[Results of postoperative radiotherapy with iridium-192 in patients with ovarian cancer].

While the surgical and chemotherapeutic therapy is an established procedure for the treatment of ovarian cancer, the role of radiotherapy is not quite clear. We investigated whether the recurrence rate concerning the vaginal cuff and pelvis in ovarian cancer patients can be reduced by postoperative irradiation with afterloading technique. In retrospective analysis 20 patients with ovarian cancer, stage I-IV, received radiological contact therapy with 192-Iridium 2 x 7.5 Gy in 0.5 cm tissue depth after surgical and chemotherapeutic treatment. A control group of 20 patients with similar oncological parameters was formed. In both groups a local recurrence occurred in 6 women, which was confirmed clinically, histologically and by diagnostic devices. After 2 years, 6 of the irradiated patients survived and 11 of the control group. The results show, that the irradiation of the vaginal cuff, as applied in endometrial carcinoma, will not reduce local recurrence rate of ovarian cancer.