Fever complicating brachytherapy application in patients with cancer of the cervix

A retrospective study of one decade of intracavitary brachytherapy (ICB) for cancer of the cervix (CC) showed that ICB application was not immediately interrupted in 28 febrile patients. Twenty-eight afebrile women treated in a similar manner served as a control group. Significant differences in cumulative survival, locoregional failure, and complication rates were not observed between the patient groups. These findings suggest that it is not mandatory to promptly discontinue ICB application in the patient with CC when significant body temperature elevation occurs during the administration of ICB.