[Antalgic radiotherapy in lumbosacral carcinomatous neuropathies]

Lumbosacral carcinomatous neuropathy (LCN) may be caused by infiltration or compression of the lumbosacral plexi and nerves from intrapelvic or paraaortic neoplasms. The authors submitted 23 patients complaining of LCN with CT documented intrapelvic or paraaortic tumors to palliative radiotherapy. Megavoltage external beam irradiation was administered using a 6-MV linear accelerator. Treatment field sizes ranged from 56 cm2 to 235 cm2 (mean: 150.54 cm2) and encompassed only the site where the disease involved the lumbosacral plexus or its branches. > or = 3 Gy/day fractions were used. Twenty-one of 22 assessable patients (95.4%) obtained LCN pain relief; 19 (86.3%) obtained complete LCN pain relief. The median time to pain progression (TPP) was 150 days (range: 39-510 days). The median survival was 165 days. Seven patients were LCN pain-free at death. Two patients are alive and LCN pain-free. The remaining 12 patients had recurrent LCN pain: four of them were reirradiated at the site of previous neuropathy and only two had partial relief again. The authors conclude that it is advisable to submit to palliative radiotherapy the inoperable disseminated and/or recurrent cancer patients complaining of LCN, to use large fractions not to occupy the extant time of their already short life-expectancy, and to design small fields to avoid acute side-effects.