Primary female urethral carcinoma. A retrospective comparison of different treatment techniques

Between July 1951 and January 1984, 14 female patients (11 black and three white; average age, 58 years) were treated for primary urethral carcinoma. Five patients had radical surgery, six received preoperative radiotherapy (2000 cGy in five fractions) followed by anterior exenteration, and three had definitive radiotherapy (external beam 4000 to 5000 cGy plus 2800 to 3000 cGy interstitial implant). The mean follow-up times were 5.6, 3.9, and 2 years, respectively. In the first two groups, two of 11 patients (18%) are alive and well with no evidence of disease. The rest died of local as well as distant disease. In the third group, two of three patients (67%) are alive and well with no evidence of disease. The third patient died of papillary adenocarcinoma of the uterus 30 months later with no evidence of the primary tumor.