The intestinal complications of radiotherapy

Abstract

The clinical features of 38 patients with intestinal complications after radiotherapy are recorded. Intestinal complications are commonly progressive and in this series led to the death of 14 patients (37 per cent). Nine of these patients had no sign of recurrent tumour. ‘Spontaneous’ necrosis of the irradiated bowel and necrosis of intestinal anastomoses after surgical operation carried a particularly high mortality. Only 3 patients (8 per cent) became completely asymptomatic after treatment of their bowel disease. Apparently localized radiation lesions in the small bowel were sometimes associated with severe malabsorption. Radiographs showed distinctive radiological patterns in the small bowel. A combined radiotherapy/surgical follow-up clinic is advocated.