[Preoperative low-dose-rate versus high-dose-rate brachytherapy in stage IB cervix cancer. An efficacy study]

In women with stage IB (FIGO) carcinoma of the cervix, the authors investigated the efficacy of the manual low-dose rate (LDR) and afterloading high-dose rate (HDR) technique in terms of local freedom from tumor. It was found that in the 194 patients treated with the low-dose rate LDR-technique (computed dose point A 23.5 GY; point B 4.7 Gy), the surgical specimen was free of tumor in 37%. Among the 161 patients treated with the high-dose rate technique (point A11 Gy; point B 2 Gy), 41% of the surgical specimens were free of tumor. Follow-up examinations in the group receiving LDR-brachytherapy were carried out within a period of between ten and 90 months after treatment (average: 30.76 months). In 84% of the cases, NED was established. In the patient group treated with HDR-brachytherapy, follow-up examinations performed within a period of between six and 42 months after treatment (average 17.17 months), NED was found in 90%.