Profile of Pediatric Cancer Patients Treated with External Beam Radiation Therapy Under Anesthesia at a Regional Cancer Center of India
Issue: Vol.8, No.4 - October 2009
Article Type: Manuscript
Aim: To study the clinical profile of children treated by external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) under anesthesia at our center.
Material and Methods: Clinical case records of all the pediatric patients who underwent EBRT under anesthesia were retrieved. From each case file, data regarding the patient's demographic details, diagnosis, EBRT details, site of irradiation, events occurring during the course of EBRT, etc. were recorded.
Results: During the 2 years period (June 2002 to June 2004), 130 case records were retrieved. A total of 1793 treatment fractions were administered in 130 patients (average 13.8 fractions per patient) with some kind of anesthesia or behavioral therapy (BT). Age ranged from 1-13 years (median age 5 year). Common malignancies included acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), retinoblastoma (RB), Wilm's tumor (WT), lymphomas and rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Seven patients received palliative radiation therapy (RT) and 123 received curative/adjuvant RT. Common sites of irradiation were cranium, head and neck, orbit and abdomen. The intended duration of treatment course ranged from 1-42 days. Twenty two patients required treatment interruption due to treatment related toxicity. Median duration of treatment interruption was 6 days.
Conclusion: About 2% of all EBRT treatments are carried out under anesthesia at our centre. Good BT reduces the need of anesthesia. Such measures should be fully explored in countries with limited setup for EBRT under anesthesia. But, the increasing use of modern RT techniques like IMRT, 3D-CRT where strict immobilization is the key aspect, may increase the need of anesthesia in pediatric RT.
Also In This Issue
- Editorial: Fatigue, the Most Common Problem within People Afflicted with Cancer: Challenge for Health Care Professionals - Widening Our Perspectives on Existential Issues
- Profile: Dr. Ilja Frank Ciernik
- Benign Granular Cell Tumor of the Soft Tissue of the Pelvis
- Serum Transaminases Ratio in Breast Cancer Patients
- Aberrant Methylation of Pyk2 Gene Promoter Influences its Expression in Gastric Cancer Cell
- Recent Advances in Nephrogenetics and Molecular Diagnostics: Are Current Approaches Becoming Obsolete?
- Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion Complicated with Stem Cell Transplantation
- Cancer Patients' Opinions Concerning Post-Treatment Follow-up
- Metastatic Bone Disease: A Review of Literature
- Retroperitoneal Sarcomatoid Variant of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report
