title: [Half-body irradiation. Palliative efficacy and predictive factors of response in 78 procedures].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessment of palliative effect of hemibody irradiation (HBI) and response-related factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of prospective collected data of 78 procedures on 71 patients with multiple symptomatic bone metastases, treated with 6 Gy (upper half-body) or 8 Gy (lower half-body) HBI in single fraction. Clinical improvement was quantified by self-evaluation on a visual analogic scale (SVAS) before HBI, and at 24, 48 and 72 hours, at 7 days, and at each monthly control until patient's death. Univariate analysis included: sex, Karnofsky's index, tumor origin, histology, HBI dose, and SVAS before treatment. For statistical purposes the significance level was 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Complete (37.5%) or partial responses were observed in 72/78 (92.3%) procedures, 80% appearing during the first 72 hours. Difference between mean SVAS, before and after treatment (7.7 +/- 1.5 vs 2.8 +/- 2.5), was statistically significant (p < 0.001). A mean response duration of 101 days over a mean overall survival of 141 days implies the 70% of expected patient's life span. Any analyzed prognostic factor does not correlate significantly with HBI response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HBI is a powerful palliative treatment in patients with multiple symptomatic bone metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Radioterapia, Hospital de la Esperanza, Barcelona.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Algara
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valls
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jaume
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lacruz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Foro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
vernacular_title: Irradiación hemicorporal. Eficacia paliativa y factores predictivos de la respuesta en 78 procedimientos.