CT evaluation of effects of cranial radiation therapy in children
A retrospective evaluation was completed of 49 children who received conventional cranial radiation therapy for primary central nervous system and/or skull-base neoplasia and who had follow-up CT studies. In these children, abnormalities in normal parenchyma away from the tumor itself were surprisingly frequent, with or without chemotherapy. Generalized volume loss or atrophy was the most frequent abnormality (51%), but in this population it may have resulted from a variety of causes. Calcification in nontumorous parenchyma was common (28%) with or without chemotherapy. The most frequent site of calcification was subcortical at the gray-white junction. Calcification was progressive over 1-2 years and correlated pathologically with mineralizing microangiopathy and dystrophic calcification with demyelination. White-matter abnormalities other than those associated with shunt malfunction and tumor edema occurred in 26% of the patients. Both white-matter abnormalities and calcification occurred predominantly in younger children, particularly those under 3 years old at the time of radiation therapy. Of the 21 children who received chemotherapy in this series, only two received methotrexate. White-matter abnormalities and calcifications occurred with similar frequency in children with and without chemotherapy; thus, radiation therapy is the most likely cause of these findings.
- Research Organization:
- Emory Univ. School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
- OSTI ID:
- 5002006
- Journal Information:
- AJR, Am. J. Roentgenol.; (United States), Vol. 3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
CARCINOMAS
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SIDE EFFECTS
ATROPHY
CALCINOSIS
CHILDREN
DELAYED RADIATION EFFECTS
EDEMA
AGE GROUPS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
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NUCLEAR MEDICINE
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