Hematologic toxicity (HT), particularly leukopenia, is a common side-effect of oncologic treatments for pelvic malignancies. Pelvic nodal radiotherapy (PNRT) is associated with HT development mainly through incidental bone marrow (BM) irradiation; however, researchers noted, several questions remain about the clinical impact of radiotherapy-related HT. The investigators performed a systematic review of the available evidence on PNRT and HT. The results appeared in Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology.
In this study, researchers performed a comprehensive systematic literature review through the Embase database and ClinicalTrials.gov. They also performed a manual search.
According to the results, while BM-related dose-volume parameters and BM-sparing techniques have been more thoroughly investigated in pelvic malignancies such as cervical, anal, and rectal cancers, the importance of BM as an organ-at-risk has received less attention in prostate cancer treatment. “We suggest that BM should be regarded as an organ-at-risk for patients undergoing PNRT,” the researchers concluded.
