Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
We aim to recapitulate the rapid development of head and neck radiotherapy in the context of otorhinolaryngology (ORL) medicine starting 125 years ago. This is put into context with the unsuccessful treatment of the laryngeal cancer (LC) of the German emperor Frederick III and its historical consequences.
Methods
The three-step process consisted in the analysis of (1) historical sources of the development of ORL radiotherapy from the discovery of x‑rays and radioactivity until World War I, (2) course and treatment of Frederick’s III LC, (3) political context with a special focus on the escalation towards World War I. Pertinent historical illustrations of technical developments of radiotherapy were summarized in a video.
Results
ORL radiotherapy initiated on 03 February 1896, only 65 days after the discovery of X‑rays. By 1914, organ-sparing LC radiotherapy was established with a predominance of curietherapy over roentgentherapy. Correct diagnosis of Frederick III’s primarily radiocurable cT1a glottic LC was delayed by one year, which resulted in advancement to a fatal pT4 pN1 Mx tumour stage. Historically, his successor, William II, was assumed to have contributed to the causes of World War I.
Conclusion
ORL radiotherapy came only eight years late to treat Frederick III who might have impeded World War I. This illustrates the potential impact of modern curative radiotherapy on the future course of public life beyond the personal fate of the patient himself.
Funder
Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Oncology,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging
Reference60 articles.
1. Bonomi MR, Blakaj A, Blakaj D (2018) Organ preservation for advanced larynx cancer: A review of chemotherapy and radiation combination strategies. Oral Oncol 86:301–306
2. Weindling P (1992) Scientific elites and laboratory organization in fin de siècle Paris and Berlin: the Pasteur Institute and Robert Koch’s Institute for Infectious Diseases compared. In: Cunningham A, Williams P (eds) The Laboratory Revolution in Medicine. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 170–188
3. Crowther MA, Dupree MW (2007) Medical lives in the age of surgical revolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
4. Lederman M (1975) Panel discussion: the historical development of laryngectomy. VI. History of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer of the larynx, 1896–1939. Laryngoscope 85(2):333–353
5. Glasser O (1993) Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and the early history of the Roentgen rays. Norman Publishing,