[Radiotherapy of the maxillary sinus cancers]

Between 1983 and 1988, 23 patients with cancer of maxillary sinus were treated with either postoperative radiotherapy or radiation alone at the Radiation Oncology Department, Veterans General Hospital-Taichung. There were 20 males and 3 females, 38 to 80 years of age with median age of 60 years. Nineteen were of epidermoid type and 4 were of other histologic types. There were 11 cases of T3 and 12 cases of T4. Only 1 case had neck lymph node metastasis. All patients had bony destruction shown in sinus X-ray films before treatment. Four patients received radiation alone because they refused or were unsuitable for operation. Nineteen patients received postoperative radiotherapy. For radiation alone 70-80 Gy in 7-8 weeks was given in open fields or wedge filters by cobalt-60 gamma radiation. For postoperative radiotherapy, all patients were treated with wedge filters with 50-80 Gy in 5-8 weeks by cobalt-60 radiation also. The minimum followup period was 29 months. All patients treated with radiation alone expired within 2 years with median survival time of 9 months. The 5-year survival rate of postoperative therapy was 40.3% with median survival time of 26.8 months. The overall 5-year survival rate was 33.4% with median survival time of 17 months. There was no significant difference in 5-year survival rate between T3 (34.1%) and T4 (33.3%). The data indicated no survival difference in different types of operation. The therapy of radiation alone was not advocated and the total dose of postoperative radiotherapy should be over 60 Gy for curative purpose.