Radiotherapy for stage I and II testicular seminoma after orchidectomy

A retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of irradiation on 65 patients with stage I, or II testicular seminomas treated at Hillbrow Hospital with irradiation following orchidectomy. Forty-seven patients presented with stage 1 and 9 with stage II disease. All patients received infradiaphragmatic irradiation. In addition 4 patients with stage II disease received prophylactic supradiaphragmatic irradiation. The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rate for all stages and for stage I and II compared favourably with other reports in the literature. The irradiation was well tolerated and severe long-term toxicity was rare. Seminomas were uncommon in black patients, of whom only 3 were seen in the 12-year period of this study.