Does radiotherapy have a role in hemangiopericytoma management? Report of 14 new cases and a review of the literature.

From 1948 to 1984, 14 adult patients received radiation therapy as a part of their treatment for hemangiopericytoma at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston. In addition to radiation therapy 11 patients were treated with surgery, with or without chemotherapy--5 as primary management and 6 after recurrence following surgical excision. Although 9 of these 11 patients had macroscopic and 1 had definite microscopic disease at the time of irradiation, none suffered local recurrence and 9 have survived from 3.5 years to 20 years free of disease. Two of the 11 patients died of distant metastases. Two patients completed treatment for palliation and 1 of them survived for 2 years after treatment. The results suggest that postoperative radiation therapy should be considered as an integral part of the primary treatment of hemangiopericytoma.