88%; disease-free survival, 7 8 and 67%. One hundred and forty-three patients in group A (78%) and 4 8 (64%) in group B avoided mutilation of the penis while late side eff ects occurred in 137/259 patients (53%). Survival depends on the volum e of the tumor and the presence of involved nodes; systematic groin di ssection does not however seem advisable.