A few general responses (further details by e-mail):

1. Radation therapy makes sense in the very initial stage with tiny nodules or if you want to slow down the growth of quickly progessing Dupuytren. If you have already bent fingers NA would offer a very good alternative to surgery.

2. The cost of radiation therapy depends in Germany on the hospital. A rough estimate might be 500 USD, probably less than travelling expenses.

3. You probably read the according pages on our web site on radiation therapy. Dupuytren e.V. can provide paper copies of some cited articles.

Finally, here is a post on radiotherapy from another forum (biospecifics) that might be useful:

"I flew to Germany in 1999 for 1 week radiotherapy treatment on my right hand and again in 2002 for treatment on my left hand. From my perspective the procedure has so far been very successful, if you are young (35 years old in my case), and hence at risk from more rapid progression and have early stage DC I would encourage you to investigate this as an alternative to surgery.

At the time of the surgery the contractures were progressing quickly, I have suffered no further progression since. During my research and via discussing the treatment with the doctor in Germany I did get the impression that the treatment only really works well on early stage DC. At the time of the procedure I had visible nodules on my hands and contracture(s) which stopped me putting my hands completely flat on a table, during and following treatment the nodules softened and I now feel I have almost 'normal' flexibility in the hands (i.e. I can bend them back 45 degrees).

I have no experience of the Essen clinic, but given the treatment is so simple, it shouldn’t differ from my treatment. I was treated in Munich, but only as a personal favour of a contact I have in the UK, the clinic in Munich didn’t do the procedure of a regular basis, hence I suggest you try Essen if you are interested. Costs in Munich were commensurate with the costs quoted in Essen, hotels and food worked out at about 50 euros per night (4 nights).

I had a few minutes treatment on 5 consecutive days. The medical advice I received is that the risk of side effects was low as the hand is not susceptible to cancer from radiotherapy. The treatment is also targeted only at the area of your hand with DC, the rest is shielded with lead.

I am generally very cynical of the surgeons I met in the UK who initially diagnosed me. They had a vested interest in performing surgery and were not interested in discussing other alternatives. The radiotherapy treatment, although originally used in the UK, was dismissed out of hand and being ‘proved’ to be ineffective in the 1950s. All I can say from my personal experience is that my treatment has been very successful, providing an improvement even after the 1st day of treatment, so I am not sure how the conclusion in the 1950’s in the UK was determined?"