HYPOFRACTIONATION RADIOTHERAPY FOR A LOCALLY RECURRENT RECTAL-CARCINOMA AS A TREATMENT FOR AN ELDERLY PATIENT

A very old patient, who had been suffering from rectal carcinoma for m any years without achieving a complete response to electrocoagulations , was given palliative radiotherapy by hypofractionation with a total dose of 30 Gy in 3 weeks, 1 fraction a week. A complete response was a chieved. No special therapy-related morbidity was noted. After the rad iotherapy, an acceptable quality of life was maintained for 12 months without a local recurrence. It is concluded that radiotherapy may be a simple and efficient method of palliation without distressing morbidi ty compared with electrocoagulation.