[Factors determining the probability of the development of late radiation injuries to adjacent organs in cervical cancer].

Main factors of development of late-onset lesions of the urinary bladder and rectum caused by irradiation of cervical carcinoma are discussed. The results of radiation therapy of 616 patients with cancer of uterine cervix are analysed, and the rates of incidence of late-onset radiation injuries to adjacent organs are considered in relation to dosage, methods of irradiation and early-onset radiation reactions. It was found that the frequency of late-onset radiation injuries of the urinary bladder and rectum increases in proportion to absorbed dosage of radiation and as a result of remote irradiation of the small pelvis with open fields. The time that elapses before early-onset reactions of neighboring organs appear in the course of irradiation proved to be of primary importance in the development of late-onset lesions. It is suggested that the time of early-onset reaction development is characteristic of individual tolerance of normal tissues.