High relapse-free survival after preoperative and intraoperative radiotherapy and resection for sulcus superior tumors.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Relapse-free survival in patients with sulcus superior tumors. DESIGN Prospective registration study. SETTING Department of surgical oncology of a university hospital. PATIENTS Twenty-one patients treated with preoperative radiotherapy (46 Gy), lobectomy and chest-wall resection, and intraoperative radiotherapy (10 Gy). RESULTS After a median follow-up of 18 months, 18 patients (85%) were free from locoregional relapse, while 8 patients were still alive. CONCLUSIONS The results show that this protocol can achieve excellent local tumor control and can even be used for palliative treatment.