Treatment of primary tracheal carcinoma in Finland in 1967-1985.

The treatment results of all the 95 primary tracheal carcinomas recorded by the Finnish Cancer Registry in 1967-1985 are evaluated. Six of the 95 patients were treated by surgery, 60 received radiotherapy and 29 were left untreated or received only palliative endoscopic or cytostatic therapy. The prognosis of the disease was poor. Among the 44 squamous cell carcinoma patients treated by radiotherapy, the median survival time after the diagnosis was 8 months (range 1-81 months). Complete response to radiotherapy was a favourable prognostic sign; after complete response the survival rates at 1, 2 and 5 years were 45%, 18% and 9% respectively. Patients with adenocystic carcinoma had the best prognosis.