Postoperative external pelvic irradiation in carcinoma of the corpus stage I: A controlled clinical trial

During the years 1968–1972, 386 patients entered a controlled clinical trial with the aim of assessing the value of external high voltage irradiation in carcinoma of the corpus Stage I. After primary surgery, all patients received intravaginal radium application delivering 6000 rads to the vaginal wall. They were then allocated to one of two groups by random numbers. Group A received no further treatment, while Group B was given 4000 rads of high voltage irradiation to a pelvic field. During a follow-up period of between 2.5 and 7 years no difference was found in the number of deaths and recurrences between the two treatment groups. The frequency of local recurrences in the vagina and the pelvis was higher in Group A. This was outweighed by a higher number of distant metastases in Group B. It is concluded that possibly only those cases with anaplastic tumours infiltrating deep in the myometrium may benefit from additional external radiotherapy.