Neurological Adverse Effects after Radiation Therapy for Stage II Seminoma

Liv Ebbeskov Lauritsen, Peter Meidahl Petersen, Gedske Daugaard

    Abstract

    We report 3 cases of patients with testicular cancer and stage II seminoma who developed neurological symptoms with bilateral leg weakness about 4 to 9 months after radiation therapy (RT). They all received RT to the para-aortic lymph nodes with a total dose of 40 Gy (36 Gy + 4 Gy as a boost against the tumour bed) with a conventional fractionation of 2 Gy/day, 5 days per week. RT was applied as hockey-stick portals, also called L-fields. In 2 cases, the symptoms fully resolved. Therapeutic irradiation can cause significant injury to the peripheral nerves of the lumbosacral plexus and/or to the spinal cord. RT is believed to produce plexus injury by both direct toxic effects and secondary microinfarction of the nerves, but the exact pathophysiology of RT-induced injury is unclear. Since reported studies of radiation-induced neurological adverse effects are limited, it is difficult to estimate their frequency and outcome. The treatment of neurological symptoms due to RT is symptomatic.
    Original languageEnglish
    Book seriesCase Reports in Oncology
    Volume5
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)444-8
    Number of pages5
    ISSN1662-6575
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

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