Abstract
Radiotherapy is used in >50% of patients with cancer, both for curative and palliative purposes. Radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation to target and kill tumour tissue, but normal tissue can also be damaged, leading to toxicity. Modern and precise radiotherapy techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy, may prevent toxicity, but some patients still experience adverse effects. The physiopathology of toxicity is dependent on many parameters, such as the location of irradiation or the functional status of organs at risk. Knowledge of the mechanisms leads to a more rational approach for controlling radiotherapy toxicity, which may result in improved symptom control and quality of life for patients. This improved quality of life is particularly important in paediatric patients, who may live for many years with the long-term effects of radiotherapy. Notably, signs and symptoms occurring after radiotherapy may not be due to the treatment but to an exacerbation of existing conditions or to the development of new diseases. Although differential diagnosis may be difficult, it has important consequences for patients.
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04 March 2019
In the version originally published, an incorrect version of Figure 1 was used. This has now been replaced.
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Nature Reviews Disease Primers thanks Z. Liao, J. Lucas and the other anonymous reviewer(s), for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Introduction (D.D.R.); Epidemiology (D.D.R. and F.H.-J.); Mechanisms/pathophysiology (D.D.R. and G.N.); Diagnosis, screening and prevention (D.D.R. and N.G.B.); Management (D.D.R. and S.S.); Quality of life (D.D.R., A.W.M.L and F.H.); Outlook (D.D.R.); Overview of the Primer (D.D.R.).
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D.D.R. has served on advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Bristol-Meyers-Squibb, Celgene, Merck Serono/Pfizer and Genentech and has received research grants from Bristol-Meyers-Squibb and Boehringer Ingelheim. No personal fees were received, only fees to the institution. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.
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De Ruysscher, D., Niedermann, G., Burnet, N.G. et al. Radiotherapy toxicity. Nat Rev Dis Primers 5, 13 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-019-0064-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-019-0064-5