Gastrointestinal complications after external megavoltage treatment.

66 cases treated with external megavoltage irradiation for various malignant diseases in the abdomen are presented 26 patients (39%) had radiation reactions during and immediately after the treatment. Late complications at least two months after the treatment appeared in 15 patients (23%). The relatively low frequency of intestinal disturbances induced by radiotherapy in the present series may have been caused by the low weekly dose in the abdomen and the practise of a split-course interval in the midst of treatment.