title: Toxicity following high-dose salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity in patients treated with salvage radiotherapy (SRT) at doses of 70.2 Gy after radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records were reviewed retrospectively to identify patients treated with SRT after RRP between January 1999 and December 2005. Of the 62 patients identified, 30 were included for analysis. GI and GU toxicity was assessed using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events and the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUASI), respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median AUASI score of the 17 patients with scores before SRT was 4, of the 24 with scores after SRT was 6, and of the 15 with scores before and after SRT the median increase was 3. Of the 29 patients with GI toxicity data, nine (31%) had diarrhoea after SRT (three after <70.2 Gy and six after 70.2 Gy). In all cases, the diarrhoea was mild (grade 1). Of all patients, 12 (41%) had proctitis after SRT (four after <70.2 Gy and eight after 70.2 Gy); the proctitis was grade 1 in four and grade 2 in eight, with no cases of grade 3 proctitis. There was no statistically significant difference in the median change in AUASI scores and GI toxicity incidence between patients receiving <70.2 or 70.2 Gy of SRT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High-dose SRT (70.2 Gy) is generally well tolerated with acceptable low-grade GI toxicity and minimal changes in AUASI scores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urologic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. charlie.jung@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Cookson
authors.forename: Sam S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teng
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011349:Proctitis / Q000209:etiology*; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*