Combined therapy with x-ray and pulsed ruby laser apparently results in accelerated regression of malignant tissue formations, California investigators report.
Both tissue culture and early clinical studies of the regimen were reported to the American Radium Society by James T. Helsper, MD; George S. Sharp, MD; and Donald E. Rounds, PhD.
Although five patients have been treated with both ionizing and laser radiation, only one has been evaluated for any length of time.
The patient, a male with multiple reticulum cell sarcomas, had received laser therapy of ten 1-joule exposures. His lesions tended to persist "indefinitely" or regressed quite slowly, the investigators told the Phoenix meeting.
A repeat of the ten laser "firings" with 300 roentgens of x-ray exposure caused the lesions to "disappear" within a week (See photos below)
This was a reaction such as that normally seen with four times the x-ray exposure used, Dr. Helsper noted.
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