[Postradiation cancer of oral and maxillofacial regions]

Twenty-two patients with postradiation cancer of oral and maxillofacial regions treated in our hospital from 1969 to 1985 are reported. Of them, 3 patients had double postradiation cancers. The shortest interval between the two primary cancers was 3 years, the longest was 32 years with a median of 9 years. Of 15 patients treated with 60Co, 9 patients developed cancers and 6 sarcomas. In 4 patients treated with deep X-ray, cancers developed in 3 and sarcoma in one. Three patients were treated with 60Co, deep X-ray and radium implantation, all of them developed cancers. Radiation dose ranged from 3000 to 10,000 cGy but in most of the patients it was 7000-8000 cGy. In 19/22 patients the postradiation cancers were resected, giving 3 and 5 year survival rates of 50% and 23%. Only 1 patient survived for 14 years. Three patients treated by non-operative methods all died within 1-2 years. More aggressive treatments in patients with postradiation cancer are therefore indicated.