Lynn L. Fulkerson

Radiotherapy in chest malignant tumors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Fifteen patients with concomitant tuberculosis and malignant disease received radiation to ports encompassing both the tumor and the tuberculosis in doses ranging from 2,000 to 6,500 rads without activating or spreading the tuberculosis. The tuberculosis remained controlled in all patients covered with antituberculous drugs, regardless of the outcome of the malignant disease.

Radiotherapy for Chest Cancers in Patients with Tuberculosis

With adequate cover by antitubercular drugs, reactivation and spread of tuberculosis can be avoided despite the use of cancericidal doses of radiation, and life can be prolonged for patients having both tuberculosis and pulmonary neoplasms. The author draws on 15 years of clinical experience to demonstrate that the traditional contraindication of irradiation in tuberculars no longer holds true.