Hypoxyradiotherapy of uterine cervix cancer to decrease of acute side-effects and treatment complications

The authors have reported on preliminary results of hypoxyradiotherapy in the course of external irradiation in patients with uterine cervix cancer from a view-point of the occurrence of acute reactions and treatment complications. A mixture of nitrogen and oxygen containing 8.0 to 8.5% of O2 was used to provoke acute hypoxia during irradiation. The applied doses of external irradiation was simultaneously increased by 40%. On the basis of a randomized study with 120 patients, acute hypoxia was found to protect healthy tissues against post-radiation damage. When the doses of 96 Gy in the paracervical space and that of 75 Gy in the pelvic wall were applied, acute side-effects decreased significantly if compared with a conventional radiotherapeutic procedure (p less than 0.01). Radiological preconditions for using acute hypoxia in radiotherapy are discussed.