Short duration radiotherapy in stage I seminoma of the testis: preliminary results of a prospective study.

Ninety-four patients with Stage I seminoma of the testis, treated between November 1989 and December 1991, received short duration radiotherapy (2000 cGy in 8 fractions) to the para-aortic area only. The treatment was well tolerated and, after a median follow-up time of 34 months (minimum 15 months), no patient has relapsed in the abdomen. One patient developed an apparently solitary distant metastasis from a latent teratoma and is disease free after chemotherapy. This form of radiotherapy would appear to be well-tolerated with a low relapse rate. It offers the advantage of a simpler and shorter technique compared with conventional therapy and avoids the necessity of intensive surveillance to detect relapse.