The Radiotherapeutic Treatment of Cancer Corporis Uteri

Abstract I Believe that most gynæcologists and surgeons consider hysterectomy to be the method of choice in the treatment of cancer of the uterine corpus and I would not be surprised should many of my colleagues consider efforts to improve the radiotherapeutic technique in corpus cancer to be a waste of valuable time. For many years we have been taught that cancer of the corpus is a relatively rare disease, that hysterectomy in corpus cancer is a simple and harmless procedure which can be applied to at least 80 per cent. of the cases, and that the final results of hysterectomy are satisfactory. Because of our experience at the Radiumhemmet during the last decades we have arrived at a some what different opinion. We find that cancer of the corpus is not as rare a disease as is generally believed. Out of a hundred cases of cancer of the uterus, referred to the Radiumhemmet for treatment, between twenty to twenty-five are corpus cases. This is probably a minimum figure since all cases of cancer of the cervix occurring within the area of our activity are referred to us for radiotherapy, whereas still a considerable number of corpus cases are submitted to hysterectomy by specialists or by the general surgeons. Hysterectomy may be a simple and harmless procedure. It is, however, definitely not applicable to 80 per cent. of the cases.