Primary radiation therapy in the management of glomus tumours

The records of five patients who received local irradiation for incompletely excised or inoperable glomus tumour were retrospectively reviewed. Age ranged from 25 to 46 years. There were two female and three male patients. Two patients who were solely treated by radiation therapy remain clinically disease free at 30 and 42 months respectively. Of the remaining three patients, where radiotherapy was delivered post operatively, one achieved complete remission and is well and alive at 60 months, whereas the other two patients were lost to follow up at 22 and 26 months respectively after showing an early clinical improvement. We advocate the efficiency of radiation therapy as primary treatment in the management of primary glomus tumour.