[Post-actinic pulmonary fibrosis. Longitudinal study of 279 cases]

The incidence and extent of postactinic pulmonary fibrosis was investigated in relation to the different types of radiation therapy. For this purpose, 131 patients treated with fast electron (for breast cancer) and 148 patients treated with TCT (for breast cancer and cancer of other nature) observed in the period 1976-1987 were followed up (from 13 months to 7 years). The frequency of postactinic fibrosis was much less in the first group of patients than the second (6.61% vs 18.99%); further, the functional damage in these patients proved less and developed in a less unfavourable way.