Radiation Therapy as an Alternative Treatment for Desmoid Fibromatosis

Summary

To determine the outcome after radiation therapy for desmoid fibromatosis. A retrospective review of 50 patients treated between 1988 and 2016 in a specialised bone and soft tissue tumour clinic. Eleven patients (22%) developed progressive disease after radiation therapy at a median time of 41 months (range 12-113 months). The recurrences were within the radiation therapy field in four patients and outside the field in seven patients. One patient developed a radiation-induced malignancy 20 years after treatment. Radiation therapy is an alternative treatment in the management of desmoid fibromatosis. It should be considered in patients for whom surgical resection is not feasible, or as adjuvant therapy after surgery with involvedmargins where any further recurrences would cause significant morbidity.