[Thermogenesis of breast cancers. V. The effects of 60Co radiotherapy and the correlations with expectations of a cure].

The action of ionizing radiation on the metabolic heat production by cancers has been investigated on a group of 24 small breast carcinomas (T1 and T2), all treated exclusively by radiotherapy under equivalent conditions (60Co) and then followed up regularly (mean recall period of five years). Following techniques have been used: intratumoral thermometry and fluvography for computing the specific heat power of the tumour, infrared thermography for analysing the skin thermal pattern quantitatively. Comparison between clinical, radiographical and thermal findings has more especially shown; a) the constant agreement between the final loco-regional results of radiotherapy and the evolution of both the heat production by the tumour and the related hyperthermia on the skin; b) the early appearance of the thermal signs of either a regression or a recurrence of the tumour, compared with the corresponding morphological signs. The fundamental and practical consequences can be summarized as follows: 1 degree distinction between radiosensitive and radioresistant carcinomas accroding as the specific heat power of the tumour is reduced or not after irradiation; 2 degrees definition of three types of thermal evolution by normalization, regression followed by re-increase, and continuance of both tumour heat production and malignant skin hyperthemia, and corresponding to the clinical concepts of sterilization, recurrence and nonsterilization respectively; 3 degrees justification of the systematic use of thermal methods for post-irradiation follow-up, especially to detect a local recurrence earlier and to specify the nature of a doubtful remaining opacity; 4 degrees description of objective thermal criteria allowing to decide a repairing mastectomy within shorter delays.