Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix Treated by Irradiation Alone: Results of treatment at the National Cancer Center, Tokyo

Six hundred and twelve patients with previously untreated invasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated by irradiation alone at the National Cancer Hospital from 1972 to 1983. The number of patients was 7, 39, 43, 127, 15, 319, 28 and 34 in stages IA, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB, IVA and IVB respectively. Low-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation with or without external irradiation was used in 383 patients, high-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation with or without external irradiation in 130, external irradiation alone in 98, and external irradiation combined with radon-222 seed implantation in one patient. Five-year-survival rates were 85, 65, 57, 41, 14, 11% for stages IB, IIA, IIB, IIIB, IVA, and IVB respectively. The rate of complications was rather high in the present series, and so we have been investigating whether it is possible to reduce the dose. Low-dose-rate intracavitary irradiation has been replaced by high-dose-rate irradiation by using a remotely controlled afterloading system.