Usefulness of 198Au grain implants in the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancer.

A series of 177 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx were treated with 198Au grain (gold grain) implants. Sites of the lesion included the tongue, mouth floor, buccal mucosa and oropharynx, especially the soft palate and faucial arch. Three-fourths of the patients were treated in combination with prior external beam irradiation. A permanent implant dose (total decay) of 80-90 Gy was given in the form of gold grains alone and in combination with an external dose of no more than 30 Gy, and 60-70 Gy, total decay, was given after an external dose greater than 30 Gy. The 2-year recurrence-free rate was 86.2% in the case of T1N0, 72.6% in T2N0 and 72.2% in T3N0. The difference in the results of implant therapy alone and combined therapy was not significant. Late complications were minimal after grain implantation alone, and when used in combination, less than 70 mCi of grain activity after a 40 Gy external dose did not seem to be a serious hazard with respect to bone damage except in the case of cancer of the mouth floor. Gold grain implants were useful and easily applied under local anesthesia to early or superficial lesions at sites where a rigid linear source could not be used. Exposure of the radiology staff was only 5-10 mrad in the case of the usual 10-15 (50-75 mCi) implant grains.