Conference

Nebraska Society of Radiologic Technologists, Annual Conference

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Date

4-2008

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common cancer associated with the kidney. RCC accounts for approximately 3% of all adult malignancies with the incidence increasing by almost 2% per year.1,2 Radical nephrectomy is the standard of treatment for patients with localized disease; however approximately 30% of patients present with metastasis.2

The use of radiation therapy is most often limited to post-operative cases when residual tumor is identified or for symptomatic relief of metastatic disease. Definitive radiation treatment is not commonly indicated due to the low tolerance to radiation of surrounding abdominal structures such as the small bowel, ipsilateral kidney, and spinal cord. For patients diagnosed with left-sided RCC, the main dose limiting structure is the small bowel. The following case study will focus on avoiding bowel toxicity with the use of post-operative radiation therapy for the treatment of a Stage III left-sided renal cell carcinoma.

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