Superficial radiation therapy provider Sensus Healthcare is promoting a study recently published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology on treating patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer.
The study of 1,149 patients evaluated the efficacy and viability of superficial x-ray therapy in the treatment of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. The patients were treated by physicians at Dermatology Associates of Tallahassee in Tallahassee, FL (J Am Acad Dermatol, July 18, 2012).
Dr. Armand Cognetta, president of the dermatology practice and associate professor of dermatology at Florida State University and the University of Florida, and colleagues used a Sensus SRT-100 system to treat 1,1715 histologically confirmed tumors.
The patients had 712 histologically proven basal cell carcinomas and 944 squamous cell carcinomas. Nine tumors displayed features of both basal and squamous cell carcinomas in the same biopsy specimen.
Estimates of cumulative recurrence rates for all tumors two and five years after treatment were 1.9% and 5%, respectively. Recurrence rates for basal cell carcinoma two and five years following treatment were 2% and 4.2%, and for squamous cell carcinoma, rates were 1.8% and 5.8%. Tumors on male patients and tumors with a diameter greater than 2 cm were associated with a statistically significant increase in the likelihood of recurrence.
The use of superficial x-ray therapy is a viable nonsurgical option when surgical intervention is declined, unadvisable, or potentially associated with significant cosmetic or functional limitations, the authors concluded.
