Late renal function following whole abdominal irradiation

Abstract Sixty patients treated with whole abdominal radiotherapy who had remained disease-free since completion of treatment participated in a study to assess the late clinical and biochemical effects of bilateral renal irradiation. Minimum follow-up was 5 years with a maximum of 20 years and a median of 9 years. Fifty-two patients in the study group were treated for primary ovarian cancer. Seven had non-Hodgkins lymphoma arising in the gastrointestinal tract and one patient had a carcinoid tumour arising in small bowel. None of the patients received chemotherapy. Abdominal radiation was given using an open beam technique to a mean dose of 22.92 Gy (range 6.68–27.54 Gy) in 1.02 to 1.25 Gy fractions treated once daily. Posterior kidney shields were used in order to limit the renal dose to P