[Postoperative radiotherapy and radiogold treatment of ovarian cancer]

At the Allgemeine Krankenhaus St. Georg, Hamburg, 240 patients with ovarian carcinomas were submitted to an adjuvant treatment between 1961 and 1973. The external therapy with telecobalt or by an 18 MeV betatron was dosed from 3000 to 4000 rads. Most of the patients received an additional single intraperitoneal application of 150 mCi gold-198. The five-year survival rate of all patients was 45%, whereas it was 71% for stage I, 47% for stage II, 21% for stage III, and 4% for stage IV. In 3% out of all cases, surgical procedure was necessary because of complications. Today, an indication for intraperitoneal therapy by radioactive isotopes is only adopted in case of a ruptured malignant ovarian tumor.