Table IV.
Toxicity reported in studies of palliative pelvic radiotherapy of rectal cancer.
| Author | Gastrointestinal | Genitourinary | Skin/connective tissue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allum [19] | mild* | NR | NR |
| Carlsson [14] | none observed | none observed | none observed |
| Ciatto [20] | mild, no late | NR | mild |
| DeRenzis [36] | mild | mild | mild |
| Dobrowsky [21] | mild | mild | mild |
| Gescher [22] | enteritis requiring operation 2/51 | NR | mild 23/51 |
| Guiney [23] | moderate** 3/27, no late | NR | moderate 1/27 |
| James [24] | mild 13/119, severe*** 8/119 | NR | NR |
| Murdock [26] | NR | NR | mild |
| O’Connell [12] | mild – moderate SBO 3/19 | NR | NR |
| Pacini [27] | mild | NR | mild |
| Sinha [29] | mild – moderate 9/25 adhesions 1/25, SBO 1/25 | NR | mild 1/25 fibrosis 1/25 |
| Sklaroff [18] | mild | NR | fibrosis 3/10 |
| Smedal [30] | severe 4/50 | anuria (pelvic scarring) 1/50 | NR |
| Stearns [35] | mild | NR | NR |
| Trotter [13] | 11/37 grade 3 or 4 (WHO criteria) | NR | NR |
| Urdaneta-Lafee [37] | mild – moderate | NR | NR |
| Williams [34] | mild – moderate bowel reactions 24/192, pain 6/192, fistula 12/192, stricture 32/192 | moderate 19/192 | mild necrosis 6/192 |
| Williams [17] | mild – moderate rectal stenosis 1/189, fistula 12/189 | mild – moderate | mild – moderate fibrosis 32/189, necrosis 9/189 |
| Williams [31] | mild – moderate | moderate | severe necrosis 2/82 |
| Wise [32] | mild – moderate 11/22, severe 3/22 | moderate 2/22 | moderate – severe 5/22 |
Late complications are indicated in bold type text.
NR, not reported; SBO, small bowel obstruction; WHO, World Health Organization.
*Mild indicates that the author has described the toxicity as “mild” or as not requiring more than symptomatic measures.
**Moderate indicates that the author has described the toxicity as “moderate” or that the treatment was interrupted due to toxicity.
***Severe indicates that the author has described the toxicity as “severe” or that the treatment was discontinued due to toxicity.