Radiation therapy of lymphoblastic renal masses--benefit or hazard?

A child with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and massively enlarged kidneys received a single dose of 300 rad (3 Gy) to the right kidney before initiation of chemotherapy. Measurement of the split renal function with 99m-Tc-DTPA four days postirradiation revealed that the function of the right kidney had substantially deteriorated, suggesting that hazards may be involved with the use of radiation therapy for lymphoblastic renal masses.