Time-dependent dose-response relation for absence of vaginal elasticity after gynecological radiation therapy

Background and purpose To investigate the dose-response relation between the dose to the vagina and the patient-reported symptom ‘absence of vaginal elasticity’ and how time to follow-up influences this relation. Materials and methods The study included 78 long-term gynecological cancer survivors treated between 1991 and 2003 with external beam radiation therapy. Of those, 24 experienced absence of vaginal elasticity. A normal tissue complication model is introduced that takes into account the influence of time to follow-up on the dose-response relation and the patient’s age. The best estimates of the dose-response parameters were calculated using Probit, Probit-Relative Seriality (RS) and Probit-time models. Log likelihood (LL) values and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) were used to evaluate the model fit. Results The dose-response parameters for ‘absence of vaginal elasticity’ according to the Probit and Probit-time models with the 68% Confidence Intervals (CI) were: LL=−39.8, D 50  = 49.7 (47.2–52.4) Gy, γ 50  = 1.40 (1.12–1.70) and LL = −37.4, D 50  = 46.9 (43.5–50.9) Gy, γ 50  = 1.81(1.17–2.51) respectively. Conclusions The proposed model, which describes the influence of time to follow-up on the dose-response relation, fits our data best. Our data indicate that the steepness of the dose-response curve of the dose to the vagina and the symptom ‘absence of vaginal elasticity’ increases with time to follow-up, while D 50 decreases. • Alevronta E, Avall-Lundqvist E, Al-Abany M, et al. Time-dependent dose-response relation for absence of vaginal elasticity after gynecological radiation therapy. Radiother Oncol 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2016.02.013 .