title: DEGRO practical guidelines for the radiotherapy of non-malignant disorders - Part IV: Symptomatic functional disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize the updated DEGRO consensus S2e guideline recommendations for the treatment of benign symptomatic functional disorders with low-dose radiotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  This overview reports on the role of low-dose radiotherapy in the treatment of functional disorders in cases of heterotopic ossification (HO) and Graves orbitopathy (GO). The most relevant aspects of the DEGRO S2e Consensus Guideline "Radiation Therapy of Benign Diseases 2014" regarding diagnostics, treatment decision, dose prescription, as well as performance of radiotherapy and results are summarized.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For both indications (HO, GO), retrospective and some prospective analyses have shown remarkable effects in terms of symptom relief. Nevertheless, the level of evidence (LoE) and the grade of recommendation (GR) vary: LoE 1-2 and GR A-B (HO), LoE 2 and GR B (GO).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-dose radiotherapy for benign symptomatic functional disorders has proven to be effective, according to different authors, for 25-100 % of the patients studied and therefore it may be a reasonable prophylactic and therapeutic option if noninvasive or invasive methods have been used without persistent success. For HO, a single-fraction dose of 7-8 Gy or fractionated radiation with five fractions of 3.5 Gy is recommended. For GO, single-fraction doses of 0.3-2.0 Gy, and total doses of 2.4-20 Gy/series, applied in one daily fraction are recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Muenster, Albert Schweitzer Campus 1, 48149, Muenster, Germany, gabriele.reinartz@ukmuenster.de.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reinartz
authors.forename: Hans Theodor
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Eich
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pohl
mesh_terms: D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005858:Germany; D049970:Graves Ophthalmopathy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D009683:Nuclear Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D009999:Ossification, Heterotopic / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000592:standards*