Hypofractionated radiotherapy for sarcomas.

In an effort to improve local control in the radiation treatment of sarcomas, up to 7 weekly fractions of 6.6 Gy each were administered to 64 patients. They were divided into two groups: Group A consisted of 37 patients with measurable disease who achieved a partial response rate of 22%, with no complete responses. Group B consisted of 27 postoperative patients with varying degrees of completeness of surgical excision, two have relapsed locally to date. Early radiation damage was documented in 26%, but was not a dose-limiting or incapacitating event in any case. Late normal tissue damage occurred in 23 out of 32 evaluable patients (72% of those at risk), and was a cause of serious morbidity in 6 patients. Response rates were low in Group A compared with other series, but in Group B the local recurrence rate is comparable with other centers using "conventional" fractionation. No apparent improvement in therapeutic gain was demonstrated for large weekly fractions.