Definitive radiation therapy for endometrial cancer in medically inoperable elderly patients
Received 18 June 2009; received in revised form 13 August 2009; accepted 19 August 2009. published online 01 February 2010.
Abstract
Purpose
With the increasing elderly population, more women with newly diagnosed endometrial cancer may not be surgical candidates due to medical comorbidities. Definitive radiation therapy with external beam radiation (EBRT) and/or brachytherapy is a reasonable primary treatment for endometrial cancer in patients who cannot undergo surgery.
Methods
A retrospective review identified 26 women 75 years and older with endometrial cancer who were not operative candidates due to comorbidities and received definitive radiation.
Results
The median age of the treated patients was 83, all of whom had significant medical comorbidities precluding surgical treatment. Seventy-three percent of the patients had stage T1 disease, 19% were stage T2, and 8% were stage T3. Seventy-three percent of patients received EBRT before brachytherapy (median dose: 45 Gy). The median brachytherapy dose was 20 Gy in 5 fractions. The types of brachytherapy used were Rotte Y applicator (42%), tandem and cylinder (42%), and ring and tandem (16%). Median followup was 12 months (1–60 months). No treatment breaks were required for the entire group and only 2 patients (8%) developed late toxicity. The overall survival for all patients was 89% and 28% at 1 and 2 years, respectively. Disease-specific survival for all patients was 93% at 1 year and 73% at 3 years.
Conclusions
The results in this study indicate that definitive radiation with EBRT and/or brachytherapy for endometrial cancer is feasible and well tolerated in an elderly population.
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA
2Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
Corresponding author. Department of Radiation Oncology, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Tel.: +1-412-641-4600; fax: +1-412-641-1971.
ABSTRACT