Radiotherapy for achillodynia : results of a single-center prospective randomized dose-optimization trial

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two different dose-fractionation schedules for radiotherapy of patients with achillodynia.

Between February 2006 and February 2010, 112 consecutive evaluable patients were recruited for this prospective randomized trial. All patients underwent radiotherapy with an orthovoltage technique. One radiotherapy course consisted of 6 single fractions over 3 weeks. In case of insufficient remission of pain after 6 weeks, a second radiation series was performed. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either single doses of 0.5 or 1.0 Gy. The endpoint was pain reduction. Pain was measured before, right after, and 6 weeks after radiotherapy with a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a comprehensive pain score (CPS).

The overall response rate for all patients was 84% directly after and 88% 6 weeks after radiotherapy. The mean VAS values before, directly after, and 6 weeks after treatment for the 0.5 and 1.0 Gy groups were 55.7 ± 21.0 and 58.2 ± 23.5 (p = 0.526), 38.0 ± 23.2 and 30.4 ± 22.6 (p = 0.076), and 35.4 ± 25.9 and 30.9 ± 25.4 (p = 0.521), respectively. The mean CPS before, directly after, and 6 weeks after treatment was 8.2 ± 3.0 and 8.9 ± 3.3 (p = 0.239), 5.6 ± 3.1 and 5.4 ± 3.3 (p = 0.756), 4.4 ± 2.6 and 5.3 ± 3.8 (p = 0.577), respectively. No statistically significant differences were found between the two single-dose trial arms for early (p = 0.366) and delayed response (p = 0.287).

Radiotherapy is an effective treatment option for the management of achillodynia. For radiation protection, the dose of a radiotherapy series is recommended not to exceed 3-6 Gy.