In a joint retrospective study by 17 radiotherapy clinics in German-speaking countries the results of treatment of bronchial carcinoma after radiotherapy were analysed in 7503 cases. The age peak was between the 60th and 70th year. Squamous-cell carcinoma was the most frequent histological type, followed by anaplastic carcinoma, with adenocarcinoma being rare. There was a high proportion of histologically not clearly identified cases (27% in central and 35% in peripheral carcinomas). Survival rate at one year was 31% for central (3662 patients) and peripheral (961 patients) tumours, but only 2% at five years. Prognostically there was no difference between histological types and kind of radiotherapy or technique, but total dose affected survival rate. At a total dose of less than 5000 rd the survival rate at five years was minimal. The prognosis of combined surgical and radiotherapeutic measures was slightly better than with a radiotherapy alone, but results were unpredictable for the individual case. It is concluded that radiotherapy aiming at cure should be used in imoperable bronchial carcinoma if the tumour state and general condition of the patient appear to make a cure possible. But if this is not the case, radiotherapy should be used only palliatively, i.e. only to ameliorate symptoms.

I-131MIBG is commonly used for the scintigraphic localization of phaeochromocytoma. The authors present data which indicate that the neuroblastoma may show a similar or even higher accumulation of I-131-MIBG. Four children were examined quantitatively by 8'' crystal dual head whole body scanner interfaced to a computer. Scans were performed 4 h, to 21 dp.i. of 1-4 MBq (25-100 ..mu..Ci) I-131-MIBG. Three of the four children aged 2 months to 2.8 years had large tumor masses in the abdomen or diffuse infiltration of the enlarged liver and high catecholamine levels in 24 h urine samples. They showed high tumor uptake of the tracer already in the 4 h scans. The uptake level correlated well with the catecholamine excretion. The biological half live was in all three cases for about 4 days. In the following days contrast between tumor and non tumor tissues became excellent. The fourth child was clinically free of tumor one year after cytostatic treatment and had normal catecholamine levels. The MIBG-scans did not show any tumor uptake but the myocardium and the salivary glands show pronounced tracer uptake according to the results of a previous study. The authors conclude that MIBG may not be only a diagnostic-tracer formore » neuroblastoma but may perhaps permit therapy.« less

Aplasia of the ulna is a rare malformation of the forearm. A woman patient with such malformation was presented in our clinic on the occasion of a banal dream. In addition to ulnar aplasia, her entire ulnolateral hand was missing. This findings is compared with the relatively few cases described in literature, reporting on the forms of ulnar aplasia observed so far and their additional local malformation. Assumptions regarding the possible origin of such malformations are mentioned, the combined malformations in other body regions as mentioned in literature are described, and brief reference is made to methods of treatment.

The five-year survival rate of patients with seminoma (61 cases) of all stages was 81% (seven-year survival rate 67%). Within this group the T1-2N0M0 stage had a five-year survival rate of 100%. Patients with tumours other than seminoma (52 cases) of all stages had a five-year survival rate of 54% (seven-year survival rate 47%). These results and those reported by others are the basis for not advocating routinely total radiation of the lymphatic pathways in the early tumour stages.

A report is given on 113 patients who had been irradiated because of testicle tumors and a part of whom had been submitted to an anterior lymphadenectomy. The five-year survival rate of the seminomas of all stages was 81% (n = 61) and that of the non-seminomas of all stages was 54% (n = 52). It has to be mentioned that the group of patients with seminomas of the stages T1-2N0M0 had a five-year survival rate of 100%, and those with embryonic teratomas of all stages had a five-year survival rate of 69%. With regard to these therapy results, it is recommended to carry out the radiotherapy of testicle tumors in conformity to the individual stage. A therapy scheme is presented.

Between 1969 and 1975, 93 patients were irradiated because of renal carcinoma, most of them after surgical treatment. The 5-year survival rate was 71%; in 56% of the cases no symptom suggested metastasition or recurrence. Invasive growth into a vein was ascertained histologically in a high percentage but did not cause significant alteration of postoperative irradiation results. The evaluation reveals that megavoltage irradiation distinctly improves the prognosis after nephrectomy in comparison with sole radical operation of malignant renal tumors. In many cases radiation therapy of solitary metastases from hypernephroma may be utilized with curative intention.