Radiation therapy in stage II carcinoma of the endometrium

A retrospective analysis of 61 patients with Stage II carcinoma of the endometrium was carried out. Our results suggest that when given carefully and adequately, radiation therapy alone is as effective as a combination of surgery and irradiation and is well tolerated. Five-year actuarial survival was 74.5% in patients treated with radiation therapy alone (16 patients) as compared to those patients who received either preoperative radiation (35 patients) or postoperation radiation (ten patients) where the survival was 70.8% and 78.3%, respectively (P greater than or equal to 0.05). Tumor was controlled in the pelvis in 93.4% of patients. Complications of treatment were seen in 8.2%. With the exception of one patient with bowel obstruction requiring surgery, the rest of the complications were minor. From these results, it appears that a planned radiotherapy is a good alternative to combination of surgery and irradiation.