title: Acute toxicity profile of radiotherapy in 690 children and adolescents: RiSK data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The "Registry for the evaluation of side effects after radiation in childhood and adolescence" (risk) was introduced to characterize adverse effects of radiotherapy in childhood and adolescence prospectively. The aim of this analysis was to characterize the pattern of acute side effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Since 2001, patients receiving radiotherapy in one of the German pediatric therapy trials have been registered in RiSK with detailed information regarding radiation doses to organs at risk and characterization of acute toxicities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 2001 to May 2009, 690 patients have been characterized for acute toxicity in primary therapy. Acute toxicity ≥ grade 1 was observed in 506 patients. In patients irradiated in their lung and liver, patients with grade 1 or 2 acute toxicities showed higher organ volumes exposed to radiation doses <20 Gray (Gy) compared to patients without toxicities. For the salivary glands, there was a positive correlation between the acute toxicity grade and the maximum radiation dose to the organ; the lower GI tract showed a similar trend. The impact of different chemotherapy regimens on these acute side effects remains unclear. Age did not have any impact on side effects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This analysis gives a comprehensive overview of the acute toxicities of radiotherapy in children and adolescents. With prolongation of follow-up, detailed analyses regarding late toxicities will be possible with the characterization of dose-volume-effect relationships.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Selo
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bölling
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: Hildegard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pape
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rübe
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Timmermann
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fischedick
authors.forename: Rolf-Dieter
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kortmann
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gerss
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Normann
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Willich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric