Documentation of Sporadic Dysrhyfhmia*

EDITORIALS 401 live” dosage of irradiation therapy. About 50 percent of these patients achieve good palliation of their disease for periods of a few months to over one year. Those with no demonstrable spread of tumor beyond the confines of the esophagus are taken directly to surgery, where esophagogastrostomy is our preferred operative procedure. Patients who have localized extension of tumor beyond the esophageal lumen by CAT scan examination are carefully given 3,000 to 4,000 rads preoperative irradiation in 200 rad daily increments. If repeat CAT scan examination reveals regression of tumor, surgery is then undertaken. If the situation is still deemed inoperable, further irradiation is given and surgical efforts are abandoned. Although our numbers of patients thus far are small, we believe that we have increased the percentage of patients who can be resected by this plan. The longterm survival of these marginal patients has not been determined, but we believe the goal of maximal palliation has been achieved. George F. Schuchmann, Col, MC Fort Sam Houston, Texas