Early intestinal changes following abdominal radiotherapy: Comparison of endpoints
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Abstract
Purpose: To compare tests for intestinal function with clinical, scores after abdominal irradiation. Patients and Methods: At the Department of Radiotherapy, Erfurt, Germany, intestinal changes were studied in 91 patients receiving abdominal radiotherapy between 1992 and 1996. Conventional fractionation (1.8-2 Gy per fraction, total doses 30.6-62.5 Gy) was applied. Before and at weekly intervals during radiotherapy, the clinical response was scored according to RTOG/EORTC for the upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Resorption tests for vitamin B12 and D-xylose were performed before the onset and immediately after treatment. Results: The clinical response displayed a well-defined dose-effect relationship with grade 1 effects in 5% and 50% of the patients at about 10 Gy and 50 Gy, respectively. For grade 2 reactions, 5%- and 50%-effective doses were 20-30 Gy and 60-80 Gy. Effects in the upper and lower GI tract were highly correlated. Changes in body weight did not show a correlation with other clinical symptoms. Changes in resorption also displayed a significant dose effect. However, no correlation was found with the clinical symptoms in the individual patient. Conclusion: In the present study, the clinical manifestation of intestinal side effects according to RTOG/EORTC criteria was reflected by neither the vitamin B12 nor by the D-xylose resorption test. Hence, these tests cannot be regarded as useful for objective quantitation of intestinal radiation injury.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-8 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Strahlentherapie und Onkologie |
Volume | 182 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2006 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
PubMed | 16404514 |
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Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- Abdominal radiotherapy, Intestine, Radiation sequelae, Resorption assays