WHOLE ABDOMINAL EXTERNAL-BEAM RADIATION IN THE TREATMENT OF PRIMARY-CARCINOMA OF THE FALLOPIAN-TUBE

Thirty-two patients with adenocarcinoma of the fallopian tube, treated between 1975 and 1990, were studied. Thirteen patients had stage I di sease, 9 stage II, and 10 stage III. All patients underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, total abdominal hysterectomy, and subcolic omen tectomy. All patients received postoperative primary whole abdominal e xternal beam radiotherapy. Seventeen patients (53.1%) of the treated g roup survived NED for at least 5 years. Survival was 76.9% for stage I , 55.6% for stage II, and 20% for stage III. In the Cox multivariate a nalysis, two variables were independently related to survival: stage o f disease and size of residual disease after surgery. Postoperative te leradiotherapy was totally ineffective in gross residual (>2 cm in dia meter) disease (0% 5-year NED survivors) and not effective enough in s mall residual disease (<2 cm in diameter) (33% 5-year NED survivors). Despite postoperative whole abdominal external beam radiotherapy, 3 pa tients with microscopic, 4 with small, and 4 with gross residual disea se did fail within the peritoneal cavity. (C) 1997 Academic Press.