[Symptomatic irradiation therapy of the spleen in advanced osteomyelosclerosis]

A retrospective analysis of spleen irradiation in 25 patients with progressive idiopathic myelosclerosis (agnogenic myeloid metaplasia), treated between 1948 and 1983, shows that there is a place for the mechanical effect of irradiation being an indication for its use as a palliative measure. A decrease in spleen size of varying extent was achieved in 84% of patients, while the symptoms of abdominal compression improved in 88%. Remission period averaged 10 months. On the other hand, in all seven patients in whom a decrease in the size of the spleen might have been expected to signal an improved blood picture, the frequency of transfusion remained unchanged.