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Aim of the Study: To determine the relationship between the interval from surgery to initiation of radiation therapy (ISRT) and prognostic factors, such as age, performance status, tumour location, extent of surgical resection and tumour histology in patients with malignant gliomas., Materials and Methods: From 1995 to 2005, 308 adults patients with supratentorial malignant gliomas (198 glioblastomas, and 110 anaplastic astrocytomas) received postoperative radiotherapy with radical intent. A total tumour dose of 60 Gy in 30 fractions in 6 weeks was delivered. ISRT varied from 15 to 124 days, with median time of 37 days, and it was a cut-off value to assess the results. The end point in our study was two-year overall survival., Results: The two-year overall survival rate in the whole group was 17%, with 24% for patients with ISRT value ≤ 37 days, and 14% for patients with an interval longer than 37 days (p = 0.042). Univariate analysis showed that delayed initiation of radiotherapy influenced the outcome of patients with glioblastoma older than 40 years, and with other than frontal location of tumour. Two-year overall survival rates for ISRT ≤ 37 days were 15%, 18% and 22% respectively, compared to 8%, 4% and 11% for ISRT > 37 days. In a multivariate analysis (Cox's model) the only variables that were significantly associated with worse survival were older age and ISRT prolonged for more than 37 days., Conclusion: The study showed longer than 37 days waiting time from surgery to initiation of radiotherapy to be a significant predictor of overall survival for adult patients with malignant supratentorial gliomas.

Aim: To present our experience regarding the efficiency of treatment in patients with uterine-confined endometrial cancer., Patients and Methods: 775 patients with uterine-confined endometrial cancer (UCEC) were treated between July 1985 and June 2000 in the Krakow Branch of Sklodowska Memorial Institute., Results: Among the 775 patients, 5-year disease-free survival was observed in 82.8% patients; 96% patients with low risk of disease recurrence, 93.6% patients with intermediate risk and 78.3% patients with high risk survived five years with no evidence of disease. In the group with a high-risk disease recurrence rate, 5-year disease-free survival was statistically higher among patients treated with adjuvant brachytherapy plus external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in comparison to patients treated with adjuvant brachytherapy (BRT) alone (82.4% vs 72.1%)., Conclusions: The recommended treatment in patients with high and moderate differentiation of UCEC with FIGO Stage IA is surgery alone. Surgery with adjuvant EBRT in the group of patients with intermediate risk of cancer recurrence allows over 90% of patients to be cured. In the group of patients with a high risk of disease recurrence adjuvant BRT with EBRT is statistically more efficient in comparison to BRT alone.

Objectives: The aim of study was to analyse results of treatment patients with uterine-confined endometrial cancer which underwent surgery and postoperative radiotherapy in Center of Oncology in Kraków between 1985 and 1997., Material and Methods: The research included a group of 650 women. All patients undergo total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and postoperative radiotherapy. 155 patients with intermediate-risk of recurrence (IA-G3, IB-G1, G2) received postoperative whole pelvic irradiation only. In the group of 495 patients with high-risk of recurrence (IB-G3, IC, II) 210 patients received brachytherapy vaginal cuff only and 285 patients whole pelvic and vaginal cuff irradiation., Results: In the group of patients with intermediate-risk of recurrence five NED survival was 93.5%. In the group of patients with high-risk of recurrence five NED survival was statistically lower in patients treated with brachytherapy vaginal cuff only (83.2% vs. 71.9%)., Conclusion: In uterine-confined endometrial cancer patients, with intermediate-risk of recurrence treated with surgery and postoperative whole pelvis irradiation, 5-year NED survival is above of 90%. In the group of patients with high-risk of recurrence the adjuvant treatment of choice is whole pelvic and vaginal cuff irradiation.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine prognostic factors in the group of the patients with uterine--confined endometrial carcinoma treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy., Material and Methods: The authors analyzed 102 patients (mean age 58 years) with stage 1 (74 patients) and stage 11 (28 patients) endometrial carcinoma. All patients were treated with surgery (abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy) and postoperative radiotherapy: external beam pelvic irradiation (20 patients), vaginal cuff irradiation (33 patients) and combination (49 patients). Analysed were prognostic factors as follows: age, stage, tumor grade, depth of myometrial invasion, hormone receptors, expression of the tumor suppressor gene p53, Her 2/neu and MIB-1 (ki-67 paraffin)., Results: In our group of patients, multivariate analysis has identified tumor grade, progesterone receptors status and MIB-1 as independent significant prognostic factors.

Between 1992 and 1999 at the Oncology Centre in Cracow 138 NSCLC patients after complete resection of the tumour with mediastinal/hilar node involvement were included in the prospective clinical trial. The analysis of the results did not show any improvement of survival in the postoperatively irradiated group. Three-year survival rates with no symptoms of disease in postoperative radiotherapy patients compared to surgery alone group were 30% and 29% respectively. In this study adjuvant radiotherapy significantly improved local recurrence rate from 28% in surgery only group to 9% in postoperatively treated patients.

In a retrospective analysis of 150 incompletely resected NSCLC patients treated with adjuvant external beam radiotherapy 32 (21.3%) survived 3 years with no symptoms of disease. Ipsilateral mediastinal/hilar lymph node involvement and macroscopic incomplete surgery were the prognostic factors that unfavourably influenced survival in Cox's proportional hazards model. Postoperative external beam radiotherapy was the efficient adjuvant treatment method in microscopically incompletely resected NSCLC, predominantly with no nodes involvement, but had no benefit in those with macroscopic incomplete surgery.

Eighty-five patients with stage II glottic laryngeal cancer were treated with radiotherapy in Center of Oncology in Kraków between 1973 and 1989. Fifty-five patients were irradiated with 60Co unit, 30 with mixed photon--electron beam. The 5-year survival rates without evidence of disease after the radiotherapy only were 65.9%, after the radiotherapy and surgery for recurrences--76.5%. The sex, age, local extension of primay tumour and vocal cord mobility were evaluated in a uni- and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors. For the end-point of 5-year survival without evidence of disease no statistically significant relationship was found between results and analysis variables, especially between survival and impaired cord mobility.

Six hundred and thirty patients with stage I and II glottic and supraglottic laryngeal cancer were treated with radiotherapy in Center of Oncology in Kraków between 1973 and 1989. The 5-year NED survival rates after the radiotherapy only were 79%, after the radiotherapy and surgery for reccurrences--87.1%. Gender is not a prognostic factor in early stage laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy.

Three hundred patients with early stage supraglottic cancer were treated with radiotherapy in Center of Oncology in Kraków between 1973 and 1989. The 5-year NED survival rates after the radiotherapy only were 82.9% in stage I, and 70%in stage II cancer, after the radiotherapy and surgery for recurrences--90% and 75% respectively. The stage and tumor site were an important prognostic factors in the treated group of patients.

Two hundred and forty-five patients with stage I glottic laryngeal cancer were treated with radiotherapy in Center of Oncology in Kraków between 1973 and 1988. One hundred and fifty-five patients were irradiated with Co-60 unit, 90 patients with mixed photon-electron beam. The 5-year NED survival rates after the radiotherapy only were 85.3%, after the radiotherapy and surgery for recurrences--95.1%. The sex, age, local extension of primary tumor (T1a vs. T1b), location of the tumor on true vocal cord and involvement of anterior commissure were evaluated in a uni- and multivariate analysis of prognostic factors. For the end-point of 5-year NED survival no statistically significant relationship was found between results and analysis variables.