title: [Normal tissue tolerance to external beam radiation therapy: the vagina].
abstract: The vagina is a virtual cavity involved in sexual reproduction field. Due to its anatomical location, it may be exposed in whole or in part to ionizing radiation in external radiotherapy and/or brachytherapy of the pelvic region. This review aims to describe the vaginal acute and late side effects due to radiation, probably inadequately reported in the literature. Medline and PubMed literature searches were performed using the keywords "vaginal--radiotherapy--toxicity". The acute and late functional changes after external beam radiation consist mainly of drought. Their incidences are poorly described in the literature and the delivered doses even less. Recommendations are non-existent as the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). Brachytherapy delivers high and heterogeneous doses, making it difficult to estimate the dose. The concomitant administration of chemotherapy appears to be a factor increasing the risk of toxicity. Modern techniques of conformal radiotherapy with modulated intensity appear to have little impact on this body. Only a maximum dose on each third of the vagina appears to be currently proposed to avoid the risk of side effects.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Curiethérapie, Département de Radiothérapie, Institut de Cancérologie de la Loire, 108 bis, Avenue Albert-Raimond, 42271 Saint-Priest-en-Jarez cedex, France. nicolas.magne@icloire.fr
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Magné
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chargari
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pointreau
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haie-Meder
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011336:Probability; D011836:Radiation Tolerance; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012307:Risk Factors; D014621:Vagina / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents