Percutaneous Permanent Iodine-125 Implantation As Salvage Therapy for Recurrent Salivary Glands Carcinomas

To investigate the safety and feasibility of percutaneous (125)I seed implantation for patients with recurrent salivary glands carcinomas. Nineteen (19) patients with recurrent salivary glands carcinomas underwent (125)I seed permanent implantation under ultrasonography or CT guidance and the feasibility and efficacy of (125)I seed implantation were assessed. The postplan evaluation showed that the actuarial D90 of (125)I seeds ranged from 90 to 160 Gy (median, 130 Gy). The activity of each (125)I seed ranged from 0.4 to 0.8 mCi (median, 0.68 mCi). The total number of sources implanted ranged from 3 to 80 (median, 31). The follow-up ranged from 3 to 40 months (median, 8 months). The 1-, 2-year local control rates were 59.5% and 12.4%, respectively, with a median local control of 10 months. The 1-, 2-, 3-and 5 year survival rates were 71.4%, 35.7%, 23.8%, and 23.8%, respectively (median, 10 months). Of the 19 patients, 2 (10.5%) died of local recurrence, and 4 (21.1%) died of metastases; 1 patients died of pneumonia; 1 patient died of heart disease. One (1) developed ulceration with tumor progression. Blood vessel damage and neuropathy were not observed. Percutaneous (125)I seed implantation is a feasible, safe salvage for patients with recurrent salivary glands carcinomas.