Capillary haemangioma involving the middle and external ear: radiotherapy as a treatment method.

Capillary haemangiomas rarely occur in the auditory canal and have mainly been managed with surgical excision or kept on close follow up for development of symptoms. Radiotherapy, as a treatment method, has not been reported previously in the published work. We describe a study of a capillary haemangioma in the auditory canal of a 26-year-old woman who presented with bleeding. She was treated with radiotherapy, after the lesion was found to be unsuitable for surgery and embolization. The patient remains well 5 years after completion of treatment.

Hyperfractionation in carcinoma of the cervix: tumor control and late bowel complications.

PURPOSE: Hyperfractionation has been advocated to improve local tumor control by increasing radiation dose without increasing late normal tissue complications. The aim of this study was to determine if hyperfractionation decreased late bowel complications. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Thirty patients with Stage II and III cervical cancer were randomized to receive either hyperfractionation or conventional fractionation. Patients were followed for 5 years and monitored for tumor control, recurrence, and bowel complications. The relative risks of tumor control and bowel complications were computed at 1 year and 5 years of follow-up. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted to determine probabilities of being tumor-free and bowel complication-free. RESULTS: There were 15 patients in each group. At 1 year of follow-up, 2 patients in the hyperfractionation group (13%) and 7 patients in the conventional treatment group (45%) had tumor (relative risk [RR] 0.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.1, 1.1; p = 0.054). Delayed bowel complications were seen in 8 patients in the hyperfractionation group and 1 patient in the conventional treatment group (RR 7.5; 95% CI 1.1, 52; p = 0.014). At 5 years, 2 patients in the hyperfractionation group and 8 patients in the conventional treatment group had tumor (RR 0.3; 95% CI 0.1, 1.1; p = 0.04). Delayed bowel complications (Grades 2 and 3) occurred in 9 women in the hyperfractionation group and 2 patients in the conventional group (RR 5.4; 95% CI 1.5, 19.5; p = 0.0006). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the hyperfractionation group had significantly more bowel complications over the 5 years of follow-up (p = 0.024). CONCLUSION: Hyperfractionation may result in better tumor control both at 1 year and at 5 years following treatment of cervical cancer. However, hyperfractionation could lead to increased late bowel complications and must be used judiciously in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Concomitant cisplatin and radiationtherapy in advanced head and neck cancers:.

Single modality treatment is not suitable to the treatment of Head and Neck cancers and surgery is often mutilating. Concomitant chemotherapy and radiation produce good local control. In this study cisplating givenconcomitantly with radiation is compared with radiation alone in advanced head and neck cancers.

Breast metastases from primary leiomyosarcoma.

Two cases of metastatic leiomyosarcoma of the breast are presented. The reasons why they are considered as secondary tumours and not primary tumours are also discussed.

Pulmonary metastases from ameloblastoma of the mandible treated with cisplatin, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide.

A case of delayed pulmonary metastases from an ameloblastoma of the mandible, which occurred 20 years after surgical resection of the primary tumor but with no recurrence at the primary site, is reported. Combination chemotherapy using cisplatin, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide has produced a very good clinical and radiologically documented response in this case.