Description
A survival advantage for adjuvant chemoradiation post
resection of carcinoma of the stomach was reported in the
Intergroup Study INT-0116 (SWOG 9008). We report a
patient who had received this treatment and who presented
with multiple vertebral compression fractures within the
radiation field, on a background of generalised osteoporosis.
This resulted in considerable morbidity for the patient and
highlights the need for long-term toxicity data on patients
treated with such protocols. It also raises the possibility that a
background of generalised osteoporosis may be a risk factor for
late radiation-induced vertebral collapse, emphasising the
requirement for long-term nutritional monitoring of postgastrectomy
patients treated with chemoradiation to the
gastric bed.
