Californium-252 Intracavitary Radiotherapy for Primary Vaginal Carcinoma: A Retrospective Clinical Study

To investigate the therapeutic effect of Cf-252 neutron intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) in the treatment of primary vaginal carcinoma of stage I-III, along with advanced complications.

Between August 2009 and August 2013, 41 patients with intact primary vaginal carcinoma based on the histological diagnosis at the Second Cancer Hospital of Heilongjiang Province (Beidahuang Group General Hospital) and the Daping Hospital of the Third Military Medical University were included in this study. Among them, 32 patients were squamous cell carcinoma, and 9 adenocarcinomas. Stage I patients were treated with ICBT alone. Patients at stages II and III were treated using ICBT combined with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT).

The mean age, the rate of the 5-year local control, the rate of the 5-year overall survival was increased. The rate of the 5-year tumor-free survival was 56.1%, and the incidence of advanced serious complications (grade II and above radiation cystitis, proctitis, etc.) was 29.3%. Compared to later stages, early-stage patients are in better physical shape, so they are better able to withstand the toxic side effects of treatment. The local control (LC), overall survival (OS), or disease-free survival (DFS) rate in stage III patients was significantly lower than those in stage I and stage II. The rate of OS in stage I patients was 90.9% (10/11), which was significantly higher than that in all patients (56.1%; 23/41). Moreover, the mean survival time was significantly different between stage III and stage I. In addition, the survival status of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma was also very different.

In summary, the use of Cf-252 ICBT radiotherapy resulted in a higher rate of local control of vaginal cancer and a lower rate of recurrence, better-shrinking effect, and efficacy for advanced tumors, and has clinical prospects.