Radiation therapy of midline granuloma.

During a 15-year period, 10 patients with well-documented midline granuloma were treated with high-dose, deep local irradiation and followed for extended periods of time. Long-term remissions were achieved in 7 patients, with a mean (+/- SEM) survival postirradiation of 7.4 (+/- 1.4) years in the 6 patients still alive. True midline granuloma, which is a localized, destructive, inflammatory process of the upper airways, can be distinguished from Wegener's granulomatosis and neoplasms of the upper respiratory tract by several clinicopathologic criteria. The cause of midline granuloma is unknown, but it most likely represents an abnormal accelerated hypersensitivity reaction to an unknown antigen(s). Although serious complications of high-dose local irradiation to the upper airways can occur, the risk is warranted because of the high, long-term remission rate in this previously uniformly fatal disease.