[Experience in the use of subtotal irradiation at different stages of therapy in lymphogranulomatosis].

A study was made of a possibility to use subtotal irradiation (STI) as an equivalent of chemotherapy for the treatment of 33 Hodgkin's disease patients aged 17 to 77 (of them 25 were treated during the 1st-19th yrs. of therapy, for 8 patients it was the 1st stage of antitumor therapy). ROKUS apparatus and a linear accelerator of 15 MeV were used for irradiation at a single dose of 1.5 Gy and a total dose of 3-6 Gy, at a 2-4 day interval. STI efficacy was assessed by a response of the peripheral and intrathoracic lymph nodes, tumor foci in the lungs, by a decrease in liver and spleen sizes, a decrease in body temperature and the end of night sweating. Of 25 patients a positive effect was achieved in 19, in 4 patients it was absent, and in 2 patients disease progression was observed. A marked positive effect was noted in 8 previously untreated patients, especially with respect to the elimination of signs of intoxication. A conclusion has been made that STI can be employed for the treatment of Hodgkin's disease patients as a method of general cytostatic action. STI causes a more noticeable and prolonged leukopenia than a cycle of polychemotherapy.