Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026
Chemotherapy-induced Vascular Toxicity - Real-time In vivo Imaging of Vessel Impairment
Published on: January 7, 2015
Irradiation toxic effects during intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma: should we be concerned?
Rajakrishnan Vijayakrishnan1, Carol L Shields, Aparna Ramasubramanian
1Internal Medicine Department, Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
Objective:
To evaluate irradiation toxic effects from fluoroscopy during intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma.
Design:
Prospective trial.
Participants:
Eight patients treated with intra-arterial chemotherapy.
Main Outcome Measures:
Irradiation toxic effects in vital organs.
Results:
The mean patient age was 29 months (range, 10-74 months) and 63% were male. The mean irradiation dose to the skin of the affected eye was 0.19173 Gy, to the contralateral eye was 0.03533 Gy, to the chest wall was 0.00296 Gy, and to the abdominal wall was 0.00104 Gy. The estimated irradiation dose to the lens in the treatment eye was 0.16 Gy, which, in accumulated doses, could be cataractogenic. The estimated irradiation dose from a single fluoroscopy session to other organs, including the brain (0.05560 Gy), thyroid (0.00192 Gy), bone marrow (0.00059 Gy), and gonads (0.00015 Gy), was far lower than the minimal toxic level.
Conclusions:
Careful use of fluoroscopy during intra-arterial chemotherapy with limited irradiation exposure is advised. Accumulated irradiation toxic effects following multiple sessions of intra-arterial chemotherapy could be cataractogenic and possibly carcinogenic, especially in irradiation-sensitive patients with retinoblastoma.
Related Concept Videos
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
01:13Radiological Investigation III: Pulmonary Angiogram and PET Scan
Pulmonary Angiogram
A Pulmonary Angiogram is an invasive procedure involving injecting a contrast medium through a catheter threaded into the pulmonary artery or the right side of the heart to visualize the pulmonary vasculature. Computed Tomography (CT) scans have mainly replaced this...
01:30Radiological Investigation I: X-ray and CT