Combined external and high dose rate intracavitary radiotherapy in the primary treatment of cancer of the uterine cervix.

From August 1980 to December 1985, 153 patients with stage I, II and III carcinomas of the uterine cervix were treated with external beam irradiation and high dose rate (HDR) Cs-137 and Ir-192 Curietherapy at the Barmherzige Schwestern Hospital in Linz, Austria. Complete remission was achieved in 146 patients (95.4%). The 5-year overall survival probabilities (Kaplan-Meier) in stages I, II and III were 79.3%, 62.6% and 40.8%, respectively. The 5-year recurrence-free survival rates were 91.5%, 59.6% and 52.9%. These results are equivalent to those achieved by treatments incorporating low dose rate (LDR) Ra-226 applications in regard to the limitations of historical comparisons. Use of the high dose rate afterloading methods lead to similar rates of local failures and complications.