[Radiation therapy of carcinoma of the eyelid]

Between 1969 and 1985, 30 patients with carcinomas of the eyelid were treated by radiation, including 19 primary cases and 11 secondary cases. The latter were less controllable than the former. According to histology, there were 21 squamous cell carcinomas, 6 basal cell carcinomas and 3 adenocarcinomas. Among the 21 patients with squamous cell carcinomas, 5 had local recurrences, 10 had lymph node metastasis and 3 had distant metastasis. Patients with other histological classifications had no local recurrences, except for one who received incomplete therapy due to diabetes. Almost all of the controlled patients with squamous cell carcinomas were treated with a TDF value greater than 90. Although the visual function was damaged by radiation in seven patients, the lesions of 6 of them were too advanced to avoid radiation injuries.