The “Massive” and “Hypermassive” Radiation in the Treatment of Skin Cancers

Abstract

The first case of skin cancer cured by the Röntgen rays was demonstrated by Stenbeck, of Stockholm, at a meeting of the Swedish Medical Society in 1899 (1). Since that time, a very extensive literature has appeared, with publications dealing with the Röntgen-ray therapy of cancers in general and of skin cancers in particular. The number of articles written on this subject now reaches into the thousands. It would, therefore, be a very difficult, if not impossible, task to review this voluminous literature and, in fact, it exceeds the scope of this work. However, in making a survey of the publications which represent the salient points in the development of Röntgen-ray therapy, from the time of Stenbeck to the present time, we cannot escape the impression that the Röntgen-ray treatment of skin cancers has passed through four distinct periods: First, the period of “burns” or “inflammations”; second, the period of “fractional” treatments; the period of “combined” methods and, finally, fourth, the period of “massive” and “hypermassive” radiations. 1. The first period is intimately connected with the discovery of the X rays and represents the first essays on the field of Röntgen-ray therapy. It came at a time when X rays were considered merely as a variation of ultraviolet light and when, also, the Finsen ultra-violet light therapy, after the International Congress of Dermatology of Paris in 1900, reported its most brilliant successes.