Cancer cells were killed even at reduced dose of radiation therapy in early stage Hodgkin’s.

Professor Hans Theodor Eich and his colleagues from University of Cologne, Germany has found that lowering dose of radiation in Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients undergoing chemotherapy does not increase the risk of disease progression but benefits in reducing the side effects of radiation therapy. The results of the study were published in American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. The researchers have reduced the radiation dosage in patients with early stage Hodgkin’s Lymphoma who were undergoing chemotherapy. The researchers feel that treating this cancer is easy in their early stage.

The researchers recruited 1,131 patients from the time period May 1998 to May 2002 who were undergoing chemotherapy for their cancer, they reduced the radiation dosage from 30 Gy to 20 Gy and the results showed no great difference in patients undertaking 30 Gy in 98 % of patients and these patients were followed up to find out whether they developed any disease recurrence. The scientists found no difference between patients taking 30 Gy and 20 Gy and it is well known that patients undergoing Radiation therapy is vulnerable to development of side effects and the patients who were given 20 Gy radiation dose developed only minimal side effects compared to patients who underwent 30 Gy.

Dr. Hans Theodor Eich said, “Although this was an interim study, the results are very encouraging that we can cure patients with early-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma of their cancer while reducing the amount of radiation we give them, thus allowing them to have a higher quality of life after treatment.”

Source: News wise