Late Side Effects of Radiotherapy

The study carried on 40 women with breast cancer treated by radiotherapy at atomic medical center(bagdad/iraq) and gülhane hospital (ankara –turkey) during 2007 . the data was collected by direct interview with the patients whose age range was (48-75) years . the research done after ( 2-11) years of treatment. mild to severe type of mouth dryness was noticed in almost all the cases with variety of teeth and gum problems.80% of the patients developed diabetes mellitus, 30% of them were with no family history of disease.edema of the arm (lymphoedema) in the same side of the affected breast occurred in 25% of the patients. cardiac manifestations recorded in 15% including dyspnea due to congestion and pericardial effusion (diagnosed by echocadiography) , cardiacmyopathy due to radiotherapy may cause such manifestations . fibrosis of the lung causing shortness of breath on exertion and liability to chest infection and allergy diagnosed by chest tomography in 10% of the patients. 10% of the patients developed cataract in one eye (in the same side of the tumor).the ionizing radiation which is used in treatment of malignancy may cause cell damage in healthy tissues exposed to it because of its high energy capable to remove electron from the atoms in the biological molecules of the cells leading to their damage and appearance of some clinical problems in the treated patients.modern sophisticated methods are designed such as radio-immunotherapy, conformal radiotherapy that match the case precisely, using radio-sensitizer drugs and accurate dosing in order to reduce the unwanted clinical effects of radiotherapy and the doctors have to balance the likelihood of cure with the risk of side effects.