Role of radiation therapy in the treatment of olfactory neuroblastoma

Nine patients with olfactory neuroblastoma were treated at the Radiation Therapy Service of the University of Michigan Medical Center (UMMC); their case histories are presented. There was a slight female predominance and the peak age distribution was between 60 to 69 years (4 patients). One patient developed sudden visual loss in one eye and partial loss in the other resulting from a hematoma at the optic chiasmal region. We have ascribed it to radiation damage. Our results show that this tumor is radiocontrollable; control at primary site occurs in 66.6% of patients. We recommend postoperative irradiation in all tumors that are extensive initially