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Updated: Oct 3, 2026
Irradiator Commissioning and Dosimetry for Assessment of LQ α and β Parameters, Radiation Dosing Schema, and in vivo Dose Deposition
Published on: March 11, 2021
The feasibility study on continuous 7-day-a-week external beam irradiation in locally advanced cervical cancer: a
K Serkies1, A Kobierska, K Konopa
1Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdansk, Debinki St. 80-211 Gdansk, Poland.
Purpose:
To evaluate the feasibility and toxicity of continuous 7-day-a-week pelvic irradiation with no breaks between external beam irradiation and intracavitary applications.
Material And Methods:
Between November 1998 and December 1999, 30 patients with FIGO Stage IIB or IIIB cervical cancer were treated with continuous 7-day-a-week pelvic irradiation, to the total Manchester point B dose of 40.0-57.6 Gy. The first 13 patients (group A) were applied a daily tumor dose of 1.6 Gy and the remaining 17 patients (group B)-10.8 Gy. One or two immediate brachytherapy applications (point A dose 10-20 Gy, each) were performed in 28 cases.
Results:
Two patients did not complete the irradiation due to apparent early progression of disease during the irradiation. Of the remaining 28 evaluable patients 11 (39%) completed treatment within the prescribed overall treatment time and 17 had unplanned treatment breaks. For the latter group overall treatment time ranged from 103 to 122% (mean 114%) and from 103 to 197% (mean 138%) of the planned treatment time for group A and B, respectively. The majority of patients experienced acute toxicity. Severe toxicity (EORTC/RTOG grade 3 and 4), predominantly gastrointestinal, occurred in 5 of the 13 patients in group A, and in 7 of 17 patients in group B.
Conclusion:
The studied regimen was accompanied by considerable toxicity, hindering delivery of irradiation within planned treatment time.