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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Intestinal Epithelial Regeneration in Response to Ionizing Irradiation
Published on: July 27, 2022
Early intestinal changes following abdominal radiotherapy comparison of endpoints
Wolfgang Dörr1, Sabine Köst, Klaus Keinert
1Department of Radiotherapy and Radiooncology, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University, Dresden, Germany. doerr@rcs.urz.tu-dresden.de
Purpose:
To compare tests for intestinal function with clinical scores after abdominal irradiation.
Patients And Methods:
At the Department of Radiotherapy, Erfurt, Germany, intestinal changes were studied in 91 patients receiving abdominal radiotherapy between 1992 and 1996. Conventional fractionation (1.8-2 Gy per fraction, total doses 30.6-62.5 Gy) was applied. Before and at weekly intervals during radiotherapy, the clinical response was scored according to RTOG/EORTC for the upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Resorption tests for vitamin B(12) and D-xylose were performed before the onset and immediately after treatment.
Results:
The clinical response displayed a well-defined dose-effect relationship with grade 1 effects in 5% and 50% of the patients at about 10 Gy and 50 Gy, respectively. For grade 2 reactions, 5%- and 50%-effective doses were 20-30 Gy and 60-80 Gy. Effects in the upper and lower GI tract were highly correlated. Changes in body weight did not show a correlation with other clinical symptoms. Changes in resorption also displayed a significant dose effect. However, no correlation was found with the clinical symptoms in the individual patient.
Conclusion:
In the present study, the clinical manifestation of intestinal side effects according to RTOG/EORTC criteria was reflected by neither the vitamin B(12) nor by the D-xylose resorption test. Hence, these tests cannot be regarded as useful for objective quantitation of intestinal radiation injury.
