Small anal tumors irradiated via rectoscope

Abstract

An intracavitary radiation device that can slip inside a rectoscope and quell small, localized rectal tumors into submission is providing a safe and effective alternative for patients in whom anorectal surgery may be contraindicated. The device, a low-voltage contact unit that keeps 80% to 90% of the x-ray beams to within 2 cm of the target tissue, has yielded an 85% complete tumor regression rate in patients treated for small, well-defined rectal carcinomas at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Gwynn L. Jelden, MD, staff physician in the foundation's department of radiation therapy, told the recent meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiologists in Miami Beach that the intracavitary regimen should be considered only for carefully selected patients with small cancers of not more than 3 cm in diameter and a low probability of lymph node involvement. Additional reasons for assigning patients to the treatment may be advanced age, cardiac or