[Perioperative interstitial brachytherapy for recurrent keloid scars]

Evaluation of the results of perioperative interstitial brachytherapy with low dose-rate (LDR) Ir-192 in the treatment of keloid scars.

We performed a retrospective analysis of 73 histologically confirmed keloids (from 58 patients) resistant to medicosurgical treated by surgical excision plus early perioperative brachytherapy. All lesions were initially symptomatic. Local control was evaluated by clinical evaluation. Functional and cosmetic results were assessed in terms of patient responses to a self-administered questionnaire.

Median age was 28 years (range 13-71 years). Scars were located as follows: 37% on the face, 32% on the trunk or abdomen, 16% on the neck, and 15% on the arms or legs. The mean delay before loading was four hours (range, 1-6h). The median dose was 20Gy (range, 15-40Gy). Sixty-four scars (from 53 patients) were evaluated. Local control was 86% (follow-up, 44.5 months; range, 14-150 months). All relapses occurred early - within 2 years posttreatment. At 20 months, survival without recurrence was significantly lower when treated lengths were more than 6cm long. The rate was 100% for treated scars below 4.5cm in length, 95% (95% CI: 55-96) for those 4.5-6cm long, and 75% (95% CI: 56-88) beyond 6cm (p=0.038). Of the 35 scars (28 patients) whose results were reassessed, six remained symptomatic and the esthetic results were considered to be good in 51% (18/35) and average in 37% (13/35) (median follow-up, 70 months; range, 16-181 months).

Early perioperative LDR brachytherapy delivering 20Gy at 5mm reduced the rate of recurrent keloids resistant to other treatments and gave good functional results.