[Complications of radiotherapy for invasive bladder cancer: acute and chronic effects. Method of evaluation: measurement by RTOG/EORTC, SOMA/LENT].

OBJECTIVE

Irradiation of urinary bladder tumors produce early and late complications. The former is characterized by acute cystitis and the latter by fibrosis with loss of volume and more or less persistent hematuria. The present study was conducted to analyze the incidence of complications of radiotherapy in patients with invasive bladder cancer.

METHODS

Toxicity was evaluated by the RTOG/ EORTC and SOMA LENT scales.

RESULTS

The Spanish Toxicity Register showed 4.7% toxicity in a total of 782 patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the microscopic and clinical changes caused by radiotherapy are well described, there are no reliable percentages in the studies on large series that evaluated the toxicity caused by radiotherapy for invasive bladder tumors.