A doctor may recommend radiotherapy for a person who has cancer. However, there are risks involved. For example, you may experience side effects like radiation-induced neurocognitive dysfunction or increased risk of swallowing difficulties. Your oncologist will use the information gathered during diagnosis to plan your radiotherapy treatment. They may also order additional tests to determine the body's size, location, and area that will be treated. The oncologist will then calculate the total dose and the number of individual amounts required.
Although radiotherapy is a proven and safe form of treatment, there are possible side effects that may occur. Depending on the person's overall health, these side effects may be mild or severe. Early side effects may include skin changes or fatigue. Patients may also experience hair loss. In some cases, rectum bleeding may occur. Late side effects can develop long after treatment is completed. In such cases, patients should speak with their doctor about the side effects and ways to minimize them.
The side effects of radiotherapy vary from patient to patient and are typically temporary. Some side effects will fade after a few weeks of treatment, while others may linger for months or years. The patient will be given information about the long-term consequences before treatment begins. The medicine can also cause sore skin or tiredness in the treatment area. However, the long-term effects will depend on the type of cancer that has been removed.
Patients with radiotherapy exhibited global and domain-specific neurocognitive dysfunction after treatment. The incidences of these deficits varied from 7.3 to 30.9 per cent. The most common domains to suffer impairment were language, attention/concentration, and language. Most patients had unchanged baseline neurocognitive performance, while a small proportion showed improvement. Nevertheless, posttreatment neurocognitive deficits were often mild.
The study included 70 patients with all the relevant characteristics. The patients completed neurocognitive testing before treatment. Twenty-five patients had a decline in at least one domain. However, two patients declined in more than one domain. The remaining five patients were able to complete the tests. Of the 70 patients, 55 had complete baseline and posttreatment neurocognitive data. Overall, the study confirmed that radiotherapy might exacerbate cognitive dysfunction in some patients.
Recent epidemiological studies have investigated the risk of radiation-induced neurocognitive dysfunction after radiotherapy. Radiation-induced neurocognitive dysfunction is associated with cognitive defects months to years after the radiation therapy. It is thought that IR causes alterations in the structure and function of brain blood vessels and glial cell populations, as well as the ability of neurons to perform cognitive functions.
The earliest cause of RICD was the depletion of neural stem cells in the subventricular zone of the hippocampus. More recent studies have proposed a neuroanatomical target theory, which suggests that different brain regions have different thresholds for radiotherapy damage. However, despite the growing evidence, it is essential to note that RICD is still a diagnosis-of-exclusion syndrome, and no single study has confirmed its cause.
If you've had radiation therapy for cancer, you're likely aware that swallowing can be affected. Many nerves and muscles work together to help us pass food down our throats. Chewing breaks down our food and produces saliva, which makes it easier to swallow. Together, these tissues form a bolus, which we consume. However, if you're experiencing difficulty swallowing after radiation, you should talk to your doctor.
Although there's no single cause for swallowing difficulties after radiotherapy, various factors can contribute. In one study, patients with primary oropharyngeal cancer showed a significant risk of aspiration after radiotherapy. This finding reflects a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of radiotherapy-induced dysphagia. A high dose of the superior pharyngeal constrictors was a significant predictor of aspiration in oropharyngeal cancer patients. Another study analyzed the dose-volume constraints associated with dysphagia after radiation treatment. The authors identified the pharyngeal muscle as the most at-risk structure for radiation-induced dysphagia.
Radiation is a well-known cause of carcinogenesis, and despite being an essential component of multimodality therapy for many malignancies, it also increases the risk of secondary malignant neoplasms. In addition to age, environmental factors, hormonal influences, and genetic predispositions, radiation exposure increases the risk of secondary cancer development. Newer radiotherapy techniques appear to alter this relationship. Practitioners should be aware of this risk whether patients are currently undergoing treatment or have recently completed radiotherapy.
Radiation therapy is a known cause of cancer in children. Several studies have investigated the risk of bone cancer after radiotherapy. In addition, Neuhaus, S. J., Burton, H. S., Potok, M. H., and Winter, D. L. have investigated the risk of second malignancies in children treated for a range of cancer types. Other research has also found an increased risk of soft-tissue sarcoma after radiotherapy.
Skin reactions after radiotherapy are common and affect patients' quality of life. They may limit the radiation dose, interrupt the treatment schedule, or even compromise the efficacy of the treatment. With advances in radiation delivery, researchers are increasingly interested in managing these reactions. This article highlights common manifestations of radiation-induced skin reactions and current evidence-based management. The severity and aetiology of these reactions vary among patients, so it is essential to monitor patients after treatment.
Radiation exposure weakens the skin's antimicrobial defences, thereby increasing the risk of bacterial infection. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common type of bacterial infection associated with radiation exposure. Therefore, if patients experience any signs of infection, a bacterial culture should be obtained for diagnosis. Radiation dermatitis is associated with significant adverse effects on the quality of life, and the worse the skin condition is, the more influential the effects.
