Abstract
The negative outcome of many clinical radiotherapy trials seen after oral administration of hypoxic cell sensitizers in subtoxic doses can be attributed to an insufficient concentration of the drug in the neoplastic tissue (Brown, 1984). In a trial started in 1986 we sought to answer the question of whether the increased concentration in tumours expected after a direct, intratumoural administration of the sensitizer may improve the therapeutic effect of radiation treatment. Tumours of the uterine cervix were chosen for the trial, using metronidazole as the radiosensitizing substance. In a paper published recently (Balmukhanov et al, 1989), we reported some striking shortterm effects of radiotherapy combined with topical application of metronidazole. Thus, the local clearance rate, the decrease in tumour volume and the cytologic damage to tumours was greatly enhanced in the cases which received the combined treatment. Here we report the observations made during a 2 year follow-up period.