Interstitial Irradiation of Apical Lung Cancer

Abstract

Fifty-three patients with previously untreated apical lung cancer underwent exploratory thoracotomy at Memorial Hospital from June 1941 to December 1968. Partial resection of the lung lesion with interstitial implantation into the residual disease in the chest wall was carried out in 15 patients; the remainder were judged to have unresectable tumors and were treated by implantation of radioactive seeds. Nine patients survived five years or more after treatment, without evidence of recurrence. No five-year survivors were counted among 9 additional patients referred to Memorial Hospital because of recurrence after definitive treatment elsewhere.