Clinical trial of a modified (“split-course”) technique of x-ray therapy in malignant tumours

Abstract

<h2>Summary</h2> A modified technique of fractionated x-ray therapy is described, in which treatment is split into two (or more) courses, separated by a rest interval of several days or weeks. Results of a clinical trial of this method are described in twenty-eight cases of advanced carcinoma of the mouth, twenty-one cases of carcinoma of laryngopharynx, eleven cases of laryngeal cancer, seventeen cases of post-cricoid or upper oesophageal cancer, nine cases of cancer of lung, three cases of cancer of nasopharynx, and three cases of advanced carcinoma of breast. Attention is directed especially to the effect on the disease within the treated area, and to radiation reactions. Tumour control was obtained in many cases, with much less severe local radiation reactions than with orthodox continuous techniques. Theoretical considerations of differential recovery rates, tumour bed reactions, and blood supply with respect to oxygenation, suggest that a split-course type of technique may offer clinical advantages in radiotherapy of malignant tumours.