Radiation-induced proctitis cystica profunda in the rat

Therapeutic pelvic irradiation is notorious for the production of clinically significant sequela after a long latency. One of the rarest of these complications is proctitis cystica profunda (PCP). To study the histologic changes of chronic radiation proctitis, we evaluated 35 female Wistar rats that had received a single exposure of 22.5 Gy of radiation to the rectum and were then followed for one year. We identified PCP and its precursor lesions in 18 rats. The fully developed lesion consisted of a focal expansion of the submucosa by dilated cystic spaces lined by a single layer of benign epithelial cells. Usually, PCP evolved as glands herniated between small defects in the muscularis mucosae. Mitotic figures were not recognized in the cells lining the herniating glands. In two rats, the radiation had apparently caused large ulcers, which had subsequently reepithelialized, resulting in prominent submucosal glandular tissue. Although the number of goblet cells in the displaced epithelium was reduced, the cells had rather mature appearances ultrastructurally. Glands displaced into the submucosa were encased by an intact basal lamina but lacked in muscularis.