Treatment of carcinoma of the hard palate with gamma knife radiosurgery.

The Gamma Knife radiosurgical treatment of two patients suffering from carcinomas of the hard palate is reported. A 67-year-old woman was treated with partial resection of an adenocarcinoma of the hard palate two years previously. Computerized tomographic imaging showed the tumor had grown (T4N1M0). The second patient, a 58-year-old woman, had a cauliflower-like tumor of the hard palate (T2N0M0). Pathological diagnosis obtained by needle biopsy was squamous cell carcinoma. These two patients underwent radiosurgical treatment with the Gamma Knife. A surface dose of 20 Gy was administered at the 35% isodose curve. These two patients were followed up for 18 and 15 months, respectively. Encouraging results were obtained. Further research is needed in order to validate this new treatment of carcinomas of the hard palate.