Prevention of pterygium recurrence by postoperative single-dose β-irradiation: a prospective randomized clinical double-blind trial

Increased oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxy- guanosine, in human pterygium

“…15 In addition, adjunctive alkylating antineoplastic agent or radiotherapy is usually required to prevent the high recurrent rate in the treatment of pterygium. 16,17 Furthermore, the presence of oncogenic viruses, 18 loss of heterozygosity, 19 and abnormal expression of p53 in pterygium tissues 20 suggest possible neoplastic nature of pterygium. Oxidative stress induced by either environmental agents or endogenous biochemical reactions has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of degenerative and proliferative diseases.…”

Randomized Clinical Trial of Postoperative Strontium-90 Radiation Therapy for Pterygia

“…Treatment choice for symptomatic cases is usually surgical excision, although some investigators reported that irradiation with strontium-90 (Sr-90) for early and moderately advanced pterygium without resection was very effective [16,22]. It is common to perform some type of adjuvant treatment after resection because high recurrence rates of 39-67% have been reported after surgery alone [5,10]. Postoperative radiation therapy (RT) with Sr-90 or mitomycin-C dropping on the postoperative lesion is performed to prevent local recurrence [5].…”

“…It was reported that irradiation with Sr-90 after surgical resection was more effective than mitomycin-C in patients with primary and recurrent pterygium in terms of recurrence rates, and safer in terms of complications [20]. Jürgenliemk-Schulz et al [10] reported that a single fraction RT of 25 Gy after surgery achieved a highly significant control rate as compared to surgery and sham treatment in a prospective randomized trial, and no major complications were observed in the Sr-90 RT arm. Thus, postoperative Sr-90 RT is a proven technique for reducing the recurrence of pterygium.…”

Postoperative Irradiation for Pterygium

“…Recently, an important prospective randomized clinical trial has been published about postoperative β-irradiation. Jürgenliemk-Schulz et al [13] reported that irradiation after bare sclera surgery achieved a highly significant control rate as compared to surgery and sham treatment in a prospective trial, and that no major complications were observed. These results indicated that the role of β-irradiation in preventing recurrence of primary pterygium after bare sclera surgery could be affirmed.…”